Page 41 of Pickled
I waved at it. “What’s more important? The splash pad or the dishes?”
“The splash pad!” she squealed.
My mother would’ve died before leaving a crumb on the counter. I remember her turning friends away who dropped in to say hi, just because the house wasn’t in pristine condition. I didn’t want to put that on Olive either. The dishes and the demonically possessed hand mixer could wait until we got back.
Olive had no idea what she’d stumbled upon with her comment about Gideon. Because, like her, I wondered why Gideon had left me the tickets. And unfortunately, I’d come up with the same reason as my five-year-old. Gideon wanted something from me.
I shook my head. Analyzing it was pointless. All that mattered was the little girl in front of me. The one smearing sunscreen over the haze of flour on her face.
Hours later,our bathing suits hung drying on the balcony, and the kitchen was cleaned. With Olive napping on the sofa, I finally had some time to myself. My eyes settled on the Loreena Lamb book on my shelf. I pulled it out and sat gingerly on the sofa, careful not to disturb Olive or the cat. A faded bookmark fell from its place somewhere in the middle of the book. It didn’t matter what page it had been marking; since it had been years since I’d opened it, I was going to have to start from the beginning.
Both Olive andI jolted awake as the doorbell rang. The book had fallen onto my chest, still open to page four. Groggy, I folded down the page and checked my watch. How long had we been napping? The only people who would knock on my door were the Lockelhursts, and it was rare that they would interrupt me on my day off.
Sure enough, I could see Judith’s white hair in the window at the top of the door. Worried that something serious had happened, I bolted from the sofa and yanked open the door as fast as I could.
“Judith? What’s going on?” My palm pressed into my chest as I caught my breath.
Tangerine lipstick brightened her smile, a perfect match to her outfit. “Everything is fine, dear. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
That’s when I noticed Judith wasn’t alone. Gabby and Lisa were on the stairs behind her. In no world did the trio on my doorstep make sense. “What are you two doing here?” Was I dreaming?
Lisa nudged Gabby, who nodded in response. “Can Olive come to the club with us? We’re going to play pickleball.” Gabby was dressed in the cutest white tennis skirt, her pink socks pulled up to her knobby knees.
Olive materialized at my side before I could answer. “Mom, can we?”
Blinking, I was still trying to make sense of why Judith was with them. “I guess we could go for a little bit.” Why hadn’t Lisa called first? My mind went into “mom mode,” trying to figure out how we could fit in a few hours at the club, have dinner, and still get ready for bed in time. “It’s a school day tomorrow, so we can’t stay too long.”
“We won’t keep her out too late,” Lisa said.
Confusion seemed to be my new best friend. “Keep her out too late? I’m coming too.”
Mrs. Lockelhurst put her hand on my forearm. “No, dear, you don’t need to come. It’s a private lesson with the Myers sister, the older one. I can’t think of her name.” She fanned her face with the tail of a silk scarf that was tied to her handbag. “Lisa is going to take the girls to the club.”
“Janie. It’s Janie Myers.” Gabby squealed. “Olive. Get your stuff.”
Olive darted from my side and disappeared into her bedroom. “What the h—heck is going on?” I self-censored, mindful of Gabby. Olive had already bolted to her room, her dresser drawers slamming.
Mrs. Lockelhurst and Lisa shot each other a conspiratorial look. Judith ran her fingertips over a black pearl necklace. “The girls have a lesson tonight; that leaves your schedule completely open. We’re going to a hockey game.” She stopped tracing her necklace to pull a hat from her handbag. As she put it on, I noticed that her outfit wasn’t tangerine; it was orange—tiger orange. The growling mascot of the Toronto team burst from the logo on her hat. It should’ve looked tacky next to her silk tank top and wide-legged Florida lady pants, but somehow, it all… worked.
Lisa pumped her eyebrows behind my eccentric boss. She knew what she was doing, bringing in Judith as a reinforcement. If my boss wasn’t standing in front of me, I would’ve told Lisa there was no way inutter h-e-double hockey sticksthat I was going to set foot inside the Miami Barracuda’s barn. But Mrs.Lockelhurst, Judith, my boss taking me to the game? Could I say no?
My face burned, and I did my best to shoot fire from my eyeballs at Lisa. “What happened to your date with Keith?” I tried to hide the frustration from my voice.
Judith picked up a shopping bag and thrust it into my arms. “Keith is feeling a little under the weather. Go put this on. And hurry, Olive’s lesson starts soon.”
“Coming!” Olive shouted, her sneakers squeaking on the tile floor as she returned to the door, dressed and ready for the courts.
“Fine.” I closed my fingers around the paper handles of the shopping bag. I had been completely railroaded by my boss and best friend. It was obvious that saying no wasn’t an option.
“Good. I’ll go start the car.” Judith’s eyes sparkled, and she skipped down the stairs like someone half her age.
“Lisa.” I seethed. “How could you?”
She held up her hands. “I had nothing to do with this.”
“Nothing.” I crossed my arms, the bag crumpling against my body.
“Judy called and asked if Olive would like a few lessons. That’s what the surprise was supposed to be.”
