Mimi leaned against a tree, down near the water’s edge.
“Jackson, I have purchased the most wonderful salmon,” came the voice on the phone.
“Uh… okay,” said Jay hesitantly.
“Are you all right?”
No, he thought. Not even close! But he was not going to talk about this over the phone, not even to his mother’s partner. “I’m fine, Jo,” he said.
She paused for just a fraction of a second, seeing through him, no doubt. “Well, you will be more than fine when you see this fish. And that’s why I’m phoning.”
“You’re phoning about a fish?”
“Uh-huh,” said Jo. “I was hoping I could interest you in making your famous coriander-and-lemon-zest rub.”
“Uh… I don’t know.”
“Don’t say you’re too busy. It’s Friday night, for goodness’ sake.”
Jay was going to protest but checked himself. “Okay. Sure. Why not?”
“Great.”
“Yeah. So I’ll see you around… What time is it now?”
“It’s sixish. Jay? You sound funny. What’s up?”
Mimi had turned and was staring at him now.
“I’m out at the snye,” he said, as if that answered Jo’s question. Mimi looked tiny suddenly-a little bit frightened, even.
“The creativity battle not going so well?” asked Jo.
“Actually, no,” he said, his voice now pitched loud enough for Mimi to hear. “The battle is not going well at all.”
Mimi smiled a terrible smile.
“Well, like I said, it’s Friday night. Lighten up. Lou says she’ll break out one or two of those New Zealand sauvignon blancs she’s been hoarding.”
“Cool.”
“Maybe you have other plans?”
“No,” he said. Then he realized that this was not entirely true. “Well, I might. Have other plans, I mean. Except…” Mimi was already shaking her head. “Jo, mind if I bring someone?”
Mimi started up the lawn toward him, frantically waving her hands back and forth, nixing the idea.
“Is it Iris? Is she home?”
“No, it’s not. Actually, Jo, it’s another woman,” he said, glancing Mimi’s way. She looked horrified, and it brought out the devil in him. “You should meet her,” he said.
“Is she pretty?”
“Naaah, not really pretty. But amusing.”
Mimi was standing right in front of him now, giving him the finger. She made as if to grab the phone, but he turned away, holding his elbow up to block her.
“Amusing is good,” said Jo. “And the salmon is huge. And the girl
… is this serious?”
Jay stared straight at Mimi. “No, nothing serious,” said Jay. “Just some girl.” Mimi rolled her eyes and walked away. “Uh, Jo, it’ll take me a while to get home.”
“I’m all wrapped up at the office. Won’t be home myself until after seven.”
“No problem,” he said. Then they said good-byes, and he flipped the cell phone closed and shoved it in his pocket.
“That was so sweet, Jay,” said Mimi, giving him a look that could turn titanium to dust. “But I really don’t want to party tonight.”
He nodded. “I know what you mean. But I think this may be good.”
She slapped her hands against her thighs. “Seriously, I am not into an evening with Joe and the boys.”
Jay threw back his head and laughed.
“This is not a laughing matter!”
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s just that Jo is Joanne, and, believe me, she is not one of the boys.”
“Your girlfriend?”
“Guess again.”
“Oh, shit, your mother. And you’ve got to start the macaroni and cheese because she’s going to be late getting home from the office.”
“I do have to start dinner, yes. But Joanne was asking if I’d make my coriander-and-lemon-zest rub for the salmon she’s bringing home. And Joanne, by the way, is my mother’s partner.”
He watched her closely. She looked surprised, not shocked. Good. Then she just looked amused. “Can this day get any stranger?”
Jay shrugged. “I don’t see how.”
Mimi shook her head, but he didn’t think she was saying no.
“So you’ll come?”
She nibbled on her bottom lip. “I guess. I mean, how can I turn down salmon with a coriander rub?” Then she looked thoughtful. “Just as long as your mom and her girlfriend aren’t Socialists. My mother warned me there are lots of those up here.”
He grinned. “Lou’s a lefty,” he said. “Jo’s a fiscal Conservative. They sort of balance each other out. But do not talk politics if you can avoid it.”
Mimi looked at him with a sheepish grin. He guessed it was an expression she didn’t use very often.
“So, as you’ve probably noticed, you’ve got an idiot for a sister.”
He reached out and touched her arm. Made her look at him.
“Are you sure you want to take an idiot home to meet the folks?” she asked.
“Yes. Absolutely. And we should probably get going.”
Mimi nodded but her shoulders drooped. He put his arms around her, and the next minute she was sobbing and swearing and smacking her palms against his chest and then holding him close. They rocked back and forth, and neither of them could think of anything to say for a very long time.
CHAPTER SEVEN
It was only a twenty-minute paddle by kayak downstream to Jay’s place, but he would ride with Mimi in her car. Before they left, she helped him move the table from the kitchen to the bedroom. It was surprisingly heavy. They laid it upside down on the trapdoor and piled the vacuum cleaner and a couple of chairs on top. It was the best they could do. Then they carried his kayak up to the enchanted little house. He wasn’t going to leave it outside.
“Sorry for the mess,” she said as she moved all the debris from the passenger seat to the back. She almost cried with relief when she saw everything was still there: her cell phone, iPod, and the new camcorder. Not because of the value of these things-well, not just because of the value-but because seeing them there restored something of the golden feeling she had felt when she first arrived at the place so little time ago.
“You look a little freaked,” he said.
She tried to shrug it off. “It’s just my stuff,” she said. “I love my stuff.”
Her little red-and-black car, her colorful tangle of clothing strewn all over the backseat-her room away from home. And she felt very far from home now. She phoned her mother right away, at the office. She was tied up in a meeting, so Mimi left a message with the secretary. “Tell her I’m here. Tell her everything is fine.” There was nothing else she could say. Not yet. Jay raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, well…” Then she sat in the driver’s seat for a moment, dazed.
“Not phoning Dad?”
“Screw him,” she said.
