The Icing on the Cake (21 page)

“I see.”

Her mother smiled.  “And you … care
about him?”

“I … do.”

“As I said, you’re entitled to
happiness, honey.  If you and Joe decide to embark upon a relationship, Lori is
going to have to deal with it.  Besides…”  She shook her head regretfully. 
“It’s hard to discern exactly what’s going on in her mind.  I now understand
your sister is inordinately talented at playing her mother for a fool.”

Kristine wasn’t going to argue the
point, since it was true.  “Where does Chad fit into this picture, Mom?”

“I don’t know,” she said crisply.  “And
I still don’t know the name of the other man she’s seeing.”

“I drove to Norton today, to sit with
Joe while his father had surgery,” Kristine told her.  “Lori called me, upset
after your conversation with her about the fire marshal’s findings…  Anyway,
she told me she’s meeting Joe for dinner tonight.”

“Yet another lie,” her mother said with
a sad shake of her head.  “So, who’s Lori with tonight?” she wondered aloud. 
“You know, Kristine, the truth is, Lori has a good heart.  I just think she’s
running scared.  She’s thirty-two with a young son and has no skills with which
to support herself.  I think she’s realized that she squandered her youth,
having rejected an education in favor of fun, and now she’s having to live with
the consequences.  I suspect she’s desperate to get another ‘Mrs. Degree’ and
can’t decide which man best meets her criteria.”

Kristine pitied the poor man she
currently had in her sights, whoever that might be.  “Where’s Devon?” she asked
suddenly, alarmed.

“He’s spending the night at a friend’s
house,” Ruth answered.

“Oh, okay,” she said with relief.

“Honey, do you really think I’d leave a
six-year-old home alone?”

“No, Mom.”

“He’s been spending a lot of time with
his new friend.  You know him.  He met him here, in fact.”

“Oh, Pete Williams.”

“Yes.  They get along really well.  He
was there when we stopped by to talk to you yesterday, as well.  Pete seems
like a good little boy.”

She refrained from mentioning that Pete
had apparently advised Devon as to how he could get himself kicked out of
afterschool care.  She needed to hear the story from Devon, however, rather
than jump to any conclusions. 

When she yawned, her mother abruptly
rose from the chair.  “You’re tired.  May we talk more tomorrow?” she asked. 
“Perhaps we could meet at the café?”

She knew her mother was referring to the
one just up the street from Branton’s.  “Lunch, tomorrow?” Kristine suggested.

“Yes.  I’ll see you there.”

After walking her mother to the door,
she locked up behind her.  “Come, Gracie,” she said, slapping the side of her
thigh.

Gracie burst up from her doggie bed and
obligingly followed her upstairs.  Once again, they settled into bed, and once
again, the phone rang.

“Hello,” she said

“Are you okay?” Joe asked.

“I’m fine,” she assured him.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.  Why?”

“Oh, I just thought…”

“What?”

He hesitated, but finally spoke in a
rush, “I’m going to say something and try to get it out before I’m cut off. 
The other day, Devon said something about Lori being angry that you ‘stole’ me
from her…  I mean, it’s absurd, but then, I know Lori…”

Kristine sensed he was uncomfortable and
she felt equally uncomfortable.  “Oh, Devon’s just a little boy.  I’m sure…”

“I’m afraid I get the sense Lori is
determined to rekindle our relationship, but…”

“You … don’t feel similarly?”

“Krissy, you know I don’t.  I mean, it’s
been years since she and I dated, and we were just kids at the time.  I get the
sense Lori views it differently—more seriously.  She seems to believe we had
something uniquely special, as if we had a great love affair that ended due to
the interference of others.  I don’t mean to diminish her feelings, but…”

“I understand.”

“And Krissy, I know you saw me as a
jerk, back in the day.”

“Joe, I did not.”

“Yes, you did.  And it’s okay.  I was a
cocky kid back then, but…  I’d like to think I’ve changed,” he said with a
chagrined laugh.

“Joe, I had the biggest crush on you.  I
know we argued and I gave you the impression I couldn’t stand you, but I…”

He burst out laughing.  “Wow, you hid it
well.  You really had a crush on me?”

“Yes.”  She giggled at the memory.  “For
years.”

“Well, I had a crush on you too.  Of
course, it wasn’t until you were eighteen and I came home from college that I
realized it.”

“Really?” she said, surprised.  Minnie
had told her as much, but she hadn’t believed her.

“Oh, yeah.  I used to stop by the bakery
all the time—to see you.  Do you remember?”

“Well, yes, I remember you used to come
in, but I never dared believe you came in to see me.”

