Being Emma (13 page)

“What’s going on?”

“
Oh… the
usual. I’m working on a new recipe. Carter thinks I should call the
new cookbook,
Two Million Things to do with Fish
.” Janie grinned.

“Not very catchy, Meg.”

“That’s what I told him.”

Janie put Sofia on one of the kitchen chairs
and took off her jacket.

“The ocean air feels so heavenly here – You
must love it.”

“… I do. It’s incredible.” Janie looked
around the house and then back at Meg. She always thought her
sister was so lovely with her shoulder-length blonde hair and blue
eyes.

“Where’s Carter?” Meg moved past the island
in the kitchen to stir something in a saucepan on the stove.

“He’s got classes all day. I thought we’d
hang out here today, so Sofia can entertain you,” she smiled at her
daughter, “and then tomorrow we’ll go to the Wharf for seafood.
Just us…”

“Carter won’t want to come?”

“… He will, but he can babysit, while I take
my sister on the town.”

Sofia piped up in her high voice, “I’m not a
baby…” Janie put her arm around her.

“Of course, you aren’t, sweetie.” Meg looked
over the counter at her.

“You said you wanted Daddy to take you down
to the park. Wouldn’t you like to do that?” Sofia happily clapped
her hands and smiled.

“… Yes, please. I want to go with Daddy.”

Meg whispered to Janie, “Daddy’s girl…” and
winked.

“We’ll have fun with Aunt Janie tonight. Will
that be okay?” Sofia bobbed her head making her pretty chestnut
hair bounce too.

“She’s such a pretty girl, Meg. You did
good...” Meg laughed.

“Different from Colt’s brood, wouldn’t you
say?”

“And Jesse’s. Did you hear that Audrey’s
pregnant again? She told Mandy she wants a couple more.” Meg shook
her head smiling.

“Never thought our older brothers would have
so many children and the younger brothers none at all. What’s up
with Miles and Joey anyway?” She checked the consistency of the
sauce she was preparing and decided to put in the refrigerator. She
wanted to talk to Janie without distractions. “Want something to
drink?”

“Sure. Got any Diet Coke?”

“Right here.” Meg took a can out of the
refrigerator and then filled a glass with ice to hand her. She got
one for herself too.

“Anyway… Miles… We saw him briefly last month
for about a week and then he had to get back… Something about a
launch for his new book… That’s what they call a book signing in
London, apparently.” Meg grinned.

“No women in the picture?”

“Not since he broke up with Kate, the woman
he brought to your wedding. Or she broke up with him… We had high
hopes for her.” Janie poured her soda and took a sip.

“And Joey?”

“Joey’s stalling for time with Anna, if you
ask me. Jesse already went down this road with Audrey and I thought
her parents were going to kill him. “

“…Five years was a long time to go without
any sort of commitment on his part.” Meg sipped her Coke.

“I’ll say…”

“Joey’s about to take off for New Mexico
again to paint. We thought Anna was going with him. Not sure now…
That’s a maybe…”

“So… Two brothers are settled and two
brothers are not.”

“That’s a lot of brothers, Meg.” They both
laughed.

“How about Jeanne and Sam?”

“I haven’t spoken to them in a while. I think
Jeanne and Mandy keep in pretty good contact.” Meg looked at her.
She knew exactly what those recent conversations between Jeanne and
Mandy were about too – Janie and Craig.

“Huh… Come bring your suitcase into the guest
room. Sofia can carry your purse for you.” Sofia smiled happily,
took Janie’s purse with one hand and grabbed Janie’s hand with her
other one. Together, they walked down the hallway.

After settling into the guest room, they went
out to Meg’s back yard to swing Sofia and chat about whatever.
Janie relaxed finally in the garden area with all those fabulous
flowers in bloom around her. She smelled wonderful scents of lilac
and honeysuckle. The roses were all blooming in vibrant pinks,
reds, yellows and whites. It was an oasis of calm in the busy city.
She told Meg a little about Mike Church — That they had had fun
together, but he was gone to Alaska… He wouldn’t be coming back
either. That was a relief to Meg – No one knew what was going on
with her and Mike, and she was glad that relationship wasn’t
serious.

