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“Yep. It’sMisha’s mom is cooking us suppernight, so you know it’s going to be delicious.”
“Oh, boy,” Gareth said. “Is it a full house?”
“Possibly,” Janessa said. “I think Denise said to invite everyone in the family who might want to come.”
“Yep, she did,” Misha said. “She’s planning to cook for a crowd, and she’s so happy.”
“Hopefully Will shows up,” Jay said. “Then the three of us can go work out afterwards.”
“I’m going back to work.” Janessa got to her feet. “All this talk of working out is exhausting.”
Laughter followed her as she left the breakroom, making Janessa smile. Though she could have done with a nap, Janessa went into each of the exam rooms, straightening them up and quickly cleaning the surfaces to prepare for the afternoon patients.
Once the afternoon got underway, it flew by. It was busy, but Janessa was fine with that. If she had too much time to sit, she’d fall asleep.
“See you at the house,” Janessa called out as she left the clinic at the end of the day.
Janessa was the first to leave, but she’d finished everything she needed to do, and she was ready for the weekend.
When she got home, she was greeted by the smell of food and the sound of a baby laughing. Janessa grinned as she walked into the kitchen.
“Hi, Denise,” she said. “How’s it going?”
The woman greeted her with a smile and a tight hug. “It’s going very well.”
“It smells delicious.”
“Let’s hope it alsotastesdelicious.”
Janessa laughed. “As if there is any doubt.”
She bent to greet Ciara where she was sitting in her round plastic bouncer. Toys bobbed and swayed as the little girl jumped in excitement. Peyton and Layla were seated at the counter while Charli pulled dishes down from the cupboard.
“I’m going to get changed into something a bit more comfortable, then I’ll come down and help you.”
“Thank you, dear,” Denise said as she stirred something on the stove.
As she climbed the stairs to her room, Janessa once again found herself thinking about her birth mom. She hadn’t realized how many memories she was missing until being around Denise.
She couldn’t remember if her mom had cooked like Denise. The memory of her laughter had faded, and even though Janessa kept a picture of her on her dresser, the way she’d smiled was harder to recall without looking at it.
It made being around Denise bittersweet. Janessa liked that she’d begun to think about her mom more, but unfortunately those thoughts only made it more apparent how many of Janessa’s memories of her had faded.
Was it the same for Jay?
She hadn’t asked him, not wanting to know that she was the only one who struggled to recall the time they’d had with their mom. At age nine, Jay had had two more years of memories than she did. Plus, being older, he’d recall things about their mom that Janessa just couldn’t.
After changing, Janessa returned to the kitchen, just as the others began to arrive.
Charli quickly put her to work setting the table, which was as much as she would be trusted around the food. And rightfully so. Janessa had never been a great cook, though she could manage a few simple dishes. Charli was the better cook, but Janessa and Aria still took turns cooking to give her a break.
She wondered if Denise would be willing to teach her how to cook more complex dishes. Her mom—Cathy—was a good cook, but she stuck to the basics. Most of her menu was food that stretched to feed a crowd since their family was so large, and also food that could be made quickly, because Cathy worked outside the home.
In her cooking, Denise used spices and ingredients that Janessa knew little about, except that they tasted wonderful when combined by the older woman.
“What are we having, Denise?” Jay asked as he joined them in the kitchen.
“Ribs, mac and cheese, and some cornbread since Misha’s been asking for it.”
