When getting dressed that morning, Vicki found a yellow sundress hanging in a back corner of her closet. It had been hanging there for six years. It was old and worn, but sundresses were timeless. They never went out of style. She put it on and examined herself in the mirror. She liked the image of the woman reflected in the mirror.
She looked over at the empty bed. John had not slept with her the previous night. He had said that he was through with sleeping with Victoria and he would wait until he was sure that Vicki had returned for good. That had hurt, but she understood his feelings.
She dug through her purse and retrieved her cell phone. Hitting the speed dial, she waited for an answer.
"Hello, Sid. This is Vicki."
"I'm sorry about the short notice, but I'm going to have to resign."
"Just tell everyone that I had family problems."
"I'm sure Ann will do a great job."
"Thanks. I'll miss you too."
"Okay."
"Sure. We'll get together sometime in the future."
"Okay. Bye."
Closing the cell phone, Vicki looked at it for a few seconds. This was the top of the line phone with nearly every business function known to mankind. It was also a symbol of her past life. She removed the battery and then dropped the cell phone in the wastebasket by the bed.
She sighed and said, "That closes one chapter in my life."
She went into the kitchen to start breakfast. It took her some time to locate everything. There were so many gadgets that it was hard to find counter space. She looked at the blender, mixer, bread machine, microwave, broiler, rotisserie grill, electric skillet, popcorn maker, coffee maker, juicer, and crock pot.
"That's what happens when you leave a man in charge of a kitchen," she muttered.
After finding where they stored the coffee, she started a pot of coffee. With the gurgling of the coffee maker filling the air, she dug through the refrigerator to see what was available for breakfast. Much to her surprise, it was remarkably well stocked.
Smelling the coffee, John entered the kitchen. He looked at Vicki. She was bent over with her head in the refrigerator. He liked the view and the way she looked in the sundress.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, honey. The coffee will be ready in a minute," Vicki said while looking over her shoulder at him.
"Okay," he replied moving over to the cupboard where they kept the coffee cups.
"What would you like for breakfast?"
John answered, "Some cantaloup would be fine."
"Oh. I was expecting something a little more challenging than that," Vicki said.
She grabbed the cantaloup out of the fruit bin. She decided that a half of a cantaloup would be a perfect breakfast.
"The kids and I have gotten into the habit of reserving our culinary efforts for dinner," John said.
Vicki carried the cantaloup over to the cutting board that was laying on the counter next to the sink. She had to admit that while the kitchen might be crowded, it wasn't poorly organized.
She said, "I will say that the kitchen appears to be well stocked."
"You get four chefs sharing one kitchen and it tends to get stocked with everything," John said.
Vicki said, "Let me guess ... you and David are the gadgetmeisters."
"Guilty as charged," John said.
Vicki said, "There's not much counter space left."
"There's plenty at John's farm," John said.
"Okay," Vicki said thinking she was going to have to find out more about this John's Farm place.
She cut the cantaloup in half. The smell of fresh cantaloup filled the air. She lifted one half of it to her to her nose and smelled it.
"I love the smell of cantaloup. It is kind of earthy," Vicki said.
"Me too," John said. He asked, "What are your plans for the day?"
"I was planning on going clothes shopping," Vicki answered.
Her business suits weren't exactly the proper attire for a homemaker. She would look like an idiot vacuuming the living room wearing her business suit and high heels. She was hoping to get a couple of dresses for around the house and jeans for outdoors. She needed shoes.
"That sounds like fun," John said.
Vicki said, "I was thinking of taking Rose with me."
"Not a good idea," John said.
She was about to argue, but thought better of it. He knew the kids better than she did.
"Okay," Vicki said. She removed the seeds from the center of the cantaloup with a spoon; dumping them into the waste basket stored below the sink.
"I was thinking about the kids last night. You aren't going to be able to face them directly," John said.
"Why not?" Vicki asked.
"They'll fight you. You're going to have to adopt guerilla warfare tactics with little acts of kindness. You'll have to come in, do something nice and then leave before they have a chance to react," John said.
The coffee pot gurgled one last time. John poured two cups of coffee. He added a little cream to hers.
