I made you some more blueberry muffins.
“I made you some more blueberry muffins. I hope you like them.” Vesta was standing at Kit Kat’s door. “Come in! Come in! It’s freezing out there.” The old woman was bundled up in a sheepskin jacket. Her tiny feet were covered in black boots poking out from the bottom of the jacket. She looked like a fluffy egg with legs.
Vesta entered the house and walked through the parlor to the dining room and kitchen. Kit Kat watched the old woman glance toward the master bedroom and cringed at the site of her unmade bed and dirty laundry all over the floor. “I see you’re sleepin’ in that master bedroom.” Vesta said, which made Kit Kat cringe for a different reason.
“It’s not haunted, Mrs. Lancaster.” The old woman shook her head and placed the basket of muffins on the counter. The scent of their freshly baked goodness filled Kit Kat’s nostrils and her mouth started watering as she imagined eating them with lots of butter, melting into the fluffy bread. Without a word, Vesta took last week’s empty basket off the counter and placed it in the crook of her arm. The regular muffin deliveries were delicious and a welcome break to Kit Kat’s writing, but the constant reminders about the house were wearing thin.
“All I know is that a boy no older than you took a handgun to the left side of his head in that room.” The woman stood in the kitchen and clasped her hands together. “When we didn’t hear from him for a coupla days, my poor Elvis was the one who found ‘im.” She whispered to Kit Kat, “Had nightmares for months after.” She rewrapped her scarf around her neck. “Don’t want ‘im to ever hafta do that again, understand?”
Kit Kat held her sarcastic tongue. She felt like saying that if she felt suicidal that she would do them a favor and off herself somewhere else, but she couldn’t let herself be so rude to such a nice old woman. “Let me take your coat, Mrs. Lancaster. Come sit down.”
Vesta handed her coat to Kit Kat and continued, “Samson ever tell you the story of the day he moved Sierra and Randy here? He tell you what happened in that room?” Kit Kat smiled, “No, Samson has been pretty nervous every time I’ve talked to him. He never mentioned it.”
The old woman sat on Kit Kat’s comfy chair and suddenly the lack of furniture in the living room was apparent. Kit Kat held Vesta’s coat and leaned on the window sill. “Of course, the rumors around town are that you’re more interested in John Sebastian. How many dates have you two gone on? I heard three, but that seems more than should be in the short time you’ve been here.”
Kit Kat was surprised at the openness of this little woman. She replied, “Well, he showed up at Dora’s art show at the high school, but I don’t really count that as a date. Then we went to The Golden Wok in Emigration and watched that vampire movie that all the locals are so excited about.” Vesta nodded, “Yes, the author of those books lives Up North. We’re all so proud of ‘er.”
Kit Kat nodded. She had tried reading the first book because everyone there was so excited about it, but it was tripe. It was worse than the worst of her own books and even more formulaic. As ashamed as Kit Kat was about her religious historical romance novels, at least they weren’t vampirism as a metaphor for sexuality. She sighed with the mediocrity of it all.
“And then last Saturday, we went to The Olive Garden in Emigration and then went bowling.” Vesta nodded. “Oh yes, I heard about that. Dr. Chinsky was there. When she came to help Elvis with the goats, she told me that she saw you two at the bowling alley.” Kit Kat smiled. There was no such thing as a personal life in Merriton. She liked to imagine that the opposite was true in New York, but it hadn’t been. Gossip in the coffee shops and apartment buildings in New York had been just as rampant as in the churches and grocery stores in Merriton.
“I think it bothered him that I beat him so soundly. Dave and I used to go bowling at Bowlmor in New York a lot.” Kit Kat whispered like she was revealing a secret, “It’s the best place to go to see famous people. I saw Lady Gaga there bowling with Luc Carl there. They got into a FIGHT.” Vesta nodded and answered, “Is Lady Gaga that young girl who wears meat?” Kit Kat laughed, “Yeah, but that day she was just wearing jeans and a striped shirt.”
Vesta nodded. “So, three dates?” Kit Kat shook her head, “I only count two of those as dates, but whatever. Why does it matter?” Vesta looked at the empty basket in her hands as if she were surprised it was there and then placed it on the floor next to Kit Kat’s laptop. “I’m worried about Christmas, child. After only three dates, he wouldn’t be having you over for Christmas, would he?”
Kit Kat was taken aback. The two of them HAD talked about Christmas, but John had dismissed the idea. He told her that he had his kids that weekend and left it at that. Kit Kat wondered why he didn’t suggest that she spend the holiday with his children, but his sudden reticence made her quiet. “Um, no…”
Vesta looked concerned, “So, what are you doing for Christmas, dear? You goin’ to visit your sister? Your brother? What are your plans?” Kit Kat hadn’t thought of it. Last year at Christmas, Dave had slept until noon and then tossed a single present at her. She tried to remember what the present had been. A camera? A book? She became distracted by the memory.
“You’re welcome to join us for Christmas, Katherine. Since the kids left, me and Elvis have scaled back our celebrations, but it’s still festive.” She looked around the house and Kit Kat realized that the old woman was searching for a Christmas tree or maybe some Christmas cards. She scolded herself for not opening the stack of cards sitting on her kitchen counter.
“I don’t think so. Last Christmas was pretty unpleasant. I’m looking forward to just being alone with no one to scold me.” The truth of her words stung as she remembered every time Dave blamed her for his own depression. No matter what she did, she was never able to make him happy. She vowed to herself that the next man in her life wasn’t going to need her for his happiness.
She flashed through the memory of her two and a half dates with John. Had he been happy? Was he content with his life? Did he see her as a desperate attempt to add meaning to his life? She couldn’t answer those questions. All she could say was that he didn’t like the vampire movie, but was thoroughly disappointed that she didn’t like it either. They couldn’t even commiserate about the bad acting and poor dialogue together because he was so certain that she would have loved that movie.
“I can’t force ya to join us for Christmas, but if you get lonely over here, know that you can come to our house.” Vesta stood up and held out her hand for her fluffy, white coat. Kit Kat held it open for her and helped the old woman bundle up. She picked up the empty basket from the floor and handed it back to Vesta.
“Thank you for the muffins, Mrs. Lancaster. They’re delicious.” Vesta smiled and replied, “If you ever get a hankerin’ for somethin’ else, just tell me and I’ll cook it up for ya. It’s nice havin’ someone to cook for again.” The old lady left the house and Kit Kat could hear the snow crunching all the way back to the Lancaster house.