Status: stay in school do your work
For Storms and Saints
"The Ieros, down on Glenn Grove."
Waking up, I groaned and rubbed my eyes trying to shield the morning light that was streaming through the windows. I peered at the alarm clock signing in disbelief. It was only 5:53. One of my many horrible talents included the inability to fall back asleep once woken up meaning I had a good two or three hours until Frank and the kids woke up. Throwing the heavy duvet off of me, I jumped out of the bed, stretching my arms up above my head, enjoying the feeling of my joints popping. Shuffling into the restroom and flipping on the light, I flinched at the harsh lights, assessing my birds nest of hair. Ever since my hair grew past my shoulders, I could never sleep with it out of a ponytail or bun because it always resulted in a big tangle. Being the lazy sloth I am, I simply took a scrunchie and flipped my hair to the very top of my head, securing it in a bun. I couldn’t even be bothered to smooth down fly aways.
After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I slithered down the hall as quiet as possible and down the stairs heading to the coffee pot. The coffee was easy enough to find but the hard part was working the actual machine. After a lifetime of the simple french press, this was a mind fuck.
“Don’t be a dumb ass, Poe.” I muttered to myself, racing back upstairs to fetch my phone, typing in ‘how to’ in a search engine. I smiled in victory, following the easy enough instructions to make a whole cup of coffee by myself. 30 years old and I could barely work a friend's coffee maker. As the coffee started to drip, I looked through the pantries, trying to find ingredients for a decent meal. Not finding anything that I wanted, I grabbed my phone, the set of guest keys Frank showed me and I pulled on my shoes after grabbing a hoodie hung up in the coat closet. It was Frank’s, his Halloween one and it smelled like him. Coffee, crayons and cologne, a twinge of cigarettes.
Opening the front door, I breathed in the morning air. The air was crisp and nice, wind blowing slightly. There was a jogger with her dog passing by, she waved a friendly hello as she passed. I smiled back, feeling at ease here. I remembered on the way to the house passing by a donut shop and I thought it would be a nice treat for the kids if they woke up to fresh, warm donuts. It was a quick walk, maybe 10, 15 minutes and it was open for business. Apparently they were up and ready to go at 5:30 am every morning and business was booming on weekends. The shop, X and O Donut Diner, was a hybrid of a diner and donut shop, serving up hotcakes while selling donut by the dozen. There was an elderly couple sitting in a corner booth sharing some treats and coffee, smiling at each other while a woman my age sat texting in a tracksuit and filling up on fruit. I walked to the counter, waiting for someone to notice me.
“Mornin’ sweetheart, what can I do you for? You new round here?” A petite woman in a pink diner dress and white apron with frills lining the bottom of it strolled up, her long red hair piled on her head held in place by two pens. Her name tag read Olive
“Hi, I would like to get two dozen donuts, please. I’m actually visiting a friend.” I said, smiling.
“Assorted? What family, we know everyone here.”
“Assorted, please. The Ieros, down on Glenn Grove.” She nodded, her smile growing bigger.
“Ah, yes I know Frank and his kids. Frank comes in almost every day but brings the kids once in awhile and they just chatter away, cute as can be those kids. That must mean you’re Noa.”
“How did you know?” I asked slowly, cocking my eyebrow, wondering just how much Frank as told Olive about me.
“Frank talks about you non-stop. He can sit there and blabber about you and his stories for hours just munching on food until he’s green in the face. Please, tell me what you’d like. Are you bringing these to the kids?”
I nodded, smiling. My stomach fluttered with a dozen butterflies when she said he talked about me...I for one talked about Frank while I was in Paris for I too made friend with a cafe owner and she was just a doll, cute as a button with her chocolate brown hair cut into a bob with bold bands and freckles and sweet, too, and the best thing was she was covered in tattoos like Frank and myself, smoked and cursed like a sailor. Her name was Coco Bodhi. I missed her.
“A glazed, three maple, glazed chocolate cake, three French crullers, two apple filled and two strawberry filled.” I asked her to double that order to make the two dozen, watched her yell the order to her husband Xavier and chatted for a while, thanking her before walking back to the house. It was reaching a bit past 6:30 and when I walked in the door, Frank was lazily coming down the stairs in his funny plaid pajamas, rubbing his eyes of sleep.
“Do I smell donuts?” He mumbles, stumbling on the last step. I couldn't help but laugh and say yes, making my way back to the kitchen. “You didn’t have to get donuts, Poe, you’re our guest.”
“I know, but I got up way too early and wanted to get out for a bit.” I poured us both a cup of coffee and fixed them with appropriate amounts of almond milk and sugar. I slid the grey cup over to Frank, sipping from my own cat mug. I reached for a donut, Frank doing the same and our hands brushed against one another. I didn't pay it any mind, neither did Frank for he just smiled at me before taking a bite making jelly squish between his teeth. We sat in happy silence, listening to the house breathe, the heating system kicking in and humming to life as little birds danced and sang outside. We stayed quiet until we heard collective feet padding on the floor like stampede of animals down the stairs with the sound of heel clicking after them.
