Page 83 of The Summer We Mended
“Can we put this one by the ice cream shop?”Maisie asked.
Jess smiled and ruffled her daughter’s hair.“Yes, that’s a perfect choice.”
Inside, Claudia bustled between her planner and the stove, coordinating tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s main event with the precision of a general preparing for battle.She stopped only to glance over Jess’s shoulder at the laptop screen.
“You’re so good at this,” she said quietly.“The social media.The promotion.All of it.”Claudia gave a small nod.“People are talking about it all over the Vineyard.Even the Larkspur Ladies’ Guild is impressed.It’s no wonder your business in California was so successful.”
Jess’s smile was hesitant but genuine.“Thanks, Mom.”
“I know I said this before, but you really should think about doing it for more people.As a business.You’ve got the eye for it.The voice.”
Jess looked back at her laptop, at the open Google file where she’d been sketching out business ideas for months.“Maybe.”
It wasn’t a no.
As evening approached, the dining room filled with the smells of roasted vegetables, rosemary chicken, and fresh bread.Claudia had outdone herself, as always.Jess set the table, Maisie flitted around with a stack of napkins, and Claudia arranged a vase of wildflowers at the center.
Lily, Anna, and the kids were the first to arrive.As soon as Maisie saw the kids, they were racing outside to play.
“Whoa!”Claudia called out.“You can wait to go outside.Stay close, once everyone is here, we’ll eat dinner.”
Maisie pouted, but Blaze and Nora nodded, and there was a chorus of “yes, ma’am.”
Margot came in next.Tom and June were close behind and then Cody walked in last.Jess hadn’t seen much of June yet, but tonight she looked a little more relaxed, her shoulders less hunched, her eyes not quite as wary.
Within ten minutes, everyone had a drink in hand and a plate of food in front of them.
Dinner was lively in that slightly chaotic way family meals often were.The kids were noisy, Henry regaled the table with stories of him and David as kids on their father’s boat, and Claudia somehow managed to get through the first three courses while simultaneously assigning post-dinner party tasks.
“Why haven’t we gone out on the boat?”Blaze asked.“I want to go sailing.”
“That wasn’t a sailing boat, buddy,” Anna answered softly.“Grandpa and Uncle Henry were working on Great Grandpa’s boat back then.”
“What happened to that boat?”
“It’s still being worked, but not by any Hartmans,” Uncle Henry said.“We rent it out.”
“Oh, can we go on it, though?”
“You know, Blaze,” Tom interjected.“I do have a sailboat.You guys are more than welcome to come out on it.”
“You have a sailboat?”Lily asked in shock.
“Yes.”He smiled.“I’ve been sailing since I was a young boy.”
“Well, I think that sounds like a lovely time,” Anna interjected.“We might take you up on that offer, Tom.”
“Does Max sail, too?”Nora gasped.
“He does,” June replied with a laugh.“Dad got him his own life jacket.I might have dressed him up in a captain’s outfit and scuba gear before.”
The kids laughed at that, excitedly talking about what that must have looked like.Jess smiled as she looked around the room.Everyone was in good spirits and seemed to be engaged in the dinner.Maybe her mother did know what she was doing after all.
“Anna, if you’re up for it, I could really use your eye for symmetry tomorrow,” Claudia said, passing a breadbasket.
Anna blinked but nodded.“Sure.I can help.”
Jess opened her mouth to interject but stopped when she saw the grateful smile Anna offered in return.
