It's Definitely Not You - Abby Brooks Page 0,62

with me. This is the beginnings of what’s known as a Painkiller. Fresh squeezed OJ, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and rum. Grate some nutmeg on top and you’ve got the perfect drink to decide what to do with the stuff in the guesthouse we didn’t donate.” We’d whittled down her grandpa’s items to just a few we thought Maxine would cherish.

Kennedy grinned. “These are the plans that will put Nan’s to shame? Froufrou drinks and going through my grandpa’s things?”

“Almost.” I finished with the oranges and poured the rest of the ingredients into a pitcher. “After we’re done with George’s stuff, we’re gonna get drunk and have monkey sex. That’s the part of our night that really matters. Animal noises and orgasms.”

“It’s almost like you know me or something. I’m all for monkey sex.”

“The order of the evening is important, Penny. Drinks. Knickknacks. Then and only then, can we get on with the good times.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Joe

I poured Kennedy her first Painkiller, tossed in a paper umbrella, and handed it to her with a flourish.

She took a careful drink and her eyes screamed “Yum!” “This is delicious. Definitely a homerun.” With a toss of her hair that had me wondering if I should reorder the evening, she folded her arms on the table. “I was thinking we should pepper grandpa’s things around the house. That way, Nan gets another sweet surprise every time she stumbles on one. You know, spread out the joy.”

“Hmm. That’s a great idea, but let me counter it with a better one.” I flared my hands. “Picture this. A shadowbox, crafted by yours truly, where she can hang everything in a place of honor.”

I waited for the applause and approval the idea deserved, even going so far as to add some wiggling jazz hands in case she didn’t catch them the first time.

Instead, Kennedy frowned. “Don’t you think that might weird out Carl? Having a shadowbox full of memorabilia from her marriage suddenly appear?”

I shrugged, trying to decide how much to fight her on this one. Randomly putting George’s things throughout the house lacked oomph and possibly verged on creepy. But Maxine was Kennedy’s family, not mine.

She took a long drink and her face lit up again. “I don’t know if you made enough of these, by the way.”

“I was informed it earned its name for a reason. Consider yourself warned.” I poured myself a glass and decided to drop the topic of the shadowbox. In the end, it wasn’t my place to push, even though giving in so quickly went against my nature. But, I was working on a more trusting, easygoing Joe Channing and that meant giving in to Kennedy’s not-so-great idea about how to surprise Maxine

I dropped an umbrella into my glass and painted on a giant smile. All I needed was the floral shirt and flipflops to complete the transformation into happy island inhabitant. “Have you ever seen Carl?” I asked, leaning against the counter.

“Nope.” Kennedy slurped down more Painkiller, then covered her mouth with her hand and frowned at the ceiling as if she thought the answer was hiding up there. “Have you?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think he’s been here since I have. I wonder what that’s about?”

“With Nan, it could be anything. She’s experienced true love. She’s strong. Doesn’t let the world tell her what to do or how to be.” She polished off her drink and gave me a goofy grin. “If anyone could pull off a purple house, it’d be her. I don’t know why I keep trying to talk her out of expressing herself. I kind of want to be her when I grow up.”

“Why not just be you? Believe me, after a lifetime of being everything everyone else wanted, it’s so much better to relax and be myself.”

With a sad shake of her head, Kennedy peered into her empty glass. “I’m so blunt it makes me awkward. And I care too much about what other people think. I work too hard and no one cares. I don’t think I’m all that easy to like.”

“I like you.”

“You hated me first.”

“My reaction to you was pretty…visceral.” I gave her my most charming smile. “I wonder what changed my mind?”

“Maybe you hit the ground harder than we thought when you fell off the ladder?”

I snapped my fingers. “That’s got to be the answer. Thanks for solving that mystery for me. I’ve been worried I was losing my edge.”

“We wouldn’t want that, now would we? I can’t imagine