Bad Idea!

Chapter 20 (Final Chapter)

Early the next morning, Dottie woke up before the sun and booked the next flight back to New York. It didn't take long for her to pack the remainder of her things. Dottie looked down at the paper in her hands, reading the words she'd written and fighting back tears.

Dear Peggy,
I'm sorry to leave so suddenly, but I think we both knew this was coming. I'm not sure where I'll go next, but don't worry about me. I'll be okay.... and so will you. Best of luck to you and Whitney. I truly mean it.
For what it's worth, I do love you. I wish we had more time together. Maybe in another life, at another time, we would've stood a chance.... but this is the only life we have.
Tell the boys I'll miss them. I know they won't understand right away.... but I hope they'll realise someday that this had nothing to do with them.
Yours,
D. Underwood

Dottie slipped the letter under Peggy's door on the way out, hesitating for only a moment.

"....Dottie?"

"Eddie? Mikey? What are you doing up so early?"

"Nothing! Definitely not trying to see if you were actually leaving or not!"

"Is our breakfast so big that you need a suitcase for all the ingredients?" Mikey asked sadly, already knowing the answer.

"No, sweetie. I'm.... I'm leaving."

"Without saying goodbye?"

"Is it because I kept hiding my veggies in my napkin at dinner? I promise I'll stop!"

"Definitely not, Mikey. Boys.... I wish I could stay with you two, but it's just not possible. I have to go, for stupid, grown-up reasons."

The boys threw their arms around her waist, squeezing her as tight as they could. She held them close.

"Do you have to have to right now?"

"Yeah, can we have one last breakfast before you leave? Please? No one else is up. It'd just be us!"

"That'd be a great idea. I do have a little wiggle room, but we have to be quick."

"Alright!"

"Yes!"

The boys high-fived, then dragged her to the kitchen.

"So, what's on the menu at Chez Carter?"

"Uh.... we're real good at making cereal?"

"I think we can be a little more creative. How about crepes? Who says we can't have a little dessert for breakfast?"

"Not me! Let's do it."

The boys helped her gather all the ingredients, then she started to mix together to make the batter. "What do we want in the crepes?"

"Strawberries!"

"Chocolate!"

"Both excellent choices. And the beauty of crepes is that each of you can fill your own, just how you like."

A contented quiet fell over the kitchen as the three of them kept working, but she kept a close eye on the boys, wary of any sign of sadness. 'Kids are really resilient. They seem to be handling this much better than I am....'

Eddie had just finished washing the strawberries when Mikey put a hand out to stop him. "We should sprinkle them with a bit of sugar, to help bring out the juices."

"Right! The Dottie Special!"

"The what?"

"The Dottie Special. We saw all the times you tried to make our 'healthy' breakfasts a little better."