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“Sweet, please,” she said.
Jettie appeared at my elbow as I emptied the tea jug. To be honest, I only kept it around for Zeb and Jolene, and I had no idea when it had been brewed. “Lace it with Ex-Lax. It will do her some good.”
“Don’t start,” I warned her quietly. “Let’s just get everybody out of here as quickly as possible.”
“What was that, honey?” Mama asked as she puttered around my cabinets looking for dishes that had been washed up to her standards.
“Nothing,” I said, pouring the tea into a proper glass, with lemon. No laxative enhancements. I turned to find Jenny standing behind me, arms crossed, jaw set.
“Yes?”
Jenny threw up her hands. “Well?”
“Well what?”
“Well, Mama said you had something to say to me,” Jenny ground out. “She said you were ready to apologize.”
I shot Mama a scathing look. “Well, that’s funny, because Mama said you were ready to apologize to me.”
“Why would I apologize to you?” Jenny demanded.
“I don’t know, for suing me? And by the way, I don’t think my lawyer would appreciate your being here right now.”
“Now, girls,” Mama sighed.
“I’m suing you to get what I deserve!” Jenny cried.
“Trust me, you don’t want what you deserve,” I shot back.
“This was obviously pointless.” Jenny groaned. “Enjoy your dinner, Mama.”
“No, Jenny, don’t go,” Mama wheedled as Jenny stomped out. “You just have to stay and talk this through.”
Grandma Ruthie must have cut Jenny off at the living room, because she and Wilbur were marching my sister back into the kitchen.
“You don’t have to go, Jenny. You have every right to be here,” Grandma told her. “You’re staying.”
“Yeah, I’m sure there are way more insulting things you can say to me in my own house.” I grabbed a bottle of Faux Type O out of the fridge because I knew it would bother Jenny that much more.
“It’s not your home,” Grandma Ruthie sniffed. “It belongs to all Earlies.”
“Well, that’s a handy piece of information. I’ll keep you guys in mind the next time I’m writing out the property-tax check. Or the check for the new boiler. Or the next time I have to make roof repairs.”
Jenny huffed, indignant. “If it’s such a burden—”
“It’s not a burden. I’m just tired of you and Grandma Ruthie talking as if I fell into this no-maintenance pile of clover. It takes time, hard work, and money to maintain this house. And frankly, I’m better prepared to do that than either of you.”
“Because you’re a vampire,” Grandma asked snidely.
“Yeah, because I’m a vampire. And you know, that’s the first time you’ve actually said the v-word. So thank you.”
“I don’t want to go through this business again,” Grandma sighed, waving my concerns away like buzzing insects.
“I don’t think we went though this business the first time,” I said. “You’ve mostly ignored me and any mention of my being a vampire.”
“You know, when I was a young woman, people stayed dead.”
“Sorry. This must be a real inconvenience for you.”
