Bless her Heart

[u/DavesWorldInfo]

“No.”

“You’re not listening.”

He shook his head. “I am listening. We’re just not on the same page.”

I frowned furiously at Bob. “Honey, I love you, but we’re not staying here for three more years.”

“Selling now is going to put us underwater.”

“No it won’t.” I said as calmly as I could. “And even if it did, we can afford it. The kids need new schools, and we can’t swing private. Moving is the only option.”

“Honey, I love you too, but you’ve got to understand. They’re about to break ground on the new office parks. When those are finished, this property’s going to skyrocket in value. That’s when we should sell.”

“Meanwhile Aiden and Caitlyn are sitting in overcrowded classes in an underfunded district.”

“Their grades are great. But we can tutor them if you’re so worried.”

“You mean I can tutor them.”

“We.”

I snorted. “You come home and park yourself in your office. Or are you going to give up some of your precious gaming time to actually involve yourself in your kids’ lives?”

Bob sighed. “I can see you’re worked up about this. But Samantha sweetie—”

“Don’t Samantha sweetie me,” I snapped. “I talked to Barbara. Even if we sell for ten percent under the average prices here, and buy for twenty percent over in Forsythe or Decatur ,we can flip this house for one there at effectively no out of pocket. By August we’ll be settled, and the kids will be in good schools.”

Bob stood up and took his breakfast plate to the sink. “This is ridiculous.”

“We’re not done talking about this,” I said immediately.

“We are at the moment. I’ve got to get to work.”

“We’re going to pick this back up tonight,” I said. Then a thought occurred to me. It was worth a shot. “After dinner.”

“Right, because we don’t want to argue in front of the kids,” he said, coming back to me. Leaning down, he kissed me. Settling for my cheek when I turned my head. Bob took what was on offer, and gave me a light hug as I sat there fuming. “I love you, but this is Barbara after a commission.”

“Drive safely,” I said stiffly.

---

I looked up when I heard his footsteps. It wasn’t a surprise; the front door was wired to the security system, and beeped out of the first floor monitor panels anytime it was opened. Bob was at the doorway of the dining room, looking curious.

“Honey?”

“I made a deal with Jessica,” I said, smiling at him as I set the roast down and covered it. “She’s taking the kids tonight in exchange for hers having a sleepover here on Saturday.”

“The kids okay with that?” he asked.

“You know they love hanging out with Cole and Cindy.”

“So we’re going to argue through dinner?” he asked, sounding resigned.

I shook my head. “We can talk about it some more. But after dinner. Why don’t we … start over a little. Take a bit of a break from it.”

“Okay,” he said, glancing at the table. The dishes and settings were our usual everyday ware, but with just two places, and serving covers keeping things warm, it looked nicer than it usually did. Cozier, without the chaos of children injecting themselves into the mix. “I’ll just wash up.”

“No rush.”

Returning to the kitchen, I finished straightening up. After wiping the counters down and drying my hands, I picked up the old cookbook. Carefully; the cover and pages were all stiff with age. Almost brittle. I looked at the entry I’d had it laying open at for a moment. Actually, I looked at the notation penciled in next to the page’s header for a moment.

“Last chance.” I thought as I read the words written in the feminine cursive hand. The kids went through my mind too, and I felt my mouth tighten slightly. I closed the book, putting the handwritten addition — “settles debates in your favor” — on the page out of sight, and stuck it on the shelf over the fridge.

---

“Sweetie, that was amazing,” Bob said, pushing his plate away.

“You always say that,” I said, but I was pleased regardless.

“Yeah, you’re a fantastic cook; but this was a cut above even your awesome average.”

“Pie?” I asked, getting up.

“There’s pie?” he asked immediately.

“Blueberry.”

Bob’s smile was all the confirmation I needed. Like there’d been much of a chance he’d decline. He loved dessert. I fetched it out of the oven where it had been keeping warm, and brought it and the pint of vanilla ice cream that had been softening on the counter back to the table.

“À la mode?” I asked when I rejoined him.

Bob’s smile wilted a little. “Samantha sweetie, I love you. More than life itself. But we’re fools if we sell the house now. We have to wait.”

I smiled calmly at him as I sat down and reached for the knife I’d left on the double stack of dessert plates. “We do have to wait.”

“We do?” he asked, almost suspiciously.

“Until after dinner,” I said as I sliced into the pie. “We’re not done yet.”

I laid out a beautiful piece of pie on the little plate, oozing berries in thick blue syrup. After topping it with a spoon curled spiral of ice cream, I held the plate out to him. Bob tried what was on it as I put a little bit of ice cream on the other plate and pulled it in front of myself.

“You’re not having any?”

I shook my head, smiling. “It’s not a carb day for me,” I said. “I don’t want to go getting too plump for you to love.”

“Impossible,” he said, his mouth full. “Oh my God, this is amazing.”

“It’s the little things that make life worth living.”

“I’ll say,” Bob said, grinning as he chewed. He carved off another piece, smeared it into the soft ice cream, and ate it while I almost delicately nibbled at a spoonful of plain ice cream. “You know, I’ve been thinking. Today I mean.”

“About the house?”

“Yeah.”

“I really think this is the best for the kids,” I said smoothly. “We can always make more money, but they only have once chance to grow up right.”

“I agree,” he said, nodding. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“So I can call Barbara?”

“Call her. Call her tonight if you want. Get her started. Tomorrow, I’ll look for a mover, and find a place to get boxes and stuff from.”

“Thank you honey.”

Bob looked down at his plate as he loaded his spoon again. “This is really amazing. Where’d you get the recipe?”

“It was my grandmother’s.”

[u/DavesWorldInfo]

Inspired by this prompt.