Checkmate Chapter One

Chapter One

Raspberry Ripple

"Oh, Whit! I'm glad you're here!" Connie cried as she emerged from the kitchen, armed with a bucket in one hand, a mop in the other. "Things are going all haywire today... As I'm sure you can see..." She gestured with the mop handle toward the pink puddle in the middle of the floor, peppered with shards of glass.

"Oh my... what happened?" Whit sidestepped the mess as Connie knelt to gingerly pick up the largest shards, Marvin helping a little over-eagerly.

"Well, Marvin here..." Connie began but Marvin wasn't about to let Connie explain for him.

"It's awful, Mr. Whittaker!" he cried. "I think something is really wrong with your ice cream!"

"Is there?" Whit frowned. "I'm sorry about that. What kind did you get?"

"Raspberry Ripple," Marvin answered. "It didn't taste anything like it usually does."

"That's funny," Whit glanced toward the ice cream counter. "I thought we were out of Raspberry Ripple. I came in so I could make a batch."

"Well there certainly was some," Marvin shrugged.

"Hm. Well, I'll check it out. Tell you what, Marvin. Since the Raspberry Ripple didn't turn out, I'll give you another ice cream, on the house. What would you like?"

"Thanks, Mr. Whittaker! I'll take a Wod Fam Choc Sod then."

"I'll get it," Connie swiftly mopped up the puddle of swiftly melting ice cream and reached for the bucket.

"I'll take the bucket, Connie. You go ahead and get Marvin his ice cream." Whit took it from her hands and headed back to the kitchen.

"Oh, by the way, Whit," Connie called in the direction of the kitchen as she scooped chocolate ice cream. "What time are Jack and Joanne getting in?"

"Oh, their plane will be arriving around noon," Whit appeared in the doorway, wiping his hands on his apron. "I'm picking them up at the airport."

"I can't wait to see them again! It seems as if they've been gone forever... I hope they took lots of pictures. I wonder if either of them has picked up an accent..." she mused. "Where's Jason? Is he going with you to the airport?"

"No, no... Jason went to Richland this morning."

"Richland? Why on earth would he go up there?"

"There was someone he needed to meet." Whit glanced at his watch. "I'll mix up a fresh batch of Raspberry Ripple and I'll have just enough time to run to the airport. Oh, and Katrina promised to stop by with the cake for the party sometime this afternoon. Be on the lookout for her."

"Will do." Connie stopped and grinned at Whit sideways. "Oh, Whit, just get it over with..."

"Get what over with?"

"You're going to scold me, aren't you?"

"Oh... should I?" Whit laughed. "Just what is it you've done this time?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Connie gestured towards the remaining Raspberry Ripple in the ice cream counter.

"Ah, I see. You've been trying to make Raspberry Ripple, haven't you?"

"It didn't turn out," Connie winced.

"I assume it would be rather hard to make it without a recipe," Whit grinned. "But, no. I'm not going to scold you."

"Okay, good." Connie sighed. "Oh, Whit. You're not going to believe what happened last night. Penny and Wooton invited me out for dinner. But what they didn't tell me was that Wooton's cousin was visiting from Alaska. If I had known... I might have just ended up at home eating leftover broccoli casserole and watching Lonely Hearts. But I figured I might as well go since Jules was spending the night with a friend and Jillian was going to be home late. Anyway, there I was at Chez Moi listening to Hadley Basset talk about the time he broke his collarbone in the first grade... and the time he broke his ankle in the second grade... and the time he broke his elbow in the third grade... and the time he broke his brother's wrist in the fourth grade... and his fear of garden hoses..."

"Did he really..." Whit began.

"Oh and he was wearing a polka-dot shirt with a plaid tie. Imagine that! Unforgivable."

"But..."

"And then he ordered the lobster and, Whit, he slurped his food. I don't know how anyone can slurp lobster, but he did it! And he made fun of my sweater. And he broke a glass, and two plates... and even a fork! How can anyone break a fork? And to top it all off, he tripped over the table leg when we were leaving and went flying across the room. Knocked over a waiter and spilled Chicken Cordon Bleu all over the place. Oh Whit, it was humiliating!"

"I... I'm sorry, Connie," Whit faltered. "It's too bad that your evening didn't go well. I..."

"Sometimes," Connie continued, as if she hadn't even heard, "I wish that... I wish..." her voice trailed away and she fell silent a moment. "You know what? Jillian's late again. She promised to help me get ready for the party and she isn't here yet! I'd better give her a call..."

"You do that," Whit grinned. "And I'll get back to my Raspberry Ripple."

oOo

"It sure is good to be back home in good old Odyssey," Jack sighed happily as he and Joanne entered the baggage claim area. "I wonder how the old J and J is doing?"

"It's Triple J now, remember?" Joanne laughed. "And now that Jillian is working there, I've wondered if we ought to change it to Quadruple J."

"Hm, too many J's," Jack mused as he scanned the luggage line. "How many suitcases did we bring anyway?"

"Only four. Besides our carry-on bags."

"That's about three suitcases too many, in my opinion," Jack grunted as he heaved the first one off the line. "These are the biggest suitcases I've ever seen in my life!"

"Well, you know we couldn't come back without gifts for everyone," Joanne smiled. "There's another, Jack."

"Man, these are heavy," Jack huffed as he dragged the second one to the ground. "What did you put in these things anyway?"

"They're not that heavy..." Joanne began but her voice trailed away. With a little gasp of surprise, she grabbed her husband's arm. "Look, Jack! Over there by Line 4! Isn't that..."

"Who?" Jack turned.

"I... I don't know..." Joanne faltered. "He looked so familiar... but now he's gone. It's like... like he vanished or something."

"Huh. I don't know." Jack shrugged. "Oh, there's Whit now. Come on."

"But Jack! Our last suitcase! Here it is now."

"Here, I'll get it." Jack yanked it from the line with another groan and eased it to the ground. "Hi, Whit! Oh, it's good to see you again!"

"And it's wonderful to see you both too, Jack, Joanne. It's been far too long. How was Scotland?"

"Beautiful!" Joanne cried happily.

"But we're so glad to be home," Jack added. "How's Odyssey been?"

"A little emptier without you both," Whit smiled. "Come on. I'll tell you all the news on the way back."

oOo

Author's Notes: 

For those of you who haven't listened to quite as much Odyssey as I, allow me to explain a few things.

1. Raspberry Ripple is the most popular ice cream flavor at Whit's End and is made from a secret family recipe. It is a long-standing issue on the show that Connie has been desperately trying for years to get her hands on the recipe.

2. Hadley Basset is Wooton's cousin from Alaska... and a total klutz. He creates disasters wherever he goes. He appears in the saga The Ties That Bind.

3. The J and J is actually J and J Antiques, Jack and Joanne's antique shop in Odyssey. It became Triple J Antiques when they hired Jason on as manager. Now Jillian Marshall, Connie's roommate, is an employee there.

4. According to the episode Hear Me, Hear Me, Connie considers a polka-dot shirt with a plaid tie an "unforgivable crime"