Page 224 of Small Town Firsts
I held up my hands in surrender. “All right.” Still watching her, I pulled down the cast iron skillet and started the bacon.
She huffed and I prayed the bag wouldn’t explode as she dragged it over the threshold and over every grout line of tile. When she stopped in front of me with the biggest smile ever, I decided right then and there I’d have cleaned up five pounds of flour and sugar for her without complaint.
“When did you get to be such a big girl?”
“I’m four, silly.”
“You sure are.”
She looked up at me with the bag straining from her fingers. “Okay, you can have it now.”
I lifted the bag onto the island counter. “In fact, you’re such a big girl, I’m going to make you help me with the mixer.”
“You are?”
“Yep. Where’s your chair?”
She zipped away again to get the little chair Seth had bought so she could help him cook. How many times had we cooked dinner with her? A dozen. More?
Had to be more.
And yet Laurie seemed even taller now. She was growing out of her baby face and chubby legs and arms. My eyes misted. She wasn’t even mine, but I was mourning the loss of the baby I’d helped raise.
The nights when Seth was beside himself with worry, the triumphs, and even the meltdowns. I’d been here with him more than not.
Until my mom had taken a turn for the worse. There had been little room for anything other than her at the end and I’d missed out on a lot with Laurie. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed this little girl until now.
She pushed the chair beside me and climbed up on it, then held up her hand. “Oh. Forgots.”
She clambered down and I had to stop myself from helping her as her feet dangled before she dropped to the floor. Instead, I busied myself with flipping the bacon and pulling off more strips from the package.
I tightened my hold on the tongs when she skimmed too close to the counter. She was so very independent. Allowing her to do things for herself was one of the hardest things I’d had to learn. She made a beeline for the far wall. There were two adult height hooks with a black and a white apron on each, then a shorter one adorned with fairy wings that held a smock and two child-sized aprons. One purple with yellow flowers and a hot pink one with white butterflies.
Laurie went right for the pink.
I grinned and followed her. “Think your Daddy would mind if I borrowed his?”
“No. Just don’t touch Unca Ollie’s black ones. He no like people touching his stuff.”
I grabbed one of the white ones and looped it over my head. Seth was quite a few inches taller than me, so I had to tuck it up a little higher before wrapping the strings around my waist.
Laurie pulled the pink strap over her head and twisted around in circles to try and get the ties around the back. After she made three rotations, she finally huffed. “Can you help me?”
I laughed and crouched down in front of her. “Of course. Turn around.”
She spun around and lifted her hair out of the way. She smelled of baby shampoo and watermelon. I dragged her in for aquick squeeze and tickle. She giggled until I lifted her to set her on the chair.
“I can do it!”
“I know you can, but I need to get you in front of the mixer real quick. Your dad is going to come down as soon as he smells bacon and coffee.” I reached for the coffeemaker that was always full and ready to go in the morning. One thing Seth never skimped on was his java.
Laurie wrinkled her nose. “Coffee is gross.”
“Coffee is heaven, but it’s not for little girls.”
“I’m a big girl.”
“Yes, but not quite big enough for coffee.”
