It was my turn to laugh. “You mean the women who hope you can get them in the Armani photo shoot with you? Or the ones who just want to bang the photo of you in your underwear?”
“Okay so you’re not a dog. What are you then Trey?”
“I’m a new dad, newly unemployed and new to town. That’s it.”
The chimes sounded and Valona stood a little taller with a long breath. “Now that we know each other…” she said, but didn’t finish the thought.
“Maybe we could be friends? At least?” I let her sit with that thought and found my way out, smiling at the trio of women in their Sunday best.
Maybe Valona had just helped me figure out my future, I just had to sit with her words for a while.
Chapter 5
Valona
After a long afternoon spent with Ralph and Esther Hannigan, taking sixtieth anniversary photos—with wardrobe changes—I was happy to be standing in front of my stove making dinner for me and my girls. It was a mundane task, one that didn’t require much brain activity because I had planned out the recipe ahead of time. All I had to do was take out the ingredients, rinse, prep and cook.
It was soothing after a long, but ultimately satisfying day of work. Sure, I didn’t open my studio to have an eighty year old woman try and school me on her best side, but seeing the love Ralph and Esther still had for each other after sixty years did fuel me. It offered me a glimpse of the passion I was in search of, the thing that made my fingers twitch with the urge to take a photo. They were still so in love, laughing and giggling at each other like they were more than lovers. Like they were best friends.
Well it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but a day like today helped me keep going.
“Mom.” Bridget’s head popped up in my line of sight, an adorable smile on her face.
“Yes, Bridget?”
Belle popped up on the other side wearing a matching grin. “We want Keri to stay for dinner. Can she?”
Of course they did. The little girl had transfixed my girls, and they loved having her around. It reminded me a lot of my own friendships as a child, and the one that still persisted with Pippa.
“Girls, maybe Keri and her uncle want to spend some time together, to get used to being together like this.” And Trey was too potent. He was as likable as he was attractive, maybe even more so because he was such an open book.
“But Mom,” Bridget insisted, “they spend plenty of time together. Mr. Trey makes breakfast for them every morning, and he helps Keri with her homework every single day even though she’s super smart.”
I turned to face my girls and found them staring up at me with matching puppy-dog expressions, green eyes the exact shade of mine filled with pleading and hope. I pointed the wooden spoon coated with Bolognese sauce at each of them and put on my best stern mama expression.
“If her uncle says yes, to me, then yes, of course Keri can stay for dinner.”
Bridget took off, but Belle stayed behind. “Thanks Mom. She misses her mom a lot and she likes you. Plus, she helped us with pre-algebra, so this is a great way to say thanks.”
I bent down and kissed Belle’s forehead. “You’re such a sweet kid. Don’t ever change.” Keri was good for them, I realized. Her loss normalized their own, and together, all three girls were finding a way to their new normal.
“I’ll try, Mom. One of us has to be normal don’t we?” Belle smiled and went to join her sister and Keri at the front door, leaving me to finish the pasta and salad on my own.
I took advantage of the silence and let it clear my head. I finally understood why Rodney always needed a few minutes to himself when he came home from work. By the time the three girls had returned, Trey had texted me his approval and asked what was for dinner.
V: Spaghetti Bolognese and salad
T: No thanks, I get to have pizza tonight. Jealous?
V: Mildly. What kind?
T: All the veggies and extra cheese
V: Incredibly jealous. Have a slice for me. And then burn the calories for me too
T: Anything for you…
I suppressed the shiver his final words caused, because Trey Fine wasn’t flirting with me. He was just a nice guy in need of a friend. The attraction was completely one sided, no matter what he’d said to me at the studio the other day.
“It smells mighty delicious in here, Mrs. Berryman.” Keri’s twang pulled me from my thoughts of her uncle and I turned to her with a smile.
“Let’s hope it tastes as good as it smells.”