The Four Sisters

Chapter 4

   Spencer got the job! She'd start work at Java Bean on Monday. She went in and had a training session, and it went well. She thought she was going to like it there. She was thrilled as she was bored of sitting around the house all day. Of course, the house did need a lot of work, but she didn't want to be the maid anymore. She wanted her own thing. 

  She arrived home to find her house full of Parker and Rose's friends as they hung out in the living room and watched some reality TV show they all liked. They were laughing loudly, and no one even noticed Spencer walking in except for the tall guy sitting on the arm of the old, green plaid chair that Spencer dragged out of the storage units.

  "Spencer!" Henry was up like a shot. "Hey, how is the job hunt going?"

  He followed her into the kitchen, and he quickly took the shopping bags out of her arms as she'd gone to get some groceries to celebrate her new job. They had a stove and a fridge now, and there was nothing she liked more than trying a new recipe.

  "Oh, great – they hired me at the Java Bean," Spencer said as he hoisted the shopping bags up. "Thanks!"

  "Awesome! Congratulations," Henry said warmly as he put the bags down on the new counter-tops. They were white quartz that Victoria picked out. Spencer resisted rolling her eyes when Victoria insisted. New countertops weren't in their budget, but her sister did pay for it out of her own portion of the jewelry they'd sold.

  "Thanks," Spencer said lightly.

   She almost felt embarrassed at his congratulations. It seemed so silly somehow at her age. She wasn't some college kid looking for some extra cash between classes. 

   "When do you start?" Henry asked; looking sincerely interested.

  "I started training today," she said. "I'm even going to be doing some baking for them. I took some of my sample scones. Have you tried some? I think we have some left..."

  "Oh, we ate all of them," Henry said without shame as he started helping her put up the groceries. "They were very tasty. Hey, you could have your own bakery! You should name is some sort of stupid pun. Parker says you're good at baking almost anything."

  "Well, I have a few specials," Spencer said and felt her face grow warm at the compliment. "I baked enough for various bake sales when Charlotte started cheerleading in junior high. I kind of started to get into it."

  "I like to cook too," Henry said eagerly. "Well, grill. We could collaborate sometime."

  She grinned. "What do you do? Chicken wings and things like that?"

  "I make the best chicken wings of all time," he said as he put things away on the high shelves for her. He was so tall that she barely hit his shoulder. "I'll cook for you, and you'll fall madly in love with me. Then we can be one of those annoying couples that cook together and are obsessed with high quality olive oils and making overly complicated Vegan recipes."

  She rolled her eyes. 

  This was becoming a recurring theme with Henry every time she saw him over at the house. He'd flirt with her outrageously which was a little awkward considering her age. She felt silly for being flattered. Plus Spencer was pretty sure that Charlotte might like him as she was always staring at him when he was over, but she didn't have the courage to talk to him. Charlotte was at the age where she was in love with every guy that crossed her path though, and she was pretty sure that Henry was like that with any woman so she didn't take his teasing seriously.

  "Vegan?" She asked. "You want to go vegan?"

  "Maybe," Henry said thoughtfully as he stood in bright yellow pants, and t-shirt with a very fat, orange cat on the front. He had a quirky style that involved a lot of old t-shirts, the occasional bow-tie, and a lot of plaid.