Loving Miss Libby (2 page)

She watched the little girl’s face, noting the
world-weary look in her eyes.  Her heart abruptly broke for the poor little
thing. 

“I wish we could stay with you, Miss Libby,” Marky
said, picking himself up off the ground.  He walked over to her and wrapped his
arms around her.  “We’d be close to home.  A kid needs to be close to home…”

“Kids!”  The sound of their father’s voice snapped
them to attention.  “Kids!” 

“We’re back here, Dad!” Kate yelled.  “Marky hit
Miss Libby again with one of his soccer balls.  He almost killed her this
time!”

Suddenly, their father Dan popped his head over the
fence.  He spotted Libby and appeared to give her an assessing glance.  “Hello,
Libby,” he murmured with a wince.  “Where’d he get you this time?”

“Temple,” Kate volunteered.  “You can die from a
blow to the temple, you know.  Miss Libby may need to see a doctor.  I hope you
have good insurance, Dad, because she could develop a blood clot and if she
does…”

“I’m fine,” Libby assured him, smiling
self-consciously.

“You’re sure?”  His blue eyes lingered on her face. 
“No blood clot?” he asked, his eyes twinkling. 

Libby suddenly felt her heart give a thump and her
cheeks heat up.  Good grief.   “I think I’ll live,” she told him, smiling.

“Glad to hear it.”  He flashed a high-voltage smile
and turned his attention to his kids.  “Hey, guys, we have to go,” he
announced, but abruptly turned his attention to the cell phone in his hand.  He
lifted a pointer finger, gesturing for a moment, as he took the call.  After a
pause, he said, “You can’t?”  After another pause, he said, “Okay, Mom, I
understand.”

“What’s wrong, Dad?” Kate asked.

“Nothing’s wrong, sweetie,” he assured her.  “It
just turns out Grandma can’t watch you guys.  Granddad has a doctor’s
appointment.”

“What’s wrong with Grandpa?” Kate cried, her hand
going to her mouth.  “Is it his heart?”

“No, no, honey,” Dan said, giving the fence
separating them a dirty look.  It was clear he wanted to get to his distraught
daughter.  Short of climbing it, he was stuck behind it, since he apparently
didn’t know about Libby’s gate.  “Kate, Grandpa’s fine.  It’s just a checkup.”

“Are you sure?” she asked tremulously.  “You
wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”

“No, Kate, I wouldn’t lie to you,” he said, as he
simultaneously scaled the fence and dropped over the other side, landing on top
of Libby’s tomatoes.

“Dad!” Marky cried.  “Miss Libby has a gate, you
know!”

“Oh, sorry,” he said, lifting one of his boots. 
Apparently he’d felt a tomato squish beneath his feet, since he gave Libby the
same wan smile his son had given her previously.  “Sorry, Libby,” he said, and
then crossed the distance to his daughter.  He pulled her into a hug.  “Grandpa
is fine.  I wouldn’t lie to you, sweetie.”

She pulled back and watched him suspiciously. 
“Really?”

“Honey, you have to stop worrying.  You’re eight,
for Pete’s sake.  If you don’t stop worrying so much, you’re going to get an
ulcer.” 

“Yeah, well, Grandpa is sixty-nine.  He’s old.”

“And relatively healthy,” he told her firmly.

“What does ‘relatively’ mean?” Marky asked.

“It means Grandpa isn’t going anywhere,” he said
with a smile.  “But we are.  Now, say goodbye to Miss Libby.”

To Libby’s surprise, he released his daughter and
approached her.  She watched him questioningly as he surveyed her face.  “Nose
looks fine.  Thank God,” he muttered, as he reached a gentle hand to her silky
auburn hair and pulled it back at the temple.  “Did he get you here?” he asked
with a sigh, as he ran a thumb across the injury.  “I see some bruising.”  He
pulled back and ran a hand through his own hair, groaning in exasperation. 
“Marky!” 

“I didn’t mean to hit Miss Libby, Daddy,” Marky
said, beginning to cry. 

“How bad is the bruise?” Kate asked worriedly, as
she began wringing her little hands.  “Is it turning into a blood clot?”

