Cherry’s Jubilee (Lunchtime Chronicles: Season 7)

Chapter 17

Daniel

“Good morning, Ashley,” I say to my assistant. She’s in the hallway, holding a cup of coffee. “No coffee for me this morning,” I say as she stands there like a deer in headlights and watches.

Cherry tightens her arm around mine but offers no greeting for her cousin. Ashley is a true example of what happens when a parent poisons their child against someone. Cherry Cross has turned out to be the sweetest person and one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met. She’s ambitious and manages to run a small business while working full-time.

“Of course, Daniel,” she says, her voice frostier than I’ve ever heard. She will be furious in the next ten minutes if she's mad now.

“I sent you an email a few minutes ago. Please, take care of that for me. I’ll need it before we leave today,” I order.

“We?”’ she asks, as if she’s confused.

“Yes. Me and Cherry.”

“She’ll be joining you?” she asks. “At your family’s home?”

“She’s right here. Why don’t you ask her yourself?” I look at Cherry, who’s looking straight ahead and not at Ashley. “Do you need Ashley to get anything for you, Cherry Bomb?” I ask, using the new nickname I gave her the other day.

Cherry offers a very curt, “No.”

After no other words are exchanged, we go into my office .

“I don’t trust her not to spit in anything of mine,” Cherry says.

After she says the words, I reflect on all the times she’s been here. She always refuses when I ask her if she needs anything. I’ve offered to get us lunch and eat in my office, but she’s always preferred to go out. A couple of times, we ate in the cafeteria. Now, it all makes sense.

“She wouldn’t dare,” I counter.

“She would, but I don’t want to talk about her.” She pulls her laptop out of her bag and says, “I’m going to do some work while you’re in your meeting.”

I sit behind my desk and read the notes I prepared for the meeting. I have fifteen minutes until it starts. My door opens five minutes after I sit down, and Ashley comes in carrying a box.

I stand and say, “You can put it on the coffee table.” Cherry looks at the box but doesn’t say anything. “Cherry Bomb, that’s for you,” I say. Her eyes snap to mine, and she smiles in anticipation. She practically tosses her laptop on the couch and reaches for the box.

Instead of leaving, Ashley stands there and watches. Her eyes nearly bug out when Cherry pulls out the Birkin bag I ordered. It’s a specialty item, and there are only about a dozen of them in existence. It’s bright blue and says Beach Birkin on the cover.

“Oh, my God,” Cherry gasps. “No way.” She holds and admires it, and I swear her smile lights up my office. I’d spend every last dime on these overpriced bags just to glimpse that smile.

“There’s more,” I say. She puts the bag down and returns to the box, pulling out two other Birkin bags. There’s a black one with red cherries and a tan one.

She stands and runs to me. I stand just in time for her to jump into my arms.

“Are you nuts?” she whispers in my ear. “Those things cost a damn fortune.” I lift her up, and she wraps her legs around me, planting endless kisses all over my face, and I let her. Until we hear a loud throat clearing. Cherry slowly slides down my body and goes back to the bags where she pulls out her phone and takes pictures .

“Thank you, Ashley,” is all I say. “You can go. And feel free to leave early as I’ll be out for the rest of the day. Just check in from home if you need to. You know how to reach me.”

She stands there and glares at Cherry who is not paying any attention to her. My girl continues to text.

After a few tense moments, I clear my throat and Ashley finally looks at me. She plasters on a fake smile and says, “Of course, Daniel. I hope you have a wonderful day and a wonderful weekend.” She purses her lips, flares her nostrils, and looks at her cousin again before leaving.

At this moment, I decide Ashley won’t be my personal assistant for much longer.

“I have something I want to tell you,” Cherry announces when I pull into my parents’ circular drive. The front of the house is misleading. You can’t really see how grand it is until you get inside. There are already several cars and my mom texted to let me know everyone is here. We do these family days all the time. They are random and always thrown together a few days before we’re expected to show up. Whenever we’re all in the same city at the same time, Mom will throw one of these get-togethers. It’s always the seven of us plus anyone we want to invite.

“What is it, baby?” I ask. I put my hand on her knee, and it stops shaking. It’s been shaking the entire forty-five-minute ride over here.

“I’m scared out of my mind,” she says. This girl has never shown any signs of nervousness before today. “If you can turn around and drop me off at the Starbucks we saw a few miles back, I’ll call an Uber and go home. Thank your family for me and tell them I’m sick.” She nods as if the matter is settled. “Tell them it’s highly contagious. Uh, Ebola or something.” I stare at her, and she jerks her thumb back. “Hit reverse, Jubilee.”

I shut off the car and turn to address what she said, but the front door opens, and my mother comes running to the car.

“Put this car in reverse, and let’s go.” The front passenger door swings open, and my mother practically pulls her out. Josephine Jubilee is a tall woman with a thick frame. She lifts Cherry off her feet when she hugs her and when she puts her back down she cups her cheek.

“Your dad was right, DJ,” she says without looking at me. “She looks like a Barbie,” she adds with a smile. Cherry is still frozen, but she smiles back at my mother. “Let’s go inside.” She wraps her arm around Cherry’s and pulls her into the house.

“It’s nice to see you too, Mother,” I yell at their retreating backs, but my mom just waves me off.

“And I didn’t hear from him for six whole days,” Cherry says to my mother, father, and siblings. Her anxiety is gone now, and she’s holding court on the other side of the deck while nursing a frozen margarita.

“And he’s done nothing about you not getting hired?” my mother asks. She puts both hands to her cheeks in surprise.

“Not a thing. Mr. Jubilee’s more upset about it than my boyfriend,” she says.

My mom holds her hand out for my dad. “That’s why I call him Dan the man,” she jokes.

“DJ’s always been weak,” my younger brother, Bryce, jokes.

“Yeah, okay,” I say as I walk to Cherry and take her hand in mine .

“Cherry’s much cuter than your last girlfriend,” Bryce says, and my three sisters snicker at once.

“Tell me more,” Cherry says to my brother.

He opens his mouth to speak, but I whack him hard upside his head.

“She’s not important, Cherry,” my mom says. “We’d rather talk about you. DJ says you baked this amazing strawberry cake.” Cherry’s eyes light up and she spends the next few minutes talking about the cake and how I kept eating the frosting. “I swear, I raised him to have good manners,” Mom says.

“Can you make us one?” Dad asks.

“Oh, yes,” my mom agrees. “Come into the kitchen, and if we’re missing any ingredients, I’ll send DJ to the store.”