The Sunshine Potluck Society

Chapter 29

Emily stared at the large container of chicken and dumplings in the fridge. It looked as though Joanna had made dinner, but she was nowhere to be found. Emily had spent the afternoon with her sister. When she got home, the house was dark and Joanna wasn’t home.

She wasn’t accustomed to finding Joanna gone. She hadn’t done that in the entire time Emily had known her. Simply vanished without any kind of warning. She tried calling her, but the phone kept going directly to voicemail. Hopefully she was okay and nothing bad had happened. The car was still in the garage, so she couldn’t have gone far. Unless she’d driven with someone else.

It was really very confusing.

She wandered around the house for a while, hoping that Joanna would call. Then finally, her hunger pangs drove her back to the kitchen. She piled a bowl full of chicken and dumplings to reheat. Then she filled a glass with Chardonnay and headed to the den.

Since she was home alone, she might as well eat in front of the television. She’d been watching a new show about a celebrity traveling around Italy and eating the food in every city and town. She’d missed the past few weeks. This would give her a chance to catch up. And she wouldn’t be ravenous as she usually was, since she had dinner in front of her.

With the show primed and ready to go, she sat in her favourite love seat and ate dinner while watching. It was nice to have a little time to herself. Halfway through the show, Joanna finally texted that she was fine and out with Debbie and Gwen. That helped Emily relax.

Then the front door slammed. She heard footsteps, and Aaron’s head poked around the doorway. “There you are.”

“Hi,” she said. “Hungry?”

“Starved.”

“There’s chicken and dumplings in the fridge.”

“Perfect,” he replied. “I love Gran’s chicken and dumplings. She makes it so delicious.”

He soon returned with a bowl and sat on the same couch. She wriggled over a little to make room for him.

“What are we watching?” he asked.

“A show about food.”

“We’re going to watch a show about food while eating food?” He laughed.

She grinned. “Of course. My philosophy is that you can’t have too much of a good thing.”

“After dinner, I’m going to test out this theory on the chocolate cake I saw in the fridge.”

“How was work?”

“It was fine. There’s a guy in my team who’s always trying to get me in trouble. Blames me for everything, but not openly. You know? He’s passive-aggressive with it. Today he told the boss he was sorry we couldn’t make the deadline for this iteration since I’ve been struggling with the code.”

“Wow. What did you say?”

“There’s not much I can say. I’m not struggling with the code. But how do I say that in a meeting when he’s been at the company longer than me? Should I tell them he’s lying? I don’t think that would go over well.”

“I’m sure they know what he’s like.”

“That’s probably true.” His shoulder bumped up against hers. He glanced at her, and their eyes met. “Where’s Gran?”

“Out with her friends.”

His eyes widened. “I wasn’t expecting you to say that. Good for her. She’s doing so well lately.”

“I’m proud of her,” Emily replied.

“I don’t want to speak out of turn, but does that change your position…?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. But probably.”

“Have you thought any more about what you want to do?”

“I’m considering going to uni. When I left school, I wasn’t ready to dive right back into studying. And besides, I wasn’t sure what I should study. But now, I feel like it might be the right time.”

“What would you study?”

“I was looking at the website last night for the Sunshine Coast University. They have a midwifery course there that looks interesting.”

“Babies?” he asked.

She nodded. “I’ve always loved taking care of people, but especially babies. I think it would be so exciting to help them come into the world.”

“That’s a great idea. You’d be perfect at that. You’re so kind and gentle.”

Her cheeks flushed with warmth. “Thanks.”

His shoulder pressed against hers again, and this time, it was as though a bolt of electricity passed between them. His encouragement meant so much to her. Sometimes it felt as though no one really saw who she was. But he did.