“Donuts!” The kids yelled, cheering and waving their hands above their heads. As expected, Theo was in spiderman pajamas while the girls were forced into patching pink striped night gowns I knew they hated. Last Christmas they asked me for ‘cool’ pajamas which really were just normal pajamas Frank would have dressed them in so I bought Claire black pajamas with a skeleton outline on it and Blaire pink ones with the same print so at least they would be matching for Victoria’s standards and for Theo I bought black shirt and pants that had glow in the dark spiderwebs and a big spider on the butt.
Even though Frank and the Kids looked a mess and were still dressed in pj’s and had bead head, Victoria was showered, dressed, had makeup on and was waiting to blow dry her hair.
“Oh, wonderful, you made coffee. And donuts?” She asked, pulling a mug from the cupboard, pouring herself a cup. She added cream and sugar, gingerly picking out a maple glazed while Frank busied himself slipping a donut for the kids. He wanted them to be able to eat fun things but at the same time they took after him with his stomach problems so the least amount of sugar, the better for the child puking status.
“Yep, the second box is for you to take to work, through it would be nice and a small way to say thank you for letting me stay.” I smiled, watching her take a sip from the cup, leaving a bloody crescent on the rim.
Victoria looked at me in surprise, her honey blonde eyebrows flying up. “That’s so...sweet of you Noa, I’m sure the partners will be thankful.” We exchanged smiles, turning to the kids, watching their faces wide with smiles and jelly.
“Thank you, Auntie Noa.” They chimed, although Theo slipped up and called me ‘Uncle Noa’. I thought his little slip ups were so cute. I could miss them when he grew up.
“So,” Frank started, polishing off his donut and taking a sip of coffee, “what should we do with Auntie Poe, today kids? We can go to the museum, the movies, the park, maybe see Grandma Linda?” The kids’ eyes lit up when they heard Grandma Linda, meaning that’s what we were doing. “The kids have spoken.”
I didn’t mind, preferred seeing Linda rather than other people I don’t care for in public places and apparently Frank was getting bombarded with fans more and more lately. We stayed downstairs with Victoria for a little while longer by coloring as she blew dried her hair in the guest restroom so she could see us and talk to us. The kids were babbling about flowers and growing a popcorn tree until it was time to say by to mommy. Victoria’s joking side came out for a little bit with her jokes and lastly when she gave us all, me included, goodbye kisses on our foreheads leaving her red mark on us. We all giggled, waving to her through the window, holding up our unfinished works of art and sending silent wishes of luck for work.
“Okay crew, you guys are gonna take a bath while Auntie wake a shower and then I’ll take a shower, okay? I think Grandma Linda will be happy to see us.” We all nodded, splitting up and ready to tackle the day.
After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I slithered down the hall as quiet as possible and down the stairs heading to the coffee pot. The coffee was easy enough to find but the hard part was working the actual machine. After a lifetime of the simple french press, this was a mind fuck.
“Don’t be a dumb ass, Poe.” I muttered to myself, racing back upstairs to fetch my phone, typing in ‘how to’ in a search engine. I smiled in victory, following the easy enough instructions to make a whole cup of coffee by myself. 30 years old and I could barely work a friend's coffee maker. As the coffee started to drip, I looked through the pantries, trying to find ingredients for a decent meal. Not finding anything that I wanted, I grabbed my phone, the set of guest keys Frank showed me and I pulled on my shoes after grabbing a hoodie hung up in the coat closet. It was Frank’s, his Halloween one and it smelled like him. Coffee, crayons and cologne, a twinge of cigarettes.
Opening the front door, I breathed in the morning air. The air was crisp and nice, wind blowing slightly. There was a jogger with her dog passing by, she waved a friendly hello as she passed. I smiled back, feeling at ease here. I remembered on the way to the house passing by a donut shop and I thought it would be a nice treat for the kids if they woke up to fresh, warm donuts. It was a quick walk, maybe 10, 15 minutes and it was open for business. Apparently they were up and ready to go at 5:30 am every morning and business was booming on weekends. The shop, X and O Donut Diner, was a hybrid of a diner and donut shop, serving up hotcakes while selling donut by the dozen. There was an elderly couple sitting in a corner booth sharing some treats and coffee, smiling at each other while a woman my age sat texting in a tracksuit and filling up on fruit. I walked to the counter, waiting for someone to notice me.
“Mornin’ sweetheart, what can I do you for? You new round here?” A petite woman in a pink diner dress and white apron with frills lining the bottom of it strolled up, her long red hair piled on her head held in place by two pens. Her name tag read Olive
“Hi, I would like to get two dozen donuts, please. I’m actually visiting a friend.” I said, smiling.
“Assorted? What family, we know everyone here.”
