Chapter 67

Brian couldn’t.

* * * *

The next morning, just before Brian left for work, he met Jim in the kitchen. “You didn’t have to get up.”

“I wanted to see you off.”

Dad walked in. “Brian, have a good day. I’ll keep an eye on Jim. Michelle is in town and will take my runs for the day. She’ll be here tonight and stay for a few days. She cried when I told her what happened.”

Jim walked Brian to the car. “We still need to go to the store in the mall and pay for the panties. We’ll do it after you get home. We need to clean the slate.”

Brian nodded.

* * * *

Brian arrived at work early. He and Rico had become a team, and he enjoyed working alongside the man, handling close to half the work. Rico handed him a recipe and pointed to an array of vegetables on the counter.

“Today you make borscht.”

“What’s that?”

Rico let out a belly laugh. “Every chef should know about borscht. It’s a wonderful soup made with beets and cabbage. I make it a few times a year. Customers love it.”