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Chapter Fifteen

The tantalizing aroma of slow-cooked chicken breasts caught my attention when I arrived home from the garden shop at five-thirty. Alan glanced up from the TV news station to announce that he’d reached out to his sister, but the call went to voicemail.

“I’ll probably experience the same thing,” I said. “Laura’s never home when I call.” After my quick kiss to Alan, I headed to the kitchen saying, “Dinner smells good, but I’m not hungry.”

“Me, either,” Alan agreed. “Those hot wings and beer at the golf club really filled me up, though I could possibly manage some ice cream before bed.”

I laughed despite anticipating his comment. Sophie stood by the counter while I unplugged the crock pot and dumped its contents into a covered casserole dish. “We’ll have an easy supper tomorrow,” I told her as I cut some pieces of chicken to add to her kibble. “And you’re spoiled.”

“Me?” Alan called from the living room .

“I was talking to Sophie. Did you let her out in the yard to play with Sean when we got home?”

“I let her go outside while I was in the sunroom, but I didn’t see Sean. Is he in the after-school program again this year?”

I put Sophie’s bowl on the floor and refilled her water dish. “Oh, I forgot about that. We have to unpack that suitcase with the souvenirs in case they come over.”

“Right,” Alan agreed, “but you need to call your sister.”

“I’ll do that later,” I assured him.

Emptying the suitcase on our bed brought back more reminders of our trip. Had we really only been home for three days? Between jet lag, the start of a new investigative case, and a booming garden business, I felt pulled in all directions.

The only way to alleviate the stress, I told myself, was to tackle each item on my mental to-do list in the order of priority. Identifying the need to clear the bed first, I pressed Jessica’s number in my phone.

“Souvenir time,” I proclaimed when she connected.

She laughed. “Sean was just talking about that during supper.”

“Can you come over to claim your items? It’s still light outside and Sophie would like a romp, at least for fifteen minutes.”

“Ryan’s working on an article for the Gazette, but Sean and I can visit until dark. We’ll be there shortly.”

I roped Alan into helping me move the gifts to our dining room table and arrange them in piles. Sean’s stack happened to be larger than the others, which we knew would make him happy.

Sophie jumped for joy when Sean and Jess arrived at our kitchen door, then charged outside when I pushed open the storm door. The two hooligans sprinted across the back yard, releasing plenty of pent-up energy, and we kept our eyes on them from stools at the kitchen island.

Jessica looked especially tired, in addition to being seven-months pregnant, so I asked what I could do to help.

She scrunched her nose. “You have the Harvest Gala coming up, so I don’t expect anything from you. Which reminds me, I can’t take on any strenuous activities during that weekend.”

Making a mental note to place my wholesale order before I went to bed, I assured her, “We’ll have lots of assistants, so no pressure for you. I do, however, have a chicken casserole already made that you can take home for your dinner tomorrow night.”

Her eyes gleamed enthusiastically. “I’ll definitely take you up on that. Thanks, Mimi!” A moment later, she asked, “Did we interrupt your supper?”

Alan gave me a quirky grin, which made me laugh. “No, because we ate earlier at the River Mill Country Club.”

“That’s cool. If you recall, Ryan and I almost had our wedding reception there.”

“I do,” I said. “It would have been a nice venue, but you made a better choice with Ridgeton Manor.”

“Yes, we did,” she agreed wholeheartedly.

She maneuvered off the stool and went to the door to tell Sean he had only five minutes left to play. Turning back to us, she explained, “I read that children respond better when you don’t suddenly end their play time. I think it’s working with Sean.”

“That’s good,” I said. While we waited, I gave her the kimono, zories, and a silver bracelet with Japanese charms. “ Ryan gets a kimono, zories, and a Japanese writer’s portfolio.”

“These are so beautiful,” she exclaimed, reaching to give us both a peck on our cheeks. “Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome, honey. I honestly thought it might be a comfy robe for you since there’s plenty of room for you and Jolene.”

She expressed her delight and gratitude before calling to Sean from the kitchen door. He and Sophie sprinted inside, and Jessica praised them. “Come see our gifts from Japan,” she said.

