Contemporary Love

Chapter two: Dinner for three

I walked with Blake into the daycare center to pick up Danny after we left school. I opened the door and looked around for Danny. Once I spotted him I smiled. I was happy to see that he was making friends unlike me. I wanted him to have a better life growing up than I did. He still hadn’t seen me yet so I snuck up behind him and covered his eyes.

“Guess who?” I whispered in his ear. He tore my hands off of his eyes and turned around.

“Mac!” he yelled and clung to me. I laughed and picked him up and twirled him around.

“Are you ready to go?” I asked and he nodded. “Well go get you’re back pack so we can go grocery shopping.” I said and walked back over to Blake.

“Is that your brother?” he asked me and I nodded.

“Yeah, his name is Daniel, but I call him Danny, and he is almost six years old.” I said as Danny ran back over to me.

“I’m ready Mac.” He said with his back pack over his shoulders.

“Did you say goodbye to Mrs. Jones?” I asked and he nodded his head. I waved goodbye to her too and we went back out my car.

“We have to make a few pit stops before I drop you off to your house. I hope you don’t mind Blake.” I said and he shook his head.

“Not at all…Mac.” He said and I looked at him.

“Are you making fun of my nickname Hemmingway?” I asked and he shook his head.

“By no means Mac, I like it. Does it have any special meaning, or something?” he asked and I shrugged as I started the car.

“Seatbelt Danny. And it’s what Danny has called me since he could talk. And it’s my initials.
Macie Aurora Crane.” I said and we drove the rest of the way in silence.

“Mac, who is this?” Danny finally asked when we stopped outside the Grocery store as he looked at Blake.

“My name is Blake and I go to school with your sister.” Blake said and Danny starred him down as we grabbed a cart.

“So you dance too. Are you any good? Mac is the best.” Danny said as I picked him up and put him in the seat of the cart.

“I would like to think that I’m good at dancing. But Macie is very good at dancing, I saw it today.” Blake said, and I blushed.

“You’re not so bad yourself Blake. I can tell all of the guys are intimidated by how good you are at dancing.” I said as we walked down the aisle. I grabbed some pretzels for Danny for snack time at the day care center. They were his favorite. Other than that it was mainly fruits and vegetables and lean meats. I wanted to teach Danny to eat well early so he didn’t have bad eating habits when he grew up and because I needed to eat healthy to take care of my body for dance.

“Danny what do you want for dinner tonight?” I asked as we finished up shopping and made our way to the car.

“Chicken please.” He said as he climbed into the car. I nodded and thought about what I could make.

“Blake, where do you like again?” I asked him as I turned toward my house.

“Third house on the left on Blackwell Drive.” He said and I looked at him quickly before turning back to concentrate on the road before me.

“That’s right next to my house. That house has been abandoned for years. I never thought that someone was going to move in there again.” I said and he smiled.

“Well at least I know that my neighbors are friendly.” Blake said and I laughed.

“Do you want to stay for dinner Blake?” Danny asked. “Mac is a great cook too. She always cooks me dinner.” Danny concluded and my eyes widened and snapped back to him through the rearview mirror. Danny was never this open with people.

“If it’s alright with your sister, then sure. I’d love to stay for dinner. I could help her while you do your homework.” He said and I nodded.

“Sure.” I said and pulled into my driveway.

“This is where you live?” he asked and I frowned and looked down.

“I know it’s not the biggest or best looking house, but it’s what I’ve called home since I was born. It’s all that Danny and I have known.” I said and got out of the car.

“Macie I didn’t mean it like that.” Blake said and walked after me with our book bags and Danny trialing with his bag of pretzels. “Your house is more like a home than mine is. It looks cozy and mine is just a house. No charm to it.” He said as he caught up to me. “I didn’t mean to offend you.” He said and I just nodded.

“It’s okay. I’m used to it.” I said as I set down the groceries to unlock the door. After putting away the groceries, set to work making dinner.

“Mac! I’m hungry! When is dinner going to be ready?” Danny asked from the dining room table where he was doing his homework.

“Give me a half an hour and it will be ready okay buddy? Chicken takes a while to cook.” I said with a laugh. Danny was like a bottomless pit when it came to my cooking.
“So who taught you how to cook?” Blake asked as he cut up the peppers and onions for me as I cubed up the chicken.

“I learned a few things from my grandma before she passed away, but other than that I taught myself.” I said and put the chicken in to the sauté pan.

“Really? I help my mom all the time with cooking so I’m not as hopeless in the kitchen as some of the others in the male species.” Blake said and I laughed.

“Yeah, my dad was a disaster in the kitchen. I always told him to watch instead of cook.” I said with a small chuckle and added the peppers and onions into the pan.

