Clearing away the remains of Harlan"s welcome home party took the better part of the morning. As Doris hoisted the last bag of paper plates into the dumpster, she was relieved to have it behind her. Ted"s intentions may have been admirable, but inviting the whole town without so much as asking Harlan if he was ready for such a show of force was shortsighted. Despite wanting to run things, Harlan was a private man suffering through a private crisis. He probably didn"t appreciate Ted bringing the whole town into it. She slammed the lid of the dumpster and wiped her hands on her apron.
She heard a noise from under the awning and saw Jimmy at the washer, loading the last of the chafing dishes into a rack. Doris tried to judge his frustration level by measuring the volume with which the trays
