Take the Cake (39 page)

“She’ll be out soon. She just had a shower,” Michael replied as Susan made for the kitchen with her goodies.

Susan arched an eyebrow at her son as she took in his wet hair, watching as he had the grace to look sheepish. “I’m not asking.” Susan smiled.

“Good,” Michael replied, poker-faced. “Because I’m not telling.”

“Fine by me,” Susan replied airily as she set her bag down on the kitchen counter top. “You know, your father gets a similar look.”

“When?” Michael asked without thinking and then immediately regretted it. He looked at Susan who was regarding him with a knowing smile. “Forget I said that.”

Thankfully, Kate appeared in the doorway, and Susan’s attention was immediately diverted.

“There you are,” she said as she stepped forward to wrap her arms around Kate. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” Kate replied as she returned Susan’s hug.

Michael couldn’t help but notice the genuine affection between the two women. He allowed himself to be relegated to the background as Susan ushered Kate back to the sofa and made sure she was settled comfortably.

“Have you eaten?” Susan asked as she pulled the blanket over Kate.

“A little. I haven’t been very hungry,” Kate admitted.

“Michael.” Susan gave her son “the look.”

“Hey,” he protested from where he stood, “I tried to get her to keep her fluids up, but she slept most of the morning.”

“Never mind.” Susan rubbed Kate’s shoulder. “We’ll fix that.” She paused and then took a seat on the coffee table while holding Kate’s hands in her own. “I’m not here to intrude, but Michael told me you were sick, so I’ve brought a few things over.”

“Thanks, Susan.” Kate nodded as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. “It’s appreciated, really.” She picked at the throw and gave Susan a watery smile. “I guess it’s been a while since I’ve had a mom around me when I’m sick.”

“How long has it been?” Susan asked in a quiet voice.

Kate did some mental arithmetic. “Coming up on thirteen years now,” she replied. “Longer, I guess.” She paused. “Gwen was sick for a few years before she went, so I looked after her as much as I could.” She sat still, remembering. “It didn’t seem right to complain about not feeling well, when she …” She broke off and shrugged again.

“It’s a terrible thing, losing your mother.” Susan gave Kate a sad smile of understanding. “Charles once said that our mothers hold the memory of our lives before we know ourselves, and when they pass on, it’s as if we can never be a child ever again.”

“I’d never thought of it like that.” Kate nodded as she considered Susan’s words.

“So,” Susan said with a bright smile to dispel the moment of sadness, “what sort of patient are you?”

“Not bad,” Michael commented as he took a seat on the sofa and pulled Kate’s feet onto his lap and rubbing her legs. “But she didn’t like admitting that she couldn’t go to work.”

“I’m not surprised,” Susan replied. “Watching a parent succumb to a terminal illness would make anything else sound petty.
But
,” she said as she turned back to Kate, “you do need to look after yourself.”

“God, it’s not the end of the world.” Kate rolled her eyes, making Susan laugh. “I think I was just over-tired or something.”

“And you’re recovering quickly, which is good,” Susan answered, brisk now. “But you can’t keep pushing yourself.”

“Okay.” Kate nodded as she wriggled her feet in Michael’s lap. He got the message and resumed stroking her legs.

“You’re resting, so you stay there and I’ll get you something to eat.”

Susan got up and waved Michael to stay seated as she went into the kitchen.

“You know,” Kate whispered once she had gone, “I feel kinda stupid just laying here and being waited on by your mom.”

“She wants to do it,” Michael reassured her. “It’s a mom thing to do; just go with it.”

Kate looked uncertain.

“Kate, you’re just outta practice. You’ll be fine.”

Susan called Michael and Kate into the kitchen in good time, and they arrived to discover she had produced two bowls of steaming chicken soup accompanied by slices of buttered crusty bread and a jug of water. The kitchen counter had two place settings, and as they took their seats, Susan busied herself with packing things away.

“Now,” she said over her shoulder as she opened the refrigerator, “there’s enough soup in here for another two meals. This container—” she showed them another sealed plastic tub, “—has got pie in it.”

Michael swallowed a mouthful of soup and looked at his mother in amazement. “The one with the potato crust?”

“That’s the one.” Susan nodded.

