AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Something pounded against the front door, so hard she thought, for a moment, she saw the wood bow.
“She’s pissed, she’s pissed because I’m opening the house to people. But it’smy house!” She shouted it, and strode back to the kitchen.
On the counter, the iPad played “Don’t Worry Baby.”
Warmth filled the room, and what felt like… a presence.
She turned, half expecting to see someone behind her. Yoda stopped trembling, yipped, then wiggled to leap out of her arms. He danced in place, turned his circles, then sat and lifted a paw.
To nothing she could see.
“That’s supposed to be comforting. Reassuring. Maybe it will be when I’ve got my breath back. I’m going to set the table.”
Once she had, the pounding stopped.
Had she given up for now? Sonya wondered. Either way, the quiet soothed.
Confident there, she arranged the charcuterie, then slid the board in the fridge while she dealt with her mother’s final instructions.
Yes, it smelled amazing, she thought, and looked damn good when she put the meat on Lisbeth’s platter. But.
Carefully, she sliced half of it, then one more small, thin slice.
“We’re going to sample,” she said to the dog, who sat hopefully at her feet. “Half for you, half for me.”
She laughed when he licked his lips, then fed him half. Though he all but inhaled it, licked his lips again, she took a careful bite.
“Oh, jeez! It’s good. I think it’s good. No, that’s all,” she added when he whined for more. “For now.”
She arranged the medley of vegetables around the roast, tossed on some sprigs of fresh rosemary. Grabbing her tablet, she took a picture. All but dancing in place herself, she texted it to her mother, to Cleo before hauling the platter into the second oven to stay warm.
“I’m supposed to thicken all this juice into a smooth, thin gravy. I wish I didn’t have to, but if it doesn’t work, we toss it out. Nobody has to know.”
She thought she managed it.
She opened a bottle of red wine to let it breathe, added a pitcher of spring water. Pretty little plates and napkins for the appetizers she’d serve in the kitchen.
Friendly.
She started to go in and light the candles in the dining room, but somebody had beaten her to it.
He, she, they were just trying to be helpful, she told herself. And the assist was worlds better than banging and pounding.
At seven, she set out the charcuterie and turned down the volume on her tablet.
“Music’s fine,” she said to whoever listened, “but we’re going to keep it nice and low. Background.”
She took off her apron, hung it up, then look a long look around.
“It’s going to be fine.”
Still, Yoda’s barks and race to the door just before the sound of the doorbell made her jump.
“Showtime.”
When she reached the door, she pointed at Yoda. “Friends.” Then opened it to Anna and a man a full head taller holding a cake carrier.
Anna moved straight in for a hug. “I just missed you in town yesterday. In the market. And this is Yoda. Hello, handsome. And this handsome’s all mine. Sonya, Seth, Seth, Sonya.”
