Julia laughed out loud. She couldn’t help herself. Her sister could be pragmatic to a fault. “Well, that explains a lot! Oh my god, Ginny. No wonder she’s pissed. Come on, let’s go inside and make some coffee and you can tell me when your next group of diners is expected. Because I now have a million more questions.”
“Okay.” Ginny dropped her arms in concession. Julia sensed a crack in the wall her sister had built. Perhaps there was hope for the weekend after all. The future was a whole different matter.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
JULIA
Julia pressed the phone to her ear and paced the tiny guest room. After talking things over with Ginny, she’d realized she was overdue for a phone call with James. No doubt he’d be worried about her well-being, and she wanted to assure him she was fine. Only, at the moment, she wasn’t able to get a word in edgewise. Her fiancé was too busy listing all the reasons why she should jump on the next plane home and begin the arduous task of repairing her damaged career.
“But the network specifically asked me—ordered me, actually—to steer clear. They don’t want me coming in to work just yet.” Her voice sounded whiny and she hated herself for it. James was making her feel incompetent.
“But I just told you a retraction was read during Friday night’s evening news. Actually, they’re calling it a correction, and it’s been blasted all over GBN’s social media accounts all weekend. Haven’t you seen any of this? They’re making it sound like it was a statement from you and hinted that a formal apology to Rossetti might be coming next. What’s more, Rossetti is on Twitter calling for your immediate firing. Doesn’t that bother you? Don’t you want to speak up for yourself? You could lose your job.” He was incredulous, his speech climbing toward a frenzied pitch.
Julia blew air through her nose. She knew James meant well; he only wanted her to keep a firm hold on her career. He also liked things to have forward momentum, steps to be continually taken toward goals. It was bad enough he couldn’t get Julia to commit to a wedding date. The state of limbo this caused drove him crazy, but she’d had her job to consider. Up until now, she hadn’t been willing to take time off. Now that she’d been forced to take a leave, though, James wasn’t happy about it.
His urgent reasoning, in the form of fearmongering, certainly wasn’t helping. If anything, it was making her more sickened than she already was.
Running back to New York to get beaten down again in the form of public humiliation was the least appealing option. Yet she was conflicted.
“I obviously can’t control what the network does, or doesn’t do, in my absence. They’re a big company and I’m a tiny cog in the wheel. Peter has made it pretty clear I made a costly mistake, and they want me to stay away until it’s sorted out.”
“But did you make a mistake? Are you sure there isn’t any validity to the Rossetti story?”
“I don’t know.”
“And why did you have to go all the way to Arizona to visit a sister whom you literally never talk about? I don’t understand. I’m the one who actually cares, and you ran away from me.”
Julia sank down on the edge of the daybed, folding over to cradle her achy head in her hands. Poor James. He had a point. She hadn’t mentioned her sister much over the past year. James knew the basics about her parents’ deaths and the famous older sister who’d abruptly crumbled under her grief and given up her culinary career for a quieter life. And he knew that there’d been some kind of blowup between the two of them, causing Julia to brush him off whenever he’d pressed her for more information. But he also was an only child and didn’t fully understand the pull of another sibling, so to him, it seemed easy to cut out a person who didn’t serve a purpose. Just another business transaction dealt with.
“I know this doesn’t make much sense to you, but I needed to get away. Far away. My sister’s place seemed like a good spot to clear my head and sort things out. So here I am.”
“Far away, huh? From work or from me?” His tone was pained.
“Oh, James. Not from you.” Her voice softened. She wasn’t being a very good fiancée. “None of this has to do with me needing a break from you. I just didn’t want to be where people could see me, you know? To be under intense scrutiny because of the show.”
“But people see me, Julia. Don’t you get that? Friends and colleagues are asking me what happened. They’re wondering if there’s any truth to your story. It’s not been easy for me. Especially when I didn’t even know where you’d gone. It was pretty selfish of you to just take off and leave me to take the brunt of it.”
