Page 24 of Takedown in Savannah
“Thanks, Nana.” She began working on the second pizza, folding the dough and forming a triangle.
Melody, who had been intently watching them, started to fuss.
Carlita made a move to pick her up. Mercedes stopped her. “Let Auntie Mercedes snuggle the little bug.” She scooped her out of the bouncer and rocked her back and forth.
“What’s next, Nana?”
“Pizza sauce.” Carlita opened the jar of sauce. She placed it on the counter and handed her granddaughter a spoon. “Spread thesauce around so it covers all the dough except for your cheese stars.”
“I will.” Violet hummed under her breath, following her grandmother’s instructions to a “t” and evenly spreading the sauce around.
Up next was sprinkling the mozzarella over the top. After the sauce and cheese were added, Carlita drizzled both pizzas with olive oil. “Which pizza do you want?”
Violet studied them. “This one.”
“Pepperoni it up.”
The young girl began placing pepperonis on the pizza, sneaking a few to snack on while she worked. Finally, she deemed it “perfectly pepperoni-d.”
“The pizzas are ready, Nana.”
“You bet they are.” Carlita placed both pans in the preheated oven and turned the timer on.
Mercedes and Melody meandered into the kitchen. “I ran into Elvira in the alley on my way over here.”
“Did she have a laser-powered tape measure with her?”
“How did you know?”
“Because Violet and I caught her in the yard measuring the distance to the river.”
“Nana told her to knock it off,” Violet said.
Mercedes laughed. “I bet she did. Was she digging holes?”
“Nope.”
“At least not yet,” Carlita added. “The woman never stops.”
As soon as the timer went off, she removed the pizzas from the oven and placed them on the counter. The final step was adding generous dollops of pesto. “These look delicious.”
Violet rubbed her tummy. “Yummy for my tummy.”
While the pizzas cooled, Carlita fixed a small bottle for Melody and handed it to Mercedes. “She had a full bottle earlier. According to Shelby, she’ll have a smaller bottle now and another before bedtime.”
“But if she’s still hungry, Mom gives her more,” Violet said.
“Because we don’t want hungry babies in the house.”
“Especially Melody. She can yell really loud.”
Carlita cut Violet’s pepperoni pizza first and placed a slice on her plate. She fixed two more plates—one for Mercedes and the other for herself. “You want me to take the baby while you eat?”
“Nah. You eat first,” Mercedes said.
“Then we’ll swap.” Carlita dug into her pizza, savoring the pesto, homemade sauce and fresh mozzarella. “This is as good as I remember.”
“It’s the best, Nana.” Violet clapped her hands. “The stars are my favorite.”
