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As usual, he was delighted to see her. “Come on in,” he said grinning as he stepped aside to let her pass.
Adrienne gave him a peck on the cheek. “Hi, yourself. Is Charlene here?”
“No, she’s up in Connecticut, visiting her parents.”
Adrienne sniffed the air and smiled at her brother. “I don’t smell anything cooking and I’m real hungry.”
Dan headed for the kitchen. “I was going to make some salmon cakes later, but I don’t mind doing it now.”
Adrienne pushed him aside on their way to the kitchen. “Man, go away. I can do a better job.”
Dan laughed and sat down.
Adrienne took an onion and a green pepper out of the refrigerator. A can of salmon sat on the counter nearby. She opened the can of salmon, chopped the contents into a bowl, and cut pieces of onion and green pepper into it. A small amount of flour quickly followed. Adrienne cracked open an egg and floured her hands before starting to mix the concoction. When all the ingredients were blended, she washed her hands, poured a small amount of oil into a frying pan, and turned on the flame.
Dan watched her movements closely, just as he had done when he was a little boy. Adrienne noticed the hungry look on his face and laughed. “They’ll be done in a minute. Do you want eggs or grits?”
“Grits. How is married life and my beautiful niece?”
“My marriage is wonderful. I just wish we could get Delilah to sleep more at night.”
“Sleepless nights go with the territory, Sis. Just be grateful that everything else is going well. When are you going back to work?”
“In two weeks.”
“Who is going to watch Delilah?”
“Mel will stay on the night shift so we don’t have to pay a baby-sitter.”
“That’s great.”
She nodded in agreement and continued to cook.
“Have you heard from the folks?”
“Yeah, Mama called yesterday,” Adrienne said dryly. “I didn’t give her a chance to start grilling me about my mothering skills. Delilah was fussing, so that gave me an excuse to get off the phone real quick.”
“Well, if you hadn’t hung up so fast, you would know that she and Dad are coming to New York for a visit.”
Adrienne sighed. “Why?”
“I didn’t ask but they probably just want to see Delilah. Besides, it’s boring as hell in Dietsville.”
Adrienne laughed. Her parents had retired and gone to Alabama two years before. They had come back once when Delilah was born and had stayed at her house for a week. “Is Mama still insisting that Delilah looks like her?”
“No. She finally gave in and admitted that her only grandchild is the spitting image of Mel.”
“How is Dad?”
“All right. Says he’s doing a lot of fishing.”
“Good,” Adrienne said. “What’s new with you?”
“I had two wacko customers at the studio yesterday.”
Adrienne stirred the grits. “What happened?”
“This guy comes in with his woman, and they start looking at my portfolio and wall samples. She wants them to have a formal engagement photo. I could tell he wasn’t feelin’ it, but it was her show. Anyway, I started to help some other customers and then I heard shouting. Well, I couldn’t have them disturbing the peace, so I politely went over and asked them to quiet down.”
