“The Doom Statues” — Chapter 15

Jeremy doesn’t even think to tell Ben and Lois about his arrival, until he has joined them at Otherwise. Of course, he may have correctly deduced that Emily would, right away. But Ben supposes that his son has always had a project-oriented mind, and was simply focused on the next task, then the one after that. For example, Jeremy barely has his bags unpacked before he convinces everyone of an idea that others first initiated, which is that they move all the farm equipment to one side of the spacious barn and clean it out, to use as a clubhouse or possibly even a display space. Then he pitches in and leads the troops on a cleanup mission.

Or so it seems to Ben, anyway. He admittedly has his hands full getting up to speed here, first in meeting Harry Kidwell and learning everything he needs to know from a business standpoint — which isn’t much — and then a much more informative kitchen walk through he and Lois undertake, with the informative and competent seeming if not exactly cheerful Chef Jen. It is a surprisingly clean and modern looking kitchen, with concrete floors, the fashionable white tile walls in most places, and brand-new equipment where needed. Among the few exceptions held over from its previous incarnation are an old iron stove and an Italian brick oven. There is one weird stain on the floor, in the back of the kitchen, near this reach-in cooler, which is neon green and…