Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
“ I t’s as easy to make two as it is to make one,” Joyce said.
Beryl nodded. “It is. And the chicken could be turned into sandwiches or whatnot after.”
“We’ll do both,” Joyce said. “Might as well. They’re going to be gone a couple days at least. Maybe longer.”
“Won’t be a whole week, do you think?”
“I don’t know,” Joyce said. She added a few more things to the shopping list. So far they planned on making macaroni cheese, beef stew, and a roast chicken for Frankie, Willa, and Jack. They would be doing the same for Kyle, although he wouldn’t need quite as much.
“What about for pudding?” Beryl was looking in the cabinets. “We need vanilla. And brown sugar. She poked through some packages. “More chocolate chips.”
Joyce wrote it all down. “Maybe you could do some of those sultana scones, too? They’re so good.”
Beryl glanced over. “Can you get sultanas?”
“Yes. They call them golden raisins here.” Joyce added those to the list. “You have enough flour for a cake?”
“I think so. Couldn’t hurt to get another bag.”
With that last addition, Joyce looked up. “Are we ready then?”
Beryl closed the cabinet. “We’re ready.”
They arrived at the Publix approximately ten minutes later. The longest part of the trip was getting out of Hideaway Bay and across the bridge. Once they were in town, the Publix wasn’t far.
Joyce parked, they got a trolley, and went in. They started in produce and worked their way through the fruits and vegetables. They went a little slower than if Joyce had been by herself, but that was because Beryl had to have a bit of a look-around.
“This is a fantastic store. The produce is gorgeous. We don’t get tomatoes like that in Devon,” Beryl said.
Joyce caught a younger woman nearby giving them an odd look. Their accents, maybe? She countered Beryl’s statement. “There’s nice produce in England, but it’s hard to compete with Florida. The growing season’s a lot longer and I think a good bit of this is local.”
“Makes me want to buy the whole lot.”
Joyce smiled. “I think that’s the point, love.”
Beryl chuckled. “I suppose it is.”
The younger woman came up to them. “Excuse me, I just have to ask. Aren’t you the two ladies who were just on the Lucas Prime cooking show?”
Joyce was taken aback, but then she nodded. “We are, yes.”
“Oh, my gosh, this is so cool.” The young woman was all smiles. “You guys were so funny. I just love that show. That whole meal looked so good. If I could cook like that, I’d probably be engaged by now.”
Joyce laughed. “I’m sure you could manage it. It’s not that hard.”
“I might try,” the young woman said. “My boyfriend would flip if I served him a dinner like that. He might even propose on the spot.”
“In that case, you should definitely give it a try,” Joyce said.
“Maybe I will,” the young woman said. “Could we do a selfie? I can’t believe I met you.”
Beryl had yet to say a word.
Joyce smiled. “Of course, pet. You stand in the middle, now.”
The young woman moved between them, held out her phone, and snapped away. “Thank you so much. I can’t wait to see your next show.”
“Thank you,” Joyce said.
Beryl remained silent.
The young woman gave them a little wave and went on her way.
Beryl looked at Joyce. “Did we just get recognized?”
“We did.”
“Blimey.” Beryl shook her head. “No one at home would ever believe that, I can tell you right now.”
Joyce smiled and took it in stride. “Maybe so but we still have shopping to do.”
They finished up in produce and headed around to the next aisle.
“Might have to tell Neville about that,” Beryl said. She tutted. “And he thinks I’m going to get homesick. Little does he know.”
Joyce smiled to herself.
“What will we do for the next show?” Beryl asked.
“I thought we’d decided on cottage pie?”
“I don’t know,” Beryl said. “It’s not very sexy, is it?”
Joyce almost choked. “Since when do you care about sexy food?”
Beryl busied herself comparing different brands of flour. “We have to keep our audience happy. You heard that young woman. Do you really think cottage pie is on the same level as a Sunday roast?”
