Chapter 6

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.