Still carrying Pepper in her arms, Daisy walked into Jazzi’s room, where her eyes grew a bit wider. Clothes were strewn all over the whitewashed bed and its powder blue spread trimmed in white.
“What’s this all about?” Daisy set Pepper on the side chair where a jacket lay. Every surface seemed to be covered with clothes, including the dresser that was strewn with scarves.
Vi sat on the bench at the small white vanity, holding up a dress for Jazzi’s inspection. “Jazzi’s trying to decide what she’ll pack next weekend for her visit with Portia, but she’s second-guessing everything I propose.”
Jazzi had donned one of her favorite dresses in raspberry and teal swirly patterns. It had three-quarter-length sleeves and a swingy skirt. “I’d like to take this along in case Portia and her family go to church, but I’m afraid it’s too short. What do you think, Mom?”
“You’d wear it to church here, wouldn’t you?”
“I have,” Jazzi admitted. “But maybe people in Allentown are more conservative.”
“Maybe. Do you have another choice?”
“I don’t have that many dresses. I just don’t wear them. And my slacks, well, they aren’t the kind you’d wear to church. Some have slits at the knees, others are skinny jeans. I’m just afraid Colton will disapprove.”
Ah-ha. There was the rub—Portia’s husband.
Vi threw her mom a concerned look that easily said what Daisy was thinking. Jazzi had to relax about her visit or it would go south quickly. “Honey, what do you think Colton would approve of?”
“I don’t know. That’s the problem.”
“What would Portia approve of?” Daisy inquired.
“Totally anything I wear.”
“Are you asking me if you can buy a new outfit?”
“I guess I am. I don’t want to use my savings.”
Jazzi was saving for a car with no idea how long it would take to do it. But she was determined. She had saved tips and babysitting money and everything she made at the tea garden. So Daisy had no problem saying, “If you want a new outfit, you can buy one. Just be reasonable about it.”
“I’ll ask Stacy if she’s free to go shopping this weekend, unless you need my help desperately at the tea garden.”
“We should be fine.”
Vi held up a blouse and slacks. “So what about this? You could wear it on the drive to Allentown.”
“You could,” Daisy agreed. “Be comfortable. The most important thing is to just be yourself.”
“And if Colton doesn’t like me?”
Daisy went over to her daughter and gave her a big hug. “You can only control what you do and say, how kind you are, how understanding, how friendly. Colton’s reactions are his problem.”
“I don’t want there to be a problem,” Jazzi complained.
“Then just be you.”
* * *
On Thursday afternoon, Daisy thought again about the advice she’d given Jazzi as she stood in Margaret Vaughn’s pantry, readying tea service. Could she do more to protect her daughter from rejection or acceptance or whatever else might happen when she visited Portia and Colton?
Shaking Daisy from her reverie, Cora Sue said, “We’re ready to serve the first course.”
Daisy nodded as she and Cora Sue, along with Tamlyn, crossed to the dining room and set piping hot bowls of split pea and ham soup in front of Margaret Vaughn’s guests. The aroma wafted along the long table, coaxing most of the guests to pick up their soup spoons.
Margaret said to Daisy, “This looks and smells wonderful.”
Glenda Nurmi, the playwright, across the table from Margaret, nodded in agreement. “I’ve never had split pea and ham soup. Is that a local dish?”
Daniel Copeland, the assistant manager of the bank, who was sitting at the head of the table because his ego demanded it, waved a hand over the bowl as if to cool it off. “Split pea and ham is one of those things you make when you don’t know what else to make. It’s one of those Amish dishes that tourists go crazy for.”
Cora Sue exchanged a look with Daisy that said she’d like to clobber the bank manager. Suppressing a smile, Daisy knew he could be irritating. But he was smart and had good organization skills. He’d contributed much to Chamber of Commerce meetings and the town council. He had a say in any of the projects that were either completed or forgotten in Willow Creek.
Arden Botterill, Heidi Korn, and Jasper Lazar, a resident of Willow Creek whom Daisy didn’t know and who didn’t have much to say, dipped into their soup.
While the guests enjoyed the first course of the tea, Daisy and Cora Sue returned to the butler’s pantry to ready the second course—a ribbon salad that included pears and pecans.
At the electric water urn, Tamlyn asked, “What tea should I prepare next?”
Since Margaret had wanted a selection of teas to be available, they had served Daisy’s Blend—a decaffeinated green tea infused with raspberry and vanilla—first. “Let’s try Winter Surprise,” Daisy answered. “It’s peppermint with a slight cranberry note.”
“I never knew there were so many teas,” Tamlyn admitted as she opened a jar that Daisy had labeled.
“More than you can ever imagine with the blends,” Cora Sue added. “Daisy mixes some of her own, but our supplier has unusual ones too. There’s actually a chocolate tea.”
“That would be good for the last course,” Tamlyn suggested.
Daisy had been watching Tamlyn as she’d helped serve and prepare. “If you ever need another job, just come to me and ask. You’re proficient in serving, and you catch on quickly to the tea garden foods.”
Nodding her head, Tamlyn blushed. “Thank you.” In a low voice she added, “Mrs. Vaughn doesn’t often give compliments.”
Without hesitation, Cora Sue smiled. “But we do. That’s why we work together so well.”
Arden, who had just entered the butler’s pantry from the dining area, overheard Tamlyn’s last statement as well as Cora Sue’s. With a frown, she practically whispered, “I don’t know how this group is ever going to put on a production. Everyone has ideas on how we should do