Vicki asked, "Do you mean that I should do things like clean their rooms while they are away?"
"No!" John exclaimed. "Never ever enter their rooms!"
"Why not?" Vicki asked taken aback by the energy of his response.
"You've got to respect their privacy. Their rooms are their rooms. You don't go into them without being invited, you don't comment on what they look like, and you don't ever snoop through their stuff," John said. "The only rule is that their rooms can't smell."
"Thanks for warning me," Vicki said.
John said, "I'm sure there are other things I should warn you about, but I don't know what they are."
"I understand," Vicki said.
She realized that she was going to be walking through an emotional minefield. Anything could set off an argument of global proportions. Rose was angry and just looking for an excuse for a fight.
"I know it is very tempting to want to move in here and tell the kids that you're back. That's not going to work. If you are going to successfully win over the kids, you are going to have to keep your distance from them," John said.
"What do you mean?" Vicki asked.
John said, "Think of this as dating. When you meet someone new, you don't just move in with them. You have a couple of dates with a few days between dates. You establish a few boundaries and explore the interests of the other person. You build up the relationship with more frequent dates. After a while, you spend the occasional night with each other. If things are still going well, then you move in together."
"Are things really that bad?" Vicki asked.
"Yes," John said. "For the next couple of weeks, the less they see of you the better. When they do see you, you're going to have to be calm, caring, and friendly. You'll also need to be prepared to have it thrown in your face."
"It sounds hopeless," Vicki said.
"At least you have me on your side," John said.
Vicki said, "That's good to know."
"I know it is going to be rough," John said. "We're going to have to coordinate our efforts."
"What are your plans for today?"
"I going to get the kids and bring them back here. We're going to make apple juice today," John answered. "We'd do it at John's farm, but all of the canning equipment is here."
She placed the two halves of the cantaloup in two bowls. Grabbing two spoons, she carried the bowls over to the table. She took a seat across from John.
"I guess I should make myself scarce," Vicki said.
John said. "That would be a good idea. If you can take most of the day shopping, that will give us a chance to finish today's batch of juice and for me to take them back to John's Farm."
The pair quietly ate their cantaloups and drank their coffee. Each of them was lost in thought. Neither one of them was happy with the situation. Vicki felt like an outcast from her own family.
After finishing her breakfast, Vicki asked, "Do you know what size clothes the kids wear?"
"I've got their sizes written down somewhere," John said. "They usually buy their own stuff, but I do occasionally buy them clothes as presents. I just bought them leather jackets for them to wear while they are riding their motorcycles."
"Could you give their sizes to me before you go?" Vicki asked.
"Sure," John said. "Be careful in what you buy for them."
"I will." Vicki said. She asked, "How long will it take you to pick them up?"
"It will only take an hour or so. Most of the time will be spent rounding them up," John answered.
"I'll be sure to be gone by the time you get back," Vicki said.
"That would be for the best," John said.
Vicki asked, "When should I come home?"
"I don't know. I guess after six would be good," John said.
"Okay," Vicki said.
John studied the remains of his cantaloup. "I'll stay at John's Farm with the kids tonight. I don't want to leave them alone two nights in a row."
"I understand," Vicki said.
She wondered when she would have a chance to reestablish a relationship with John. It sounded like she was going to be sleeping alone for a long time.
"We'll come back tomorrow around ten in the morning," John said.
Vicki said, "Should I be here or gone?"
John answered, "It would probably be best if you weren't around. You might drop by around lunch time tomorrow and drop off a little something to eat."
"Chinese?" Vicki asked.
"Sure. Rose likes Sweet and Sour Pork. David and Lisa like Beef and Broccoli. I like everything," John said.
A half an hour later, Vicki watched John drive off. Once he was gone, she returned to the kitchen. There were things she had to do before leaving the house.
John entered the house at John's farm. The kids were seated around the kitchen table discussing the events of the past ten days. They didn't look very happy.
John said, "Are you ready to make apple juice?"
"Can we do it here?" Rose asked.
"All of the canning equipment is at the other house," John answered.
Rose asked, "Will Mother be there?"
"No. She's gone shopping for clothes. She'll be busy all day," John answered dismissively.
