Old Flames

Old Flames: Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Lainie opened the oven door, waving away the blast of heat that stung her eyes, and removed the cookie sheet.  Standing back into the doorway that led to the small dining area, Chris and Chloe watched her with eagerness in their faces.  Chocolate chips cookies were not rare in their lives, but everytime they made up a batch, it was almost like the sun shone a little brighter that day.  Her daughter, a sneaky cookie thief with a serious sweet tooth, bounced up an down on her toes while Chris stood solidly next to her, an anchor of control that evened out his sister's anxious animation.

But Lainie was never fooled by her son's constraint.  When he thought neither her nor Chloe could see him, he licked his lips and sniffed the sweet, cookie-scented air.

Closing the oven door and placing the hot cookie sheet on a burner, she smiled at them.  She knew they wouldn't be able to wait until the cookies were completely cool before eating one, so she slid three off onto a paper plate and said, "Well, are your feet glued to the floor?"

Elbows and knees blurred in a dash of movement.  Chloe reached her mother first and delicately touched a fingertip to the top of one cookie.  "It's hot," she exclaimed, jerking her finger to her mouth to suck away the sharp sting.  Lainie handed the plate to Chris. 

"Take this to the table, please Chris.  They'll cool off in a minute.  Chloe, you can help me pour some milk."

With the assitance of her two little helpers, the three of them sank their teeth into the warm gooey treats less than a minute later.  Chris immediately followed his bite with a gulp of cold milk, but refused to complain about how hot the chocolate was on his tongue.  Chloe promptly spit her bite out in her hand and fanned her tongue.

Lainie laughed a little inside.  As many times as they've gone through this routine with fresh baked cookies, she'd long given up on warning them about waiting a few more minutes until the heat inside the cookies disipated a little.  It wouldn't have done any good anyway.  She would have told them to blow on the cookies or suggest putting them in the refrigerator for a few minutes, but not long ago, a game had been created between her two little ones.  Who could finish their cookie first?  And it didn't matter if  they had to suffer a small sting to do it.

However, the guilt never ceased to swamp her heart at seeing them suffer even a little bit of hurt.  Lainie knew that she couldn't fight all their battles for them -- even at the tender age of four -- so she reigned in her urge to do so whenever she could.  Yesterday, at the block party when Chloe disappeared, she'd felt a fear overcome her, a fear that she was the world's worst mother for not being as diligent as she should be.  A fear that haunted her dreams all last night.  A fear that she was too lenient with Chris and Chloe, but not having the heart to deny them the chance to discover the sufferings of life in their own way.

Thanks to Aaron, her baby was safe at home, and that thought carried her through her nightmares, waking her this morning with a fresh outlook on the man that had once caused her so much pain and heartbreak.

Aaron.

How could she ever express her appreciation for what he did yesterday?  And somewhere inside her, whether it was her heart speaking or her gut, she knew that Aaron helped her out, not because of his job but because he truly desired to.  The flash of longing and lust in his eyes as he followed them back to the petting zoo had not been a figment of her imagination.  Just remembering how those sea-foam orbs glistened with invitation made her squirm in her seat.

She recalled the first time she'd seen that expression on his face.  So long ago, and yet, after all these years, nothing changed but the maturity in his eyes.