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T H E R E N O V A T I O N 1 7
“I sure hope so. I’d hate to feel like I had vertigo every time I went up
these stairs. And these old doorframes—they’re all crooked. I’m not going
to have to live with that, am I?”
Joel let out a short laugh. “I’m sure they’ll all be straight as an arrow
when we’re done, but I’ll mention that to Ethan when he gets back.”
“Oh—he’s not here? Then who’s going to eat all this food? I stopped
at a new place called Crescendo’s on the way. Their Italian beef is better
than my mother-in-law’s. But I would never tell her that! And you can’t
tell her either. Do you like sweet peppers or hot peppers on your sandwich?
I bought both, although in my opinion an Italian beef isn’t
authentic without the sweet peppers. The hot peppers just drown out all
the flavor of the meat. And there’s extra juice if you want some. I always
like having extra juice on the bread, but I order it on the side. Crusty on
the outside, soft on the inside is the best.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Moretti. Sweet peppers and extra juice it is,” Joel said
as he opened the bag. “It smells wonderful. Ethan doesn’t know what he’s
missing.”
“And you should taste their lasagna! They whip the ricotta cheese filling
and it gets real smooth and creamy—to die for, really. Next time I’ll
bring some for you to try. With extra gravy. Not sauce—we Italians call it
‘gravy,’ and Crescendo’s is the best—except for my mother-in-law’s, of
course.” She winked and added, “And please, call me CeCe.”
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On the first step of the bleachers, directly behind the dugout, Cameron
Dane scribbled on her notepad as Mrs. Cathy Hollister, a petite blonde
with a multitude of animated expressions, rattled on. Cameron had been
distracted when an attractive man stood and bowed. She only had come
back to her task at hand as Mrs. Hollister had tapped her on the shoulder
and began talking again.
Cameron nodded and hoped she looked as if she had been paying
attention.
“It’s not that I mind the time all this takes,” Cathy Hollister said with