Page 144 of Still Bruised
After waiting a couple more minutes and not seeing any sign of Jude, he pulled out into traffic and headed home with an ache in his chest.
It wasthe Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and the butcher shop was already slammed. As expected, there was a line out the door. People waited to pick up their fresh birds for the holiday—and there were other lines inside for those picking up other cuts or deli trays. It had been controlled chaos since they’d opened first thing Monday morning, and Jude thrived on the madness. He manned the fresh turkey line along with their apprentice Mario and his part-timer Jonah, and they ran the massive turkeys in and out of the shop all day long. Many of his customers wereolder and couldn’t lift the big birds they’d ordered, so they carried them out as an added service the grocery stores often didn’t offer.
When he noticed Mrs. Price in line later that afternoon, he sidled up beside her. “Hey, what can I get for you?”
“Oh, hon, I’m just waiting for the turkey I ordered.”
Jude searched around the shop. “Is Foster here with you?”
“Oh no,” she said. “He’s in the city today, at work.”
Jude fought against his disappointment. He’d contemplated reaching out a couple of times, but as busy as he knew he’d be that week, it didn’t seem fair to either of them. There was no way he could give Foster the attention he deserved.
“Why don’t I go ahead and get your order for you. I can bring it out to your car.”
She smiled at him. “That’s so sweet of you, Jude, but I don’t want to cut the line.”
“No worries. You’re a friend of the family, right?”
Mrs. Price smiled at him. “Actually, yes. But it was a long,longtime ago.”
Jude smiled. “What did you order?”
“A twenty-five-pound bird,” she said.
“Oh, you’re having a big feast.”
Her eyes widened, and a grin that looked painfully familiar appeared. “Every year!”
“I’ll carry it out, but is there someone at home who can carry it in?”
“Oh, I can manage,” Foster’s mom said. “I get a big one every year.”
“Nah,”Jude said. “I’m not leaving that for you to struggle with, Mrs. P.” Foster was in the city, and her husband was recovering from a stroke. She was no spring chicken herself. It would be rude of him not to help. “How about I bring it over after work this evening? I can put it right into your fridge for you.”
And if Foster happened to be there? Even better.
A slow smile spread over her face. “That’s way too much to ask. I’ll be fine.”
“If I learned you’d hurt yourself, I’d never forgive myself. I can bring it by around six-ish. Is that okay?”
“That would be great… if it’s not too much work for you,” his mother said. “You could stay for dinner, if you’d like.”
“No, no,” Jude said. “You don’t have to invite me to dinner. I’ll just drop off your bird and be on my way. Did you order anything else besides the turkey?”
“No, just the one turkey. I’ll see you tonight around six.”
Jude waved as she left, trying not to smile. He had no idea if Foster would want to see him there or not. But he was soon going to find out.
Jude was wellover an hour late when he pulled his work truck into the Price’s drive. His worry faded some when he saw Foster’s SUV parked in front of the garage. He flipped the truck into park before exiting and hauled the massive twenty-five pounder from the refrigerated section in the rear and headed for the back door.
Jude’s mom swept it open as soon as he knocked. “Oh my! I was starting to get nervous when I saw the time!”
“My apologies,” Jude said. “We close at six, but we couldn’t get the line down enough to lock the door until well after that. I came as soon as I could.”
“As long as you’re okay and it made it here, I’m fine. Come on in! I’ve made space in the basement fridge already.”
Jude walked in and scanned their lovely, organized kitchen. It wasn’t as dated as Gooseland upstairs in the apartment. He’d halfway expected to find more of them lingering around. The kitchen was large and well-stocked, but not pretentious or filled with expensive gadgets and appliances. It looked like she had been in the midst of rolling out homemade pie shells. A big bowl of shelled pecans sat on the counter, ready to be used. Mr. Price sat at the kitchen table snipping green beans. He gave Jude a wave and a lopsided smile.
