“Some men actually help around the house,” Kelly said, leaning against her brother’s arm. “Wild, right?”
“Sounds awful,” Hunter said, shuddering in horror. “I work until six every day. I’m not going to come home and cook and clean, too.”
“That’s what I’m for,” Lisa said with a too-bright smile. Her glass of red was already empty. “Plus dealing with contractors and decorators all the time...”
“Erick, do you think everything’s ready?” Clover asked.
“Let’s go check,” he said. “You all will excuse us?”
Soon as they were alone in the kitchen, Clover put her forehead against the center of his chest.
“You’re doing great,” he said, stroking her hair. “Better than I would be.”
“There’s not enough wine in all the world,” she whispered.
“We’re going to make it. I don’t know if Lisa is, but we will.”
“Everything okay in here?” Val asked from the kitchen doorway. Clover stood up straight immediately.
“Great, Mom. What’s up?”
“Came for a refill,” Val said as she picked up the red wine bottle and topped off her drink. She’d hardly made a dent in her first glass. She wasn’t there for a refill. She was spying on them.
“Well, dinner’s almost ready,” Clover said. “We’ll start bringing stuff out soon.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t meet your daughter, Erick,” Val said, not taking Clover’s hint. “I hope she’s not missing you too much.”
“She’s seventeen. A week away from me is a vacation for the both of us. But you’ll get to meet her eventually, I’m sure.”
“Seventeen. That’s a handful age,” Val said. “Does she wear you out?”
“Not so much anymore,” Erick said as he opened the oven door to check on the bread. All done. He put on oven mitts and pulled the pans out. “She got into a little trouble a while back, but working for Clover’s been great for her. Helped her channel her energy into something constructive.”
Clover picked up the sweet potato casserole and the three of them walked out to the table now covered in a fine white linen tablecloth and October-orange napkins.
“A little boy trouble?” Val asked as she laid down dish towels on the table where the hot dishes would go.
“I wish. That’s what normal teenagers do. No,
my daughter joined an ecoterrorist group online and set a factory farm barn on fire,” Erick said. All conversation in the room stopped.
“She did what?” Val asked. Erick had to force himself not to smile. Ruthie was always good for getting a strong reaction, even when she wasn’t there.
“Arson,” Erick said. “She committed arson. But for a very good cause. She’d run away from home if she ever caught me buying non-cage-free eggs. A new factory farm was under construction and the group she belonged to decided to torch it before they finished building. It was a protest. She’s a nature worshipper.”
“So she’s an environmentalist?” David asked.
“No, she’s a literal nature worshipper,” Erick said. “Neo-pagan, according to her. Although technically she says she worships Mother Nature but I’ve never figured out if that’s an actual person in her theology. She can worship Gozer for all I care as long as she keeps her room clean and doesn’t get arrested. Again.”
“Well.” Val blinked a few times. “What an interesting girl you have. You’ll probably be relieved when she starts college. Do neo-pagans go to college?”
“Mine plans to,” Erick said.
“And this girl works for you?” Val said to Clover.
“She’s my assistant at the nursery. She’s my best hire ever.”
“I don’t know what we would have done without Clover,” Erick said as he placed forks, spoons and knives on the napkins Clover had laid out. “Ruthie got probation for the barn burning and had to pay ten thousand dollars in restitution for the fire damage. She emptied out her car fund and then had to get a job to pay the rest. No one would hire her because of her criminal record, but if she didn’t find a job, she’d probably have had to do some jail time. The only thing Ruthie seemed to care about was the planet and nature so I thought maybe someone at a nursery would hire her. Clover was the only one willing to give her a chance. Still don’t know why, but I appreciate it. For many reasons.” He winked at Clover.