are still planning to end the series?”
“Yes.”
“When was the last time you saw your doctor, Jennifer? These headaches are getting more and more frequent.”
“Last month. He said to quit crying so much,” Jennifer replied, muffled.
Peter’s hand worked along the vertebrae in her neck. “Still having bad nights?” he asked, concerned.
Jennifer nodded. “Not as frequently, but yes, I’m still having bad nights,” she admitted. She gingerly rolled her head. “That’s much better, Peter. Thanks.”
“Sure.”
“Aunt Jen, do you have any of those chocolate sprinkles left?”
“Try over the sink, Tom.” She looked over at her brother. “How in the world can he eat all that stuff and never get sick?”
“I want to know how he can eat all the stuff and not gain weight,” Peter replied. “He’s a bottomless pit.”
“I’m a what?” Tom had returned.
“A bottomless pit.”
Tom grinned. “I’m a growing boy, Dad.”
Peter gave him a playful swat. “You won’t always have that hollow leg.”
A sleepy boy appeared in the doorway. Jennifer saw him first. “Hi, Alexander. Come on in.”
“Hi, Aunt Jenny. I fell asleep.”
“Come sit beside me,” Jennifer offered, hiding a grin. Alexander was so adorable when he was sleepy.
“Hi, champ.” Peter gave him a hug, lifted his son over to sit between himself and Jennifer. She gently combed his hair with her fingers.
Alexander looked over the food with interest, starting to wake up. “What have I missed?”
“Nothing,” Tom replied, somewhat disgusted with the performance of his favorite team.
Jennifer offered Alexander a cookie.
“Nice socks, Aunt Jen,” Alexander said gravely.
“Thank you, Alex,” Jennifer replied with a smile. His own socks were blue with lots of little brown footballs. It was tradition between the two of them to give each other socks for Christmas; Alex was almost as opposed to shoes as Jennifer.
The second quarter of the game started. The home team actually put together a decent drive before fumbling on the twenty yard line. The phone rang.
“I’ll get it,” Peter said, motioning his sister to stay put. “It’s probably Rachel. She said she would call when they got home.” He got to his feet to get the phone in the kitchen.
He was gone only a few minutes. He came back to lean against the doorjamb. “Jennifer, it’s for you. He said his name was Scott?”
Jennifer’s eyes closed briefly. “I’ll take it in the bedroom,” Jennifer replied, knowing that statement only dug her a deeper hole, but needing the privacy. She was going to get grilled as soon as she got off the phone. She shifted Alexander so she could get her legs clear of the coffee table. She passed her brother, choosing not to meet his eyes.
In the bedroom she turned on the lamp on the end table. Took a deep breath. Pulling together her nerve, she picked up the phone. “Hi, Scott.”
“I’m sorry, Jennifer. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Jennifer cut him off. “My brother, Peter, and his boys are over. We’re just watching the Monday-night football game.”
“Who’s winning?” She could tell he was relieved.
“The San Diego Chargers. The 49ers can’t execute even a simple screen pass tonight. It’s awful.”
Scott chuckled. “I didn’t know you were a football fan.”
“Monday-night football is something of a tradition at my place,” Jennifer explained.
“I just wanted to call and say hi. I’m just leaving work.”
“Problems?”
“Just a lot of paperwork to catch up on,” Scott replied. “How’s the book coming?”
Jennifer pulled her feet up on the bed to get comfortable. “Good. I wrote twenty pages today.”
“You sound tired.”
Jennifer smiled. Perceptive man. “I am.” She propped the second pillow behind her back.
Scott, at his desk fifteen miles away, quietly tapped his pen against the pad of paper in front of him. He had been doodling her name along the edge of the pad of paper, then finally decided to call her. He swiveled his chair around to look out over the surrounding countryside. The city lights were hazy tonight.
“I’ve got a favor to ask,” he said, having finally made up his mind how to handle the dilemma he found himself in. Having canceled out on taking Twiggy to see the play in order to take Jennifer, he was now on the hook to his sister.
“Name it, Scott.”
“My sister, Heather, wants to meet you. Would you be game after dinner next week to stopping by her place for coffee?”
Jennifer’s memory for certain things was very good. Scott’s comment that Heather was pregnant was still clear in her mind. Could she handle meeting her? Jennifer simply did not know. But to say no would force her to talk about some things she simply was not ready to talk about. She forced a lightness in her voice that she was far from feeling. “That would be fine, Scott.”
“We won’t stay long.” Her hesitancy had not escaped him. “Thanks, Jennifer.” He glanced at his watch, realizing he’d keep her on the phone almost twenty minutes. “I had better let you get back to the game.”
“Thanks for calling.”
He smiled. “I’ll talk to you later, Jennifer. Good night.”
“Good night.” Jennifer set down the phone quietly. It was several minutes more before she got the nerve to venture back to the living room.
Alexander had moved down to stretch out beside his brother.
“The 49ers scored just before the half ended. They are ahead seven to three,” Tom informed her, his gaze never leaving the display of stats being shown during the halftime break.
Jennifer smiled. “Great. Let’s hope they walk all over the Chargers in the second half.” She took her seat again on the floor beside Peter. Peter handed her back her drink.
“Who is he?” Peter asked quietly.
Jennifer knew there was no way to duck the questions. Frankly, it was nice to know Peter was still there to run interference. Even