"Oh," Rose said with a wicked smile forming on her face. "Aren't we good enough for her to take shopping?"
"She wanted to take you, but I talked her out of it. There's no point in letting her force herself upon you," John replied.
"Oh," Rose said deflating a little.
John said, "Let's head out. We've got to stop by the store to pick up some more Ball jars. I figure we've got enough apples left for about sixty quarts of apple juice."
"Let's save some for apple pie filling," David said.
"At least enough for a dozen pies," Lisa said.
John said, "Okay, we'll make about fifty quarts of apple juice. That should leave us with enough apples for a dozen pies."
"I was reading that we need to filter the juice if we want it to be clear," Rose said. "We can use coffee filters for that."
"I guess we'll have to buy coffee filters too," John said.
Lisa asked, "Can we make some of them clear and others with the pulp?"
"I don't see why not," John said. "This is our first attempt at making apple juice. We might as well experiment."
"Good," David said.
They spent more time at the store than anticipated. They had found a fruit steamer that would simplify making the juice. After a long discussion of the merits of such a purchase, they finally left the store with one. When they arrived home, they carried the steamer and jars into the kitchen planning what they were going to do.
One of the advantages of making apple juice was that they didn't need to peel the apples. It was still going to be a lot of work. The steamer would allow them to extract the juice and then replenish the fruits without having to let everything cool down. They could only process four quarts of bottled juice at a time.
While John was unpacking the steamer, David noticed a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the table. He grabbed one and took a bite out of it.
David said, "This is good."
"What's good?" Lisa asked while setting two cases of jars on the table.
"The chocolate chip cookies," David answered.
Lisa grabbed a cookie and took a bite out of it. She smiled and said, "It is good."
"Did you make them, Dad?" Rose asked while eyeing the plate of cookies suspiciously.
"No," John answered.
Rose said, "I wouldn't eat them. Mother probably poisoned them."
David finished eating his cookie. Lisa put the rest of hers back on the plate. John grabbed one and made a production of eating it. After finishing it, he crossed his eyes, put his hands to his neck, and started made choking noises.
Stamping her foot on the floor, Rose said, "That's not funny."
John laughed and said, "I thought it was."
"It was kinda," David said.
Irritated, Rose said, "Let's get to work."
John unpacked the steamer. He picked up the printed manual that came with it and started flipping through the pages. He said, "You should read the instruction manual for this fruit steamer. I've got a feeling we're going to be using this baby all of the time."
"Did you see that it takes two hours to extract the juice from ten pounds of apples?" David asked looking over his Dad's shoulder at the instruction manual.
"I guess we'll be doing this for the next couple of days," John said.
"Or we get another one," Lisa said.
"That's not a bad idea," John said.
Lisa went over to the dishwasher and loaded it with Ball Jars. They would wash them and then store them in the stove so they would remain hot until they were used. Rose went over to help.
It didn't take them long to get organized. Rose stood at the sink washing the apples. She would pass the clean apples to the other three. They would slice the apples and throw them into the fruit basket of the steamer. Once it was filled, they put the steamer basket in place and stepped back.
Surprised at the pace they had worked, Lisa said, "That didn't take long."
Rose asked, "We've got two hours to kill. What are we going to do now?"
"Let's make some pie filling," David said.
"That sounds like a plan to me," John said.
After the experience of the previous day, it didn't take them long to form an efficient production line. Rose washed apples and carried them over to the kitchen table in lots for Lisa and David. They used apple peelers to remove the skins. John used the apple slicer to core and slice the apples. Once Rose was finished with washing the apples, she went to work measuring the ingredients for the pie filling. This included five cups of apple juice. She used the juice they had purchased that morning thinking that in the future they would be able to use their own juice.
By the time she had everything measured out, the others had finished with the apples. John started cooking the liquid while David started blanching the apples.
Wiping the sweat off his brow, John said, "We've got every burner on the stove going. We're not going to be able to use a second steamer."
"At least the kitchen at John's Farm has twice as many burners," Lisa said.
David said, "We designed it that way."
"When are we moving out there for good?" Rose asked.
"Soon," John answered. "I want to close the deal on the business before we make the move. I'm not sure that I can handle the disruption of moving while trying to negotiate a big deal like this."