“You’re telling me I was spending
hundreds of dollars a month on baked goods and you didn’t even realize it was a
ruse to see you?”

“I had no idea.  I just figured you
loved our cupcakes.”  She was silent for a moment, processing.  “I always
believed you were out of my league.”

“Ha!” he cried.  “That is so untrue.”

“That I’m out of your league or that I
believed it to be true?”

“Huh?”  He laughed.  “You were never out
of my league.”

“You dated Lori, Joe,” she pointed out. 
“Lori was gorgeous and popular and…”

“A mean girl before the movies came
out,” he uttered, but quickly apologized.

“Don’t be sorry.  It’s true.  Lori could
be pretty awful.  She broke hearts as often as she changed her shoes.”  She
sighed.  “However, Mom told me that her feelings for you were very real to her,
and intense.”

“Hmmmm.  So you and your mom had a talk
then?”

“We did,” she said, too brightly.  “She
explained some things to me.”

“Well, that’s good.  Right?”

“Yes, I guess so.  I mean, I need some
time to process.”  She laughed.  “But time I have.”

“For the time being,” he said, sounding
resigned to the fact that her free time would soon be at a premium again. 
“Krissy, I just spilled my guts to you…”

She understood what he was getting at.  “Joe,
I…  I’ll just say it.  I do have feelings for you…”

“But…”  He now sounded defeated and
miserable.

“I’m afraid there are no ‘buts,’ but,
there probably should be.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, sounding
more upbeat now. 

“Oh, I guess there are ‘buts,’” she
moaned.  “You know how you men have the ‘bro code?’  Well, I suppose we girls
should probably have the same sort of thing.  It’s probably wrong to…”

“Love me?”

“Well, yes.  Is it?  I mean, since Lori
loved you first?”

He gave an uncertain laugh.  “Well, I’d
like to think that that code, if indeed it exists, applies to high schoolers,
rather than full-fledged adults.  The truth is, we’re all adults now, so I
think it’s appropriate to love whomever we want to love.  And I happen to love
… you.”

Kristine couldn’t help smiling.  Joe had
just told her he loved her.  She loved him too.  She should be feeling happy
and excited about their future together.  Instead, she still felt a lingering
doubt.  Could she hurt her sister by disregarding her feelings and falling for
a man she too purported to love.  But then, Joe wasn’t the only man in Lori’s
life…

She groaned aloud, without realizing
she’d done it. 

“What is it, Krissy?”

“Oh, nothing.  I just wish things didn’t
have a way of becoming so complicated.”

“I know.  But I’ll be home soon and
we’ll figure this out.”  He paused for a moment.  “Hey, I’m going to spend the
day with my dad tomorrow, but why don’t I plan on coming home the day after
tomorrow?  We can spend the day together and I’ll head back to Norton in time
for final visiting hours.”

“Are you sure you should leave him?  I
can always come to you.”

“No, I should head home anyway.  I have
correspondence to deal with and Gracie is going to think I’ve abandoned her.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing you,” she
said.

“Me too.”

***

After ending the call, Kristine lay back
against her pillow.  Her lips tugged into an awed smile.  Joe had told her he
loved her, and what’s more, she had confirmed she loved him too.  She was eager
to see him and couldn’t wait for him to come home for the short visit the day
after tomorrow.

She reached for Gracie and patted her,
and then leaned over and kissed her on her head.  “Your daddy’s coming home
soon,” she told her.

Gracie smiled and gave a thump of her
tail, before settling down and closing her eyes.

Kristine’s mind remained active for some
time, her world suddenly full of possibilities.  All of those possibilities
included Joe.  She desperately hoped she wasn’t making a fool of herself and
jumping into something too quickly, but then, she was twenty-eight and she
deserved a life of her own with a man of her own.

She smiled at the thought.  A man of her
own.  It was with that thought that she drifted off to sleep.

She woke early to sunlight streaming in
through the slight gap in the drapes.  It was good to see the sun, which served
to enhance her mood even more.  She looked forward to an afternoon with Maeve,
teaching her new friend how to bake her favorite cake.  Although the recipe was
a treasured, secret family recipe, she was happy to share it this time.  If
Maeve could help her get Joe’s couch fixed, she would hand over a hundred years
of recipes.

With a yawn and a stretch, she climbed
out of bed.  She visited the bathroom and then took Gracie outside.  After, the
dog followed her back upstairs, where Kristine showered and got dressed.

“Would you like to take a walk, Gracie?”
she asked.

The dog took off like a shot and
returned carrying her leash.  “I do believe you’ve done this before,” Kristine
said, smiling at the eager pup.