Now it was Julia who felt hurt. Somehow the whole thing had gotten twisted around and she was to blame not only for her sloppy news reporting but now also for James’s being inconvenienced.
“That’s not fair.”
“It’s not? Then tell me what is, Julia. Because I’m at a loss.”
She sighed and let her eyes drift across the room to her overflowing luggage. Shoes littered the floor; wrinkled blouses spilled over the edge. There hadn’t exactly been time to unpack, but Julia hadn’t kept herself travel ready either. Should she gather up her belongings now, say goodbye to Ginny, and catch the next flight home? Part of her knew returning to face the fire was inevitable. But the other, more fragile part yearned to stay hidden away at Ginny’s for a little while longer.
She was just about to respond when the sound of the front door slamming, followed by female voices, echoed down the hallway. Distracted, Julia strained to listen. The two voices quickly escalated. She recognized one as Ginny’s and the other as belonging to a young woman.
Her heart skipped. Olive was home.
“James, I’m going to have to call you back. I’ve got to go take care of something urgent.” The need to get off the phone was overpowering the desire to soothe his wounded feelings. She wanted to see Olive.
“Something urgent has come up? What does that mean?”
“Someone’s here and I have to go.” She was already on her feet and heading for the door. “Sorry. I’ll call soon, I swear. Bye!”
A brief shard of guilt pierced her lifting mood. Olive had returned, and that could only mean good news for everyone. Ginny would have her daughter and helper back. Julia could catch up with her niece. And the three women would finally have the chance to reunite properly. James was upset, but she promised herself she’d patch things up with him as soon as she could.
For now, she trotted eagerly down the hallway in search of the others.
The scene she discovered, however, wasn’t what she’d hoped to find. Not exactly. Ginny and Olive were, thankfully, both facing each other in the front entry. Olive appeared to be in one piece, a bit tousled in baggy sweats and windblown hair, but back home where she belonged. Yet neither of them looked pleased to see the other. And Julia’s breathless arrival in the center of what appeared to be a family feud suddenly felt awkward and intrusive.
“Aunt Julia?” Olive’s angry expression dropped into one of reserved surprise. “What are you doing here?”
Julia stepped forward with trepidation, praying her wide smile might lighten the room’s toxic energy. “Hi, Olive. I came for a visit. I was hoping to see you before I had to leave.” She moved in closer still, reaching out for a hug. Olive, with her day-old mascara smudged under her lashes and tangle of dirty hair, responded with a half embrace. The kind you give someone you might not fully trust. Julia held on a beat longer to offer a form of reassurance. A whiff of something resembling incense or marijuana floated through the air.
Julia frowned. A crack in her heart deepened. This grown-up version of her niece was unhinged and irresponsible. It was either all an act to piss off her controlling mother or a cry for attention. Either way, Julia was concerned.
“Huh.” Olive pulled away. “You’re kind of the last person I expected to see. If I would’ve known you were coming I would’ve—”
“You would have what?” Ginny cut her off. “You would have shown up? Stuck around? Answered m
y umpteen million texts, perhaps?” Ginny sank her teeth into the last question and glared. Anger radiated off her tense shoulders and filled the room.
Reflexively, both Julia and Olive backed up a step.
Olive’s expression tightened. Bending at the knees, she reached down and grabbed a canvas duffel bag and then hoisted it over one shoulder. “Well, I need to take a long, hot shower.”
Julia nodded, uncertain of what to say. “I should be here when you get out. Come and find me?”
Olive only half nodded in response and then wandered off down the hall. Julia deflated further. It seemed her only niece was holding a grudge just as immovable as her mother’s.
Both women watched her disappear into the back bedroom. Olive’s arrival had caused a knot in Julia’s stomach. Ginny’s family was full of even more discontent than she’d imagined. How had those two tolerated working together? From what she could gather, they could barely stand being in the same room. And Julia’s reception hadn’t been any better. It was clear Ginny had left some things out of their earlier conversation.
