Day Seven I Signed It novel · Chapter 21 of 24

Chapter 21: Sunday Dinner

Ivy's POV

I brought a pie, because my own mother told me never to walk into a mother's house empty-handed.

I also brought a second pie, in case the first one went badly.

"Two?" Colin said, on the porch.

"One is for the family. One is for me, in the car, after."

He laughed and rang the bell.

Joan Tavish opened the door in an apron, with flour on her forearms.

Her glasses were pushed up into her hair.

She looked me over once, top to bottom.

"You're the nurse."

"Ivy."

"I know. I watched you on that ridiculous video, standing against the wall."

She took the pie.

"You came anyway. Good. Wipe your feet."

I wiped my feet.

Inside, the table was already set for five.

Two of the places held napkins folded into triangles, and two held napkins stuffed in a glass.

I worked out which was which when Gavin stood up.

He was holding a bowl of green beans in both hands.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Gavin. You're the neighbor."

"I'm Ivy."

"I know. Sorry. I've heard a lot."

His mother sat on Joan's left, as promised.

She wore a blue blouse with the price tag still on the cuff.

Joan reached over without looking and tore it off.

"Thank you," Gavin's mother said, and Joan said, "Eat your dinner."

It was the strangest meal I have ever sat through, and I once ate Thanksgiving with a surgeon's three ex-wives.

Nobody talked about the thing.

Keep reading free with an account. Start Day Seven I Signed It from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.