Not Complicated

Not Complicated

A Coffee and Donuts Book

Amanda Hamm

Copyright 2016 Amanda Hamm

All rights reserved. Before Someday Publishing

Smashwords Edition

Not Complicated is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, events, etc. are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Chapter 1

Emmet climbed onto my lap as soon as he finished his donut. It wasn’t the sticky fingers on my skirt that made me nervous. It was the fact that he’d only recently mastered the potty.

Molly, he said. Molly, I found you!

I used my napkin to clean some of the frosting from his fingers. I didn’t know I was missing.

"I found you," he said again.

It seemed that Emmet only wanted to steal some of my attention from the girls, who were recounting an imaginary adventure for me and Daniel. I directed Emmet’s attention to the bracelets on my wrist and let him spin them while I continued to listen.

Then three dark ninjas jumped out from behind a tree, Brooke said.

Three? Daniel raised his eyebrows at her. From behind the same tree?

It was a big tree, Brooke said.

Piper nodded. Like the one at the castle playground.

Oh. Daniel smiled his understanding as his eyes slid to the side to include me in his amusement.

Piper distracted them with a confusion spell. Brooke’s arms waved in circles over her head to demonstrate, I believe, what a confusion spell looked like. That gave me time to take out the first one. Then Piper tied the hands and feet of the second ninja with her magic rope and just as I began a sword fight with the last one, a troll came crashing… wait. She turned to Piper. It was a troll, right?

A thirty-foot troll, Piper confirmed.

Right. Brooke paused dramatically as she looked between me and Daniel. A thirty-foot troll arrived on the scene. Piper and I each attacked a leg and we were able to knock it down right on top of the three dark ninjas and once again the Braid Defenders were victorious. She turned back to Piper with her hands up.

Piper placed her palms against her friend’s and they moved their hands side to side, then up and down, then performed a series of double and single slaps. Their victory dance looked like the most complicated secret handshake ever. I think they spent as much time working on that as they did the adventures that preceded it.

Daniel and I shared another smile at their antics. He enjoyed the fantasy, and it warmed my heart and my face to see it.

Maddie cleared her throat. Good story, girls. If you’re done with your donut though, Piper, we need to get going.

Piper threw the last bite of donut into her mouth at her mother’s words and chewed quickly before she grabbed some water to wash it down.

See you soon, Maddie said to me at the same time she nodded at Daniel and held her hand out to Emmet.

The little blond boy scrambled off my lap. One of the bracelets he’d been playing with snagged on a button on the front of his shirt and was pulled to the floor during his dismount. It was a silver bangle, and it rolled just enough that I had to get out of my chair to fetch it from under the table.

Sorry about that, Maddie said.

No problem. I slipped the bracelet back onto my wrist and remained standing as the Young family gathered themselves to leave the church hall. Maddie directed Emmet to a trash can and her husband, Stephen, waited for Piper.

Piper and Brooke stood and faced each other. They pulled their braided pigtails in front of their shoulders before they placed their hands on their hips and bowed deeply. Two blond braids hung in front of Piper and two brown ones in front of Brooke. Their serious expressions dissolved into giggles as Piper departed.

Bye, Molly, she said. Bye, Mr. Devora.

See you tomorrow, I said with a wave.

Daniel said, Keep defending the braids.

Piper turned quickly to hide her laugh. I knew Brooke would not be as amused. Sure enough, she was giving Daniel an expression that bordered on pity. The Braid Defenders do not defend braids, Dad. We have braids and we defend.

That sounds familiar. Daniel appeared to be searching his memory. Have you explained that to me before?

About a hundred times. She bore her eyes into him, daring him to laugh.

Daniel stared back, scrunching his nose as he dared her not to laugh.

Brooke had the same slightly droopy eyes as her dad, the same wide mouth and the same tiny dimples that flashed as she began to lose the battle. Then she turned to me as though it never happened. Piper and I want to do fishtail braids for soccer this week, she said. Can you do that?

Fishtail braids? I looked at Daniel for help.

Don’t worry, he said. It’s much easier than that loopy twisty thing we tried a few weeks ago. I’ll send you a link to the video I learned from.

All right. I guess I still have a few days to figure it out.

You have forever, Brooke said. She slumped against her arm on the table. Why do I have to wait until Thursday to see Piper again?

I bet you wish you were still in school so you could see her every day.

Don’t even say that, Dad.

You like school.

Yeah, but what if we’re not in the same class for 4th grade? Brooke said. I don’t want to think about that.

Then we’ll just have to think of ways to get the Braid Defenders together outside of school.

Brooke perked up a little.

Molly will help, Daniel said, looking to me for confirmation.

Of course. I think soccer was my idea for the summer, wasn’t it?

And it’s great. She smiled. But I still think Dad should have been the coach.

You are both very lucky that I’m not. He threw me a look and a gentle elbow to the ribs, both of which made me laugh.

When we signed the girls up for soccer, Daniel had been drafted to coach. He had threatened to make me pay dearly for the idea. Another girl joined the team at the second practice and her mom was excited about coaching. Daniel happily handed the reins to her, letting me off the hook as well as himself.

Sorry to interrupt. My group has broken up.

Hi, Mom, I said to the woman who had just walked up beside me.

Linda. Daniel nodded at her. How are you today?

Not bad, thank you.

You look good, he said. I like the earrings.

Thank you again. Mom fingered the white beads hanging from her ears. They matched her smooth blouse and the stripes on her skirt. The outfit showed off her slim figure. It wasn’t nice for a 53-year-old mother of three, but simply nice. I hoped I had some of those genes.

We don’t have to rush off if you’re still talking, she said to me.

Um… I felt as though I’d just sat down, but past my mom I could see that most of the people who’d stopped after church for coffee or donuts had already left. I guess I’m ready.