"Just keep your office here," Rose said. "We'll get movers to do the packing and unpacking."
Although he was confident he knew the answer, John asked, "Why are you in such a hurry to move out of here?"
"This is her house," Rose answered. "I hate it here."
John looked at the sauce and said, "The sauce is thick enough. We better start putting it in the jars."
"Okay," Lisa said.
They layered the blanched apples and sauce in quart Ball jars. It took a few minutes to fill seven quarts with the pie filling. They dropped the jars into the water bath to process for ten minutes.
John looked up at the clock when they had finished adding the jars to the boiling water. He said, "Look at the time. The juice should be ready when we finish processing the pie filling."
"So we've got ten minutes to kill," David said.
"How about some milk and cookies?" John asked.
"Okay," David said.
John, David, and Lisa ate cookies and drank milk. Rose just drank a glass of milk. Everyone enjoyed the snack except for Rose. She bristled every time someone made a positive comment about the cookies. Her affections were not for sale at the price of a plate of cookies.
When ten minutes had passed, John removed the jars of pie filling from the boiling water. He set them carefully on the kitchen table to cool. The apple pie filling looked a lot better than the stuff from the store.
Removing the juice from the steamer turned out to be a little tricky. The liquid was very hot and the plastic tube got hot enough to burn anyone foolish enough to grab it without appropriate protection. They did manage to fill four quart jars with juice. Much to their surprise, the juice came out clear rather than cloudy. The jars went into the boiling water bath for ten minutes.
John said, "It isn't that much work, but it does take a bit of time."
"Two hours per gallon of juice," David said.
"It looks like we'll be able to get three gallons of juice per bushel," Lisa said trying to judge how many apples they had used from the bushel basket.
"At this rate, we'll be here all week," Rose said.
David said, "We've got a lot of apples."
"We might be able to give some to the neighbors," John said.
Lisa said, "Did you say that we were going to get more apples next year?"
"Yes," John answered.
"We're going to have to find something to do with them," Lisa said. "We've got enough applesauce for the year, we'll be able to have an apple pie every month, we'll be drinking apple juice every morning, and we have still apples left."
"We've got enough canned peaches and peach pie filling to last the year. We'll be able to have peach jam with every meal," Rose said.
"The pear tree will be ready to pick in a week or so," David said.
John asked, "What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that next year we need to open a little fruit stand," Lisa said.
"We'll worry about that later. Right now we need to clean up this mess and start another batch of juice," John said.
Seven miles away, Vicki was strolling through the mall shopping for clothes. She stopped in front of a large lingerie store. It wasn't one of those high end places that used supermodels to sell its products. This one addressed a market that was a little less upscale. A smile crossed her face and she headed inside. There were bridges to be built and lingerie was an excellent building material.
Ninety minutes later, she stepped out of the store trying to hide the store labels on the three bags. Thanks to the able assistance of an extremely effective saleswoman, she was now the rather embarrassed owner of a sexy costume for every occasion. She hoped no one had any idea what was inside those bags. She nearly ran to the car to stash her purchases in the trunk.
She returned to the mall seeking clothes of a much tamer cut. She headed into a store that sold blue jeans thinking that she would get some for herself and the kids. She believed that one couldn't go wrong buying jeans. That belief was immediately crushed when she overheard two teenage girls discussing various brands of jeans. It turned out that there were some jeans that teenage girls wouldn't be caught dead wearing.
Vicki visited store after store looking for something she could purchase for the kids. Her great shopping expedition to buy clothes for herself and presents for the kids was slowly turning into a nightmare. She couldn't find a single thing that she knew the kids would like. Part of the problem was that she didn't even know what they already had. She knew nothing about their taste in music.
Disheartened, she ended up at the food court drinking a cup of coffee and eating a cinnamon bun. She looked at her wristwatch and saw that she still had four more hours before she could head home. She tore off a piece of the cinnamon bun and took a bite while watching the people around her. The vast majority of people were teenage girls Lisa's age. They weren't shopping so much as walking around the mall.
She didn't recognize any of the girls and wondered how many of them knew Lisa.