“Assorted, please. The Ieros, down on Glenn Grove.” She nodded, her smile growing bigger.
“Ah, yes I know Frank and his kids. Frank comes in almost every day but brings the kids once in awhile and they just chatter away, cute as can be those kids. That must mean you’re Noa.”
“How did you know?” I asked slowly, cocking my eyebrow, wondering just how much Frank as told Olive about me.
“Frank talks about you non-stop. He can sit there and blabber about you and his stories for hours just munching on food until he’s green in the face. Please, tell me what you’d like. Are you bringing these to the kids?”
I nodded, smiling. My stomach fluttered with a dozen butterflies when she said he talked about me...I for one talked about Frank while I was in Paris for I too made friend with a cafe owner and she was just a doll, cute as a button with her chocolate brown hair cut into a bob with bold bands and freckles and sweet, too, and the best thing was she was covered in tattoos like Frank and myself, smoked and cursed like a sailor. Her name was Coco Bodhi. I missed her.
“A glazed, three maple, glazed chocolate cake, three French crullers, two apple filled and two strawberry filled.” I asked her to double that order to make the two dozen, watched her yell the order to her husband Xavier and chatted for a while, thanking her before walking back to the house. It was reaching a bit past 6:30 and when I walked in the door, Frank was lazily coming down the stairs in his funny plaid pajamas, rubbing his eyes of sleep.
“Do I smell donuts?” He mumbles, stumbling on the last step. I couldn't help but laugh and say yes, making my way back to the kitchen. “You didn’t have to get donuts, Poe, you’re our guest.”
“I know, but I got up way too early and wanted to get out for a bit.” I poured us both a cup of coffee and fixed them with appropriate amounts of almond milk and sugar. I slid the grey cup over to Frank, sipping from my own cat mug. I reached for a donut, Frank doing the same and our hands brushed against one another. I didn't pay it any mind, neither did Frank for he just smiled at me before taking a bite making jelly squish between his teeth. We sat in happy silence, listening to the house breathe, the heating system kicking in and humming to life as little birds danced and sang outside. We stayed quiet until we heard collective feet padding on the floor like stampede of animals down the stairs with the sound of heel clicking after them.
“Donuts!” The kids yelled, cheering and waving their hands above their heads. As expected, Theo was in spiderman pajamas while the girls were forced into patching pink striped night gowns I knew they hated. Last Christmas they asked me for ‘cool’ pajamas which really were just normal pajamas Frank would have dressed them in so I bought Claire black pajamas with a skeleton outline on it and Blaire pink ones with the same print so at least they would be matching for Victoria’s standards and for Theo I bought black shirt and pants that had glow in the dark spiderwebs and a big spider on the butt.
Even though Frank and the Kids looked a mess and were still dressed in pj’s and had bead head, Victoria was showered, dressed, had makeup on and was waiting to blow dry her hair.
“Oh, wonderful, you made coffee. And donuts?” She asked, pulling a mug from the cupboard, pouring herself a cup. She added cream and sugar, gingerly picking out a maple glazed while Frank busied himself slipping a donut for the kids. He wanted them to be able to eat fun things but at the same time they took after him with his stomach problems so the least amount of sugar, the better for the child puking status.
“Yep, the second box is for you to take to work, through it would be nice and a small way to say thank you for letting me stay.” I smiled, watching her take a sip from the cup, leaving a bloody crescent on the rim.
Victoria looked at me in surprise, her honey blonde eyebrows flying up. “That’s so...sweet of you Noa, I’m sure the partners will be thankful.” We exchanged smiles, turning to the kids, watching their faces wide with smiles and jelly.
“Thank you, Auntie Noa.” They chimed, although Theo slipped up and called me ‘Uncle Noa’. I thought his little slip ups were so cute. I could miss them when he grew up.
“So,” Frank started, polishing off his donut and taking a sip of coffee, “what should we do with Auntie Poe, today kids? We can go to the museum, the movies, the park, maybe see Grandma Linda?” The kids’ eyes lit up when they heard Grandma Linda, meaning that’s what we were doing. “The kids have spoken.”
I didn’t mind, preferred seeing Linda rather than other people I don’t care for in public places and apparently Frank was getting bombarded with fans more and more lately. We stayed downstairs with Victoria for a little while longer by coloring as she blew dried her hair in the guest restroom so she could see us and talk to us. The kids were babbling about flowers and growing a popcorn tree until it was time to say by to mommy. Victoria’s joking side came out for a little bit with her jokes and lastly when she gave us all, me included, goodbye kisses on our foreheads leaving her red mark on us. We all giggled, waving to her through the window, holding up our unfinished works of art and sending silent wishes of luck for work.
“Okay crew, you guys are gonna take a bath while Auntie wake a shower and then I’ll take a shower, okay? I think Grandma Linda will be happy to see us.” We all nodded, splitting up and ready to tackle the day.
♠ ♠ ♠
filler, not that great but it's something...