“Why didn’t you tell me it was this bad?” Julia turned and asked. To her surprise, Ginny’s eyes were shiny with emotion.
“I don’t know. I just feel like things are impossible now. I had hoped Olive would’ve had time to cool off and that she’d come home more mellow. But as you can see, she’s one big ball of anger. I swear Will is partially to blame. He probably filled her head with all kinds of crap during her latest visit. He always does that. Tells her she should be on the road, traveling and finding herself. It’s all a bunch of visionary BS, of course, and it usually takes a few days for his influence to slough off. But not this time. She thinks everything is all my fault.”
Or mine, Julia thought.
There was the sound of a door slamming, followed by the heavy pulse of a shower. Julia watched her sister flinch. The next thing she knew, Ginny’s brave face had crumpled. A mournful sob escaped, and Ginny’s hands flew to cover her stricken face. Julia went to her side.
“Oh, Ginny.” Her palm gently rubbed her sister’s back. It felt strange to be comforting her, but Julia could see it was necessary. “I’m so sorry. There’s got to be a way for you two to come to an understanding. You’re the only mother she has. Surely, deep down inside, she loves you. And I know you love her right back.”
Ginny shuddered as another wave of soft sobs racked her body. “I only wish you were right.”
“I am. You’ll see.” But the truth was, Julia wasn’t so sure. Ever since her arrival in Arizona, everything she’d blindly assumed had been proven wrong. It had all been a shock, from Ginny’s secret business to James’s unwarranted anger and Olive’s ugly rebellion. So far, she’d only made her problems worse by piling on more of them.
And all of it broke her heart.
“Julia,” Ginny croaked. “I know we still have stuff we don’t agree on, but do you think you might hang around? I’m sure this isn’t what you want. But honestly, it would be a favor to me—another favor—if you could maybe try and reach Olive. I feel like I’m at my wit’s end. I just don’t know how to get through to her anymore.”
Julia wavered. Ginny looked so vulnerable just then, as if a fissure was deepening.
Julia had come for an escape, but it was clear that her family needed her. If she left now, too many loose pieces would be left hanging. Again. Julia would only be leaving one problem for another. Although she’d promised herself, and James, that her return would be speedy, Julia worried that she couldn’t turn her back on people who needed her.
“I, uh . . .” What was she supposed to say? Her job and everything that went with it were hanging in the balance. Her whole life. She shifted.
Ginny continued to hold her gaze, watery and broken.
“I’ll see what I can do.” Julia sighed. She really had no idea what this meant. But she felt she just couldn’t say no.
“Thank you.” Ginny sniffed.
Julia would stay in Arizona for a while longer. Her troubles back home weren’t going anywhere, but they would have to wait.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
GINNY
Ginny was relieved Julia had agreed to stay beyond the weekend. Sure, there was still a lot more to discuss—and their first attempt at repairing their broken relationship hadn’t gone great—but the idea that Julia would act as a kind of buffer between her and Olive gave her a faint sense of relief. Plus, Ginny believed Julia owed her. Her sister had much to make up for after her behavior when their parents died. She could be bothered to make a small sacrifice for her own family for once.
“So, your next set of guests has dinner reservations tomorrow night?” Julia asked. “I thought you said you only did this supper club thing on weekends.” They were both hunched over the glass table just off the kitchen, nibbling on a plate of scones and locally made jam that Ginny had set out. The hum of a hair dryer could be heard coming from a bathroom.
“Yes and no. I usually only cook for people on weekends. But sometimes customers ask for a midweek seating; you know, if there’s a birthday or special occasion or something. If that’s the case, I tend to make exceptions.” Ginny’s front teeth bit down on a marionberry scone. A swath of purple jam clung to her lower lip.
Julia pushed a paper napkin across the table and nodded. “Okay, so Monday night is unusual.”
