Lymber craft's Arc

Chapter 41 of 70

A year passed in the new house before Lymber looked up from her list of days. Jett was one. She wrote it on the top of a page in her office and underlined it twice. Paul was at work. Violetta was on the rug with the puppy, teaching him to sit for a piece of cracker. Jett was in the high chair, banging a spoon. Lymber closed the notebook and went to plan the party. She kept it small. Her mother. Paul's parents. Two neighbors with kids. She ordered a cake with a blue one on top. She strung a paper banner across the kitchen doorway. She dressed Violetta in a pink dress with white dots and let her pick her own shoes. Violetta picked the white ones and stood at the window watching for cars. Polly came first with a foil pan of rolls. She set them on the counter and looked at the banner. She said, Straight enough. Lymber laughed. Polly picked Jett out of the high chair and wiped his face with the corner of a cloth. She said, He looks like your dad still. One year in and he hasn't changed his mind. Paul's parents came next. Then the neighbors. The kitchen filled. Jett sat in his chair at the head of the table with a paper crown Violetta had colored for him. Lymber lit one candle. Paul stood behind her with his hand on her shoulder. They sang. Jett stared at the flame and then hit the tray with both hands. Everyone clapped. Lymber blew the candle out for him and cut the cake. Violetta climbed onto the chair next to Jett and held a piece of cake up to his mouth. She said, Here, baby brother. He opened his mouth and took it. Frosting went on his nose. Violetta laughed so hard she fell against his shoulder. Lymber watched her daughter kiss the top of her son's head, unprompted, the way you kiss something you have decided is yours. Lymber's eyes filled. She turned to the sink so no one would see. Polly saw. Polly came to the sink with two paper plates and set them down. She said, You did this. Lymber said, She hated him for a week. Polly said, A week is nothing. Look at her now. Then Polly said, quieter, You alright. Lymber said she was. She said it twice. After the guests left, Lymber went to her office to put the card stack on the desk. She sat down. Her stomach turned once, low and sharp. She thought of the calendar in the drawer and did not open it. She stood and walked to the bathroom and reached to the back of the cabinet where she still kept one strip. She held it in her hand without opening the wrapper. She set it on the counter and shut the door behind her. The party was still hers to clean up first.