Chapter 197

After another restless night we went to breakfast at the Hop. It was not as good as the breakfast that I made on Sunday morning, but it hit the spot. I had waffles, one egg, a sausage patty and orange juice.

Jenny ate for two again. I kept the smile to myself but it may have been because I hurt so much that the flutter seemed stronger. I noticed it before she started giggling. I rubbed her tummy and pulled her close as I could stand so she would not wake anyone.

I made sure that my group pulled both Dan and Ellie May to interview. The interviews went off without a hitch. We had good candidates again; the final selection was going to be tough. We ended the interviews in time to go through them and rank them in order of preference.

Then Jason and Roseanne called the twenty of them to report for drug testing on Monday at the contractor we had hired. The testing site was open from 5 AM until 9 PM. That gave them plenty of opportunity to make it. We would have the results by noon Tuesday and make the final offers by the end of the day. Then we could move on to the next group, and that included the part-time people.

Our flight was wheels up at 8:00 and we were back on the Island at 10:30. Everyone was still up; they were waiting on us. The garage at the end of the house was all set up for a private party. Mom, Dad, Lisa, Joey, Corry, and their boyfriends, Jason, Roseanne, rest of my mates and Jeanna were there.

Marcy said, "We needed a break from all the stress of this week. There is nothing better than a party with one's best friends and family. Besides, it's summer - you always have a party just for fun."

Hot dogs, hamburgers with all the fixings, Lisa had made a crock pot full her famous bake beans, and all the summer crabs you could eat. Lisa had even cooked some of Joey's rockfish catch. The coolers had several kinds of beer, wine coolers and sodas. We had a nice family party.

Sunday morning I was up early. The night's sleep was a little better but still rough. I quietly went through my morning ritual. Jenny was in a light sleep and starting to wake up. Before I left the bathroom I left the test kit with her toothbrush and mouthwash. Those were the first things she did every morning like clockwork.

I worked in the kitchen getting things ready to go on the stove. I was working on homemade hash-brown potatoes this morning. I cut the potatoes up nice and small and did the same with an onion. I threw the ingredients into an oiled pan and added some parsley flakes and other seasoning and put on a lid to let it slow cook and simmer for a while.

The sausage patties went on the griddle next; they would take the longest to cook of the rest of my Sunday menu. Bacon was the next item on another griddle and it was always a challenge. Marcy, Lorrie and Vicky liked it chewy. Jenny, Chin Lee and I liked it done well, almost ready to be made into bacon bits for salad.

I mixed the ingredients for waffles as the big coffee percolator started doing its thing. By the time the fresh coffee smell had everyone up, everything would be ready.

I stirred the potatoes and flipped the sausage, pressing down on it hard to force more of the grease out of it. I flipped the bacon and put several bacon presses on part of it to hold it flat and help make it crispy.

A stack of plates and silverware on the table with napkins and six coffee cups by the coffee maker made everything almost ready.

The bacon came off the griddle to be replaced with eggs. Those that needed to be cooked hard went on first. I heard the coffee cups rattling as I poured the mix on the waffle maker and closed the lid.

I put the bacon, potatoes and sausage on the table as I finished up the rest of the eggs, some over easy, some scrambled and stacked the waffles on the table.

All of us were fixing plates. The girls were picking spots at the table. I always had the same spot at the head of the table. Jenny still had not come in. I knew what she was up to; she could win any contest that had a gargling competition.

Jenny came into the kitchen with her hands by her side, hiding something in her right hand. She looked over the table at me and said, "Daddy."