The two set off on a long walk. 
Kristine breathed deeply of the fresh morning air and remained patient as
Gracie stopped along their route to smell every flower she encountered. 
Finally, Kristine checked the time on her phone.  “We should head back, girl,”
she said.

Back at Joe’s, she found Maeve and a
friend in the family room, bent over the damaged couch.

“Is it fixable?” she asked with a wince,
as she came up behind them.

“Absolutely,” the woman, who Maeve
introduced her to as Stella, said.  “It happens I have this fabric on hand,
since it’s very popular right now.”

“Oh, that’s so great,” Kristine said
with relief, as she watched Stella reach for a pair of industrial-sized scissors
and begin to cut away the damaged fabric.  “I’ll only need to replace the
fabric on the arm of the chair,” she explained.  “I’ll have it done in a jiff.”

Kristine sent Maeve a look of gratitude,
which she promptly waved off.  “Kristine here is going to teach me to bake my
favorite cake in the whole world,” she told her friend.

“Oh, the strawberry cream cake you rave
about?”

“That would be the one.”

Stella pulled back from her work and
eyed Kristine briefly.  “I know you,” she said.  “You own the bakery that…”

“Burned down,” she cut in.

“I was so sorry to hear,” she said. 
“That bakery is such an attraction.  Your baked goods really are superior
quality.  What are we going to do without Branton’s if you don’t rebuild?”

Kristine didn’t have an answer for her. 
She was as in limbo as the citizens of Cooper Glenn.

“At this point, Kristine is uncertain
about the future of Branton’s,” Maeve answered for her.

Stella nodded and turned her attention
to the arm of the chair.  She laughed when Gracie approached and nosed her arm
away from her repair work.  “Hey, girl,” she said with a smile, “I need to fix
this and I understand we have you to thank for this damage.”

“And don’t even think about chewing it
up again,” Maeve told her in a scolding tone.

Gracie had the good graces to drop her
head and slunk away to her doggie bed.

Kristine checked her watch.  “I have to
scoot.  I’m meeting my mom for lunch.”

“Oh, by all means,” Maeve said. 

“I’ll take Gracie to her dog run before
I leave,” Kristine said.

“Please don’t worry about it,” Maeve
said.  “If it’s all right with you, may I take her home with me?  I’ll bring
her back this afternoon when I come back for my baking lessons.”

“Oh, sure,” Kristine said.  “I know she
would prefer being with you to being cooped up in her run—nice as it is.  Too,
she adores you.”

Maeve smiled.  “Okay, then.  Have a
wonderful lunch and I’ll see you later today.”

***

Kristine arrived at the café before her
mother.  She located an empty table and ordered coffees for them.  Her mother
soon arrived and sat down with a smile.  “I’m so glad you agreed to have lunch
with me,” she said.

Kristine smiled, though her brows were
furrowed.  “Why wouldn’t I?”

She shrugged guiltily.  “I thought you
might have had time to consider some of what I told you and perhaps felt…”  She
spread her hands.  “…Slighted.”

Kristine sighed.  “Mom, I choose to
believe you did the best you could.”

“I could have done better.”

“In hindsight, it’s easy to see the
things we could have done differently.  At the time, when we’re in the midst of
living life, it’s not so easy.”

Her mother regarded her thoughtfully. 
“I’d like to think I did something right with you, but you came out
level-headed and grounded.  With you, we got lucky.”

“Well, thank you,” Kristine said.  “I
appreciate your saying so.”

“About that…”  She laughed.  “Well,
along those same lines anyway…  I’ve made a decision.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, I’m going to try to be positive
with respect to the bakery and believe the insurance company is going to come
through for us.  If they do, and I really hope they do, I want to rebuild the
bakery.”  She searched Kristine’s face.  “But…  That’s only if you want to,
since I’m giving it to you.”

Kristine gasped.  “Mom!  Are you
serious?”

“I am.  And if you’re okay with it, I’m going
to give Lori the house.  Of course, there’ll be provisions in place.  I’ll need
a home base and Lori will have to agree to allow me to live there as long as I
choose to, or am able to.  She’ll also have to agree that you may live there as
long as you choose regardless of how long that may be.”  She smiled and held
Kristine’s gaze.  “Are you okay with that?”

Kristine was quick to agree.  She was
thrilled to hear the bakery might live to see another day and that it would
belong to her, and thus, she would be able to make all business decisions
without having to run them by her mother and sister.  It seemed redundant and
time consuming to always have to seek their input—especially Lori’s—when Lori
in particular couldn’t care less about anything bakery-related.

   Suddenly, Kristine honed in on
something her mother had said.  “Mom, what do you mean, you’ll need a home
base.  Are you going somewhere?”