“Yes. Tomorrow night I have reservations booked for a table of twelve. That’s a big group, which means a big check. I couldn’t say no.” Ginny pressed her lips together to refrain from saying more. Julia was aware money was tight, but she didn’t need to know how tight.
“Ah.” Julia narrowed her eyes and rubbed her chin, as if she understood the appeal of a potential payout.
“So what exactly needs to be done between now and then?” Julia asked.
“A lot, actually. Today is Sunday, which means a visit to the farmers’ market. And Olive needs to go with me to pick out the flowers.” Which unfortunately means spending more money. Ginny knew they needed to prep for a big night at Mesquite, but she couldn’t ignore the tightness in her chest that accompanied having to dip further into her dwindling bank account in order to do so. She’d never not been able to plate food for a seating. But that might change.
This anxiety, however, was not something she was yet willing to share with Julia. Or her daughter, for that matter.
Julia lifted her head midbite. “Olive does the flowers? I wouldn’t exactly take her for the bright, cheerful type.”
Ginny snapped back into focus, masking her concern. “Yep. She does. That girl may be bratty and unpredictable, but she’s also got talent. You should see these floral displays she puts together. It would blow your mind. She’s kind of got a natural gift. Sometimes, if the mood strikes her, she’ll be out on the back patio for the better part of a day, just repotting succulents and grasses and perennials with this kind of dreamy expression on her face. And wait until you see her table centerpieces, not like the simple one I threw together in the dining room.”
“Wow.” Julia chewed slowly, as if she was taking it all in. “That’s amazing.”
“Yeah, it is. Of course, if I push her to do more of it, she only scoffs. Like I couldn’t possibly know what I’m talking about.” Ginny felt herself bristle.
“I’d like to see what she can do.”
“You will. But the three of us better get dressed and head into town. I don’t want all the booths to be picked over before we get there.” And I need the leverage of being able to haggle while inventory is still high, she thought. “Sundays have some of the best vendors.” Ginny had big plans for the party of twelve she was expecting. She wanted to try a new seasonal dish, but first she had to get to the market and see what she was dealing with. Seeing as it was nearly midday, they needed to hustle.
Lately, every day felt to Ginny as if she were losing time.
“Wait, we? As in all three of us are going? Together?” Julia leaned back in her chair, her eyebrows hovering in high
arches.
“Well, I sort of assumed so.” Ginny felt the color rushing to her cheeks. She’d just figured that when Julia said she’d stay for a few more days, it meant she planned to help out with Mesquite. She certainly wasn’t a great server, but she was a warm body nonetheless.
“You’re buying the food and Olive is allegedly picking out flowers. What do you need me to do? I would hardly be able to identify a shallot from a scallion. Won’t I just be in the way?”
Ginny relaxed a little and chuckled. “Yeah, you always used to love eating my food but never bothered to learn much about it, did you?”
Julia shrugged. “I suppose not.”
A wave of Ginny’s hand brushed off the worry. “Don’t worry. I mostly just need you there for moral support.”
“Okay.”
Ginny knew her sister considered this a big ask. After all, she was proposing Julia forgo her own set of problems only to take on hers. On top of this, neither of them had made much progress in admitting fault in the big fight that had occurred the day Ginny left town. Insults and accusations still loomed. But somehow both sisters had pushed the tension into the background. For the time being, anyway.
Forty-five minutes later, all three of them climbed out of Ginny’s car and scattered onto the grounds of the outdoor market. The midwinter air was crisp and dry; fingers of sunlight bled through a streak of white clouds, highlighting the open courtyard. Ginny loved days like this. Out in the desert, Mother Nature had a way of painting a beautiful picture that never failed to impress. She peered over at her sister and wondered if Julia might appreciate some of the beauty of Arizona they had both missed for so many years. Judging by the wistful smile on Julia’s face, she suspected the answer was yes.
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