Page 4 of The Lady on Esplanade
My gaze drifted down to her feet before taking in the butter tub and mug resting on the table, then rose to meet her green eyes.“You seem…disoriented.”
“Do I?”Her voice sounded unnaturally high.She wiggled her toes, each nail painted a delicate pink.“If it’s about the bare feet, I kick off my shoes when I need to do some deep thinking.It reminds me of when I was just a little bitty thing and I’d run out the back door before Mama could catch me and make me put my shoes on.Helps me focus.”
“Then maybe you should go home to Mississippi for a bit.Take a break and schedule spa time with your mother and grandmother.”
She chewed on her lower lip.“Well, I was planning on going home for Thanksgiving, and that’s only a couple of weeks away.Beau said I could take the whole week off since nothing usually happens at the office over the holiday.”
“Maybe he’ll let you go sooner, and you can work remotely.”I gave her an encouraging smile.“I’ll make sure that tons of photos are taken and videos are recorded, and I’ll send them to you so you can post them with your amazing commentary.”
She was silent, her brow furrowed.I was already mentally clapping myself on the back when Jolene’s face brightened and she slid her chair back before slapping her hands on the table.“Thank you!Despite your appalling lack of style sense, you’ve got good horse sense.”
I stared at her.“You’re welcome—I think.But thanks for what?”
“For giving me the idea of where to host the most perfect engagement party ever!Mama and Daddy are always looking for a good excuse to entertain, and they will be over the moon to have a reasonto bring out the special Pickard china they only use for big family gatherings, like the Fourth of July and funerals.”
“But—”
“It could be a destination engagement party!Like a destination bachelorette party or wedding, but closer to home.It’s only four hours away, and we have tons of room on account of my daddy hosting hunting parties and us having so much kin that hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas is a lot like gathering the troops before a big battle—except we’re friendlier.We’ve converted the old garçonnière into a guesthouse that sleeps twelve.And if we have overflow, there’s always Grandmama’s funeral home.She doesn’t live there anymore because of the nightmares, but she always keeps the four upstairs bedrooms clean and ready for unexpected guests.”
“But—”
“Carly already told me that she’s letting me handle all the details, that she trusts me to make it the best party ever, and, thanks to you, I will!”
“But—”
“I can start the planning over Thanksgiving.We can throw the party right before Christmas so Mama won’t have to do any extra decorating since the house will already be sparkling like a float in the Christmas parade.She’ll want to add tulle and glitter for the special occasion, and of course red roses—I wonder how hard those are to come by in December.I bet Grandmama knows, since people die in December, which is highly inconvenient, but they still want roses at their funerals, but—”
“Jolene.”I said it louder than usual because she was on an overcaffeinated train of unfiltered thought that could go on for hours and I was going to be late for work.I was an architectural historian for a civil engineering firm, and though my employers were very accommodating with my schedule, allowing me to fit my office hours around the renovations of my house, they had their limits.
Jolene stopped midsentence, her green eyes widening.“Why are you shouting?You’ve made me forget what I was saying.”
“Good, because I need you to have a long think about this whole engagement-party idea.I know any party you planned would be the most amazing party ever, but I’m wondering if your efforts would be better spent elsewhere—like on organizing the house-blessing party for when my house is finally done.You’ve mentioned doing that before.”I gave her an encouraging smile.
Her shoulders dipped.“But I already—”
I held up my hand.“I know.Why don’t you drink a tall glass of water and then go lie down?I’ll call Beau and tell him you’ll be coming in late this morning, all right?”
“But I’ve already made my bed.”
“Of course you have,” I said under my breath.“I haven’t made mine, so feel free to use it.We can talk again after work.I’ll order pizza.We can put on one of your gooey face masks and have a good chat, all right?Hopefully by then the caffeine will have worn off and you can think clearly.”
She lowered her eyes.“All right.Maybe I need to go back to Mississippi early regardless.Nothing like being home to restore the soul, you know?”
“Yeah.I know.”I gave her a lopsided grin.“Cooper was supposed to drive me home to Charleston for Thanksgiving, but now he has to fly to Malaysia on business and won’t be able to.A plane ticket’s not in my budget, and I refuse to accept another penny from my parents.It’s no big deal—I’ll be seeing them for Christmas.”
She perked up.“Then you need to come with me!Mama would love to have you!And you can meet the rest of my family!”
I imagined Jolene times ten, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find the thought more than a little intimidating—and exhausting.“Wow, that’s really generous, but I’d planned to use the time to catch up on work and install plumbing fixtures in the downstairs bathroom at myhouse.Definitely another time, okay?I’d love to meet your family, since I’ve heard so much about them.”
“Okay.”She gave me a tired smile, and I noticed how her usually fresh lipstick had faded to a pale rose.
“How long have you been up?”
Jolene glanced at her watch.“I’m not sure I ever went to bed.I had all of these party plans running through my head and I needed to write them down before I forgot them, so as soon as you went to bed I made a pot of coffee.And then I think I made another.It’s all sort of fuzzy right now….”
I took her elbow and pulled her from her chair.“You’ll feel better after you’ve had a good sleep.”I led her to my room and tucked her into my bed after removing an unhappy Mardi.She was already asleep before I’d pulled the covers over her.I grabbed my clothes for work, then tiptoed out of the room, carrying Mardi so he wouldn’t jump back into the bed.I was eager to feed and walk the dog, then get to work before Jolene awoke and realized she’d gone to sleep with her makeup on.
I was halfway to the kitchen to brew a fresh pot of coffee and fill Mardi’s bowl when my cell phone rang.“Hi, Sarah.Shouldn’t you be at school?”
