Bloomer

11. An Unexpected Return

I thank Goddess for my good fortune as I spoon maple-flavored oatmeal into my mouth.

The decadent treat tastes better than any breakfast I've ever eaten. I can't believe I never thought to do it before, although I feel a smidge guilty knowing what trade was made for my pleasure.

"I hope you slept well last night, Ivy?" Miss K holds up her coffee cup and Ben hurries over to refill it. "Were you warm enough? I told Kitty to restock that room with blankets, just in case the temperature dropped."

I smile at her, remembering how good it felt to wake up under clean sheets, or any sheets, for that matter. "I was toasty."

"I don't want to be blamed for the girl freezing to death," Kitty says, as she sips coffee alongside her grandma. "Even though she's already made a pain of herself."

Miss K flutters her hand. "Come now, Kitty. That bath water needed to be emptied. It's important everyone feel comfortable while they're here. We have the resources, for the time being, there's no sense letting them go to waste."

"If it's not too busy today, we can all play scrabble in the sitting room." Heather glances around the table expectantly. She even looks at me. "Remember, I found that lost 'S' tile. Think of all the plural words we can make."

Clove leans back in her chair, resting her coffee cup on her ample chest. "You just want to play because you always win."

"Intelligence is not a crime," Heather says. "I suppose you would rather read that silly love story you and Della seem so interested in."

Miss K looks at Heather and Kitty's mouth puckers. Clearly, they haven't gotten over Della's disappearance. Silence takes over the dining room long enough to make the tension obvious. Then Faye, the soft-spoken one with walnut-colored skin and a head full of tight braids, rescues the mood.

"I would love to play scrabble with you, Heather. I always learn something new."

Miss K smiles broadly, showing no sign that anything unpleasant has happened. "It is in the learning of new things that we stay young. With that in mind, I think I'll have Ben bring my art supplies up from the cellar. It has been an age since I've dabbled."

"Great idea, Miss K," Ben says. "You've got those canvases Mr. Timmons left you in his will. I'll set up your easel in front of the sitting room window."

"That sounds lovely." She pats his arm as he sweeps by with an armful of empty bowls. "And will one of you girls take Ivy to the dressing room to find her a pair of shoes? She can't walk around barefoot all day."

Blast.

I was hoping Miss K would forget about my feet. They've been to hell and back, and the blisters haven't had a chance to toughen up.

"I'll help Ivy," Clove says. "Her feet are about my size. I can show her which shoes are the most comfortable." She winks at me like she knows exactly what I'm thinking.

"Very well." Miss K only has to set her napkin on the table and Ben is beside her, balancing bowls in one hand and maneuvering her wheelchair with the other.

I volunteer to help with breakfast clean up, hoping my willingness to work will show them I have other skills to offer. The kitchen is huge, with a cellar downstairs on the right and the boys' room upstairs on the left. While I scrub the glassware with as little water as possible, I listen to Clove and Faye tell a story about a man who tried to trade a horse for Faye's services.

"The guy comes in stinking like manure," Faye says, as she returns clean plates to the cabinet. "Although he swore he just came from Annie's Bath House."