I love the smell of bacon in the morning.” Andrew Jackson appeared in the kitchen doorway and headed straight for the coffee maker.
“You love the smell of bacon any time of day,” said Rose, who was standing at the stove with an egg in each hand and a hot frying pan ready in front of her. She cracked the eggs together and a few seconds later both of them were sizzling in the skillet. “How many eggs today?” she asked.
“Three please,” said Andrew, pouring himself a large cup of coffee. “I’m hungry this morning.”
Read Also
The Jacksons take a final bow
Are we going to call this meeting to order or what?” Brady Jackson leaned back in his chair and looked…
Rose cracked two more eggs and then picked up a spatula to stir the hash browns that were crisping up on another element. “Well, good,” she said, “because I made a lot of potatoes.”
“They will not go to waste,” said Andrew. “Well, my waist maybe.” He took a sip of coffee, put the coffee cup down, grabbed a pair of plates, set them down on the counter next to the stove and then proceeded to set the table with the cutlery and cups they would need. A few minutes later they were both seated at the table, each with a steaming plate of hot breakfast in front of them.
“Dig in,” said Rose.
“Already digging,” said Andrew through a mouthful of hash browns. “Holy smokes,” he said, “these hash browns are ridiculous. What did you put in here?”
Rose laughed. “You like them?” she asked.
Andrew took another fork full. “Oh yeah.” He looked down at his plate. “I see tomato, green pepper, onion,” he said. “And I’m tasting rosemary and thyme and a hint of garlic but there’s something else I can’t put my finger on.”
“My secret ingredient,” said Rose. “I will never tell. I will take the secret to my grave.” She grinned. “It’s Applewood smoked cheddar,” she said.
“That’s it,” said Andrew. “I should have known. Cheese. No matter how good life is, you can always make it better with cheese.”
“Indeed,” said Rose. They ate in silence for a minute or two. “What’s on your agenda for the day?” asked Rose eventually.
“I don’t have an agenda,” Andrew. “I was going to run out to the farm to help Randy winterize the house but he called to say they’re going to the city so we’ll do that tomorrow instead. So I’m free as a bird. How about you?”
“I was just going to putter around the house,” said Rose. “Bake cookies. Read a book. Sit in the sunroom and stare out at the world. Pretend I’m a character in a short story about the idylls of rural Canadian life.”
“Sounds fantastically boring,” said Andrew. “I love it.”
Rose nodded. “I’d like to have a day in which absolutely nothing happens,” she said.
“I could go for that,” said Andrew. “We could go for a stroll later. This weather is crazy for November. I mean really? Sixteen degrees? It’s like living in Vancouver. Only better, because property is affordable and we’re not surrounded by eco-snob yoga practitioners.”
“Or mountains,” said Rose.
“Yeah,” said Andrew. “I can’t stand mountains. They’re so high and mighty.”
“But yeah,” said Rose, “the weather is very nice. Being outside for a while would be good. As long as we only go where nothing ever happens.”
“We could go to Winkler,” said Andrew.
“Yes we could,” said Rose, “but I’d rather not.”
“All right then,” said Andrew pushing his now empty plate away and taking another sip of coffee. “So we’re agreed. Today’s agenda is complete relaxation and…,” here he was interrupted by the telephone ringing… “and nothing interesting happening.”
“Agreed,” said Rose, reaching for the phone. She put the handset to her ear. “Hello?” she said. “Hello?” A puzzled look came over her face as she kept the receiver to her ear. “It’s just music,” she said to Andrew.
“Weird,” said Andrew. “Is it good music at least?”
“Could be worse,” said Rose. “It’s The Eagles.”
“Which song?” asked Andrew. “Put it on speaker.”
Rose pressed a button and the telephone’s external speaker came to life. “Johnny come lately,” Don Henley was singing, “there’s a new kid in town, everybody loves you…”
Rose’s eyes grew wide. “Oh my Lord! Brady? Is that you?” she said.
The music stopped and Brady’s voice crackled out of the speaker. “It’s me Mom,” he said. Rose opened her mouth but no words came out. There was a pregnant moment of silence.
“It’s a girl,” said Brady. “Her name is Michaela Rose. I hate to have to tell you this, but… you’re grandparents.”
“So much for our agenda,” said Andrew.
