Goldilocks Forever

Chapter 58

Staten Island, New York

March 10, 2011

At the sound of the footsteps in the stairwell, Anna pulled two additional sets of dishes and utensils out of the cabinets and drawers and set them on the table. As the key slid into the lock and the deadbolt switched over, she went back to the stove and stirred the stew.

"Hey, Sunshine. Look who followed me home."

She turned and smiled at Burt and Vida.

"Damn, girly! What smells so good in here?" Vida jabbed Toby in the ribs. "You get to come home to this every night, you lucky geek." She pulled a chair from the table and sat, gripping a fork and knife in her fists. "Bring on the food. We're ready."

Burt winked at Anna as she set the pot of stew on the table. Toby opened the fridge and pulled out a carafe of water. He handed it to Burt, who set it on the table. Anna cut a loaf of bread and arranged the warm, fragrant slices into a cloth-covered bowl.

"Oh, damn! Fresh bread." Vida rubbed her hands together. She snatched a slice out of the bowl before Anna could even set it on the table.

"You never lose your enthusiasm for food, do you?"

Vida closed her eyes as she ate. "Oh, yeah," she moaned in delight.

Anna and Toby smiled at each other from across the table. Vida and Burt joined them for dinner at least once a week. Anna insisted upon it. Not only did Vida stroke her ego with enthusiasm for her cooking, but all of them needed a good meal now and then. Left to their own devices, they would make a run through some fast food drive-through every day. Anna vowed she would get some vegetables into their malnourished and underfed bodies.

They passed the bread bowl and slathered slices of bread with butter. Anna ladled stew into their bowls and poured glasses of water, and by the time she finally sat to eat her own share of the meal, the others were already reaching for a second slice of bread. They all ate in silence for a while.

Vida reached the end of her bowl and helped herself to a second. When she finished it, she leaned back in her chair and patted her belly. "Damn, that was good. I don't think I can manage another mouthful."

"Miraculously, you left some food for us," Toby teased.

"I have dessert." Anna grabbed a container of peanut butter cookies off the counter.

"Cookies?" Vida hung her head. "Shit. Gimme a few minutes." She watched the others eat and then sat taller in her chair. Anna thought she was going to make a grab for a cookie or two, but instead she said, "I'm glad there's plenty of food because no one's leaving this table until we figure this thing out."

"What thing?"

Burt sighed and gave Anna a you-don't-want-to-know look. But Vida, who had first avoided sharing any official IDF business with Anna—"the outsider"—after four years and countless home-cooked meals, now trusted her enough to include her in their discussions. Anna knew enough not to offer any suggestions. She merely sat and listened, playing the simultaneous roles of cook, baker, and waitress. Sometimes, after their guests had left, Toby and Anna would rehash the issues as they washed dishes together.

"This New York Society leader thing." Vida frowned. She gave her fellow IDF agents a stern look. "It's not American-fuckin'-Idol. We can't just have people audition for the part and then vote on their favorites." She tapped her fingers on her chin in thought. "Have any of you looked at the by-laws yet?" Toby and Burt both opened their mouths with ready excuses, but Vida went on without them. She knew their answers. "As far as by-laws go, these are some of the stricter ones. Any future leader has to be native to New York or has to have lived there for at least fifty years. They have to be sourced out of New York, too."