Long Holiday Weekend

It's Memorial Day weekend here in the U.S, the unofficial start of summer. Mother Nature had other ideas this week. We started off last week with summer heat, and then the rain and cooler temps arrived. I'd intended to go to the boys' yesterday to finish trimming those shrubs, and then work on my own gardens this weekend as well. Then I took a look at the forecast toward the end of the week and thought I could revise--the rain was going to start Friday night instead, but there was a couple hour window after I finished work that I could run up to their place and finish the shrubs. Except that changed on Friday, and the rain moved in early. Before the end of the work-day early, so no chance to do it Friday evening after all. So I just got home a little while ago, on Sunday, after finally finishing that chore. Now I need to think about mulch for up there, but that will wait until next month's long weekend maybe.

I also grabbed the annual herbs I wanted today for my own gardens, and if the forecast for tomorrow is correct (hahahahahahahahaha!), I might get to do some of my own garden clean-up and planting then and throughout the week. We'll see.

When I was at the boys' last weekend, my grandma's rose had buds everywhere, as did the peony, so I figured by the time I got back up there this weekend, there would be blooms, and boy, was I right. The roses have exploded all over the place, with lots more buds to open over the next week or two, and the peonies are beautiful, too, with flowers so big and heavy they're falling over. I need to get a cage for the peonies for next year so they stay upright.

I still have a million things on my to-do list for this weekend, so no do-nothing day as I'd hoped for. Oh well. Before I get to the next thing on the list (dinner!), I have a snippet for you this week from Protecting Medusa.

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            A tap at the back door made her jump and drop the spatula into the meat and sauce.

            Ryder stood outside, gun still in his hand, his face somber, though something sparked in his eyes when she got to the door and turned off the alarm. “Gone, but I know where to find him later,” he said shortly as he came inside.

            She stepped away, desperate for something to distract her from his naked chest. The spatula. She fished it out of the bubbling pan and rinsed it at the sink. “You should have let us know you were coming.” It came out sharper than she intended.

            He laughed as he leaned over the stove to inhale. “So you could keep avoiding me, Mena?”

            She didn’t look at him right away, but her pulse tripled its pace. Of course he knew she’d been avoiding him all these years. The man wasn’t an idiot. “In case we had other plans,” she said instead, remaining at the sink instead of returning to the stove to stir their meal. 

            “As it happens, I spoke to Aggie this morning.” He grinned. “She knew I was coming.”

            Philomena bit her lip and looked away for a second.

            “What’s wrong, Mena?” He moved nearer. “Are you angry I didn’t give you another chance to hide, or are you still turned on?”

            Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “I was not.”

            He touched her chin. “Liar.” His gaze flicked to the front of her sweater.  “You are.”

            She blushed furiously, aware of the way her nipples had tightened under her sweater again. Dammit. “Cold.”

            He slid his thumb along her lower lip, his smile fading. “You don’t need to be embarrassed about it, Mena. The feelings are reciprocated,” he said softly. “You know that.”

            She jerked away when he leaned nearer. Her heart raced crazily, and her legs felt like rubber. “I’m not interested in a relationship with you, other than as you are Jason’s father and I am his aunt.” He didn’t need to know she’d admired the photos Jason had of him, or that just the sound of his voice when he flirted on the phone caused her to imagine getting up close and in person.

            He lifted one eyebrow. “Desi’s been telling stories? After all this time?”

            She moved around him to stir the sloppy joes. “Desi’s got nothing to do with it. Though, now that you mention it, her taste in men is known not to be very good, and my type is completely different from hers.”

            For a second, he remained silent, but then Ryder laughed behind her. She ground her teeth together.

            “I’ve seen your type, Mena, and your taste in men isn’t so hot. I think it’s time you tried a different flavor.” His hands settled on her shoulders, making her tense even more.

            “You should get dressed. Mom and Jason will be here any minute,” she said, hearing the quaver in her voice. “And put your gun away.”

            His breath warmed the top of her head, and she held her own, waiting. But he simply gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze and moved away.

            Leaving her to wonder how he’d seen any of her dates.

            Better than imagining him going upstairs to finish dressing.

            She frowned into the skillet, stirring more vigorously than she needed to. Had he really been spying on her? For how long? She didn’t even remember the last date she’d had. 

            When her mother’s car pulled into the driveway beside hers, she inhaled deeply, forcing some of the tension from her shoulders and neck. After three days of forced solitude, she wanted to see her family. Very much.

            Jason burst through the back door. “Aunt Phila!”

            She smiled and held out her arms, bracing when he flung himself at her. “Hi, baby.” She scooped him up, even though he really was getting too big for that. She kissed one of his cheeks, then his mouth, then his other cheek, while he giggled. It was their ritual for whenever she’d been away. A kiss for each day they’d been apart.

            He wrapped his arms around her neck, tight. “I missed you.”

            “You know I missed you, too.” She caught sight of her mother coming in and gave her a strained smile. Her mother lifted one eyebrow, and Philomena shook her head. “How was school today, buddy?” She set him on his feet and unzipped his coat.

            He shrugged out of his superhero backpack and his coat, bouncing the whole time. “You know the hamster in our room? Harvey? He got out of his cage during recess today, so we had to crawl around looking for him till Nita found him hiding under the bookcase in the back corner. Oh, and we got a new girl in our class today. Her name is Rose, and she has red hair and a million billion freckles on her face. And Eddie brought a picture of his new German Shepherd puppy with him. Eddie’s gonna train him to be a guard dog an’ keep bad guys away. He said I should come see him this weekend. Can I go?”

            Philomena relaxed a bit more, listening to him while she heated some frozen vegetables and set the table.

            When Jason came up for air, he frowned at the table. “Hey, how comes there’s four plates, Aunt Phila?”

            Her spine stiffened, and she took a quick breath as she turned from the stove.

            “Because I came to visit, little guy,” Ryder said from the foot of the stairs.

            “Daddy!” Jason shrieked and met his father halfway across the room.

            Ryder’s grin was as big as Jason’s, and he swung his son around in a big hug while Jason clung tightly to him.

            Philomena watched as they greeted one another, doing silly guy stuff--funny handshakes and high-fives, and hugging again--and her heart squeezed in her chest, painfully. She’d never seen such naked delight on her nephew’s face. Or imagined it in his father’s.

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I really do need to plan for one do-nothing day on my long weekend in June. Have you had a do-nothing day lately? Do you need one, too? Maybe for reading? Or something else? I'd love to hear about it!