The elephant sitting in the room was Craig…
Meg wasn’t about to bring him up – just yet. She was hoping to get
Janie alone tomorrow by the bay and just let her talk it out. She
knew Janie needed to unwind first, so Sofia was helping with that
duty. By the time Carter arrived home, Janie was feeling good. She
loved her sister and her family – Their time together was always
too short.

They were playing with Sofia in the living
room when Carter came in the front door.

“Janie? That your car out there?” He came
down the hallway and Sofia ran to him laughing. He picked her up
and kissed her cheek.

“See what I mean?” Meg winked at Janie and
then walked up to greet Carter. He leaned past Sofia in his arms to
kiss Meg. She got a longer, deeper kiss than he gave Sofia, of
course, and the look that passed between them was soulful. He was
truly happy to be home and with his girls. Janie saw that Carter
look again – And she was envious…

“How was your trip, Janie? No problems, I
hope.” He came over to hug her, and then sat on the couch by Meg
with Sofia on his lap. Janie smiled. Carter was so cute with those
glasses and he wore the best looking suits ever… Craig had one like
that once. Craig?

“… Uneventful, which is fine by me. There was
an accident on the Bay Bridge right before I went on it. Luckily,
it was cleared up by the time I went over.” Janie took another sip
of her soda.

“
How’s
the archery practice going?” Too late, he saw Meg shaking her head
at him.
Uh-oh. Wrong subject.

“It’s good. I just felt like getting out of
town for a few days.”

“Sure… all right. Ah… what are we doing for
dinner? In or out?”

Meg smiled at him. “In. I’m making something
new for the cookbook and you three will be my guinea pigs for
tonight.” Carter looked over at Janie.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds. Her recipes
are fabulous, really.”

“That’s nice of you to say, honey.” Meg
turned his face to her and kissed him. Janie laughed so she
wouldn’t sigh…

The rest of the evening was taken up with
cooking, talking, laughing and eating. Meg and Carter were happy to
see her and it showed. Of all the places to go when she was feeling
so down, this was the best… They made her feel welcome and
entertained her nonstop.

Meg knew there was something wrong. They had
grown up together and she could usually read Janie like a book. Not
this time though – There was a new chapter being written here and
Meg knew it. She’d have to wait until tomorrow, but that was all
right. She knew Janie wanted to talk or else the visit wouldn’t
have been so impulsive. Janie usually planned things and talked out
every single intricate detail until they were all ready to kill
her.

* * *

The next day they took a cable car to
Fisherman’s Wharf. Meg had a cable car stop not far from her house
in Pacific Heights, so they got on and rode it to the end of the
line – the Wharf. The line took them past Lombard Street, the
curviest street in the U.S. – It’s a stop, so all the tourists can
get out to take a look. Only the brave ventured to drive down that
curvy part of Lombard, but the views from Hyde Street were
incomparable. San Francisco Bay was in the background with Alcatraz
Island just peeking into sight. Looking over the bay was Angel
Island State Park. Treasure Island was to the right and Janie
looked over various hills dotted with houses as far as you could
see. The sky was layered with blues and whites. Quite a sight…

After getting off the cable car, Meg and
Janie walked past the Buena Vista Bar. Meg remarked that they
needed to come back there for an Irish coffee later. Janie nodded.
They were joking and laughing as they walked through the park by
Ghirardelli Square. Vendors had set up kiosks all up and down the
sidewalks, and they enjoyed seeing the various wares sold. There
was an art exhibit also being displayed in the park and street
musicians were playing on the street corners. People were
everywhere, enjoying the day.

“Look, Meg. I want to see the jewelry over
there.” Janie steered her over to a kiosk with handmade jewelry of
semi-precious stones. Janie saw several necklaces with amethyst and
jade that she really liked.

“Janie, look at this necklace. This is you.”
Meg held up a necklace made of citrine, a yellowish variety of
quartz. Several round cut pieces of citrine made the necklace
itself with the centerpiece being a five-carat square of golden
yellow. Janie held it up and marveled at the way it reflected in
the sun. Rays bounced through the middle of the stone like a
prism.

“Wow! You’re right – I love it!” She turned
to the vendor. “How much is it?”

“It’s one hundred dollars.” Janie didn’t even
hesitate. She didn’t buy much jewelry, but she wanted to treat
herself today.

“Sold.” She fished the money out of her
wallet and the vendor handed her the stunning necklace. Janie put
it on immediately, while Meg moved it around to hang correctly on
her neck.

