CHAPTER NINETY-ONE
(part three)

Sunday — 1:35 P.M.

Jill looked across the kitchen table at Sandy and Honey. Valerie sat down next to her at the table.

“I asked you guys…”

There was a crash from the living room where Jake, Blane and a crew of men worked to clear the wreckage from the incident with Levi Johansen. The women looked toward the kitchen door. They were filling a second roll off dumpster with debris and furniture.

Honey, MJ and Sam had moved out of their wing of the Castle. With the Chapel destroyed, a portion of the Castle was no longer structurally stable. Sam had moved into an apartment on the second floor while MJ and Honey had moved into an apartment in the basement. Jacob had installed a stair lift so Honey could get to the gym. She would be able to get up and down the stairs to the basement when MJ wasn’t home.

Valerie got up to switch off the screaming tea kettle.

“Tea?” Valerie asked.

The women shook their heads. Valerie made herself some peppermint tea and sat back down.

“Why did you want to talk to us Jill?” Valerie asked.

“Delphie usually cooks all our meals,” Jill started.

“She puts groceries in our refrigerator,” Sandy said.

“Ours too,” Honey said. “I haven’t been to the grocery store since we moved in here. Delphie has taken care of all of that.”

“Right,” Jill said. “I think we need to assume she won’t do that for a while.”

“What do the doctors say?” Sandy asked.

“Her brain damage, plus her psychic predisposition, have precipitated in a mental state…” Valerie stopped. Her eyes welled with tears. “She thinks she’s dead. They don’t know if she’ll get better. There isn’t a med or a therapy or…”

Overwhelmed with sadness, Valerie stopped talking. A fat tear slid down her beautiful face. Jill put her hand on Valerie’s shoulder. Valerie wiped her face.

“We need to start taking care of some of the things around here,” Jill said. “Like the dogs, the house cleaning, the cooking, the shopping, and eventually the gardens. Did Mike turn the beds yesterday?”

“He’s doing it now. He’s worried about me and Delphie… He’s nervous about tonight’s art opening,” Valerie wiped her eyes. “We need to find someone to take care of the bees.”

“Is Nash still taking martial arts?” Honey asked Sandy.

“I was just thinking I could ask Colin about the bees,” Sandy said. “Good idea Honey.”

“What should we do about dinner? Do we still want to eat together?”

“I really like it,” Honey said. She blushed at her own exuberance. Valerie squeezed Honey’s hand. “It’s the best part of my day, especially since I’ve been doing this trial or when MJ’s gone.”

“I like it too,” Jill said. “Sandy?”

“Absolutely,” Sandy said. “It’s nice not to have dinner to worry about. Honestly, I don’t know if I can afford groceries for us. We still don’t have Aden’s money and probably won’t.”

“I can cover it,” Jill and Valerie said at the same time. They smiled at each other.

“We’ll get it covered,” Valerie said. “You need groceries for…”

“Breakfast, lunch, baking and dinners for nights Nash has soccer or Noelle has art class,” Sandy said. “With the kids, it’s probably a thousand, fifteen hundred a month, maybe more. These kids aren’t used to American cheese and hot dogs.”

“Ok, so someone needs to do the household shopping or organize a list if we want it delivered,” Valerie said.

“I don’t think the delivered stuff is as good,” Honey said.

“It’s expensive and you don’t get to pick your own vegetables,” Jill said.

“I’ll shop,” Honey said. “I think it would be fun.”

The women gawked at her. Sandy shifted uncomfortably.

Denver Cereal continues tomorrow…