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Jenny
Jet lag was a son of a bitch and that was a fact. Still, she’d almost broken the back of it, and the bottle of Jack Daniels that she’d shared with Joe the night before. Jeez, he was in a bad way, and she was kinda glad when he passed out. Not for herself, because she’d have talked and talked all night, but for him. He needed to sleep because if he didn’t loosen up the guy was heading for a heart attack, like Gus.
Sucking a lungful of morning air and then swallowing down a large swig of black coffee, Jenny relaxed into a wooden steamer chair and didn’t fight the swell of sadness in her heart when she thought of Gus because that would disrespect the deep love she had for the man. The pain of love will never stop, Jenny recited the words in her head. She had thought them profound when she’d seen them on a sympathy card.
And she’d almost lost it when she saw the withered state of their oldest friend, like the bark of an olive tree, twisted, wrinkled and grey. Once Joe had told her what was wrong, Jenny realised that Gus’s prognosis was adding to his woes.
Gus was their rock, one of the guys and a good one at that, so the thought of losing him hurt like hell. On the upside, Joe was determined to get him the best treatment there was, and she was no quitter either so would be sending for her healer, a Cherokee who had special powers. It didn’t matter how much it cost, she’d get Hector to arrange it and fly him over ASAP. Then, and as soon as her brain was working properly she’d find some holistic therapists online. Surely to God there’d be some nearby and if not she’d bring them from Paris.
Jenny fully expected Gus to pooh-pooh her beliefs but they had worked wonders for her, as well as yoga of course and if Hector allowed her reiki practitioner near his precious horses then Gus would damn well let her near his heart! She was a fifty-nine-year-old walking talking advertisement for the proponents of healthy living, so he needed to listen up.
She took a long drag of her cigarette – herbal crap, not the Gauloises she had resisted at the airport. How she craved the divine hit of wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am nicotine. It had almost lured her into the shop. Setting aside worries over Gus and Joe she began a mental list of things to do. Right at the top was one name. Edie.
Ace was in love, that was as clear as a smack in the face and she could understand why her greatest creation had fallen for the very pretty young woman who had ingratiated herself with the whole family, even, from what she could tell, super-brat Lance.
Jenny had spotted Edie the second she walked into the kitchen; during hugs with Ace and darling Nanou, they’d been watched from the periphery of the group by a hovering stranger, waiting to be let in.
Of course, Jenny had made a beeline for her son’s lovely girlfriend, and arms wide open she’d folded the slender young thing into her, felt the body tense under her touch and when they pulled apart, saw the mask beneath the smile, the lie behind her eyes.
Oh, she was friendly enough, said all the right things, laughed in all the right places and was clearly Nanou’s jolly little helper. Edie had made coffee with a grand show of knowing where everything was, taking biscuits from the cupboard like she owned the joint, calling Joe in from the yard like she ran things round there, and by the time they all sat around the table familiarity was breeding contempt.
Being a Zen kind of gal, Jenny had a little chat with her pneuma who suggested caution, she was tired and maybe a tad cranky so she should cut the kid some slack. Obeying her inner soul, Jenny played the part of interested, friendly mom to a tee, until her teeth were grating, and her temple was going to explode. The cause of this was not so much what Edie said; it was what she did, or more to the point, the way she watched Joe like a ravenous hawk.
At first she thought she was imagining it, overtired, and overwrought, but as the afternoon wore on and spread into the evening her observations confirmed one thing. Edie was obsessed with Joe and didn’t like Jenny, not one bit.
Jenny was rarely wrong and firmly believed in her sixth sense, and that first impressions should be stored in a file because when they were brought to bear you could pull them out, flick through the notes, point and say, See – I told you I was right. For now, until she’d had her eight hours’ sleep and had rinsed the litres of caffeine from her system, Jenny was going to play nice and observe. There was enough going on around there without her starting a catfight and upsetting Ace before his birthday.