“It’s gorgeous, Janie. Don’t you love
it?”

Janie grinned. “I do… It’s fabulous.”

They continued walking down Beach Street, the
main street in Fisherman’s Wharf, checking out the stores and
restaurants as they went by.

Souvenir stores selling tee shirts and
refrigerator magnets tempted them.

“No, you really don’t need another tee
shirt.” Meg dragged Janie out of one shop as she headed into
another.

“But I need to bring something back for Colt
and Jesse’s kids. They’ll be upset if I don’t.”

“I sincerely doubt that, but buy some if you
must.” Janie smiled, heading for the shirt area. She started
combing through the children’s shirts.

“What size are Sammy and little Sandy?” Meg
peered around the corner at her.

“Probably a size larger than Sofia. They’re a
year older, and both boys are bigger than she is.”

“And what size are the twins? They’re the
same age as Jesse’s little girl, Emily, right?”

“Yep…” After rummaging around for a while,
they decided on the right sizes for all their nieces and nephews.
Janie paid and they left the shop.

“Now you have too many bags to carry and we
don’t have a car to put them in.” Meg frowned at her.

“That’s okay,” Janie smiled. “You can carry
some for me.”

“Great…” She gave her an exasperated
look.

Walking down by Alioto’s and some of the
seafood restaurants, Janie and Meg bought clam chowder in small
bread bowls to eat by the harbor where all the boats were docked.
Meg pointed out the Richardson boat in its slip. It was a huge,
double-mast sailing boat named Julia, after Carter’s mother. They
leaned by the railing and took in the smell of the ocean while they
spooned some soup.

“How was it learning to sail?”

“It’s wonderful and Carter has been a great
teacher. We sail out in the bay usually, circle Alcatraz Island and
then go on out to Sausalito. Sometimes we dock there for lunch and
sometimes we go the other way towards Treasure Island. I love being
out on the water with Carter.” Meg took another spoonful.

“Did you ever think you’d be sailing in San
Francisco after growing up in small town, Nevada?”

“No, but I love both places.” Meg laughed and
then was serious for a moment.

“… You know, I never really wanted to live
anywhere else but San Francisco. The first time I visited, I knew
it was the place for me. And then I was hired for my first job as
assistant chef.” She looked over at Janie.

“How about you?”

“How about me what?”

“You going to stay forever in Naples?” Janie
took another spoonful of the chowder, and thought about that.

“… I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be opposed to
relocating… If it was someplace I really wanted to go.” Meg nodded
at her.

They walked all the way down to Pier 39 and
saw an old sailing ship from the 1800s docked there. The ship had
become something of a tourist attraction and allowed tourists to
come aboard to visit. Janie smiled at the people in period costume
selling tickets and having fun. A mime street artist came up and
pretended to pull a coin out of her ear, making Janie laugh. After
taking in the aquarium at Pier 39, with its panoramic views of
ocean life, Janie had shrugged off all her troubles and woes. Meg
had bought some kettle corn from a street vendor and they munched
contentedly, as they started walking back toward Cannery Row.

Meg noticed that Janie was so much happier
than when she had showed up at her doorstep yesterday. What a
difference a day could make! They decided to bypass the chocolate
mike shakes at Ghirardelli’s and go straight to Buena Vista for
that Irish coffee. It was a long day of shopping, eating and
sightseeing, so Janie wanted to sit for a while. And she was ready
for some coffee. Meg totally agreed…

The Buena Vista was located on the corner of
Hyde and Beach Streets. The original building where the bar sits
now was a boardinghouse in 1916 when the landlord had converted the
first floor into a saloon. That saloon was called Buena Vista,
meaning ‘good view’ in Spanish, and the view was good indeed. In
the early 50s, a writer and then owner came up with the recipe for
Irish coffee and the rest, as they say, was history.

Meg and
Janie walked into the bar and were pleasantly surprised to find
seats. The place had always been so popular, that seats were rare
and waiting outside in a line was the norm. The bar was narrow with
tables on one side by picture windows that opened up to the street.
And the view
was
good… Janie
could see across the street to the park and on into the bay.
Wonderful! Across from the tables was the bar where two bartenders
were very busy. Janie sank into one of the few booths towards the
back and Meg joined her.