“What happened to your dad?” Blake asked as we waited for the food.

“He died while serving overseas. His Hummer hit a ground bomb.” I said and he nodded.

“I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sure it must have been difficult.” Blake said and I nodded.

“I’m still dealing with it, but I’ll get there. It just hurts you know and it doesn’t help that my mother isn’t around much at all.” I said and I’m sure that it didn’t go unnoticed that I stabbed the chicken a little harder than usual.

“Oh…how come if you don’t mind me asking?” he asked and I shrugged.

“She’s a full time ER nurse, and a part time mother. She cares more about her job than she does her kids. I’m more of a mother to Danny than she is, and it shows. Every time that we’re in public together everyone assumes that Danny is my child, not Ruth’s.” I said and added the teriyaki sauce to the pan.

“That’s fucked up. Every mother’s priority should be their child, not their job.” Blake said and scooped out some brown rice onto three plates as I shut the burner to the stove off. I put some of the chicken on each plate and put the leftovers back on the stove to keep warm. Blake and I put the plates on the table and I grabbed skim milk for all of us.

“Danny, dinner is ready.” Blake called from the dining room. Danny had moved to the living room to watch cartoons because he had finished his homework. A muffled ‘okay’ was heard as the television was shut off.

“What type of chicken did you make Mac?” Danny asked as he sat on his booster seat.

“Teriyaki Chicken with peppers and onions with brown rice on the side, one of your favorites Danny.” I said and took a bite. Dinner went by quietly as we all enjoyed the food. I always liked to cook. It calmed me down and kept my mind off of things that I didn’t want to think about.

“Danny how about you go take your shower while Blake and I clean up?” I suggested and he nodded.

“Will you read me a story afterwards Mac?” he asked with his puppy dog eyes showing and I laughed.

“How can I say no to you?” I asked and he smiled.

“You can’t!” he giggled as he ran to the bathroom. I smiled as I started to wash the dishes. Blake helped me dry them and put them away.

“That was really good food. I hope to enjoy more of it.” He said as he scraped the leftovers into a bowl and handed me the dirty pan.

“You can take the rest home if you want. Danny will take a sandwich for his field trip tomorrow, and I have to work tomorrow and Wednesday so it would go bad.” I said and he smiled.

“I’ll bring back the dish I promise. I’ll have my mom try some too. I’ll let her know that she’s got some competition.” He said and put it next to his bag.

“While Danny is showering do you want to work on some of choreography?” Blake asked and I shrugged my shoulders.

“Sure, why not. I use my basement. It’s the third door on the left in the hallway. I’ll just let Danny know that we’re going to be down there and I’ll meet you down there okay?” I said to Blake and walked toward the bathroom. I called through the door that I was going to be in my dance studio and he shouted back an ‘okay’. I made my way down stair and started stretching with Blake. After a few warm-ups we practice the routine that we learned today. At one point during the last time that we practiced it our feet collided and we tumbled down to the floor, with Blake landing on top of me. Danny chose this time to come down the stairs.

“What are you doing to my sister? Get off of her right now!” Danny yelled and started hitting Blake with his tiny fist. Blake and I locked eyes before he rolled off of me.

“Daniel Gavin Crane Jr. you apologies right now! Blake and I tripped while practicing our dance. That was uncalled for and rude to your company.” I scolded Danny and he looked down.

“I’m sorry Blake. I thought that you was hurting Mac.” He said and Blake accepted his apology.

“It’s okay little man. I’ll try not to let it happen again, but I can’t help it if I’m a little clumsy and have two left feet.” Blake said, scratching the back of his head. I made Danny go back upstairs and get ready for his story as I handed Blake some water from the mini fridge I had down here.

“Sorry about that. He thinks he needs to be the man of the house ever since dad passed away.” I said as we walked back upstairs.

“Don’t worry about it. I thought that it was cute how he tried to protect you.” Blake said and I laughed.

“Yeah, but sometimes he doesn’t know when enough is enough.” I said.

“Well thank you for everything you’ve done so far for me, and the excellent dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Blake said as I walked him to the door.

“You’re welcome. It wasn’t a problem. Do you need a ride into school tomorrow?” I asked sheepishly and he smiled.

“Yeah, that would be nice. Thanks Macie.” He said and waved goodbye as he walked across the lawn. I waved back and waited until he closed his front door to close mine. I sighed and walked into Danny’s room.

“Are you ready for your story now?” I asked and he nodded eagerly.

“How about The Lion King?” I asked and he nodded again. After fifteen minutes of reading he was out cold and I stopped reading and left to go to my room. I looked out my window and was surprised to see Blake looking back at me.