“And I’ve also got macaroni and cheese, and Jennie Sue’s made her fabulous potato salad,” Lettie called from the kitchen.
Rick caught Cricket rolling her eyes on the other side of the room and almost laughed out loud. Sometimes karma really did whip around and bite a person right on the butt.
Cricket frowned at her brother and then turned away to find Jennie Sue right beside her. There was nothing to do but speak to the woman, even if she would rather have slapped her. She knew that was the wrong attitude. Just last Sunday the new preacher at the church had delivered his sermon on having a sweet, positive spirit and never letting bitterness into the heart. But dammit! He hadn’t had to live under Jennie Sue’s shadow all these years. If Cricket had cleaned houses or worked at the bookstore, it wouldn’t even be noticed, but let Jennie Sue do the same thing and the phone lines buzzed for days.
“Hello again, Cricket,” Jennie Sue said softly. “You look so pretty tonight.”
Cricket didn’t want to be taken in by Jennie Sue’s compliments, but she couldn’t help it. “Well, thank you. I thought you’d be at your mama’s for that big party.”
“I went, but I didn’t stay. I’ve had a really good time helping Lettie and Nadine this afternoon. They’re such a hoot.” Jennie Sue picked up a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries and cubes of cheese. “We have these little appetizers until Nadine says the brisket is ready. Want one?”
Well, la-di-da! Jennie Sue was now a house cleaner, a chauffeur, and a waitress. Didn’t life turn round? “I’d love a chocolate strawberry. These came from our farm. Did you dip them?”
“Yes, but I promise I didn’t lick my fingers,” Jennie Sue whispered.
Why did Jennie Sue have to be so nice? It sure made it hard not to like her, but Cricket was determined.
“I used to help Mabel and Frank in their small garden when I was a kid. I loved getting my hands dirty and gathering in the vegetables. We never had strawberries, though, and when Mama decided to add a big porch onto the house, the garden had to go. I missed it,” Jennie Sue said.
Cricket had just finished eating the strawberry when Nadine said for everyone to gather around and hold hands for the blessing. Cricket made sure that, among the twenty people, she wasn’t standing beside Jennie Sue. Yet when she saw that Rick had wiggled in between Jennie Sue and Amos, she wanted to wring his neck. Didn’t he have a lick of sense? That’s it. He was going to have to find out for himself—the crash would be terrible.
Amos delivered the shortest grace in the history of mankind, followed by Nadine’s loud amen. She continued, “Line up, heap your plates, and find a place to eat. If you like to be cool, then stay in the house. But if you don’t mind a little heat, there’s two long tables set up under the pecan tree out back. As for me, I’m going to sit in my rockin’ chair in the livin’ room and put my food on the end table right beside it.”
“Where are you going?” Jennie Sue asked Cricket.
Wherever you aren’t, she thought. But she looked around at all the elderly folks, and it wouldn’t be right for her to deprive any of them of a nice cool place to eat. “Probably out under the shade tree. Seems more like the Fourth of July if we eat outside.”
“I’ve been inside all day, so I’d love to join you,” Jennie Sue said.
“I’ll go out with you ladies,” Rick said quickly.
Of course you will. Cricket frowned. Either you have a crush on Jennie Sue or you’re workin’ real hard to prove me wrong. “Then it looks like at least three of us don’t mind sweating.”
“I’ll go with y’all!” Amos raised his hand. “Me and Iris always liked to eat out under the shade tree.”
“It’s been years since I’ve been on a picnic.” Jennie Sue added a slice of smoked pork loin to her plate.
“I miss them,” Amos sighed as he carried his plate toward the door with the rest behind him. “Iris and I met at a church picnic. I like to think she’s lookin’ down on this one.”
“Maybe she is.” Rick grinned. “That’s the way I like to think about my mama and dad—lookin’ down and happy that we’re keepin’ the farm going. They would have enjoyed today.”
Jennie Sue picked up a beer with her free hand as she brought up the rear. Outside, she chose a place on one side of the table, and Rick set his plate right next to her. Cricket pulled out a chair across from them, with Amos settled in beside her.
“Jennie Sue, it’s good to see you makin’ friends other than folks with one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel.” Amos laughed at his own joke.
“Age is just numbers on paper,” Jennie Sue said.
“You got that right.” Amos set about eating.
Rick turned to Jennie Sue. “So how was your mama’s party?”
“Don’t know,” she answered. “I was only there about fifteen minutes. But I’ve had a really good time here today. Lettie and Nadine should go onstage with a comedy act. They’ve had me in stitches most of the day.”
Cricket kicked Rick under the table and shook her head at him when she got his attention. He raised an eyebrow, and she shot daggers at him.
“So Cricket says that you liked to garden when you were a kid.” He moved his legs to the side.
“I loved getting my hands dirty.” She glanced at Rick. “When I get my own place someday, if it’s too small to have a garden, then I’ll plow up the whole backyard and plant vegetables. I love to cook with fresh stuff.”
Cricket caught the sly I-told-you-so look that her brother cast her way. Something wasn’t right here. Jennie Sue Baker was the next Wilshire in the long line of Bloom socialites. She should be worrying about chipping her nails, not digging in the dirt. What kind of game was this woman playing?
Even with Cricket’s mean looks, this is a better party than any I’ve ever been to at the house. I love all my new friends, Jennie Sue thought. It would be amazing if I could add Rick and Cricket to the list.
Why would you ever want that woman to be your friend? an aggravating voice in her head asked.
Because she’s got a big chip on her shoulder, and I’d like to see it gone. She glanced at Cricket, who had her head down, and kind of doubted that would ever be possible. Then she shifted her eyes over to Rick, who was staring right at her. Their gaze met halfway, and she could have sworn there was chemistry between them again. He was a fine-looking man, but even if he didn’t feel what she did, maybe they could be friends. They sure shared a love for gardening.
Hey, I wonder if he’d let me come out there and pick my own vegetables?
“This potato salad is amazing.”
“It’s because I had good fresh potatoes to work with.” Jennie Sue blinked and looked down at her food. “Besides, a little bacon makes anything better.”
What she didn’t say was that it had been Percy’s favorite, and she’d made it at least once a month. That brought back the final night they’d spent together. He’d gotten angry when she confronted him about his latest affair—with one of her friends, no less—and told him that she was six weeks pregnant. He’d thrown a whole bowlful of potato salad at the wall, shattering the glass and sending the mixture all over the carpet. Then he’d demanded that it be cleaned up before she went to bed, with not a single bit of stain left on the floor.
He’d slept in the spare bedroom, and when she awoke the next morning, he was gone without even leaving a note. A week later she was served with divorce papers. She’d signed them without benefit of a lawyer, since the alimony he’d set was reasonable, and she got to keep the apartment. It wasn’t until later that she realized how little she’d actually received for the years she’d been married to him.
“You okay?” Rick nudged her with his shoulder.
“I’m fine.” She blinked away the past and came back to the present.
“You looked like you’d seen a ghost,” he whispered.
“I did, but it’s gone now.” She looked up at him, noticed the scar on his jawline, and had to hold her hands in her lap to keep from touching it.
His hand went to it, and he said, “It’s the least of many.”