Page 60 of The Summer We Mended
“We’re in the kitchen,” Jess called back.
Claudia breezed in, her arms full of canvas bags and her lipstick perfectly intact.Her energy, as always, was a force of nature, like a very fashionable hurricane.“I brought more candles for the party.And the lavender bundles came in early from that herbalist in Vermont.Thank God.I was worried she’d flake.”
Maisie squealed.“Grandma!I made squirrels!”
“Oh, honey, let me see!”
Claudia crouched beside the sliding glass door, pretending to marvel at Maisie’s artwork like it was a MoMA exhibit.Jess took the opportunity to drain the macaroni, already bracing herself.
“Okay, okay,” Claudia said as she stood and dusted herself off.“Now.About the solstice party.”
Jess grabbed two bowls and started spooning out mac and cheese.“It’s next week, right?”
“Saturday.Sunset.So more like… seven-ish.But I want people arriving by six-thirty so we can do photos and mingling before the big release.”
Jess blinked.“The what?”
“The fire lantern release.I found this amazing vendor online.They’re biodegradable.Very eco-conscious.”
“Of course.”
Claudia plucked a squirrel from the door and twirled it in her fingers.“Jess, I was thinking.You know how good you are with that social media stuff.”
Jess blinked.“What?”
“You’re justso goodat it.You took your company from nothing to something.And then that thing you did with the bookstore for your friend, what was it, like, the calendar posts and the staff bios?Everyone loved that.And your captions are always so clever.”
Jess stared.Her mother rarely complimented her, and if she did, it was usually followed up with some sort of unintentional dig.Not even when she graduated with honors or when Maisie was born and Jess managed the postpartum haze solo.
“I was wondering,” Claudia continued, “if you could run the social media for the solstice party.Just a little campaign, nothing major.Some photos, some behind-the-scenes stuff, a few stories.Get people talking.You know how the Vineyard is, if you don’t give them a reason to show up, they don’t.”
Jess opened her mouth, then closed it again.
Her mother had just said “You’re so good at it.”Jess was waiting for the rude comment to follow, but there wasn’t one.
Was she dreaming?
“Uh…” Jess cleared her throat.“Sure.I mean, yeah.I could do that.If you want.”
Claudia clapped her hands together, clearly relieved.“Perfect.I just don’t have time to think about hashtags or algorithms or whatever.But you’ve always been good at getting people’s attention.”
Jess’s stomach flipped.
This wasn’t a job offer.Not really.But it was something.A project.A step.
Her mother, of all people, had noticed she was good at something.At something she loved, no less.
“I’ll need the event details,” Jess said, pushing her voice into something more professional.“And any graphics you’re already using.Do you want a Facebook event?”
“Oh, honey, I was hoping you’d ask.”
Jess grabbed her laptop and opened a new tab.
Maisie, oblivious, was humming again and eating noodles off her fork like a lollipop.
The next two hours passed in a flurry.Claudia barked out ideas like she was planning the Oscars.Jess jotted things down, surprised at how quickly her brain clicked into gear.She remembered her old workflow: graphics, posts, scheduling tools, analytics.The rhythm of it.
Her phone buzzed again.Someone had left her a voicemail.