Libby stepped away from her handsome neighbor.  She
took a shaky breath.  What was it about Dan that made her heart begin pounding,
her knees go weak, and all coherent thought flee from her brain.  Sure he was
good looking, with his crisp dark hair, blue eyes, and slightly crooked nose
over full lips.  And sure he looked great in his uniform, with his broad
shoulders, lean waist, and powerful legs.  But she hardly knew him. 

She shook her head to clear it, and followed by
clearing her throat.  “I’m fine.  Marky, please don’t cry.  Kate, please don’t
worry.  And Dan…”

“Yes?”

“Please go to work.”  Her eyes widened.  Had she
really essentially just told her neighbor to get lost?

He bit back a smile, his eyes regarding her with
humor.  “Yeah, I’d drop kick the lot of us over the fence too, if I were you.” 
He made a rueful face.  “Heck, I’m surprised you haven’t moved.” 

He gathered up the kids.  “Let’s go.”  He turned
back to Libby briefly.  “It’d be a good idea to get some ice on your head.  I
wish I didn’t have to go, or I’d help you.”

“Oh, no, I can handle it,” she assured him.  “It’s …
fine.”

“But where are we going if Grandma can’t watch us?”
Kate asked.  “You can’t take us to work with you.”

He paused and stroked his chin.  He gave a shrug and
then continued ushering them toward the gate.  “We’ll … figure it out.”

“Can we stay with Miss Libby?” Marky asked suddenly,
coming to a stop. 

‘Yes, can we?” Kate implored.

Dan turned back to Libby and made an embarrassed
face.  “Kids,” he muttered, and began herding them toward the gate again.

“Daddy, where are we going?” Kate demanded.

“Uh, I don’t know…  Hey, I’ll call Cherise.  She’s
off work for a couple of days.  She’d be happy to watch you.”

“No!” Kate, Marky,
and
Libby cried in unison.

Dan glanced at his kids, and then back at Libby. 
“Did you just…?”

“They can stay with me.  It’s not a problem.”

“Can we?” Marky asked eagerly.

“Please, Daddy,” Kate implored.

Dan met Libby’s gaze.  “I can’t ask you to…”

“You didn’t.  I’m offering.”  Since the adults’
attention was fixed on the other, they didn’t see the triumphant look that
passed between the two children, or the thumbs-up gesture Marky directed to the
heavens.

Dan seemed unsure, now watching Libby uncertainly. 
He glanced at his watch, noting he was running late.  Finally, he appeared to
relent.  “I owe you one, Libby.  I really appreciate this.  I promise I’ll
return the favor.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. 

“I won’t be long.  I’ll call my mom and have her
swing by and pick them up after Dad’s appointment.”  He smiled gratefully. 
“Thanks, Libby.  You’re a lifesaver.”

“You
did good, Marky,” Kate whispered. 

The two kids were standing in Libby’s kitchen,
waiting for her to retrieve a clean apron from her laundry room.  They had just
enjoyed a lunch of a store-bought pizza Libby had heated up in her oven.

“Next time, give me a signal or somethin’,” Marky
said.  “I didn’t catch on at first.”

“But you did catch on,” she said.  “You’re getting
older.  I’m proud of you.”

He gave a sheepish grin.  “Really?”

“Yes.  And the plan worked.   We’re here, aren’t
we?”

He grinned, but abruptly frowned.  “Why did you say
Daddy’s fake girlfriend is named Cherise?”  He shook his head.  “Boy, if
Cherise ever finds out…  And did ya have to tell Miss Libby that Cherise hates
me?  What if Miss Libby hates me too?”

“Miss Libby doesn’t hate anybody,” she whispered. 
“I heard Dad tell Grandma she has a heart of gold.”

“
Her heart is made out of gold!?
” Marky
cried.  “I want a gold heart!”

Kate threw her hands in the air.  “Just when I
thought you were growing up a little…”

“Tell me more about Miss Libby’s gold heart,” he
persisted.

“Okay, look.  Her heart isn’t gold.  It’s an
expression…”  She gave a dismissive wave.  “I don’t want to talk about this
now.  Miss Libby might hear us.”

He glanced around.  “I like Miss Libby’s house.  And
her backyard is bigger than ours.  Do you think we’ll move in here after Dad
marries her?”