“When you put it that way, nothing really compares to a Sunday roast. But cottage pie is a very good dish. Feeds a large crowd and it’s very tasty. Not to mention traditional.”
“I don’t know.” Beryl put the chosen bag of flour into the trolley.
They moved on to chocolate chips, where more comparing was done.
“You could do a fancier pudding,” Joyce suggested. “Jam tarts are lovely, but what else goes nicely with cottage pie? Maybe your Battenburg? I bet it would look gorgeous on camera. Would that do, you think?”
“A slice of Battenburg is a treat for all the senses, innit?” Beryl put her hands together, brows bent in thought. After a moment, she nodded. “Do they sell marzipan here or will I have to make my own? Also, we’ll need to get apricot preserves. Add that to the list so we don’t forget. I’ll have to do a test run before I make one for the show, you know.”
Joyce fished a pen from her purse and dutifully added apricot preserves. “I don’t know about the marzipan. We’ll have to ask at customer service.”
All told, the trip took them thirty minutes longer than if Joyce had gone alone. She wasn’t whinging, mind. The novelty of the new store would wear off eventually for Beryl.
Still, Joyce was happy to get back, unload the car, and get the groceries sorted. When that was done, Beryl went to give Ruthie a bottle and Joyce went to work on lunch. She filled two baking sheets with rashers of bacon, then popped them into the oven to cook.
The tomatoes had been nice. She planned on BLTs for lunch. The bacon that didn’t go into the sandwiches would be chopped up, along with some of the tomatoes, a little onion, and some goat cheese in a quiche for dinner. Or maybe even for breakfast the next day.
Mitch came out of his office. “Travel arrangements are made. I’ll be leaving at about six thirty.”
Joyce stopped what she was doing. “Need anything laundered before you go?”
“I think I’m good.” He sighed to himself, a sound Joyce recognized.
The death of Harper’s mum had to be reminding him of losing Jeanie. Didn’t matter that there were no real similarities. Harper loved her mum and Mitch loved Jeanie. Losing someone dear to you hurt no matter who they were or the reason they passed. “You all right?”
He nodded, a reassuring smile offered as proof. “I just know what Harper’s going through.”
“That you do. I’m sure you’ll be a great comfort to her.”
“I hope so.”
“Lunch in about twenty minutes or so. BLTs, if that’s all right.”
“Sounds great. Haven’t had one of those in ages.”
“The tomatoes were especially nice today.”
He tipped his head toward the bedroom. “I’ll get my packing done.”
“Any idea how long you’ll be gone?”
“No, but I’ll text you once I do. Maybe two or three days? I really have no idea.”
“Don’t you worry about it. We’ll be fine here.”
“I know you will be.” He looked down. “And you’ll protect the house and everyone in it, won’t you, Bunny?”
Bunny gave a little woof.
Joyce smiled and washed the ripest of the tomatoes. Mitch went off to pack, Bunny trailing along behind him.
Beryl came out a few minutes later, Ruthie on her shoulder, gently patting the baby’s back. “What do you think about a dip in the pool after we’re done today? I was thinking we could take Ruthie in with us. If Kyle’s all right with that. She sleeps better when she’s been in the pool and with Mitch gone, Kyle will be the only one here to get up with her at night.”
Joyce nodded. “Good idea.”
“Did you hear that, Ruthie?” Beryl said. “Pool time later! Of course, we have to ask your daddy.” She carried the baby to her swing and sat her in the seat.
Joyce smiled. Beryl was the only one related to her by blood, but that didn’t matter. This was her family and she felt privileged to be part of it. Even the girls next door were like family now. Her heart broke for Harper, but she was a strong one. She’d get through this.
Joyce set the tomato on the cutting board, then selected a knife from the block. She made nice thick slices. This was just how life went. Highs and lows. Laughter and tears. Hard parts and easy parts.
For a while, life here had felt heavy on the hard parts, but that had changed with the arrival of the girls next door.
Joyce could only pray that this hard part went quickly for Harper, and that Mitch helped her find her way back to the easy side of things.