The video ends and I hold out my hand. “Okay, Bug. Let me have my phone.”
But Larry’s already pressed play for her and leans in to watch with her. Barry and Gerry look over Junie’s shoulder, curious, too. By the time she pushes play for a third viewing, Flo’s come from the kitchen and even Pearl’s joined us.
“That’s nice,” Flo says when the video ends.
“How about aBluey?” I ask Junie, then scramble to pull up her favorite episode before Flo escapes back to the kitchen.
“Okay, Daddy, because it’s my birthday?”
“Yep. Because it’s your birthday.” Usually, screens are off-limits until late afternoon when she needs some downtime.
“You mind keeping an eye on her for a sec, Ger?” I don’t wait for his answer before jogging after Flo.
I follow her into the kitchen where she’s already back at the grill. “Hey, Aunt Flo…”
“What are you doing back here?” she asks only slightly interested in the answer as she pours pancake batter in perfect circles on the grill.
“I had a couple questions. The new waitress mentioned something about being mistaken for Frankie.”
Flo finishes pouring and looks at me.
“Have people been in here asking about her?”
She shrugs. “Kids with phones and selfie sticks, or whatever they are.”
“No reportersor anyone like that?”
She shakes her head, picks up her spatula, and flips the first row of pancakes in a few smooth motions. “Only reporter in here was the same one who came in before asking about Frankie. Apparently, Gerry got a hold of him and said he had a story about Sanctuary Inn.”
For a second I’m confused how that’s not the same thing, until I remember not everyone knows Frankie is a partner in the hotel.
“Brandon McVey?” I ask.
“I think that was his name.”
What I’m still confused about is why he’s asking about Sanctuary now. Is he aware Frankie’s involved? Is he looking for some way to hurt her?
“What did Gerry tell him?”
“The group behind Sanctuary is going back on their promises to all of us in Serenity.” She scoops mini-chocolate chips from a container and drops them into a pancake so they make a smiley face. “This one’s Junie’s.”
“What do you mean? What promises?” I move out of Miguel’s way so he can help plate the orders.
“Not using local meat and produce. Putting up barriers so only hotel guests can use the beach. Draining water resources. All the things big developers do.” She slides pancakes onto the plates while Miguel adds the sides that go with specific orders.
“They’re for sure doing this?” I move out of his way again and ignore Flo’s glare. She’s reached the end of her patience with my questions.
She points her spatula to the other side of the order window. “Ask Gerry about it. He planted acres of some kind of special lettuce because of the promises they made to buy it, now they don’t want to pay him more than what it cost him to grow it. And he’s not the only one.”
I stare at her, trying to process, wondering if Frankie knows any of this. Wondering how I’ll feel if she does.
“You should get out of here. Junie’s got Gerry in a headlock.”
I follow the direction of Flo’s spatula to where Junie’s booster is on the counter and Gerry’s in his seat again, Junie on his back with her arms wrapped around his neck, neither of them bothered by the arrangement. His eyes, along with Junie’s, are glued to my phone screen.
“That’s called a hug, Aunt Flo,” I say on my way back to the dining room.
I’m still a few feet away when Junie says to Gerry, “That’s how Frankie talks,” and then she asks Gerry a string of questions about whether Frankie does things the way Bluey does.