No, the sensible thing would be to wait it out and in the meantime be supportive and kind to everyone, and give her son a nice day, keep Joe calm, take Nanou shopping because it was their thing and they always had such fun, arrange some therapies, and hello…
She paused mid-sip of coffee, stubbed out her herbal cigarette and checked out the spook guy who looked hot in his black cargo pants and Magnum boots, never mind imagining what he looked like underneath that very tight T, or how those killer biceps could hold you down and–
‘Madame Jarrett, I do not know if my colleagues or Monsieur Jarrett has informed you but please remember to stay within the yard at all times. If you wish to leave, inform us of your destination and estimated duration of your trip.’ The guy had halted his patrol and gave her an assured look, speaking with authority, steel-grey eyes complimenting his shirt; a German Shepherd waited by his side, pulling at his lead slightly, eager to resume their walk.
Jenny avoided the groin area and the holstered gun while she replied, although it was hard not to take just a peek. ‘Honey, your wish is my command and please, call me Jenny. And your dog is such a cutie, what’s his name? Can I pet him? I do love to stroke.’
His reply was terse. ‘Thank you Madame Jarrett, and no, you may not. Sabre, allez.’
Amused, she stifled a giggle and watched him walk away, admiring the confident gait and rear view of a man who clearly spent many hours working out. Then to her irritation came another of a different ilk entirely, her dear ex-stepson, Lancy-boy.
Jenny watched as he approached, a cafetière in one hand. Setting it down on the table he looked sheepish, bashful even and Jenny wondered if he was needing to talk. He looked like he did when he needed to borrow money. ‘Nanou asked me to bring you this. She said you’re fighting jet lag. How’s it going?’
‘I’m getting there. I thought I’d hang out here and watch the show. You know, when the tech guys arrive. Why don’t you join me? Oh dear, you haven’t brought a mug? We could have shared.’
Lance accepted her invitation. ‘Hey, I’m fine, but thanks, I could do with a smoke. How was Dad last night?’
Jenny pulled a throw further over her legs and rearranged the cushion behind her. The clouds overhead had turned slate grey, the wind was brisk, and rain was on the way, so Jenny hoped Nanou had lit the fires inside for later.
Lance pulled out a chair from underneath the table and flicked off leaves before he sat, obviously not comfortable enough to choose a steamer and sit by her side. This amused her.
‘He was fine, we got drunk, he went over and over everything and I listened. He just wanted to get it out of his system and then he fell asleep. I came downstairs and watched the news, CNN and FOX mainly. Those guys love to break a story so I was curious. Anyhow, are you okay? You look tired.’
Lance offered her a cigarette which she accepted and eager for a hit of nicotine, before he’d even got his lighter out, she’d lit it so her conscience couldn’t ruin the moment. ‘I’m good, just waiting for the shit to hit the fan. I’m kinda hoping it’s all bluff and Dad won’t even get a mention, or the press don’t bite. Gus might have got it wrong.’
‘I really don’t think Gus would’ve come here in that state if it was a storm in a teacup, do you?’
Lance simply nodded and smoked. However, never one to miss an opportunity, Jenny decided to do a bit of digging, seeing as her companion was playing nice. ‘Tell me about Edie. She seems like a nice kid and Ace is smitten but she’s something of a mystery. I did the suspicious mom thing and checked her out on socials, but she’s all locked down.’ His raised eyebrow response intrigued Jenny, more so that he hadn’t rushed to praise her, instead she could see he was thinking it over.
When he did reply, his voice lowered so only she could hear, and a jerk of the head indicated the loft balcony and bedroom windows overhead. ‘Yeah, she’s okay, but a mystery all right. I did the same as you and checked her out. She added me as a friend, and from what I could see she’s on the level, went to uni where she says she did, lives in a small village in the UK. I did notice she has a friend called Rachel who lives in Chicago. That made me do more digging because it’s where the hate mail is posted. It’s probably just a coincidence and from what I can see, Rachel seems okay. Edie hasn’t got an extended family either, just a grandmother who’s not a fan of Facebook and neither is her ex-con dad.’
