By Proxy(27)

“Ahhhh. That’s why you went north yesterday. Wondered why Maggie was walking Casey at midday.” Jenny rolled her eyes. Nils watching Maggie but doing nothing else about Maggie was old news. She thought about giving him a hard time about it, but decided to keep the peace instead. No sense in teasing him and getting him all riled up. Maggie could be a pretty touchy subject with Nils. “Sam, huh?”

“Sam. Kelley. Sam Kelley. Pretty much kin of Ingrid, so leave it alone, okay? No need to worry Pappa.”

“Yeah, okay.” He paused. “You still need a hand at school today? With the booth?”

Jenny thought about this for a moment. She should accept Nils’s help and tell Sam she had no interest in seeing him again until Monday’s appointment. She certainly wasn’t the sort of girl who went around with taken men. But indignation surged up in her and she realized she wanted to give him a piece of her mind personally. That meant she couldn’t cancel on him yet.

She glanced at her watch. 8:05. Sam would be here in forty minutes. “I think I’ve got it covered, Nils. You can still stop by and pick up everything later to put it together. I’ll call you boys if anything changes. See you later or tomorrow.”

She hung up quickly and raced to her room to get dressed; she needed to get to Albertson’s Grocery and back before Sam got to her place. She suddenly knew exactly what she would offer him for breakfast.

***

Sam slept like a baby.

Maybe it was gulping in all of that sweet, clean Montana air, or spending time with a girl like Jenny but either way, Sam woke up feeling great. He stretched languorously, rotating his neck to get out the morning cricks. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting there for a moment, groggy until he caught sight of the alarm clock out of the corner of his eye.

“No! Crap!” He shot up, eyes wide open, realizing he had to be at Jenny’s place in twenty minutes.

After showering and shaving in record time, Sam surveyed his limited options and decided on a pair of jeans, plaid flannel shirt and the sweatshirt he had on last night. He jumped into his rental car and raced to Jenny’s apartment, giving himself a pat on the back as he pulled up in front of her building. 8:44. Not bad, Sammy. Not bad.

He took the stairs two at a time, excited to see her again. Maybe they weren’t meant for each other, but they were stuck together for a weekend, and she kept him on his toes. Might as well enjoy her company.

His mouth watered as the smells of a good old-fashioned country breakfast wafted out into the hall. Eggs and bacon if I’m not mistaken! He was so impatient to see her, he felt like an eager suitor, like he should have chocolates tucked under his arm, or flowers hidden behind his back.

Whoa, boy! Calm down and remember she’s not for you. Just be friendly and nice. Don’t make this more complicated.

He knocked lightly at her door and heard her call from inside, “It’s open, Sam!”

Walking into her bright, cheery apartment felt like coming home. Sure, he’d been there last night, but it was harder to get a feeling for a place at night. He walked through the short, tidy front hallway, peeking into the living room.

Bright sun shone through two windows that looked out onto Main Street. The loveseat and chair looked cozy and inviting, places to really relax with a cup of coffee, as opposed to the stark, modern furniture in Pepper’s apartment. The cheerful curtains reminded him of the handmade ones his mother had made for his room when he was small, only Jenny’s had flowers, and his had been patterned with falling leaves. Relieved that there was no fancy, modern artwork to pretend he liked, he glanced briefly at her family photos. Jenny and three blond boys in hiking boots standing from shortest to tallest in front of a massive boulder, and teenage Jenny hugging teenage Ingrid, both wearing black mortarboard caps.

He picked up the picture and looked at her face. Not so different from now, really. Fresh and unpainted, blonde hair curled around her shoulders in what he guessed was a special hair-do for graduation day. Pretty Girl. I would have tried to hold your hand.

He didn’t want her to catch him snooping so he returned the frame to its place and headed into the kitchen. Casey wiggled from her playpen in the corner, whining for Sam to come and pick her up. He obliged happily. Jenny was still nowhere to be seen.

The table was set simply with two plates, two coffee cups and two napkins. Just what they needed. No fuss. He could smell the coffee and his mouth watered, so he poured himself some joe before sitting down at the table with Casey on his lap.

In the middle of the table was a spice wheel like his mother used to have. He put Casey in the nook of one elbow and used his other hand to spin the plate slowly: hot sauce, mustard, black pepper, white pepper, red pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, a wooden pepper mill, a clear plastic pepper mill, cayenne pepper, chili pepper and some honey.