Sweet Little Thing
Page 3

I held my tongue and didn’t ask any questions. Their issues were not my business and she’d let me know that if I asked.
As I added fresh berries to the plates with their omelets, the guys walked back into the house. The sound of their voices carried our way from the dining room.
I would serve them, find out what they wanted to drink, and then I’d go about the rest of my day cleaning and anything else Portia asked of me. Hopefully, I didn’t have to clean the pool house.
“Go feed them,” she said with a sour look as she pointed in the direction of the four loud guys. “While they’re eating, head outside and prepare the pool house. When you are done with that, buy them food and stock the bar out there as well. The less they have to come inside the house the better.” With that she spun on her heel and sashayed out of the kitchen but not before putting her drink down. Guess she didn’t want Jasper to see her drinking before noon.
I took the first two plates and followed behind Portia to the dining room.
“Hello, Jasper. I’m sorry I wasn’t prepared for your early arrival,” Portia said as if she were thrilled to see him. “Sterling, Tate, Winston. I’m so glad you boys could come for a visit. I trust you’re all doing well.”
Jasper, Sterling, Tate, and Winston? Did these people not have any Henry, Chad, Jack, or Tim’s? I’d never heard names like theirs. However, my senior class had three Chad’s, three Hanks, three David’s, and two Jacks.
Then again, my name was Beulah, so who was I to talk. My sister got the better name. Which fit because out of the two of us she was the best. Heidi was perfect. If the world could love like her, find joy the way she did, and smile her smile, we’d all be so much happier.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jasper’s ginger-haired friend said. I wasn’t sure what his name was. “Mother said the two of you won your tennis match last week. Congratulations on that.”
Portia played tennis daily. It was one of many activities she did with her friends. She beamed at his recognition. I noticed Jasper rolling his eyes. Then his eyes locked with mine and he winked. I jerked my gaze away, and sat the food down in front of the ginger and the dark-haired elitist guy, who was still quiet and seemed to be looking down his nose at everyone. As if no one were on his level, or could ever hope to be.
“Thank you, Tate. We deserved it of course. Camille and I have worked so hard.”
I left the room for the other two plates of food. The small talk continued as Portia went on and on about her tennis game. When I returned with the last of the food, Portia had taken a seat at the end of the table opposite Jasper.
“I’ll need a fresh cup of coffee,” she informed me.
“About that. What happened to Ms. Charlotte? And who is she?” I didn’t look his way although my entire body went taut. He wasn’t pleased I was here. I’d done everything he’d asked of me so far but that didn’t seem to matter.
“Charlotte retired. She moved to be near her grandchildren. She was getting up there in age, Jasper. I needed more help than she was able to provide.”
“You didn’t think to ask me before replacing her?” The tone of his voice wasn’t what I’d expect from a son talking to his to a mother. It was more of a threat. Or correction. As if he were the boss and she was an employee.
“Don’t be so damn rude to your mom,” Tate said, dressing Jasper down. I had to agree. Portia wasn’t the nicest woman I knew, but she’d taken Heidi and me in without a question or any explanation. She just did it. I owed her so much for that.
Jasper, however, ignored the comment and continued to glare in his mother’s direction. Then he turned his attention to me. “We’ll need drinks if we don’t want to choke on our food.”
I felt my face heat from the nasty tone in his voice. “I’m sorry. I was waiting on your conversation to end before I interrupted to ask what I could get you.”
“It’s okay, love. He’s just testy because his girlfriend Maisie ended things with him while she’s off gallivanting in Europe for the summer. He’ll recover his broken heart soon enough and be as charming as ever. And I’m Sterling by the way.” Sterling had a nice smile that displayed perfect white teeth. His brown hair had golden sun streaks in it. Like the others, he looked like he belonged to this set. But he was nice.
“Maisie broke things off? Do her parents know?” Portia sounded horrified.
“She’s a twenty-one-year old woman, Mother. I don’t think it matters if her parents know or not. Now let’s drop the subject.”
“I’ll take a coffee. Black,” Sterling told me with a kind smile.
“Same,” Tate said from across the table.
“Milk,” Jasper added, turning his gaze my way, a small apologetic smile touched his lips. He was odd. His attitude went from angry to nice so easily.
I turned to look at the quiet guy. The one who had to be named Winston since the other names had been taken. He made me nervous. His boredom made it feel as if he judged everything quietly. “Water,” he said without making eye contact with me. His nonchalance made me feel as if I didn’t exist. I was beneath him. He was making sure that message was delivered loud and clear.
I hurried from the room with their drink orders. When I started waiting tables at Pizza Pit four years ago, I’d been thrilled to get that job. Now I was thankful I had the experience. Because never once in those years of daydreaming had I thought I’d be waiting on people like this. I was supposed to be in college getting my nursing degree. And my mother was supposed to live a long time. She was supposed to be there to watch me grow up and make my way in the world. And to always be there for Heidi. Mom and Heidi were supposed to be my home. I’d never imagined this would be our future.
My dream of someday working in the pediatric ward of a hospital would never come true now. I had more to worry about than lost dreams. When mother died, she left Heidi to me. And I wouldn’t let anything happen to take that smile off Heidi’s face. A face that should have looked like mine. Although our eyes were the same color, not much else was the same. Heidi was different, but beautifully so.
I didn’t use the French press for the coffees because they didn’t ask. I used the fancy machine that normally sat on the kitchen counter collecting dust to make them each a cup of coffee while I made Portia’s the way she always insisted. I took one of the frozen mugs from the freezer that Portia had told me were for Jasper’s milk two days ago when she asked me to freeze them. I thought the icy mugs sounded nice. Ice cold milk. I almost used one for the water that Mr. I’m-Too-Good-For-Others had asked for, but decided against it. He didn’t deserve any special treatment.
Wheeling a cart from the pantry, I used it as a drink tray, placing each of their drinks on it. I was kicking myself because I should have used this contraption for their meals. I could have taken all four plates at one time, but I hadn’t thought of the cart until I went into the pantry to get the coffee cups and saw it there.
Walking back into the dining room I heard Portia say. “All summer? But why? You normally travel in the summer.”
My stomach dropped. Surely she didn’t mean Jasper was planning to stay here all summer. A few days of this I could take, but an entire summer?
I briefly closed my eyes and pictured Heidi’s sweet smile. I could do this. I could do anything.