Connor’s mouth goes flat, and he gives a curt nod. It’s still hard for him to believe Blake boasted about him. “Nice to meet you, folks.”
“We brought some vegetables from the garden,” Mrs. Jenson interjects as she thrusts the bucket at Connor. It hits his hard chest and a small humph escapes him. Connor darts his gaze to me that says he’s thinking, Is this lady for real? I roll my eyes in apology and decide to move things along. As soon as Mr. Jenson says hello to the kids, hopefully they’ll leave. If it were just the old man, I’d pour him a glass of tea and offer him a seat on the porch, but since he brought Lady Butthead with him, I need to get them gone.
“Connor, would you mind taking these in the kitchen and bringing the bucket back, please?”
“Sure thing,” Connor agrees and moves quickly into action.
“My, my,” Mr. Jenson preens. “Is that McKenzie? She has grown up so much.”
“McKenzie,” I say as I tap her leg. When she looks at me, annoyance strewn across her face, I jut my chin at Mr. Jenson, and her face falls when she takes notice. Apparently, she hadn’t even realized they were here. Then, her mouth quirks into a sneer that I assume is meant to be a smile, before she returns to staring off into space.
“Sorry,” I apologize to the Jenson. “Teenage years.”
“No worries.” Mr. Jenson waves his hand dismissively. “Are Mary-Anne and J.J. here?”
I quickly call for the children and they almost knock Connor over as he returns with the bucket. He laughs as he catches his balance, and the children flock to Mr. Jenson. Mrs. Jenson stands back, arms crossed, practically glaring at her husband as he dotes on the children. I look to Connor, wondering if I can communicate my annoyance through a glance, but I find him watching McKenzie. When I look at Kenz, she’s sitting up now, her lips flat as she watches her brother and sister with what appears to be a look of annoyance. Her sunglasses hide her eyes, but by her posture she seems almost ready to pounce. I’m guessing she senses the rudeness radiating off of Mrs. Jenson and doesn’t like it directed at her siblings. I smile a little. I thought all of her sweetness had evaporated years ago, but it’s nice to see she’s still got it.
“Look what I brought for you?” Mr. Jenson smiles as he hands Mary-Anne and J.J. a Werther’s Original candy. The children waste no time ripping the wrappers open and shoving the hard candies in their mouths.
“What do you say?” I prompt the kids to show their manners.
“Thank you,” they reply in unison and hug the old man again.
“We need to go, Ned,” Mrs. Jenson snaps and walks to Connor, snapping the bucket out of his hands before moving to the screen door. Connor doesn’t even have time to react because Mr. Jenson moves on.
“You kids come and see me before you leave, and I’ll have a special treat for you, okay.” Mr. Jenson pats their heads and tugs gently on one of Mary-Anne’s pigtail braids.
“Okay!” The kids yell and jump up and down.
“Thank you for the vegetables,” I say, remembering my manners. It seems I need some prompting as well.
“Anytime.” With a wave, he follows Mrs. Jenson out and off the porch. When they’ve passed my house and are out of view, I turn to McKenzie, and she’s already resumed her prior stance; looking away, arms crossed, hating the world. Shaking my head I look to Connor, but he’s staring off to where the Jenson’s just disappeared. His brows are furrowed, and his arms are crossed as well. Looks like Mrs. Jenson leaked her bad mood into all of us.
Clapping my hands, I say loudly, “Who wants pizza?”
“We do! We do!” The kids yell and suddenly Grayson is running around my legs repeating Pizza over and over again. The screen door screeches open again, and Mark enters.
“Did someone say pizza?”