Twenty-nine
‘Will Nick be here for dinner?’ Savannah called from the kitchen as Jenny walked downstairs after managing an hour’s sleep.
‘No,’ Jenny called back and wondered if her reply had sounded as panicked as she thought.
Savannah stuck her head around the corner. ‘Everything okay?’
Apparently it had. ‘Yep. His sister’s in town. I think he’ll be having dinner with her.’
‘What’s she like?’
‘Different from what I was expecting.’
‘Different good or bad?’
‘Just different. I didn’t really have much of a chance to talk to her.’
Her daughter pulled a ‘whatever’ face and disappeared into the kitchen to finish making dinner.
Later, once everyone else had gone their own ways—Brittany putting Sophie to bed, Savannah heading out to see friends and Chloe tucked away in her room on her phone—Jenny lay on the couch idly flicking through the offerings on her streaming service. Why was it you could never find anything you felt like watching when you literally had thousands of programs to watch? She’d been scrolling through every category for close to thirty-five minutes and absolutely nothing had snagged her interest. Bring back the good old days of watching whatever the hell the TV channel decided to play, she thought, before trying to figure out the specific point in time when everyone had gotten so caught up in all this pay-TV hype in the first place.
Her phone interrupted her pondering and she glanced down to see Nick’s name on the screen. She’d figured he’d be calling at some point.
‘Is everything okay? You didn’t sound yourself in your text earlier.’
‘Thereisno sound in a text,’ Jenny pointed out logically. ‘And yep, everything’s fine. I figured you and your sister would want some time alone to catch up.’
‘She’s busy going over the books as we speak,’ he said.
‘Is everything going okay?’
‘Define okay.’ His voice took on a dry tone. ‘Everything is exactly the way it usually is when Susie comes to visit.’
Jenny, who was normally a very open-minded and friendly person, could totally understand the underlying weariness in his meaning.
‘Did Susie say something to you? Is that why you left in such a hurry?’ he asked now, in a more serious voice.
‘No,’ Jenny said. Which was true. It wasn’t anything the woman had said, it was what shehadn’tsaid that had been the problem. ‘But I got the feeling she wasn’t impressed by your choice of girlfriend.’
‘She wouldn’t be, would she?’ he replied with a dry chuckle. ‘She didn’t get to pick you out.’
‘Your sister usually picks out your girlfriends?’
‘Nope. But she reckons she’d do a better job of finding me someone suitable. And by “suitable” she means some career-driven, corporate imitation of her. Which is kind of not something I’m greatly turned on by, in case you were wondering.’
‘Good to know,’ Jenny said with a small smile, trying to imagine her Nick with a mini-me version of the woman she’d met today.Her Nick …The phrase sent a warm rush through her chest.
‘I shouldn’t have left you with her. I know what she’s like but I didn’t get time to warn you. Ignore anything she said. She’ll get bored in a day or so and go back home.’
‘At least she’s trying to stay connected. That’s kind of nice,’ Jenny said, trying to put a positive spin on the situation.
‘Kind of annoying, really. But I suppose you’re right. I just wish she’d give me a bit more warning when she decides to drop in for an inspection.’
‘I’m sure it’s not an inspection. She probably just wants to see her baby brother.’
‘And the books … and the invoices …’ he listed without humour.
‘At least it shows she’s interested in your business.’
