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“Gosh, that looks terrific! Boy, I’m being hit with all kinds of things from the past today,” Jeanette said, looking into the Pyrex dish Whitney put on the table.
“Really?” Amanda mused, bringing the pot of chowder to the table. “The room is bringing back memories too?”
From different cupboards, Whitney pulled out three earthenware bowls, a bottle of wine, and a pack of crackers. She grabbed three soup spoons from the drawer and joined them, looking at Jeanette curiously.
“That,” Jeanette agreed, “and I just got a visit from Jason Flaherty.”
Amanda paused midway through ladling the chowder into bowls and looked up at Jeanette with her brows raised.
“Really? I didn’t hear him come in,” she said, moving again.
Jeanette chortled as Whitney poured her a very full glass of wine.Bless her,she thought.
“That’s because he didn’t come in. He climbed up the lattice and met me on the balcony.”
For a moment, Jeanette’s two cousins stared at her wildly, and then they both burst into laughter.
“Of course, he did,” Amanda said, rolling her eyes.
“Why am I not in the least bit surprised?” Whitney added, shaking her head as she grinned.
“Has he done this before?” Jeanette asked, amused.
“Not that we know of,” Amanda replied, taking a seat, “but I don’t think he’s changed much since we were teenagers. He’s just as daring now as he was back then.”
“Yeah, but back then we were durable,” Jeanette quipped. “If he would have fallen, he probably would have just bounced back up. Now, if he fell, he’d probably break every bone in his body.”
Jeanette took a bite of the clam chowder and rolled her eyes. “Mmhm. Delicious.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Amanda replied, accepting the praise, “but as for Jason, I’m pretty sure he lives up to the ‘you’re as old as you feel philosophy.’ I mean, he’s a big-time CEO. If he wanted to, he could be one of those bosses who only shows up once in a blue moon. But we see him all the time working with his construction crew, getting down and dirty with the labor.”
Jeanette’s eyebrows flew up in surprise. She’d met plenty of powerful men in Montreal, and none of them were willing to get their hands dirty.
“Really?” she asked. “Why?”
Amanda and Whitney shrugged.
“Who knows?” Whitney replied, passing her the shrimp salad. “But for whatever reason, his crews seem to really like how hands-on he is. We hear them talking outside sometimes. Seems like they have a lot of genuine respect for the guy.”
Jeanette thought about this as the three of them fell into a comfortable silence as they enjoyed their lunch. Jason was older than her by a good five years or so, but now, thinking back, he was the one who made sureeveryonewas included in the games, no matter how young they were. She also recalled that he had very little tolerance for bullying.
“So,” Amanda began as they started to clear the table, “now that you’re here, what do you want to do?”
Jeanette picked up her bowl and spoon and carried them to the sink, already deciding to take care of the dishes for everyone.
“Honestly?” she replied. “I’m not sure, but I know I don’t want to just lie around and do nothing. I did enough of that at Carmen and Franny’s. I need something that gets me back on my feet again. Is there anything I can do around here to help?”
“Oh, honey,” Whitney laughed as she put things back into the fridge, “we have a whole laundry list of things we need done.”
“Perfect! Why don’t you give me what you got and I’ll get started?”
Amanda and Whitney shared a concerned glance before turning to Jeanette.
“Are you sure?” Amanda asked, her tone gentle. “You don’t want to at least take the rest of the day to relax?”
Jeanette shook her head.
“No, thanks. I’ve done about all of the relaxing I can for now,” she replied. “Seriously, what have you got? Even if it’s stuff I can’t get completed today, I can at least get started.”
