~ A Taste Of Honey ~

by

Stacey Dennis

One

Marian Peters laid her purse on her desk and hung up her navy linen jacket. By afternoon, she’d need the jacket. The office air conditioning usually kicked into high gear around noon, and shortly thereafter she’d start to shiver. Why the system couldn’t keep a steady temperature she would never understand.

"Morning, Marian," Irving Watson called as he passed her on his way to his office. "Is the coffee ready yet?"

He said the same thing every morning, and he never waited for an answer. Marian smiled and shook her head. I.J. Watson had been the District Attorney in Philadelphia for several years now, and Marian had worked closely with him for the last three. They understood each other and had worked out a comfortable business relationship. She knew that he was cranky until he’d had at least two cups of strong black coffee and that he got irritated if her children called her at work too often. But all in all, Marian was satisfied with her job. She earned a comfortable salary, the benefits were good, and she enjoyed what she did. What more could a woman ask for?

"Marian?"

"The coffee will be ready in a few minutes," Marian said automatically.

"Never mind the coffee. We need to talk," Irving said. "Come to my office, please."

Fifteen minutes later, Marian sat down at her desk, stunned. Irving Watson was retiring, and a new D.A. would take over in two weeks. As far as Watson knew, Marian’s job was safe, but he knew very little about the new man, and Marian was naturally apprehensive.

What if she and the new D.A. simply didn’t click? What if she couldn’t stand him, or vice versa? She needed her job. She had three kids to support. Jack’s child support payments didn’t go very far, nor were they always on time.

Wait and see, Marian, she told herself. Don’t go jumping to conclusions.

~ * ~

"So I need thirty dollars for my cheerleading uniform," fourteen-year-old Blythe said, helping herself to an apple from the fruit bowl on the kitchen counter. She grinned and did a little dance around the center island. Her light brown hair swirled around her face, and her green eyes danced with excitement. "I still can’t believe I made the team. Do you know how many girls tried out?"

Marian smiled proudly. "How could you miss, honey?" She sobered and tried to look modest. "After all, you’ve got my genes, you know."

"Aw, Mom!" But Blythe was happy, and that made Marian happy. She had a special softness in her heart for her oldest child, and she knew that Blythe missed her father more than the other two children. She couldn’t help feeling a little guilty when she thought of all her kids had missed in the daddy department.

Oh, Jack hadn’t deserted them, and Marian knew that in his heart he loved all the kids. It was just that he was irresponsible and, at the moment, he was totally self-involved. Sometimes his children got pushed aside in favor of his pursuit of happiness.

"Where’s your brother and sister?" Marian asked as she chopped vegetables for a salad. "Did Brad clean up the backyard the way I asked him to?"

"I guess," Blythe said, shrugging, "but he’s over at Mike’s house now, and Bev’s in her room talking on the phone with Jennifer Myers."

"The new girl in her class?"

"Yeah. Personally, I think she’s weird, but Bev thinks she’s something special. I guess it’s because she wears makeup and all the latest fashions."

"Makeup? At eleven? Good heavens, I’m not sure I…"

"Don’t try to break up Bev’s friendship with her, Mom," Blythe warned.

"Then what should I do?" Marian asked, regarding her eldest child. Blythe was mature beyond her years in some ways, and Marian depended on her in times of conflict with her other two children. Blythe always seemed to know how to handle a potentially explosive situation.

"I think we should just keep an eye on things, you know?"

"All right," Marian said. "I’ll just keep my eyes and ears open, and we’ll see, right?"

"Right," Blythe said, her grin returning. "Now, how was your day?"

Blythe helped her mother prepare dinner, and finally they were all seated around the kitchen table.

"So you’re getting a new boss, huh?" Thirteen-year-old Brad asked between bites of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. "Wonder what he’ll be like?" Brad’s gray eyes were wide with interest behind his thick glasses.

"Probably another old crab like I.J. Watson," Beverly said, frowning. "How can you stand that guy, Mom?"

"He’s not so bad," Marian replied, sipping her coffee. "I guess I’m used to him. It’s a little scary to think about having a new boss. Maybe we won’t get along."

"Maybe he’ll be young and incredibly handsome," Beverly said, sighing and rolling her gray eyes heavenward. At the moment, she wore her blonde hair in one long, thick braid. She tossed it over her shoulder dramatically. "Maybe you’ll fall madly in love with him, and…"

"Hey, no way!" Brad yelled, nearly upsetting his milk in his excitement. "Can you imagine having a D.A. for a step-dad?"

"Step-dad? Who said anything about a…"

"It could happen," Blythe said soberly, her eyes narrowed in speculation. "And after all, you’re not getting any younger. Maybe you should think about…"

"Whoa! Chill out!" Marian said, holding up both hands. "I’m not looking for a boyfriend or a husband. Isn’t it enough that your father just got remarried for the third time? Don’t you guys have enough stepparents?"

Three pairs of eyes clouded, and Marian wished she could kick herself. Jack’s latest trip to the chapel was not the kid’s favorite topic. "Hey, look, I only meant that I’m happy just the way I am. We have fun together, don’t we? A man would only mess things up, right?"

Later, as she loaded the dishwasher, Marian thought she heard the kids whispering in the other room. She shook her head. With three kids as bright as hers, she never knew what they might do.

"Look, it’s going to happen," Beverly said solemnly, her eyes darting toward the kitchen to make sure her mother was still occupied. "Mom is getting older every day. She’s going to be thirty-six in a few months. Before we know it, she’ll be old, and when we leave home, who will take care of her?"

"Thirty-six isn’t that old," Blythe said reasonably. "She still has a little time."

"Not much," Brad said glumly. "Did you see how gray her hair is getting? Soon it will be snow white, and then what?"

"What about her new boss? Maybe we should wait and see what he’s like."

"We can’t just sit around and do nothing, Blythe," Beverly said. "Time is running out."

"All right, what do we do first?"

"We take inventory," Brad said. "How many men do we know that Mom might like enough to marry?"

"None," Beverly said, shaking her head. "Mom doesn’t know many men. All she does lately is work and take care of us. Sometimes I’m almost sorry she dumped Stanley."

"He was a jerk," Brad said. "He didn’t like us at all."

"We weren’t very nice to him," Blythe admitted, "but we were awfully young. We’ll do better this time."

"Yeah, because this may be Mom’s last chance!"