Suzie’s House 349 : Catching Up Over Potato Salad

Drew couldn’t stop laughing. It felt so good to be here with Suzie and everyone else. He and the rest sat on the patio,

“Seriously,” Vin said. “When you first walked into the kitchen I thought she’d deck you the same way she did Sean O’Connor.

“Oh! Oh! I remember that!” Ben could hardly sit still. “She hit him with that really big cast iron pan. You know, the one that looks like something out of a cartoon. It was so funny. I mean… just… Bam! You should have been there.”

“That’s right. You did say that’s how she caught him.” Drew hadn’t been at home at the time. He’d been out hunting for Sean and his brother Joseph.

“Wow. She’s like an authentic heroine,” Tracy said with just the right touch of amazement.

Drew tried to suppress a grin. Although he’d heard a little about Tracy over the phone, he’s already gone to New Mexico by the time she started hanging out at the house. She was a lot more lively and silly in person. In some ways she reminded him of a young Miranda.

“Of course.” Miranda said while waving a fork full of salad in the air. “Suzie always comes to the rescue.”

“Yeah?” Tracy’s eyes turned speculative.

Drew suspected she wanted to enlist Suzie’s aid in some scheme or another, but couldn’t guess what it might be. He didn’t need to worry about it, though, because Tracy seemed harmless enough, and it wasn’t like Suzie couldn’t take care of herself.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Suzie grumbled. “I’m not going to join the band. Not even as a driver.”

“Band?”

“The kids have started up a rock band,” Vin said around a barbecued rib. “It’s Tracy, and Gene, and four other kids from school. They used to practice here all the time, but Miranda offered to pay for a practice space.”

The grown ups all chuckled sympathetically.

“I’m not the only one,” Miranda grumbled. “Two other people are pitching in on it. What?” She looked around challengingly. “The kids are good, but that doesn’t mean I want to hear the same songs over and over.”

“They’re a trip,” Vin said. “There’s this one girl with a phobia about the stage. She wears this paper bag on her head while they practice.” He grinned.

Drew could imagine it and smiled.

Tracy yawned.

“Planning on crashing in my den tonight,” Suzie asked her with a raised eyebrow. Drew wondered how often they did that.

“Nah. We’ll go home.” Tracy turned toward Lisa. “Ready?”

“Yeah. Thanks for the food, Mrs. H. You saved us,” Lisa said as she gathered up her plate and utensils.

“Yeah. Mrs. H. You’re the best.” Tracy did the same.

Ben walked them to the front door while Vin and Miranda followed soon after. That just left Drew and Trent.

“Ma’am? Would you be willing to let Drew and I spend the night in your den?” Trent said.

“Um…” Suzie’s voice wavered and she looked concerned.

“Don’t put yourself out,” Trent said quickly. “We can certainly put up in a motel if we need to. Just that Drew made is sound like you were family, and I thought it might be nice….”

“Well….” Still she hesitated.

Drew’s bubble burst. He’d just assumed they would take up where they left off. He’d felt more and more at home the longer they stayed. But that didn’t equate to being welcome in her bed. Knowing it felt like a splash of cold water.

“I suppose the den would be all right.”

“Thank you,” Drew and Trent said at the same time.

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