“Wow.” Michael looked impressed. “Even I don’t merit that very often.”

“Oh, stop.” She swatted his shoulder with a laugh as Kate grinned.

“Susan, that’s amazing, but you didn’t have to go to so much tr—” Kate was waved into silence.

“Honey, just let me do this. I’d be doing the same for Michael, so it’s just nice to have someone prettier to look after.”

Kate snorted at this and tried to convert it into a cough without much success. She kept spooning her soup and studied Michael who was unshaven, wearing an old T-shirt, sporting wet hair and teasing his mother. He looked glorious. Kate dunked a chunk of bread into her soup and scooped it into her mouth. Tired as she was, she felt content.

~~~

Emily looked at the wall clock, and then checked the cake supply in the display cabinet. To her delight, the cupcakes had been selling well, and she was feeling quietly confident. Wren returned to the counter with a tub of plates and cups, and Emily opened the dishwasher to help her stack them inside. It was early afternoon and they had gotten through the main rush of the day. There had been periods of stress, but between them they had coped.

“All good?” Wren asked as she straightened with a slight grimace. She glanced around the store and swooped into a downward dog pose. She held the pose for three exhalations before flowing through to upward dog and then carefully stepped back up into a standing position.

“Feel better?” Emily smiled as Wren washed her hands. Over the last few months, she had gotten used to Wren and Kate’s spontaneous yoga and had started to attend a few evening classes near her apartment.

“Yeah.” Wren rolled her head from side to side. “Guess it’s been a hard day.”

“I know.” Emily looked guilty. “But it’ll get better.”

“Not you, Emily, you’re fine.” Wren shook her head. “I think we just got used to it being three of us, instead of two.”

“I don’t know how you and Kate did it,” Emily admitted.

“Now that you’re here, neither do I,” Wren said with a tired smile. “Now, how about we call our boys and tell them they’re taking care of us tonight?”

“Good plan.” Emily nodded.

“I thought so.” Wren smiled with satisfaction.

Emily reached for the cordless phone and handed it to Wren. “Hey, do you think Kate will be in tomorrow?”

Wren took the handset and looked thoughtful, tapping one foot as she considered Emily’s question.

“How did she sound?”

“Awful,” Emily replied.

“I think we’d better plan for her not to be in, just to be on the safe side,” Wren advised. “Why do you ask?”

“I had an idea earlier, something else I could bake for the morning crowd.”

“Go for it.” Wren shrugged.

“Just like that?” Emily wiped her suddenly clammy hands against her jeans.

“Why not? Kate put her faith in you; how about you try doing the same thing?” Wren began to dial.

“If you say so.” Emily nodded. She was thinking fast now, wondering how many to make, but her attention was caught by Wren’s dialing. “Who are you calling?”

“David’s voice mail at work. He’ll be in class now,” Wren replied.

Emily leaned against the counter and folded her arms, watching as Wren cooed a brief message into the phone about getting dinner that evening.

Wren disconnected the call when she had finished and handed the phone over to Emily who was still watching her with a quiet smile.

“What?” Wren said, and when Emily said nothing, she looked down at herself. “Do I have something on me?” She touched her hair. “Something in my teeth?”

“Uh-uh.” Emily shook her head. “So,” she went on in a casual tone, “you called David at work.”

“Yeah.” Wren gave her a blank look. “What about it?”

“And you knew his schedule.” Emily ticked the facts off on her fingers. “You knew his extension to get his voice mail.”

“Right.” Wren nodded slowly.

“He has a key to your apartment, and you have a key to his,” Emily went on.

Wren bit her lip and waited, but all Emily did was raise an eyebrow at her and then began to dial.

“What?” Wren said. “Emily,
what?”

“Just sayin’.” Emily shrugged as she listened to the phone.

“You haven’t said anything,” Wren protested.

“Haven’t I?” Emily said, and then, “Hey, Brad.”

Wren picked up a damp cloth and began to wipe down the counter, her mind racing as Emily spoke to Brad, making plans, joking and exchanging easy warm endearments. By the time she got off the phone, her expression was tranquil.

“You two sound really good,” Wren commented as she flicked out the cloth before rinsing it out under cold water and hanging it on a rack to dry.

“We don’t sound any different than you and David,” Emily commented as she set the handset back in its holder and began to head into the kitchen. After a moment’s thought, she opened the refrigerator and checked the contents before flicking on the industrial oven. What the hell, she’d try out her idea.

“You really think so?”

Looking up, she saw that Wren had followed her and stood leaning against the kitchen doorway, her expression uncertain.

“Sure.” She smiled. “Now, what do you think about a breakfast muffin?”

Wren grinned and any introspection for the afternoon dissipated in the wake of her natural curiosity. “I think you’d better tell me more.”

