Eliot placed the green heart, which read Love Ya , in the center of James’s palm and said, “This is for you, Daddy.”
A bolt of joy shot through James. Daddy! It was the first time Eliot had called him that. Tears sprang into his eyes and blurred the image of the green heart.
“Is it okay if I keep this instead of eating it?” he asked his son when he could speak.
“Sure, Daddy.” Unaware of the happiness he had given his father, Eliot then ran over to his mother and gave her a white heart. She kissed him on the cheek and popped the heart in her mouth. While Milla showed him the wooden toys, Jane took James’s trembling hand.
“I will never grow tired of hearing him say that,” James whispered to Jane and wiped his eyes.
Jane smiled. “I do believe it’s time to host a sleepover. Is tomorrow too soon?”
“No,” James answered. “Tomorrow is perfect.”
The next day, there was a line of people waiting to be let inside Quincy’s Whimsies. Whether it was the ad in the Star announcing free samples of chocolate or the bright winter sunshine that caused people to show up en masse by ten o’clock in the morning, James drove by a sidewalk crowded with potential customers and honked his horn at his friends and neighbors.
He spent the day assembling a wooden bookshelf to hold Eliot’s books, which he then covered with two coats of forest green paint. When Eliot arrived, James led him into the kitchen and the two of them cooked up some herb chicken nuggets and heart-shaped sugar cookies. After a dinner of nuggets dipped in honey mustard and a side of peas, James allowed Eliot to frost a heart cookie and cover the icing with red, pink, and white sprinkles.
“Can I play Legos before bed?” Eliot asked once all that remained of his cookie was a pile of crumbs.
“Let’s get teeth brushed and pajamas on first. Then you can play while I clean up the kitchen.”
Ten minutes later, while James sang “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed,” Eliot had brushed his teeth and changed into his stegosaurus pajamas. In his room, Eliot removed Curious George Goes to the Library from his overnight bag and tossed it on the bed. “That’s for later. Right now I’m gonna build a store like Grandma’s.”
“And I’m going to clean up. Later gator.” James returned to the kitchen and hummed to himself as he loaded the dishwasher and sorted through a pile of mail. He picked up Friday’s paper, which featured a mug shot of Russ DuPont on the cover and a headline reading “The Diva’s Killer Gets Life.” The article rehashed previous stories detailing how Paulette and Chase had died, profiles of Russ and Wheezie, and statements from guests at Milla and Jackson’s party as well as those from the Sheriff’s Department.
Lucy was quoted frequently, and she had told James she enjoyed being the official spokesperson for her department. Lucy wasn’t the only one who was doing well. In fact, all the supper club members appeared to have recovered from their latest investigation and were looking forward to an uneventful February.
“This case was weird,” Lindy had remarked at the last dinner meeting. “We didn’t have a moment’s contact with the murderer. It almost makes it harder to close the book on the whole thing.”
“Well, Chloe had contact with him and she doesn’t seem the worse for wear,” Bennett had added. “What’s a little car crash in exchange for your life and a bank account stuffed with a million dollars?”
Indeed, when Milla and James had driven Chloe to the airport, the young woman had seemed absolutely fine. Her whiny tone had completely evaporated, and she was filled with a renewed sense of hope and energy. She assured them that Paulette’s money would be put to good use and that hundreds of Florida’s marine animals would benefit from Chloe’s newfound wealth.
Milla had watched Chloe walk resolutely inside the terminal and then had turned to James and said, “I’m ready to start over too, dear. Let’s get back to Quincy’s Gap and do just that.”
Recalling her words, James folded the paper in two and threw it in the recycling bin. The paper landed on top of an invitation to listen to Murphy Alistair read from her novel and to hear a teaser from her upcoming work, The Body in the Diet Center.
James started the dishwasher and put the heart cookies in the monkey-shaped cookie jar Jane had given him for Valentine’s Day. He took one last glance around the warm, clean room and then went down the hall to read a bedtime story to the love of his life.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank, in no particular order, the following friends: Mary Shirley Harrison, Anne Briggs, Holly Hudson, Jessica Faust, Diane Williamson, Bill Krause, Karl Anderson, Marissa Pederson, the Cozy Chicks, and the lovely folks of the Yahoo! Groups: Cozy Discussion, Cozy Mystery Korner, and Cozy Armchair Group.
About the Author
J. B. Stanley has a BA in English from Franklin & Marshall College, an MA in English Literature from West Chester University, and an MLIS from North Carolina Central University. She taught sixth grade language arts in Cary, North Carolina, for the majority of her eight-year teaching career. Raised an antique lover by her grandparents and parents, Stanley also worked part-time in an auction gallery. An eBay junkie and food lover, Stanley now lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband, two young children, and three cats. Visit her website at www.jbstanley.com.
