"So you think there's something wrong with Auntie Flo? I was at the house yesterday and she looked okay to me. So what if she when to the church bingo Saturday then the church picnic on Sunday?" Jessie told Danny and she carefully emptied some flour into the large bowl Chad was mixing furiously.
It was late Tuesday afternoon, three days after her fall at the restaurant. She had decided to take everyone's advice and taken a couple of days off from teaching literature at the local high school. To pass the time she decided to do some cleaning at the two stories Victorian home she shared with her cousin, Laura and her son Chad. After giving up on attempting making the downstairs bathroom tiles sparkled like they did some fifty odd years when it was built, she decided to take Chad to the lake at the back of the house. The sun had just begun to set when they returned home. Danny had called just as they were measuring flour to make peanut butter cookies.
"Those walks in the afternoons are okay J, but signing up for picnics and bingo and piano lessons may be a bit too much. Did you know she's thinking about taking a trip to France, Jessie? She doesn't even know French!" What's a sixty eight year old woman going to do in France?" Danny exclaimed.
"See the sights. The Louve is really beautiful and I read somewhere sixty is the new fifty. You're getting worked up over nothing. Aren't you glad she's not bundled up in a rocking chair knitting sweaters and smelling of moth balls?" Jessie told her.
"Well yeah, but, but mom is fragile," She lamented.
"Need I remind you that your mother has managed to successfully send all of her children to university and her niece? There isn't a fragile bone in Florence Anderson." Jessie reminded her. She was then interrupted by a beep on the phone.
"Hold on I got another call," she said quickly connecting the person.
"Do you know mom has a boyfriend," Josie screeched into the phone.
Jessie held the phone away from her ear as her cousin released a series of curses.
"Are you finished? Danny is on the other line she said putting on the three way.
"Do you know who was in our mother's kitchen this afternoon? Carl Thomas. Mom says he asked her to the movies this Saturday. What do we do? What do we do?" she continued frantically.
"How bout we wait for him to close his bookshop tonight hit him over the head and drag him over to Willow Creek. Nobody ever goes there. If we weigh him down with enough rocks they'll never find him. Jessie laughed as she removed two cookie trays from the cupboard.
"Jessie this is serious!" Danny said hysterically.
"Let me get this straight its wrong for your mother to date or have a love life."
"Yes!" they said together.
"But its okay for you two to stick you noses in mine."
"Yes," they said again.
"Let's be realistic J you don't have a love life," Danny told her.
"It's practically non existent," finished Josie.
"You two are ludicrous you know that," she exclaimed as she measured the butter, peanut butter and cracked the eggs.
"Its different with you Jess. You pining away on a guy who was a complete jerk," Josie began.
"I am not!" protested Jessie.
"But mom had a great guy. Sure they argued sometimes but who doesn't? They had a great marriage. Shouldn't those memories be enough for mom?" she continued as though Jessie had not spoken.
"It's not as if she's getting hitched or shacking up with the guy," she said.
"You but you don't know what old man Carl is cooking up," Danny pointed out.
Jessie just couldn't picture Carl Thomas as an evil villain in this picture. He was the one who drove her to the ranch to meet Aunt Flo and Uncle Hector fourteen years ago. He was too nice and smiled too much to be cooking up anything. She suddenly remembered another friendly smile like Carl's but on a lot more stunning individual. She quickly tried to forget green eyes and sexy Italian/Napolitano accent of Adam Cambridge.
"C'mon you two. You've known Carl all your lives," she pointed out.
"All this time he was just waiting to make his move! I can't believe I invited him to my wedding!" Josie gasped sounding horrified
"I can get through your thick heads. David and Todd will have to do it when they come to family reunion next Saturday," Jessie said simply before hanging up on them.
She turned towards Chad who was carefully spooning out the first batch of dough into cookie trays. He looked up as she approached. He looked so much like the dad he would never meet. Just nine years old and he was almost as tall as his slender five foot nine mother. The only thing he took on his mother's side was her striking brown eyes. Jessie could tell he was going to send a couple of hearts racing in the years to come.
"Hey what do you think of your granny getting a boyfriend?" she asked him as she pulled out the ice- cream from the fridge and sat on a stool. Chad pulled out two bowls and spoon and climbed onto the stool next to her before answering.
"Grandma is kind of old. But you could never have too much friends," he answered.
"Yeah I guess you never can," she smiled.
"Can we watch a movie before when mom comes home?" he asked shoveling a spoonful of golden vanilla into his mouth.
"I don't see why not," Jessie told him. Jessie placed the trays into the oven and sat on a nearby stool to eat her ice cream. Then she began with the next batch of cookies Laura came home at seven thirty. Jessie took one look at her and saw something was wrong. her pretty black curls were in a messy mass on her head and the navy blue jacket she choose to were to work that morning was crumpled under her arm. A smile lit her pale face when her son launched himself into her arms and kissed her soundly. The show she made of admirining the cookies he and Jessie made didn't fool her.
"Chad why don't you go watch that movie we talked about earlier?" she suggested.
"What about you and mummy?" the little boy asked.
"We'll come in a while honey," She answered.
She watched him go into the living room and listened for the television to turn on before turning to Laura who had managed to turn paler as she watched her son leave the room.
