The Sunshine Potluck Society

Chapter 11

When Joanna woke up from her nap, the sun was already low in the sky. She shouldn’t have slept so late. Now she’d never manage to get to sleep that night. She’d be awake, staring at the ceiling, until late, and then exhausted tomorrow. When would she learn?

She heard voices on the back porch and realised Emily was out there with Aaron. They were seated close to one another, their voices low. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. They seemed to be reconnecting—they’d known each other in childhood. Was there something between them? It was definitely possible.

Aaron was twenty-five years old and starting over in life after eight years in the military; he was most likely longing to settle down and start a family, while Emily was twenty-three and had always wanted to be married with a family of her own. Her shyness meant she rarely dated. In fact, Joanna couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on a date. Truth be told, they were well suited to one another. Although, what would it mean for her working relationship with Emily if she and Aaron were to get together?

As Emily’s boss, she wasn’t sure she liked the idea. It could mean losing her employee. As Emily’s friend, she was delighted at the prospect. And after all, they were more friends than they were boss and employee. Emily had been a rock for her in recent years. Her gentle kindness was sometimes the only thing that helped Joanna through the dark times when she was having nightmares every night about the death of her husband or the fire. Emily was the soft voice of reason that brought her out of the nightmare and back into the light of the real world.

When the restaurant burned to the ground, she’d been so exhausted trying to be the head chef, to keep everything afloat without her husband to manage the place. The bank account had dwindled down to nothing; she hadn’t been sure how she would manage to keep paying the staff. And then all they’d built together before his death, was destroyed. She’d lost everything. The photographs on the walls, the spacious kitchen with its temperamental stove. All of it. And in the end, it’d been the stove that was the culprit. A fitting end after the number of arguments she’d had with it over the years.

The insurance company hadn’t believed her. Thought she’d burned it intentionally to get out of the financial hole she was in. It’d taken her years to recover from the trauma of it all. Her daughter, Karen, moved far away after her husband landed a job in Melbourne designing aircraft. They’d left Sunshine after their eldest, Aaron, graduated from high school. Her son, Brett, was busy with his own life. He’d had his own set of crises to manage at the time with marriage troubles and a bankruptcy for his business. So, she was left to deal with the fallout alone.

It was only Gwen and Debbie who’d carried her through it. Emily was still a teenager, living at home, at the time. Finally the insurance company had concluded it was an accident and paid her out what they owed. She’d decided not to rebuild and instead used the money as an investment for her own retirement so she could write cookbooks instead. It’d worked out well in the end, but the nightmares kept her sleep-deprived for years. And the agoraphobia increased in intensity until finally she hired Emily to help her manage.

That had been five years ago. Emily had decided not to go to university, since she wanted to stay close to her sister, and Joanna had hired her as a live-in carer. But they’d built a relationship of so much more than that. And truthfully, Joanna didn’t know how she’d have managed without her.

She decided to go outside for a quick walk before dinner. She couldn’t go far without her anxiety playing up, but after her discussion with Emily earlier about getting better, she was determined to work on adventuring out of her comfort zone. So, she walked around the perimeter of the yard. The sky overhead was darkening. The streetlights were coming on. Anxiety built in her gut, but she chose to ignore it and the lightheadedness that threatened. She could do this. She wouldn’t let it rule her forever.

Chris was in his garden. She could see his head bobbing above the fence. He bent over, no doubt gardening. She called out to him, and he peered over the fence with a smile.

“Good evening,” she said.

He raised a hand in mock salute. “What a beautiful time for a stroll.”

“How’s the garden?”

“It’s doing okay. Although that little rain we had recently wasn’t quite enough. I think another soaking would do just fine. What have you been up to today?”

“We’re working on a cookbook together—me, Emily, Gwen and Debbie.”

“That sounds fun,” he said.

“It is. I’m really enjoying it. Even more than when I write the books on my own. It’s special to be able to share something like that with friends.”

“I can certainly understand that,” he replied. “I miss my workplace for that very reason.”

“You miss accounting?”

He laughed. “Does that sound completely far-fetched?”

“Not at all,” she replied.

“I don’t miss the accounting, but I miss the office and the camaraderie. I ran a partnership with my best friend. And we had a lot of good times together.”

“Where is he now?” Joanna asked.

“He passed a few years ago,” Chris replied. “I sold the business soon after. My heart went out of it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Joanna replied. “It’s hard to keep going when your partner is gone. My husband was the restaurant manager, as you know. And I was the chef. And the two of us were such a good team. But without him, I floundered.”

“I remember,” Chris said. “You made the best barramundi around.”

She smiled. “Thank you for that. I try to remember the good things. All of that loss caused me a lot of angst, and it’s probably been too much of a focus for me.”

“My wife used to suffer from anxiety,” Chris said. “I figured out if I could distract her, she’d forget she was anxious. And then I’d take her to the beach. That always worked a treat.”

“I’m sure she appreciated you for it,” Joanna replied.

“I hope so. Otherwise, we walked a lot of kilometres for nothing.”

She laughed. “It was good exercise.”

“You’re right. An accountant definitely needs that.”

“It’s pretty sedentary, huh?”

He shook his head. “By the end of my career, I was happy to retire just so I could finally stretch the chair shape out of my legs.” His blue eyes twinkled.

“I was a chef and mother, so I was always on my feet.”

“You’re probably glad to be finally getting some rest,” he said.

“I most certainly am. Although sometimes… Well, never mind.”

“What is it?” he asked.

“I don’t want to bother you with my troubles.”

“It’s not a bother. I like our chats.”

She sighed. “I wish I could get out more. That’s all.”

“I know you struggle with that. Is it still a problem?” His brow furrowed.

“It’s getting a little better. The nightmares are less frequent now. I’ve been receiving some digital therapy, and I think it’s helping.”

“Digital?”

“My therapist calls me online. It’s silly, I suppose. But I prefer that to going to her office, even though she’s only thirty minutes away.”

“Not silly at all. That seems sensible to me.”

“Are you completely retired? I thought I saw you heading off to work yesterday.”

He squinted into the last rays of the setting sun behind her. “Not completely. I sold my business, but the new owner gets me to come in a day or two a week. Some of my clients have been with me a long time and weren’t happy about the change. So, I keep them happy, and it gives me something to do twice a week.”

“That’s a good arrangement,” she said. “I’m still writing cookbooks, but I’m not sure how much longer I’ll do it. I can’t imagine retiring, personally. What would I do with my days? Besides, I love what I do. I still can’t believe I’m lucky enough to write recipe books for a living.”

He grinned. “You’re living the dream. So, why stop?”

“That’s exactly how I feel,” she replied.