Page 49 of A Recipe Called Home

Later, on her way to John’s Shoppe, she called Winnie to enlist her help for Wednesday night. Although Roxy had already booked a staff for the Bear Ball, Jules knew she’d want a few familiar faces in the trenches. Of course, Miles would be there, but given their current situation, she doubted that would be much of a comfort. She was already battling the urge to interrogate Winnie about the woman Miles had brought to the play the other night. It took a mountain of strength to not bring it up yesterday.

At the promise of a free meal and the chance to witness the benefit in person, Winnie jumped at the opportunity to support Jules. Emily would join, too. The Bear Ball was known as the most exclusive event in town. Its invitee list included only Riverbend’s top influential and wealthy families, so being able to attend, even as staff, was exciting.

Jules spent the rest of the afternoon drafting a schedule for the next three days, along with going over the attendee list and run of show for the event. In total, more than one hundred people had RSVPed yes, including Mayor Maria Billingsworth and guest of honor Governor Matt Kash, who grew up in Riverbend. According to Roxy, it was the largest benefit dinner in the school district’s forty-year history. The pressure kept mounting, but now that Jules had a plan, she felt more motivated than anxious. Her determination propelled her forward. She didn’t want to slow down.

Jules emailed Benjamin fromWaPoto postpone her follow-up call with the editor until Thursday after the dinner. Her faculties needed to remain focused. In all of the chaos, Jules had forgotten about the special dinner she’d planned to make for her grandma that evening until she was lying in bed, spent. Disappointed in herself, she made a silent promise to do it later that week, when she could give it her undivided attention.

As Monday morning rolled around, Jules worried she'd bit off more than she could chew with the benefit and her commitment to cook dinner at The Landing. Not wanting to let the ladies down, she tried to use their dinner as a test run for the benefit dinner on Wednesday. Rosa and Jules went to retirement village early together that afternoon to work out the recipe, perfecting it. With everything happening so fast, it was nice to slow down and focus on one task.

All of the excitement of the past few days kept her mind and body busy, leaving little time to think about the looming decisions she’d need to make soon about her future. Avoidance was a skill you didn’t need until you needed it, and Jules was now becoming a master. She didn’t care if it were a slippery slope to disarray, it was helping her in this moment. If she couldn’t control her future, she sure as hell would control this benefit dinner.

The world and all its noise faded as Jules and Grandma Rosa worked for hours in the kitchen at The Landing, cooking test batch after test batch of the roasted chicken and gnocchi until they felt confident Jules could pull it off in her sleep. It took a few earnest tries to get the timing right on the roast and the perfect consistency for the potato gnocchi to sit well in the sauce, but the dishes were simple yet beautiful when they came together.

“I only wish I could see their faces when those fancy people taste what you’ve made,” Rosa said as they sent out the last dinner plates at The Landing that evening.

They’d talked about Grandma Rosa helping Wednesday, but both agreed it would be too much for her. While she could get around plenty fine on her own now, she still had a hard time standing for long periods and needed frequent breaks. It was enough that she’d be helping prepare the desserts on Tuesday, which was a lot of work on its own.

The next few days seemed to be on fast-forward as Jules and Rosa did all they could to be ready for Wednesday night. They made the desserts, prepped as many of the ingredients as they could, and confirmed every detail of the service with the staff and Roxy via telephone.

Jules didn’t hear at all from Miles, and her thoughts ran away with questions in her rare few minutes alone.

Was he thinking about her? Or was he with that other woman? And would she be able to act ‘normal’ around him on Wednesday?

Each time she caught herself in this familiar loop, she only had to glance at the never-ending to-do list to jolt her back to awareness. Her inner monologue played tug-of-war all day long.

Tuesday evening, Jax came back around to check on things. Jules seized the opportunity to ask him a question that had been lingering all day during a quiet moment in the office, “Umm, Jax, I know the attendee list for the benefit is set, but…do you think it would be possible to invite my grandma as a guest? She’s been helping me so much the past few days, and I know it’d mean a lot to her.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, he replied, “It’d be an honor. Tell you what, I’ll print out an official invitation for you to give to her. I can’t wait to meet her.”

Jules’ heart swelled with joy. Grandma Rosa had never attended the Bear Ball, but Jules knew she’d always wanted to, even if she wouldn’t admit it.

That evening, neither of them could muster the energy to cook much more than macaroni and cheese from a box. As they ate, Jules took the invitation Jax had given her from her purse and slid it over to her grandma.

“I know you won’t be in the kitchen tomorrow, but I was hoping you’d come as a guest instead?” she asked. “You’ve done so much to help. You deserve to be there.”

Grandma Rosa picked up the invitation, reading it over.

“You know, your grandpa always wanted to go to one of these,” she said in a quiet voice.

Jules chuckled to herself. She knew that was code for, “I’ve always wanted to go to one of these.”

“I think I might just have the perfect dress."

“You’ll look beautiful in whatever you decide to wear. I’m glad you’ll be there. Just knowing you’re close will help keep me calm.”

“Oh, honey, you don’t need me for that. Look at everything you’ve done on your own. I’m so proud of you,” she said, grabbing Jules’ wrist. As Jules’ eyes welled up, she knew it was time for bed.

“Thanks, Grandma, but I couldn’t have done anything without you,” she said, picking up their bowls to rinse in the sink. They both knew it was true. But as Jules laid in bed that night, she couldn’t shake a sinking feeling in her gut.

Chapter 18

“No,Isaiditgoes over there!” Jules heard someone yell to the back of the restaurant as she popped her head out of the office to see how the decorating was progressing the next morning.

The staff of volunteers and a few event managers brought in tables, chairs, linens, and a stage for the Bear Ball and had already been at work for hours transforming the place from a local pub to gala-worthy ballroom.

Jules didn’t even recognize the place. There were dozens of round tables covered with cream linen and adorned with the most tasteful white, peach, and green floral and candle centerpieces. Dotted along them were gold chairs with large cream silk ribbons draped over the backs. Above, delicate twinkle lights swooped down from copper wire, giving the place an ethereal quality. The stage was positioned in front of the tables, stretched almost to the entire length of the wall. You wouldn’t know you were standing in pub unless you glanced at the deer and elk heads mounted over the bar area that could not be removed. A frenzied energy pulsed through the space as dozens of workers milled about, busy sorting out the details.

The day had started early for everyone. Jules had arrived just before six in the morning with the decorating crew, eager to receive the fresh food deliveries. As afternoon approached, even more people arrived, filling the space. Now, standing at the front of the restaurant, Jules took a quick break to admire the changes and greet Winnie and Emily.

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