“I’m starving,” Jessica sighed as she pulled two slices of smoked turkey from a package, “and I have to get the remote before Hailey does, or she’ll make us watch ESPN all night long.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Jack shrugged honestly.
“You would take her side!” Jessica declared indignantly.
Grant burst through the back door, his shirt covered in sweat, water bottle in hand.
“Hey,” Jessica snapped at him, “you have to get a shower before you can claim the remote!”
“I’d rather stink than get stuck watching a What Not to Wear marathon again,” Grant rolled his eyes.
“Think of the benefits if it was to have a positive influence on Hailey,” Jessica argued.
“Why would I care what Hailey wears?” Grant shrugged.
“I thought the whole love is blind thing was a cliché,” Jessica grumbled, “not a medical condition requiring a…” she broke off.
“An ophthalmologist?” Grant added casually. “An optometrist?”
“Thank you,” Jessica nodded, irritated by Grant’s calm demeanor. “I was going to say eye doctor…but whatever. You just go right ahead playing coy,” she grumbled as she squirted mustard on her sandwich. “I swear the two of you deserve each other,” she muttered under her breath.
“Do you know that love is blind originated from an observation made by a character named Jessica in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice?” Grant added with a wink, easily derailing Jessica’s ambush about the status of his relationship with Hailey.
“Really?” Jessica beamed. “Cool!”
Just then, Hailey slung the door open, and, for a brief moment, all three eyed each other anxiously before making a break and sprinting toward the living room.
Emily glanced over her shoulder at the oncoming stampede. “Shh,” she smiled, as she lounged on the couch, holding a glass of sweet tea. “My favorite episode of Friends is on.”
Hailey shrugged. “I can handle that.”
“Yeah,” Jessica said, moving Emily’s sock feet out of her seat. “I love this show!”
Grant took a long sip of his water as he sat on the floor in front of the television. “I might as well see the end of this before I head to the shower.”
Nora walked in the back door and unloaded a bag of groceries onto the kitchen table. “Come here. You have to see this,” Jack motioned her toward him. He put his arm around her, and they stood in the living room doorway watching the kids, all glued to the television set, laughing in perfect harmony.
Nora smiled at Jack, pleased. “Call me an eternal optimist,” she whispered, “but I’m starting to think this might just work out.”
CHAPTER FIVE
It was a chilly, early November day and, for Nora, it had been a stressful one. She exhaled loudly as she opened a can of green beans to go with supper. Replaying in her mind was the conversation she had with Rachel earlier in the day. Rachel cried and asked to borrow money because her daddy refused to give her anymore. Nora’s patience was already wearing thin when Rachel hit her with an unexpected bombshell…she and Wally had just learned they were expecting a baby.
It seemed like one of those days when everything that could go wrong inevitably would. While rushing through the Country Stop to grab a few sides to go with supper, Nora’s purse bumped into one of the shelves and broken a jar of jelly. Then, getting in the car to leave, she managed to rip a button off of her favorite shirt.
Emily needed new tennis shoes for school, and Jessica kept begging for Apple Bottom jeans, though Nora had never heard of such. Grant and Hailey had been sneaking around all day; both were entirely too giddy, and Nora had her suspicions about the secret they were hiding.
Granny had called several times that day. The first time she called was question whether Nora had left out any ingredients in the meatloaf she had brought over the night before because it just didn’t taste quite right. Nora, irritated, assured her that she had followed the recipe precisely down to the pinch of this and dab of that! The next time Granny called, she acknowledged that once she doctored the meatloaf up a bit, she was able to salvage a good lunch out of it! The next call was to inquire about plans for a family Thanksgiving, a subject that, given Granny’s outspoken disapproval of Nora’s culinary abilities and her current living situation, she had no interest in discussing.
Melissa was supposed to call after Leah’s appointment with her neurologist, and, despite the fact that it was getting late in the evening, Nora had not heard from her yet. Not being able to see her granddaughter on a regular basis was catching up with Nora, and that, more than anything else, had her feeling a little homesick.
Then, there was the real reason she felt so frazzled that evening. She had made the obligatory call to Randy to discuss the latest development with Rachel’s situation, only to have their conversation take a sudden U-turn, veering at breakneck speed toward a topic she was not prepared to discuss.
Nora glanced at the oven, praying she wouldn’t burn the toast.
Jack walked in the back door, looking ruggedly handsome in his jeans and red, plaid, flannel shirt. “It’s finally getting chilly out there,” he said chipperly, rubbing his hands together and hanging his coat on the rack. “They still predict another week or so of weather too warm for this time of year.”
“Supper is almost ready; why don’t you round up the kids?” Nora replied.
“It smells good,” Jack said as he wrapped his arms around Nora and eyed the pot on the stove. “I might not have said this enough, but thank you so much for all you do around here. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Jack,” Nora sighed, nudging him away. “What if one of the kids was to walk in?”
Jack backed away. “Are you okay?” he asked, leaning on the counter.
“Yes,” Nora shook her head, “just tell the children to get washed up for dinner.”
“It’s the Rachel thing, isn’t it?” Jack nodded.
Nora sighed. “Back when my kids were growing up, I had this crazy idea that when I started having grandchildren, I would spoil them rotten and send them home to their parents. I don’t like being away from Leah. Joanna has no interest whatsoever in ever giving me grandkids! Rachel has two…one, I have raised willingly and another on the way that I’m sure I’ll end up with too because Rachel and Wally are nowhere near ready to take on the responsibility of raising a baby. I am praying hard over that situation.”
“Dad!” Jessica screeched, her hollering echoing through the house.
“What is it?” Jack called back. He watched Grant and Hailey as Grant walked into the kitchen with Hailey catching a ride on his back. “What’s the matter with Jessica?” he asked them.
