5: Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

Aiden was on his way to work. He wanted to reach at least two hours earlier than usual so that he could check the computers in his building to see if anyone was involved in this Ponzi scheme. He sat in the back of his limousine, busy returning emails and text messages while his driver Fabian took him to work.

It was 6:05 am and Katherine got up and decided to take a run to clear her mind before starting her busy day, she also thought that it was about time she started taking care of herself more for the sake of her children, and exercise was the way to start.

She knew she had to do something to take her mind off of her doomed love life and work and exercise always helped other people, so she figured she’d give it a try too.

She had been running for around half an hour, when she reached the park. There was an enormous oak tree where she stopped and decided to do some stretches. Her muscles were already sore because they weren’t used to these vigorous activities. She was halfway through her stretches when she spotted a silver Buick parked along the road way near the park. It seemed so strange that a luxurious vehicle would just be parked there for no reason. That’s when she saw someone who looked familiar standing close to the car, Kat immediately realized it was Violet and she was standing there with a man dressed in a trench coat and felt hat. Katherine thought the scene looked like something from a mystery movie.

The two had a few heated words thrown at each other for a while from the looks of their body languages and then the man finally stuffed a brown paper bag in Violet’s hands. There was a logo on the bag, but Katherine was too far away to get a proper look at it.

Katherine’s suspicions grew when she noticed both Violet and the mysterious man were wearing sunglasses, and the sun wasn't even out as yet.

Violet suddenly began to act fidgety, stuffing the brown paper bag down into her tote bag, then she glanced around the area, acting even more suspicious before she crossed the street and bustled down the road before disappearing around the corner.

The man stayed put for awhile. He also gave his surrounding one last scan and when he was sure Violet was long gone. He hopped into the Buick and sped off.

Katherine finished up her stretches while she thought about this strange exchange between her ex-sister-in-law and this suspicious fellow. She shook it from her mind while she began jogging again. She jogged for another ten minutes while she was coming up at the bend. A corner leading up to the wealthiest part of the neighborhood. She was pushing her limbs past the burn that she didn’t realize that a car was coming. She gasped when she felt the cold murky water hitting the bottom half section of her body.

“You’ve got to me kidding me,” she gasped, using her hand to flash the mud from her leggings. “Hey," she gave out “Didn’t you see me jogging here?” She fumed. The driver of the black limousine didn't even honk or stop. He didn’t even so much as slowed down to even issue a quick apology, he must have been going way over the speed limit. It was illegal to drive over 40 mph in this part of the neighborhood, incase one of the rich kids were riding on a bike or a scooter.

Katherine watched as the limo disappeared but not before she caught a glimpse of the chiseled face man who was giving it to someone over the phone. Anger coursed through her body as she turned and ran in the direction of her house.

She got home and immediately took a well-needed shower, then went to eat breakfast with her children. She was grateful that she had Ms. Polly around to help her with things around the house. Ms. Polly had been with the O'Hare family for many years, and when Katherine and Nile were together in Virginia, Miss Polly was always nice to them.

“Good morning, Ms. Polly.”

“Good morning Ms. katherine.”

“Please, I told you to call me Katherine. No, Miss is needed.”

“Okay Katherine. We have blueberry pancakes, egg and ham omelette, toast and fresh fruits.”

“I'll have the omelette and toast please,” Katherine said while she poured herself some steaming hot coffee.

She sat with her children and ate, and she thought that the only thing missing was their father. She decided not to wallow, so she found delight in conversing with her kids and encouraging them to be the best versions of themselves.

After breakfast, the school bus came and took the children to school, Katherine then drove herself to work. She immediately started working on an order that she had for a little girl's fifth birthday party. She was to make thirty cupcakes and a two-tier unicorn cake. While working, she kept thinking about what she saw in the park and wondered what Violet was doing. It was obvious that whatever she was doing was shady, or else why would she be there so early and why would they be disguised? She never got along well with Violet because she was a bitch to people for no reason. Violet was snobbish because she had money, plus she was just overall not such a decent person.

Katherine wondered why most people with money acted as if they were better than others, for example, the person in the limousine. They must have seen her because she was wearing a neon blue top and white leggings. She felt unnerved that someone could splash another person with filthy, muddy water and not even show an ounce of remorse. Maybe it was best they never came out of the car because she certainly would have given them a piece of her mind. She remembered the licence plate number well, so if she ever saw that vehicle again, she would ripped it into them.

It was almost three thirty when Katherine finished her order. Since it was Thursday, the children would leave school early. The school bus normally dropped them off at the Café, so Katherine didn't have to worry about picking them up.

The little bell hanging over the door chimed as Nola and Nathan burst inside, arguing.

“I choose cupcakes with strawberry filling," gave out Nola.

“And I chose lemon squares with chocolate drizzle,” shouted Nathan.

Katherine quickly came from behind the counter to see what the commotion was about.

“Quiet down, you two, remember this is a place of business,” she replied as customers started to stare at the two children.

“Sorry, mom," the twins said in unison.

“Let's go into the employee lounge and sort out whatever you two are fussing about." She ushered her children away from the customers. The three of them entered the parlor, and the children plopped down on opposite ends of the sofa. Katherine sighed before asking, “What's the issue now?”

“Nate's being dumb.”

“Nola's being an idiot.”

They both spoke at the same time.

"Alright, so we are going to start by stop calling each other names. And we are going to take turns to speak,” Katherine ordered. “Nate will go first.”

“Why because he was born first?” Nola pouted and Katherine giggled. Nola sighed and slumped onto the sofa.

“So Mrs. Valdez gave us this project to work in pairs to do some fundraising,” Nate began. “She suggested that we could sell things or offer other services. Being that you're a baker, we decided to sell baked goods, right?”

“Right,” Katherine agreed.

“I told negative Nola here that we could sell lemon bars, and she said no,” Nate finished.

“No name-calling,” Katherine reminded him.

“Sorry,” he apologized.

“I said no because most persons don't like lemon,” Nola began. “I mean, I don't like lemon, but I love strawberries, most people like strawberries, right, mom?”

Katherine rubbed her temples and sighed before she spoke. “Listen you two, I'm sure your teacher didn't give this assignment for you to fuss and fight with each other. “

“We know that,” the twins said in unison.

“We know it's about working together to get something done,” said Nola, being the smart girl that she is.

“We also know that it's about feeling proud when we do good," added Nathan.

“Then why are we here?” Asked Katherine.

“Because we can't decide on what to make,” the twins said. They then paused and looked at each other, then smiled and said in unison. “We'll make both.”

Katherine looked up at the ceiling, shook her head and chuckled. “You two are something else,” she laughed and gave them a hug.

“Mom, do you think you can get them done by tomorrow?” Nate asked.

“Well, I have some leftover batter. I can add the strawberries and lemon to make your treats.”

“Great, we can start selling on Saturday then,” Nola clapped.

“But I have a baseball match to watch on TV,” Nate complained.

“I'm gonna need your help with decorating if we are to finish by tomorrow,” Katherine said to the two of them.

“No problem that we can handle,” Nola said.

“Nola will help you with the decorating. I will help with the packaging,” said Nathan.

“Fine, as long as the work is getting done,” Katherine stated.

“You know what they say,” Nola started.

“Teamwork makes the dream work,” the twins finished together.