Kate gave a shrug.  “I don’t know.  But we have a
lot to do before we even start talking about where we’re going to live.”

“Like what?” Marky asked curiously.

“Well, first off, we have to make Dad and Miss Libby
fall in love.”

Marky laughed.  “Love?  How do you make somebody do
that?”

She shrugged again.  “Well, I’m not sure.  But we’re
going to do our best to figure it out.”

“Okay.”  He cocked his head in thought.  “Can we eat
cupcakes first?  Miss Libby said we get to make cupcakes.”  He flashed a bright
smile.  “We can save Dad some cupcakes.  If he loves the cupcakes, maybe he’ll
love Miss Libby too!”

Kate gave a withering sigh.  Sometimes her brother
wore her out.

“Are you going to eat cupcakes, Kate?  ‘Cause if you
don’t want yours…”

“Well, sure, I’m going to eat them,” she said
crossly.  She wasn’t about to turn down cupcakes.  Particularly cupcakes they
made themselves with Miss Libby’s help.

“Okay, I found my apron,” Libby said, as she hurried
into the kitchen.  “Are you ready for some fun?”

“Yes!” the children cried in unison. 

***

“The cupcakes are almost done,” Libby announced
cheerfully.

The kids were propped on their knees, on two stools
at Libby’s kitchen island.  Both were armed with frosting knives, ready to dive
into decorating the treats. 

“We’ll want to let the cupcakes cool down before we
frost them,” she told them.

Marky groaned and dropped lower onto the chair.  “I’m
so hungry,” he moaned.

“Honey, you just polished off three pieces of pizza
for lunch,” Libby pointed out.  “How can you be hungry?”

“He’s a bottomless pit,” Kate informed with a shake
of her head.  “Dad says all his food goes to his right foot.”

“I’m going to be tall like Dad,” he announced
proudly.

“And fat like Santa Claus,” Kate said.

Libby expected Marky to clobber his sister for the
remark, and stood in readiness to intervene.  Instead, he only smiled.  “I hope
so.  I love Santa Claus.”  He furrowed his brow.  “When is he coming, by the
way?”

“In approximately seven months,” Libby told him
cheerfully.  “So you’d better be a good boy.”

Kate gave a dubious snort.  “Yeah, good luck with
that.”

“I’m a good boy!” Marky wailed. 

Libby hurriedly interceded.  “Yes, you are.  You’re
both good kids.”

“Cherise doesn’t think so,” Kate murmured sadly,
catching her brother’s gaze.

He shook his head solemnly.  “Nope.  She hates me.”

Libby wrapped an arm around his shoulders.  “Let’s
not worry about that right now.  Let’s just have a fun afternoon.”

“I’m having fun, Miss Libby!” Marky declared, as he
promptly dipped his frosting knife into the already prepared frosting and began
licking it off.

“Marky!” Kate wailed.  “We won’t have enough for the
cupcakes.”

To Libby’s relief, the oven timer dinged,
distracting the kids.  She hurriedly pulled the cupcakes from the oven and
carefully removed them from the baking tin and put them on a wire rack to
cool.  “They won’t take too long to cool down,” she told the kids.  “Why don’t
we go outside and play for awhile, and they’ll be ready to frost when we get
back.”

Marky’s face fell.  “How long, Miss Libby?”

“Not long.  Let’s go,” she urged cheerfully.

She led them outside, surprised to find it so warm. 
Of course, it was mid-June, so even warmer weather was on the way. 

“Can we play ball?” Marky asked, hurrying to scoop
up the soccer ball he’d left in the backyard earlier.

“Sure,” Libby said.  “Why don’t we three kick it
back and forth?” 

They took up positions at various points in the
large yard and began kicking the ball to one another.  When the telephone rang
in Libby’s kitchen, she heard it through the open door.  “I’ll be right back,”
she told the children.

 She dashed inside, surprised to find their father
on the end of the phone line.  She could tell by his voice that something was
wrong.  “Libby, I just spoke to my mom and she can’t pick up the kids. 
Apparently the doctor has decided to run some tests on my dad and they could be
awhile.”

“I hope he’s all right.”

“I sure hope so too.  Uh, about the kids…”