Page 22 of Refuge for Cherilyn

In a split second, his face peered around the doorway. “Yeah?”

“Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome. See you in a minute.”

Cherilyn sat there for a few seconds and took stock. She did feel better since she’d had a little rest, and she bet the girls did too. After a little stretching, she stood and made her way to the other bedroom. As soon as she opened the door, Lara sat straight up in bed. “MOM! I NEEDA EAT!”

“Yes, honey. We’ve got food. Maya, baby, get up.”

“Yeah, um, okay.” The girl rubbed her eyes and sat up. “We have food?”

“Yeah. One of Shaw’s friends brought something by. Let’s go see what it is. Come on. He said it was getting cold.”

She decided maybe she’d better go to the bathroom, so she turned back and stepped through the narrow doorway, closing the door behind her. And when she switched the light on, she got the surprise of her life.

Sitting on the vanity was a pretty basket with a bow on the handle. Inside were three hairbrushes, three toothbrushes, tubes of toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner, a box of tampons and a package of panty shields, some deodorant, and a sampler box of ten different perfumes. There was a smaller package inside, and when she opened it, she found a display card inside with twelve pairs of earrings on it, from rhinestone studs to small hoops, and even some dangles. How had he done that?

The minute she opened the door, a voice screamed, “PIZZA!”

“What’s all the fuss in here?” she asked as she stepped into the kitchen. The girls were going crazy, and Shaw was grinning like a jack-o-lantern.

“Pizza! Real pizza! Look, Mom! There’s pepperoni, and sausage and mushroom, and supreme! With everything! I don’t believe it! Pizza!”

“PIZZA!” Lara screamed again.

“Oh, that really looks good.” The smell was heavenly, and she couldn’t remember the last time she had a nice pizza. The stuff from the lodge was barely edible, much less good pizza.

“Drinks, everybody. What do you want?” Shaw had the refrigerator door open.

“COKE!” Lara screamed.

Cherilyn shook her head. “No. No Coke for you. You can have water or milk.”

“NO! COKE!”

“No Coke. Water or milk.”

“MOM! COKE!”

“No, ma’am! You’re not having Coke, so decide.”

“MAYA GET COKE!”

“Yes, and Maya isn’t screaming. When you stop screaming, you can have Coke.”

“NOT SCREAMING!”

“Yes, you are. You’re having milk. Maya?”

“Just a soft drink. I don’t care what kind,” the girl said, her cheeks reddening.

Shaw reached into the refrigerator. “Okay. I’ve got pretty much everything. Cherilyn?”

She thought for a few seconds. “I’ll take a soft drink too.”

“Alrighty. Here we go.” Shaw set cans of soft drink down in front of Maya and Cherilyn, plus one at his place, then poured a huge glass of milk for Lara. “Dig in, y’all. It’s better while it’s hot.”

“So who is the friend who brought the pizza?” she asked as Shaw sat down.

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