As the troops settled in to their breakfast…

As the troops settled in to their breakfast they were absorbed into the deliciously quiet reverence that comes with a great meal and stuffed mouths. As Jessie looked up from her plate she saw all of them with mouths stuffed with waffles and toppings and yummy smudges on lips, cheeks and fingers. Even Buck had a touch of whipped cream on his nose from a bite snuck to him under the table. She couldn’t help but giggle. She caught Kat’s eye and they both chuckled. In seconds they were all laughing.

“What a bunch of piglets we are!” Kat laughed.

It was a good hearty laugh accompanied by a genuine, full-on smile. It was little Kris who reached up to Kat’s lips and said, “Mommy smile.”

Kat picked her up onto her lap, “And so does my littlest piglet.”

“I like pigs,” Kaylie informed the group.

“You’ve never even seen a pig,” Kyle sarcastically reminded her.

“Well, we’ll have to fix that,” Jessie said as she tossed her napkin on her plate, “What do you say we go out and visit Miss Claudette at her farm?”

“Can we take her c-o-o-k-i-e-s?” Kaylie eagerly asked.

“Knowing your mama, there’s already a few dozen ready for just such an occasion,” Jessie said.

The spring sunshine was sneaking through the curtains in Jessie’s room

The spring sunshine was sneaking through the curtains in Jessie’s room when she heard a loud whisper from outside her bedroom door.

Kyle was scolding the girls, “Shhh…Mama said be qui-et y’all.”

Jessie smiled as she rolled over at the sound of the girls’ giggles. She managed to open one eye at the clock as her alarm came on. This morning she was greeted to the chorus of Kelly Clarkson’s Miss Independent. Buck, however, wasn’t at the bedside to greet her with a sloppy kiss. Rather, he was sniffing at the door. As she sat up in bed she saw a little set of fingers sneak under the door for Buck to lick.

She quietly tiptoed to the door behind Buck and nudged him aside with her foot. Just as the little fingers retracted she pulled open the door with a big, “Boo!”

Kaylie and Kris both fell back on their butts squealing with laughter and were promptly overrun by Buck and his wagging tail. All the commotion had Kyle bursting from the bathroom with soap still on his hands and Kat hollering up from the bottom of the stairs, “Girls! Did you wake Aunt Jessie?”

“Yup!” Jessie hollered back down.

“Sorry J,” Kat called, “could you make sure they’re washed up for breakfast?”

Jessie picked up the girls, one under each arm and hauled them towards the bathroom. Kyle promptly showed her clean hands as he headed downstairs, singing, “I’m done, I’m done. I get dibbs on waffles!”

“I washed too!” cried Kaylie.

“Yeah, well Buck’s kisses don’t count as clean you giggle monsters,” Jessie said as she helped them turn on the water.

When they were done and heading down to the kitchen, Jessie wondered what she’d find. Kat’s restlessness at night was manifesting in any manner of cakes, pies and savory treats. This morning they were greeted with huge Belgian waffles with a seemingly endless buffet of fixins.

“I swear Kat, I’m gonna put on thirty pounds with you here,” Jessie said.

“No swear,” said Kaylie as she launched herself onto the bench at the breakfast table.

Kat walked a fresh plate of waffles to the table and ruffled Kaylie’s hair, “That’s right, no swearing.”

Now aren’t you as smart as a whip

“Now aren’t you as smart as a whip,” Claudette said and ruffled Kaylie’s hair.

Kaylie just grinned, “Yes ma’am.”

Claudette went about fixing everyone some snack plates as Kat sat down and asked Kaylie what else she could spell. Turned out she could spell everyone’s name like they practiced, and apparently also the words cookie, ice cream, snack and treat. While they discovered the newfound depth of Kaylie’s vocabulary, Jessie went onto the back porch.

Apparently Case had been by and had been busy. The screens were mended perfectly and all of the furniture looked freshly sanded, mended and ready for a fresh coat of stain. Then Jessie noticed on the far end of the porch a two-seated rocking chair and a single rocking chair. They were gorgeous. While they looked well aged and beautifully weathered, she knew they had to have been some of Case’s work. She sat down in the rocker and sighed as it began to move her gently back and forth just with the slightest effort on her part. She took a deep breath and smiled.

Jessie was bouncing along County Road 142 with Kyle

Jessie was bouncing along County Road 142 with Kyle in the cab of her truck, his mom and the girls following behind.

“So,” he quietly asked as he picked at the knee of his jeans, “um Aunt Jess can I ask you something?”

“Sure honey, what?”

“Mom said your daddy died too, and I just wondered if you think he’s gonna show my dad around in heaven?” Kyle asked tentatively and then rushed on, “Cuz daddy didn’t ask for directions much, and mama’s not in heaven to read the map and I don’t want daddy to get lost, but I don’t want mama to go to heaven yet.”

He looked so sincere and worried that Jessie just smiled and ruffled his hair. “I think your daddy will be just fine, and I hope he gets to know my daddy real well. But you don’t have to worry about that honey pie.”

Kyle looked out the window for a few moments, “Yeah, okay.” And he stared up at the bright blue sky scattered with clouds, “But all those clouds sure look alike, I’d get lost if I were him.”

Jessie’s eyes watered a bit from biting her lip to keep from grinning and the sweet sincerity of Kyle’s concerns. Man, she thought, where do kids come up with this stuff?

“Hey buddy, so what do you want to do when we get to my house? Do you want to go swimming in the creek or go play with Buck?”

Kyle shrugged and kept looking out the window, “Let Kaylie pick, it’s okay.”

Jessie took the turn off of 142 towards Creekside and smiled as she passed the old mesquite trees. “Home again, home again, jiggity jog,” she quoted the nursery rhyme, and got a little grin out of Kyle.

A quick stab of nostalgia took her aback as the front door opened and Buck bounded down the front steps and a lone female stood on the front porch waiting to greet them. It was Claudette of course, but for a moment she thought it was Bette.

Buck chased the truck and Kat’s car around to the barn. He tackled Jessie as she slid out of the driver’s side of the truck. She laughed and he licked and licked and licked. Once Buck calmed down she went to introduce Claudette to Kyle, Kaylie and Kris. But in typical Claudette fashion she’d already embraced Kat and the kiddos and was chattering away. They unloaded the duffle bags and suitcases onto the back porch.

“Well I was just bringing your baby dog back home,” Claudette was saying to Jessie, “He was just a doll but sure missed you something fierce. I took the liberty of mixing up some lemonade.”

She leaned over towards Kat and whispered, “and some c-o-o-k-i-e-s if they can have some.”

“I want chocolate chip!” said Kaylie. The three women just stared at her.