~~~

“Not even a hint?” Kate wheedled from her position on the sofa.

“Nope,” Michael called over his shoulder as he walked back into the kitchen to get her some more juice.

“How about just a little taste?” she tried again.

“Give it up, Shannon,” Michael replied as he reappeared and set the glass down on the table in front of her. “You’re just going to have to wait until we’re ready for dinner.”

Susan had stayed and talked over a cup of coffee as Michael and Kate finished their lunch and then had gone on her way. They had stood in the doorway to wave her off, Michael’s arm around Kate’s waist as Susan waved to them as the elevator doors closed. Michael had led Kate back inside and gotten her comfortable on the sofa.

“I feel much better than this morning,” Kate said. “Maybe I could just go into the store for an hour to—” She stopped when she saw the look on Michael’s face and back-pedalled. “Maybe not,” she amended.

“You’re right. You’re not a good patient at all, are you?” Michael observed.

“No,” she said, giving him one of her little guilty smiles that he loved. “But Paul is even worse.”

“Oh, really?” Michael sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms.

“Really,” she said snuggling against him.

“Well, if he’s gets sick, I’m not cuddling
him
,” Michael stated. He settled her in his arms and reached for the remote to see what was on the movie channel.

Kate leaned against him and gazed at the screen. “You know,” she said at last, “this is really nice.”

“What is?” Michael said in an absentminded tone as he scrolled through the list of movies available.

“Being self-employed,” Kate replied. “I mean, it’s stressful, but being able to take a day like this without thinking about a boss, it’s—” She shot him a look. “Maybe you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“We go about it differently, but I know what you mean,” Michael said. “Here’s one. Have you seen
The Hangover?”

“No.” Kate’s attention returned to the screen. “But I’ve heard good things about it.”

“Done.” Michael selected the movie, and they both settled back to watch.

They were both chuckling at the movie an hour later when the words woke up and stirred in Michael’s mind. He had pushed them aside for a few hours, but now they were back and wanting attention.

“A tiger in the bathroom?” Kate was giggling now. She had eased herself down so that she was lying on the sofa with her head in his lap.

Michael leaned his head on the backrest and closed his eyes as he willed the words to go away, but it was no good. Another wellspring had been tapped, and the words would go on and on until he could silence them on the screen. He couldn’t afford to lose them now, not when he was so close. He leaned forward, brushing Kate’s hair aside from her ear.

“Sweetheart,” he began in an apologetic tone, “I need to get some work done.”

Kate rolled onto her back and gazed up at him. “You gotta write?” When he nodded, she got up into a sitting position and gestured at the TV screen. “We can watch this later,” she said as she reached for the remote.

“No, it’s okay,” Michael answered. “Leave it on, I won’t be long.”

“Don’t you usually work with peace and quiet?” Kate asked, and when Michael hesitated she had her answer. Reaching for the remote, she switched off the TV and tossed the controller onto the coffee table. “You go do what you gotta do, and I’ll have a nap or something.”

“I won’t be long,” Michael repeated as he gave her a soft kiss.

“No problem.” Kate grinned. She got up and made her way into the bedroom.

“You don’t have to leave the room,” Michael protested as he stood beside his desk.

Kate paused in the doorway and smiled again. “Come get me when you’re done,” she invited.

Michael took a few paces away from his desk so that he could watch as Kate shucked off her yoga pants and crawled into the bed. She seemed comfortable enough with the situation, and yet he paused before taking a seat at his desk and opening the manuscript file on the laptop. He sat there for a moment with his fingers poised on the keyboard, and then began to type, slowly at first, and then with increasing speed.