We’ll walk out with you. Daniel jumped up and waved his hand at the table to indicate to Brooke that she should clear her place.

Mom asked Brooke about soccer on the way to the parking lot, and she proudly recounted how she had scored her first goal in the last match. We said our farewells as we headed to different cars.

I will see you both on Thursday, I said. "And it will only feel like forever."

Though I was teasing, Brooke sighed her agreement.

Daniel only half-smiled at her reaction and my breath caught for a moment at the idea that he might be thinking the same thing. Then I reminded myself that I didn’t want him to miss me. Not like that.

I tried not to look over my shoulder, or think that I might be missing anyone, as I walked to my mom’s car. My seatbelt clicked just before she started the ignition. Instead of backing the car from its space, she turned to face me.

All right, she said. I’ve waited much longer than a nosy mother can be expected to wait. It’s time to ask what’s going on with you and Daniel Devora.

There’s nothing going on, Mom.

You like him.

We’re friends. Of course I like him. I thought that twenty-four was probably old enough to admit I liked a guy without worrying that anyone would insist I liked him liked him.

Come on, Molly. Admit you like him like him.

Okay. I was wrong. Mom, I can’t believe you just said that.

Would you rather I accused you of thinking he’s a stud muffin?

Oh, my goodness, no, I groaned. That is not better.

I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that.

Mo-om. I revived my petulant teenager voice for the one word because she deserved it. Then I resumed what I hoped could be an adult conversation. "I can admit that Daniel is a good-looking guy and that he’s nice and funny and… and that he’d be a great catch for somebody. But he’s not the right guy for me so nothing is going to happen."

Mom nodded thoughtfully and shifted into reverse. She was quiet as she pulled out onto the street, and I hoped that meant she was coming up with a new topic.

Does Daniel know that? she asked.

I asked myself if I should just tell her or deflect. I decided on both. Yes. Why do you ask?

Are you sure? she said. Because when you were bent over to get that bracelet, he was checking out your rear end.

Mom! Were you spying on us or something? We needed to focus on the inappropriateness of her noticing something like that and not what she actually noticed. Because if she was right, it didn’t mean anything.

I just happened to glance over there. She smiled guiltily to say she knew she wasn’t fooling me. But that’s not the only time that… Does he know that you think nothing’s going to happen?

Yes, Mom. If you must know, he did ask me out. Several months ago now. It was just after Christmas. And I told him I didn’t think it was a good idea. So everything is clear between us. Clear and simple.

Mom didn’t respond right away. I could tell she was trying to be cautious with her words. Several months might have given him time to hope you’ve changed your mind, she said, slowly. Sometimes you… just be sure you’re not toying with him.

I would never do that! I couldn’t believe she’d suggest such a thing, not when she knew about James. He followed me around for nearly two years in high school. I insisted to everyone that we were just friends. I knew he had other ideas though. I let myself be flattered by that. I flirted with him all the time because I was so flattered by the attention. Eventually, he tried to kiss me. The scene that followed was the most embarrassing of my life, probably of his, too. And the rest of that school year was miserable.

Mom and I had always been close. I told her what happened, even though it meant admitting she’d been right all the times she warned me that things would end badly. But I was not a self-absorbed teenager anymore and Daniel was not James. How could you say I would toy with someone?

I’m only trying to remind you to be careful because I do know how much you don’t want to hurt anyone.

Then you should know I don’t need the reminder.

All right. I just can’t help worrying that things are going to get complicated.

Mom didn’t have to worry. Complicated was exactly what I was doing my best to avoid. Sometimes the problem with having my mom as my best friend was that she could be a little too… motherly.

Chapter 2

The drive to Creekside Living was fairly quiet, once Mom stopped asking me about Daniel. She liked to park under a big tree in the middle of the lot instead of claiming a closer spot. The bit of shade was nice in the summer, though it wasn’t terribly hot that day. A warm breeze blew hair across my face as we walked up to the building.

Mom’s hair was longer than mine, but it was held in place by her usual chignon. It was an old-fashioned look that somehow didn’t look old-fashioned on her, just polished. Gray hadn’t come in streaks for her. Her brown hair was artfully woven with silver strands. I wouldn’t mind that gene either.

The front doors were thick wood with large metal handles. They looked heavy but had such smooth hinges that they opened easily. We didn’t need to open the doors at all that day. A family with two young boys arrived at the same time. The older boy rushed up to push the handicap assist button, and the doors swung open automatically for all of us. Mom waved at the woman behind the desk as the other family stopped to speak with her.

The ground floor was the independent living section. We took the elevator upstairs. The doors opened to face a familiar beige hallway. The dark blue carpet was moderately more cheerful. My eyes followed the pattern to the second door on the right. It resembled a cable-knit sweater. I couldn’t explain why that made it cheerful.

Mom knocked.

Neither of us expected an answer.

After a few seconds, Mom opened the door as she called, Hello.

I hung back until I heard her asking how he was doing. The scent was always the first thing I noticed in the room. I didn’t know what actually caused it, but it made me picture a cleaning crew sucking peppermint and spraying disinfectant on everything.

Mom had brought pictures and trinkets from home, and the quilt on the bed was one she made herself. It’s Sunday, she said, so Molly is with me today.

Hi, Dad. I put my hand in his and felt a hint of return pressure, the only sign that he was aware of my presence. Dad was sitting in a faux leather armchair that faced the TV. It was on, but he didn’t seem to be paying any attention to the show. He stared quietly at the pattern on his quilt.

Mom flipped off the TV and sat facing him on the end of the bed. I took a seat in a wheelchair in the corner, which always felt weird, like maybe I wasn’t allowed to sit in a wheelchair if I didn’t need one. It was more comfortable than sitting on the bed though.

"I went out