“Jon went fishing this morning. He caught a twenty-pound bass. You’ll be tired of eating it before it’s gone.”
“Fishing?” Phillip narrowed his eyes with exaggeration toward Jon. “So, I’m paying you to fish in the middle of a workday, is it?”
Jon’s lips formed into a smirk. “Thought I might use one of those two-hundred eleven personal days I’ve accrued but never taken.” Jon slapped his father on the back. “It’s amazing what six hours in a boat on the Chattahoochee can do to a jet-lagged soul.”
Phillip laughed and released her to guide everyone out of the room. Valerie smiled as she walked behind them, remembering Phillip teaching all of them how to fish years ago. Brad walked next to her. “You always looked right at home in that room,” he observed.
She stole a glance at him out of the corner of her eye and caught him staring down at her with a contemplative look in his gray eyes. “I, uh, have always loved that room. It’s so peaceful.”
“It’s very feminine.” He paused and let her precede him through the doorway. “You looked just as relaxed and content in there as my mother does.” They followed the crowd into the dining room. A wall of windows looked out onto the same flower garden as Rosaline’s sitting room. Gleaming hardwood floors shone under the giant chandelier that hung suspended above a long rectangular table that could easily seat ten people.
Phillip took the spot at the head of the table, and Rosaline sat to his right. Next to her, Brad held out the chair for Valerie to sit, and he took the chair next to her. Across the table from them, Ken and Jon sat. Valerie ran her finger around the silver-rimmed plate and leaned in toward Brad. “Remember when we threw that Frisbee in here and it broke the glass door of the china cabinet?”
She giggled as his cheeks turned bright red. “I don’t think that was me.”
“Yeah, right. I know the triplet game.” She cut her eyes over to his brothers, who were laughing. “I remember. And if you told your mom one of them did it, you fibbed.”
Rosaline mock glared at Brad. “Oh, he admitted it. Don’t you remember?” She raised her eyebrow. “I’m sure he regretted the act, too.”
Remembering her own punishment of having to work with the gardener until she and Brad had finished paying for the replacement door, Valerie laughed. “He wasn’t the only one.” She tapped the plate with her fingernail. “At least you were able to replace the plates that got broken.”
“And you two learned a hard lesson.”
“I actually learned a lot about landscaping and plants native to Georgia,” she admitted, remembering the gardener who loved teaching his trapped audience. “It was really inspiring for me in college when I studied landscape design.” She looked out the window at the gardens lit by the setting sun. “I still love working with plants.”
Brad’s laugh erupted around the table as Phillip lifted the cover on the platter piled with flaky white fish. “There you go, Mom. Your punishment inspired an entire career.”
Rosaline winked. “Best kind.” She held out her hands, and Valerie, remembering family tradition, took her hand in her left and Brad’s with her right. Holding hands, the entire family collectively bowed their heads, and Phillip issued a prayer thanking God for the food and Valerie’s special homecoming.
Touched, she raised her head and pulled her hands free, rubbing the hand that Brad had held. Somewhere along her adolescence, her faith in God had crumbled. She believed in a Creator, but just didn’t quite grasp the concept that He cared about her or anyone else on earth. But she knew the love this family had for the being they called Jehovah and respected their beliefs.
They passed the platters in a clockwise motion, and soon she had fish, hush puppies, coleslaw, bright green sweet peas, and wild rice on her plate. Recognizing one of her favorite meals, she broke off a flaky bite of bass and put it in her mouth, closing her eyes as she tasted lemon and garlic.
“This looks wonderful, my love,” Phillip said to Rosaline. “Thank you.” He turned his head and looked at her. As he picked up his knife and fork, he asked, “You settled in?”
She gave a small shrug. “I didn’t bring much. I rented a furnished house. I had a few boxes of some kitchen stuff and then mostly books and clothes.” She cut off another bite of fish. “Clean start.”
Brad leaned toward her. “You know the guest house is available. You didn’t need to rent a place.”
She looked at him in his tie and suit and thought about how much he loved the outdoors, and how much he must hate sitting in an office all day. “Do you still live here?”
He shrugged. “I do now. My brothers and I buy apartments or townhouse communities, then refurbish them. I typically live in a unit until they sell. We closed last month, so I’ve been back home since then.”
“Your way to get your hands dirty even though you’re in a suit, huh?”
“He realized he had soft hands.” Ken chuckled. “He came to me about doing this apartment flip thing. If he can get home before midnight, it works out.”
“At least we don’t have a deadline when we start,” Brad said. “We can afford to take our time.” He looked at Valerie. “It feels good to take the suit off and pick up a hammer, especially after a day like today.”
She stared into his gray eyes. They glowed in the soft light of the chandelier. “I imagine it’s hard for you.”
Phillip said, “God has plans for us all. Doesn’t mean we have to agree with Him.”
She watched a muscle clench in Brad’s jaw and his eyes harden. “I’ve never disagreed.”
Jon chortled. “Yeah. You’ve just suffered. In silence, maybe, but some attitudes are louder than words.”
“You’re welcome to take over any time, brother,” Brad said in a steely voice. “I’d trade places in a second.”
