your boots beneath my bed | JENLISA

Chapter 17

Jennie had done many ridiculous things in her life. She'd married Steph for crying out loud.

But this might take the cake.

She was standing at the front desk of the old folks' home, engaging the secretary, Denise, in pleasant conversation all in an effort to 'distract' said secretary so Lisa could jailbreak Pop and Brenda. She and Lisa could literally sign them out, there were protocols for that now that Brenda was amenable, but Lisa had insisted on this spy scenario. And Jennie didn't have the heart to say no.

"This sort of thing happen here often?" Jennie asked with an amused smile, her body shielding the hallway she knew Lisa would be coming down shortly.

"It hasn't happened before, but it's Pop, so I'm not surprised," Denise laughed, initialing the sign-out sheet that Jennie had just written on.

She laughed as well, turning around and throwing up her thumb and offering a wink for Lisa when she peeked around the corner.

"He's quite the character isn't he?" Jennie said as she turned around and went back to her very important job.

"He is. He's a good one too. He's the only resident here who's got family coming around every week, so he did something right," Denise added, trying not to look at where Pop and Brenda were now tiptoeing down the hallway and Lisa was practically doubled over laughing.

Jennie's smile dimmed a little bit at the thought that everyone else here didn't get visitors.

"Do you guys do anything else as a large group except Bingo?" Jennie wondered, an idea starting to form in her mind as she stayed focused on Denise.

"Every first Thursday we have Pictionary, and two Saturdays a month we have movie nights," Denise answered.

"You have my number. Call me if you ever need more people to help out around here. And I'm no professional, but if they ever wanted to do some baking I'd be happy to come in and spend some time with those who don't get visitors as often," she offered with a warm smile.

"Looks like Lisa's got more than one good one," Denise grinned as Lisa pulled the front door open and waved Pop and Brenda through. "I'll take you up on that."

"Please do," Jennie nodded, throwing a surreptitious look over her shoulder. "Coast clear?" she added at a whisper for Denise, her green eyes sparkling.

"Well, I didn't see a thing," Denise shrugged with a playful grin on her face. "I'll see y'all around six this evening."

"I'll be back here distracting you so they can pretend to sneak in. Have a wonderful day, Denise," Jennie chuckled, stepping back from the desk with another smile and a wave.

Denise laughed as she followed the small group outside, shaking her head a little at the antics.

—

"Where are your hats?" Pop asked from the backseat of Lisa's truck as they drove toward the town square.

"We didn't want to look spiffier than you," Lisa chuckled, squeezing Jennie's hand in her own as she drove with her other hand.

"If you check the box right there, I brought Lisa's," Jennie said with a smile thrown over her shoulder at Pop in the back seat. "She can spiff it up a little bit, don't you think?"

"You're welcome to wear it. Really embrace that local vibe," Lisa grinned.

"Cute that you think my hat's not underneath yours. We both need to get spiffy for this festival," Jennie replied, making Pop and Brenda laugh.