My Sweet Annie

16

An hour later, I opened the door with Porkie at my heels. Anabel greeted us with a bright smile and a large white box that smelled like pure sugar.

"I brought doughnuts!" she said. "I got there late, so there was nothing left but the rejects, but doughnuts are still doughnuts."

"I love reject doughnuts." I had called Ana minutes after hanging up with my brother and offered her coffee in exchange for her company. Only the promise of her arrival had given me the courage to go back into the house, and I had stayed in the dining room, my back against the exterior wall, pretty much just staring at the open doorway into Gran's bedroom as I waited for Ana to come. I wanted so badly to close that door, but I couldn't get close enough to try.

"Ehh...I'm pretty sure two of them are maple glaze." She wrinkled her nose, moving past me into the house with the box held in front of her. Porkie trotted at her heels, wagging her tail excitedly.

"What do you have against maple?"

She set the box on the dining room table and looked at me. "Maybe this will work out. You take those, and I'll take the good ones."

I laughed, closing the door, flicking the lock. "I'm so sorry about this. I can't believe I even thought of calling you. And then I called you. And then you came."

"You sounded pretty stressed out on the phone." She sank into one of the dining chairs, looking up at me with concern. "Besides—you said I could still come here to paint. I'll hang out for a minute, have some doughnuts, and then I'll go work for a while. I'm not here to..."

"...Rescue me?" I ventured, feeling awkward.

"Right. I'm selfishly here to mooch your studio space. That's a totally different thing." She leaned down to scratch Porkie behind the ear.

"Do you want some coffee?"

"The answer to that question will literally never be no, as long as you have cream and sugar."

"Milk okay?"

"We're in Iowa, babe. That's cream here."

I was startled by her casual use of babe, but tried not to let it show as I headed into the kitchen to get us coffee. As I refreshed my cup and poured one for Ana, I was more aware of the space around me than was usual. Both the kitchen and Gran's bedroom opened off of the dining room. That meant that Gran's room was sort of between me and Ana. If something had been in there...

I doctored both coffees with milk and stuck a spoon into each mug. When I returned to Ana, I couldn't help but edge farther around Gran's door than was necessary. I gave the room a lingering look, but I saw nothing out of the ordinary, although I couldn't see that back corner from where I was.

I put both coffees and the sugar bowl on the table. Ana had opened the box of doughnuts, and she slid it toward me. "You get first pick, and don't argue."

Just to be difficult, I selected one of the maple doughnuts, grinning at her over the top of it as I took a large bite. The sweetness of the food lit up my taste buds and my brain. I sighed, sinking into the seat next to Ana's, and slid her coffee closer to her. "Mmm. God, thank you so much for this."

"You can just call me Ana." She tapped most of the liquid off of her spoon, took the sugar bowl, and scooped a couple of generous spoonfuls into her cup. "Thanks for the coffee."

"No problem. I can make another pot, if we need it."

We sat in silence for a moment, both of us enjoying our doughnuts and sipping coffee. Then, reaching for a napkin from the wooden holder in the center of the table, Ana asked, "So, do you want to tell me about it? No pressure, but you sounded pretty emotional on the phone."