Sean didn’t show much enthusiasm about the kimono, zories, or t-shirt with a picture of Mount Fuji. Hidden below them, however, he found the “really cool and awesome” toy samurai sword. He swished it in the air yelling, “I am Royal Ninja, the powerful king.”

“Just be careful with your weapon, Royal Ninja,” Alan advised. “I picked out a black kimono for you because it looked more like a ninja outfit. Do you want to try it on with the zories?”

Sean nodded, and his expressive doe eyes sparkled. “What are zories?” he asked.

“Flip-flops,” Alan said, helping him take off his shoes and socks. After tying the last sash on Sean’s kimono, he pulled out his phone and took a picture.

“Let me see it,” Sean pleaded. He grinned broadly, picked up the sword, and posed like an ancient warrior. “Now, take another picture.”

Alan obliged, holding it up for everyone to see. Sean gave him, then me, a huge hug. “This is the most bussin’ present I ever got,” he exclaimed. “Come on, Mom. Let’s go show Dad.”

Despite all the hoopla, I managed to locate a large shopping bag for the casserole and gifts. Sean insisted on wearing his outfit home, and urged Jessica to hurry.

Alan and I stood at the back door to wish them a good night, then burst into laughter when they reached their own yard. “I told you he wouldn’t like the kimono unless we got him the sword,” he sputtered.

“And right you were,” I chuckled.

^^^

Alan reminded me to call my sister before he turned on the TV to watch his favorite crime show. I promised I would as soon as I placed my order with the wholesale distributor. Reaching into my pocket for the list Lydia and I reviewed before we turned out the lights and locked Butterflies and Blooms , I sat at the computer in the sunroom.

As if by magic, my phone rang with a call from Evelyn. I answered with, “I’m sorry. Lydia told me I missed you today, but I had to go with Alan to work on our case.” I remembered that I’d put the souvenirs for Evelyn at my workstation in the garden shop since she planned to stop over, but then I had to leave.

“You could have called to let me know,” she groused.

“I know. I think I’m losing my mind!”

“You probably have brain fog after traveling through all of those time zones. Don’t worry about it because we really hadn’t set up anything specific, other than I’d stop by.”

“Believe it or not,” I said, “I even brought your souvenirs to the garden shop. They’re on my workstation.”

“You didn’t need to bring me anything. I’m just glad you’re home. ”

Her simple statement touched me, and I realized how lucky I was to have made such a kind and thoughtful friend as Evelyn. On my first day in Aspen Notch, she stopped by to welcome me with coffee and doughnuts, which saved me from the pity party that would have taken hold if it weren’t for her intervention.

“Alan and I had to go to the River Mill Country Club today, due to our case,” I explained.

“Interesting,” she said, “but I know you can’t talk about it. I called because we should have our garden club meeting tomorrow afternoon. If you can’t host it, I will.”

I paused to think for a moment. “It should be fine to have it here because we need to make some fall wreaths.”

“Do you have the materials?” she asked. “Lydia mentioned that you’re running low on some things.”

“I’m placing my order right now and, if I’m lucky, it will be here by noon.”

“Then, I’ll let the girls know and we’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” I replied. “Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you?”

“No, but I know you do—and I feel the same way.”

Her words of support energized me and I was able to finish my order within an hour, making it almost ten o’clock, my time. I yawned, thinking I’d rather go to bed than call my sister.

Still, I wondered why we had let distance separate us. I pressed her number in my contacts, and it rang four times before going to voicemail.

“Hi, Laura. It’s Sue, and I was just thinking about you. Give me a call and let me know how you’re doing. Love you.”

For some reason, I felt sad that we hadn’t connected. Could that have been Clare’s reaction when her calls to Liz kept going to voicemail?

Alan interrupted my thoughts. “Ready to hit the sack?”

“I am,” I sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted.

He placed his hand on my shoulder as I put the computer to sleep. “Did you call your sister?”

I nodded slowly. “She didn’t answer, so I left a message.”

“Okay, honey. Tomorrow’s another day.”

I think he felt my sadness, and that comforted me.