Honey

I’d already gotten the roast in the oven when Ford joined me. His presence was comforting, especially when he was the only adult in the house who wanted me there.

“Tell me about Martha?” I asked.

A warm smile spread across his face as I washed the potatoes in the island sink. I’d taken liberties in the kitchen and searched for what I needed to create the meal he longed for.

“That woman. According to my brother, we could’ve had our pick of them, and he thought Martha wasn’t the most desirable. But I counted myself lucky Martha would have me.”

I put the potatoes on to boil and worked cleaning up some before I started on the vegetables.

“Sounds like your brother was judgmental.”

He laughed. “He likes those showpieces.” It was my turn to laugh. “I tell Jake to stay away from the likes of them. They’re only good for parading around and ain’t much good for anything else.”

I raised an eyebrow and he winked at me. When the doorbell rang, I waved off Ford from getting up from his counter stool.

Behind the door stood what Ford would call a showpiece. She was shorter than I was by a few inches. Long, glossy black hair hung over her shoulder, like the kind in shampoo commercials. Her eyes narrowed.

“Who are you?” She sounded like the mean girls from high school.

A glance back at Ford and I spied mistrust in his eyes. Something about her he didn’t like. As his employee, I wouldn’t betray his needs to her.

“The housekeeper.”

Her face brightened and she breezed past like I wasn’t worth her time. It wasn’t any skin off my back, unless I’d have to work for her one day. A growing sense of unease grew in my belly at the thought.

“It’s good Jake finally hired a maid. Now maybe he’ll be able to spend more time with me.”

I had no right to be jealous. This woman with her fitted flannel shirt tucked into jeans plastered onto her skinny frame and scuff-free cowboy boots was with Jake. Her initial discounting of me ate at my self-esteem. She’d never once thought I was a threat to her. I didn’t want it to hurt, but it did.

“By the way, where is Jake?” she continued, glancing around as if he was hiding in plain sight.

Jamie came through the door and her eyes grew large when they landed on the woman. She stepped forward and Jamie stepped back.

The woman smiled, glancing around. “Where’s your daddy, honey?”

I almost answered but bit my lip instead.

“He—he’s o-outside.” Her continued soft stutter tore at my heart. Though this time I wasn’t sure if she was afraid of the woman or if that’s how she spoke since she hadn’t said much.

“Outside where? The barn?” the woman asked loudly, as if Jamie had a hearing problem and not a speech impediment.

“B–B–Brownie’s hav–hav—g–giving birth.”

The woman’s face wrinkled. “Why don’t you tell your daddy I was here? You tell him that he can come around tonight instead.” She winked at Jamie, who fled the house like it was on fire.

The wannabe Barbie swiveled to face me. “Since one day soon, I’ll be running the household, I should introduce myself. I’m Jacque. Jacque with a q.”

I took her offered hand and shook it. As much as I needed this job, I wasn’t sure how long I would last if Jacque with a q became my boss.

“Martha.”

The voice came from Ford, but didn’t much sound like the virile man I’d been talking to a few minutes ago. Instead, he sounded lost.

When his eyes landed on me, there wasn’t a hint of recognition. “Where’s Martha?”

Jacque rolled her eyes and started in Ford’s direction. “Now, Ford, you know Martha is—”

Honestly, I didn’t know I could move that fast. But I stepped in her path, cutting her off. “Gone. Martha is gone.”

Yes, I understood that Alzheimer’s patients should be spared the truth. However, there was a right and wrong way to tell someone news that might distress them.

“You.” Ford pointed at Jacque. “You get out of my house. I could kill you for what you did to my brother.”

Spittle flew from his mouth as he spoke. Fear showed in the woman’s eyes, and she backed up.

“Make sure Jake knows I came by,” she said, fleeing the house.

Good riddance, I thought as she skedaddled out the door.

I turned back to my patient and held up my hands to calm him. Ford’s features softened.

“Martha?”

I smiled at the idea that he saw me as the wife he loved. It was far better than whomever he’d mistaken Jacque for.

I took his large, warm hands in mine and spoke as gently as I could. “Martha’s no longer with us.”

His face fell and his eyes began to water. I wrapped my arms around him, feeling strangely protective of this man I’d only met hours before. When Jake finally returned, I hoped we could forget the past. I really wanted—no, needed—this job.