“I’ll drop you at the cannery. There are no tours on rainy days so you can have the place to yourselves.” I tell her as I’m already backing out. It’s less than a fifty yard walk, but for some reason I want to take hermyself.
I lead her in through the side door and immediately shudder at the cold blast of AC that keeps the bugs out. She follows me to thekitchen.
“Hey!” Ginny and Maya both yell when we walkin.
“Hi,” Ebie says with a smile. “Is it okay if I eat this inhere?”
“Absolutely! Come on in. Gimme your coat,” Ginnysays.
“Morning, boss,” Maya says tome.
“What’sup?”
“What climbed up yourass?”
“Me,” Ebiesaid.
“Oh no. Trouble in paradisealready?”
“No, I think he just wants his bed back. I toss and turn like crazy and I’m driving him nuts,” Ebie says. I don’t know why, but her version of events irritates the fuck out of me until she winks in my direction. She’s getting me back. If she has to play this game, so doI.
“I’m leaving,” Isay.
“Oh comeon!”
“Silas! No! Oh my God! Please stay, please!” Ginny and Maya say at the sametime.
“Fuck you both.” I grab a few clean blueberries out of the large metal bowl on the counter and turn toleave.
“Don’t mind him,” Maya jokes. “You should meet his dad and his brother. All the McInroy men aremoody.”
Ebie doesn’t say anything. She just laughs. She’s good at pretending to bepolite.
I head back to my truck and as soon as I turn the key, my phone rings in my pocket. I fish it out and curse when I see MOM INTERNATIONAL on the screen. I have toanswer.
“Hi, Ma,” Isay.
“It’s Dad.” My father’s accent is always thicker when he spends time backhome.
“Oh,hey.”
“She told me to ring you so she could talk to you and then she went into the other room. Iolana, do you want to talk to the lad ornot?”
I hear my mom yell something in the background, but I can’t make out what she’ssaying.
“She’s telling me to hold my horses. You’ve had a bit of rain that way?” Dadasks.
“Yes, sir, but we’re doing fine. Reggie and I scouted this morning and we didn’t lose too muchproduct.”
“Right, good to hear. I should have brought some Family Jam over ‘ere. Can’t find anything like it. Yer mum misses you.” Seamus McInroy code for “I miss you too, but I’ve been letting your mother express emotions for us both since the day I mether.”
“Miss you guys too,” I reply. “And I’ll send you some jam. Justask.”
“Talk to yer mum. I’m sure she has a whole shipping crate worth of things she’ll want ya to send over, as if she won’t be back to sort it all for herself in a fewmonths.”
“Are you guys still coming back forChristmas?”
“Ya—here’s yer mum. Keep yer head dry,” he says. Before I can respond, my mom’s on thephone.
