becoming more heavily streaked with white every year.
Joanna’s light laugh was easily distinguishable from the other sounds in the room. She had
her long, dark hair pulled back now, her tidy ponytail waving gently down her back. This
made her face look even more delicate. She had changed into a long dress, which showed
off her round hips even more than her shorts had earlier
.
I realized that I hadn’t told her that dinner was completely informal here, yet she had tidied up and dressed for the occasion. I’m not sure why that struck me as completely endearing.
Miriam caught me watching them, and crooked her finger at me. “Dean, you can be the judge,” she said, flashing me a saucy wink.
The other two guests, Lindsay and Britney, were both giggling blonds who seemed
incredibly flighty. But they’d seemed to take instructions well over the past week. Strolling
in, I peered into the tiny bowls of salad dressing.
“There are very mixed ideas in this kitchen today,” Miriam said. “Dean, which showcases
the herbs best?”
I knew that Miriam was looking to add a line of salad dressings to the jams, preserves, and
sauces that the farm already sold. Even though she made light of it, she had been using our
guests as taste testers.
Picking up each bowl, I took a sniff before grabbing a fresh spoon for a taste. “These are
all quite good,” I said, “But the last one tastes more… Green. I think the rosemary and basil
are shown off a bit more.”
Joanna looked up at me with the sweetest smile I’d ever seen in my life. At that moment,
the brick wall I’d built around my heart began to crumble. I wasn’t quite sure whether to be
happy or worried.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “That’s exactly what I was going for.”
Miriam patted the other two girls on the shoulders. “Don’t worry, ladies. Tomorrow is
another day. We can play mad scientist until the cows come home.” She giggled like a
schoolgirl, betraying her sixty-plus years. “But thankfully, we don’t have cows. I certainly
don’t want to shovel up after them. Let’s get the table set.”
The ladies scurried away, and Miriam shot me a look. “I’m sorry there’s only three over the
next two days,” she said. “We had two musicians booked, but both guys were in the same
band and suddenly got called off to a tour.”