Part 2 (1/2)
26.
”The one directly over your head.”
Hannah glanced up and saw that the blades weren't turning on the fan in question. ”I don't know, but Freddy and Jed are coming in this morning to install the new shelves in the pantry. I'll point it out to them.”
”Freddy looks good,” Lisa remarked, sitting down next to Hannah. ”He told me that Jed makes him take a shower every morning and dress in clean clothes.”
”That's a plus. I can remember a couple of times when I had to stand upwind.”
As they sipped their coffee, Hannah thought about Freddy Sawyer. He was mildly r.e.t.a.r.ded and he did odd jobs around town, supplementing the income from the small trust fund his mother had set up for him before she died. Freddy had to be in his early thirties, but his naive manner and boyish grin made him seem much younger than that. He lived just outside the Lake Eden town limits on Old Bailey Road in the house his mother had owned for years. His cousin, Jed, had moved in with him last month, and it seemed Jed had been a good influence on Freddy.
”People underestimate Freddy,” Lisa said, looking rather fierce. ”They think he can't learn new things, but they're wrong. Janice c.o.x told me that she taught him to tell time.”
”That's good,” Hannah said, turning to look as a car drove up and parked in front of the shop. ”There's Andrea and she's early. She isn't supposed to meet Norman here until nine-thirty.”
Lisa jumped up from her chair. ”I'll go let her in. Just sit there and relax. I know you were up late last night catering that bridal shower.”
Hannah sat. She was tired. The shower had been a big event, over forty guests. Andrea had been invited, but she'd stayed only long enough to deliver her gift, congratulate the bride-to-be, and give Hannah a message from Mike. Mike was out of town, attending a five-day conference in Des Moines on intervention techniques for youthful offenders. When he hadn't been able to reach Hannah on the phone, he'd called
27.
Andrea to say he was staying over on Sunday night, but he'd be back in Lake Eden at noon on Monday and he'd drop by The Cookie Jar to see her.
The two sisters hadn't had time to exchange more than a few words before Andrea had to leave. She'd told Hannah that Bill had turned into a regular mother hen now that she was pregnant. He urged her to rest when she wasn't tired, he was forever bringing her afghans and pillows she didn't need, and just recently he'd taken to making her high-energy snacks that played havoc with her prenatal diet.
”Hi, Hannah.” Andrea breezed in through the door, the picture of chic. She was wearing a light green skirt that swirled gracefully when she walked and a matching hip-length top. There was a turquoise scarf around her waist, a color combination Hannah would never have thought to attempt, and a silver and turquoise pendant around her neck. Andrea's light blond hair was pulled up in a complicated twist. She could have stepped from the pages of a glossy magazine.
”You're looking gorgeous this morning,” Hannah said with only a small stab of envy. Andrea always looked fas.h.i.+onable and Hannah often felt like a frump beside her.
”Mother called you about Mich.e.l.le, didn't she?”
”Yes, I'm meeting her bus. It's going to be great having her home.”
”I know. We haven't seen her in ages.” Andrea pulled out a chair and sat down. ”Why didn't you call me last night? I left a zillion messages on your answer machine.”
”I forgot to check it. I didn't know about Norman's new house until he called me this morning.”
Andrea looked disgruntled. ”Well, don't blame me for not telling you. You really need a cell phone, Hannah.”
”I don't want a cell phone.”
”Everyone who's anyone has one.”
”Then I guess I'm not anyone. I know it's the age of technology, but I don't like the idea of being on an electronic leash.”
”It's not like a leash. Anytime you don't want to answer it, you can just turn it off.”
28.
”That would be all the time.” Hannah began to grin. The end of the argument was in sight. ”And if I never answer my cell phone, why have one in the first place?”
”Coffee, Andrea?” Lisa called out, holding up an empty mug.
”No, thanks. Doc Knight limited me to one cup a day and Pve already had it.”
”How about a gla.s.s of orange juice?”
”That sounds good.” Andrea smiled at Lisa, then turned back to Hannah. ”I had to get up at the crack of dawn. The only time Doc Knight could see me was at seven-thirty.”
”Seven-thirty isn't exactly the crack of dawn.”
”For me it is. I'm fine, by the way. I turned down the ultrasound. We don't want to know the baby's s.e.x until he's born.”
”Until he's born?”
”I'm just saying he as a concession to Mother. She's positive it's a boy this time.”
Hannah was amused. ”What makes her so sure?”
”She says if you carry the baby in front and your stomach sticks out, it's a boy. If you're big all over, it's a girl.”
”That sounds like an old wives' tale to me. Besides, your stomach is still as flat as a board.”
”No, it's not. I've been dressing to hide it, but nothing fits me right anymore. I'm going to start wearing maternity clothes the minute Claire's s.h.i.+pment comes in.”
”You asked Claire to order maternity clothes for you?” Hannah was surprised. Claire Rodgers owned Beau Monde, the dress shop next door to The Cookie Jar, and her clothes were expensive.
”I know it'll probably cost an arm and a leg, but Bill wants me to have the best. He says it might even be tax deductible. After all, I'm a real estate agent and I have to be well dressed for my job.”
”You'd better check with Stan about that.” Hannah curbed her impulse to laugh. Stan Kramer was the best tax man in LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER 29.
Lake Eden. He was pretty liberal about what was and what wasn't a tax deduction, but Hannah didn't think he'd go quite that far.
Andrea looked up as Lisa brought over a plate of cookies. ”Thanks, Lisa. These look wonderful and I didn't have time for breakfast. What are they?”
”We call them Apricot Drops and they're Hannah's invention. They're Oatmeal Raisin Crisps made with chopped dried apricots instead of raisins.”
The phone rang and Lisa rushed off to answer it. Hannah watched as Andrea took a bite of her newest cookie and she relaxed as her sister started to smile. ”You like them?”