Page 10 of An Island Summer
The coastal breezed pushed past Meghan, cooling her skin in the penetrating heat. “I just haven’t felt much like cooking.”
“Vinnie’s a jerk,” Tess said. “You can’t let one jerk stop you from living your dreams.”
“He’s not stopping me. I’m just… I don’t know. Not in a good place. I don’t feel inspired.”
Tess held her wine up to the bright blue evening sky and twirled down the boardwalk. “How could you not be inspired here?” she called out over the crash of the waves, Charlie running off after a sandpiper in the distance.
“I think I’m at some kind of a low point in my life,” Meghan said. She dropped the chairs onto the sand and they hopped down off the walk, leaving their flip-flops behind them. “I can’t explain it. It just doesn’tfeelright.” She took a cold sip of wine, the tartness of it biting her taste buds.
“That microwave mac and cheese I bought last night was for emergency purposes only,” Tess warned. “I’m ready to sit out on the porch with a margarita and your tomato fattoush or your mango avocado wraps.”
The water fizzed up onto Meghan’s bare feet before retreating back to the ocean.
“You read cookbooks like my mom reads romance novels,” Tess continued. “I haven’t seen you pick one up at all since we’ve been here. Did you even pack them?”
“I think they’re in a box in the closet.” Meghan bent down and picked up a tiny piece of driftwood, blowing off the sand. Charlie ran over to her and nudged his ball in her pocket. She pulled it out and chucked it down the beach, the dog tearing off after it, kicking up sand. “I feel like I’m in some kind of holding pattern, waiting for… something. I just don’t know what.”
“Maybe it’ll come to you over a pot of summer herb soup. A girl’s gotta eat, you know.”
Meghan laughed despite her mood. “Maybe,” she said.
“That’s better than a no.”
Charlie was still flopped on the hardwoods, exhausted from a day on the shore. Her cheeks pink from too much salty air and sun, and her hair still wet from her shower, Meghan curled up on the sofa in her pajamas.
“Do you put black beans or white beans in that salmon soup you make?” Tess called from the kitchen, the sound of pots clinking.
Meghan got up and went into the kitchen. “White beans, why?”
“I’m going to try to make it from memory.”
Meghan laughed. “How can you make it from memory? You’ve never made it at all.”
“Well, you could help,” Tess said suggestively, reaching into the cabinet and holding out a can of white beans.
Relenting for the sake of her friend, Meghan took the can. “We need to heat the oil first,” she said, taking over in surrender but not feeling great about it. There’d been magic when she’d stood in this kitchen with Pappy that had disappeared now she was an adult.
“Yay!” Tess threw an excited punch in the air. “I’ll get the wine.”
Charlie sauntered over and took his new napping place on the kitchen floor.
Meghan poured a bit of olive oil into the pan, swirling it around to coat the cooking surface, and then placed it on the old burner. “You’ll need medium heat unless you want to burn the cottage down,” she teased Tess, turning the knob to the appropriate temperature. Then she took Pappy’s zester from the drawer, her knowledge of his kitchen like riding a bike. She picked up the lemon and got to work.
It felt odd to cook in that kitchen without Pappy. Like the first time she’d driven on her own. She’d only gone to the grocery store, but every mile that she drove felt like a vast distance between her and the comfort of her home. She missed having Pappy leaning over her shoulder.Don’t be shy with the lemon zest. It only makes it better…
“You okay?” Tess asked.
She added in the salmon, stirring, and shrugged. “Yeah, this just makes me think of my pappy.”
“I’ll bet he’s thinking of you too.”
She turned to Tess. “You think?”
Tess nodded.
Comforted by the thought, Meghan smiled.
Tess opened the can of beans. “Your grandfather sure does have a lot of tools in the kitchen.” She pulled out one of the drawers. “I mean, what are these?” Tess grabbed two claw-like plastic cooking tools and scratched the air like a bobcat.
