Denial by Jackie Kennedy Page A

“Let’s put the boys to bed and,” his tone suggested something, “have an early night.”
    Amy nodded then stood. She thought he was right, overall, Celeste had turned out to be a great help. But, she reflected as she hugged Christopher to her, although Celeste was friendly enough, there was a definite distance between them. Celeste only seemed to relax fully when her brother and the children were around.
    Amy resolved that what happened between them, if not forgotten, was now very much a part of the past. Celeste , she concluded thankfully, was only here to strengthen her relationship with her brother and build a relationship with the twins.
    Amy felt for the first time since Celeste ’s arrival, a great sense of relief. She began to hope their ‘encounter’ was behind them, and hoped with a little work a friendship could be encouraged.

Chapter 14
     

     
    “Josh, please make sure it’s no more than two days,” Amy said, hugging him.
    “I promise.” He kissed Amy then headed for his car.
    Amy waved goodbye and wondered absentmindedly if that was all Josh did—sort software glitches. She was sure the company he worked for would never release this software, as there always seemed to be a problem with it. When she told him that grumpily this morning, he laughed and told her the business he worked in meant that even when it was released they would still have problems.
    Closing the door, Amy frowned. She didn’t understand how his company could spend so much time and money sorting something that probably would need to be sorted again when released anyway. In her business, when you built something, you tried to ensure it was built right the first time.
    Amy smiled at the ruffled sight of Celeste and the two boys coming down the stairs. Moving toward the kitchen, she called over her shoulder, “Let’s have a decent breakfast before we head out this morning.”
    Eventually, after a few false starts and lots of running around, Amy and Celeste managed to pack the Jeep with the boys, the puppies, and their accoutrements, and get going. Amy laughed at Celeste ’s incredulity over the amount of stuff they needed to pack.
    During the drive, the excited noise from the boys about seeing their grandparents encouraged the pups to bark. Within the hour, Celeste asked Amy if she had any headache tablets.
    On arrival, Celeste asked, “How do you cope?”
    The boys asleep, Amy started to unload things from the Jeep quietly. She looked at Celeste in surprise then teased, “Ask my therapist.”
    Laughing, Celeste said, “You’re a Scot, Amy. The Protestant work ethic surely doesn’t allow time for a little therapy.”
    “Okay, you got me there. Only therapy I get is retail, and that’s usually in the boys’ department.”
    Celeste helped Amy unload the Jeep. “This is good. I need the practice. Motherhood is seriously tough.”
    Amy looked at her quizzically. “You want to share something?”
    Celeste shook her head. “No jumping to conclusions, Amy. It’s not what you think.” Her eyes twinkled. “Forget the twenty-six miler,” she said, heaving a bag out the back of the Jeep. “There should be an Olympic award for endurance with motherhood, don’t you think?”
    “You’re not kidding,” Amy replied. She smiled. “Especially with my two ragamuffins.”
    “Are you planning any more?”
    “ What! ” Amy exclaimed. “You have met my kids, haven’t you? She laughed. “Don’t you know what motherhood does to a woman?”
    Celeste smiled. “You want to tell me the horror stories?”
    Amy grinned. “Just remember at the thousandth story you asked first, okay?”
    “Remind you at the thousandth story, got it.”
    “Where do I start?” Amy said, scratching her head. “Oh yeah. A couple of weeks ago, Josh and the boys met up with me after I was finished at a hair salon I use. We’d made plans to take the boys somewhere that afternoon. When I went to pay, Ryan decided just at that moment to release some