Chapter 39: Languid LavenderDear Joey,
I was in the middle of glazing fruit tartelettes, listening to “Lovers in a Dangerous Time”—the Barenaked Ladies version—when I started thinking about Dad. About that time he left for the Hudson Bay. Back when he was still young and rugged and smelled of Aqua Velva. Whenever he’d come home, whenever he’d return from a faraway place, he’d be sporting a dark red beard and his shirts would be worn thin around the arm pits. Staying out of view in the hall, I’d watch my mother circle him as though he was a wild animal come to feast on us.
But this afternoon, I couldn’t remember Dad’s face. I stood there, pastry brush in hand, quiet and still, my mind sifting through memories, frantic to find a picture of him, a clear image of his facial features. My fath
