Sweet Baklava (19 page)

P
aula pondered the question before looking at Amanda. "It's complicated."

Amanda leaned back, folded her arms, and smirked. "Wait a minute. You just said nothing's that complicated."

"I sure did, didn't I?"

"So it's a simple yes-no question. Either you're together, or you're not."

"We used to be . . . boyfriend and girlfriend, but, well . . ." Paula shrugged. "I went away to college, and he joined the Arm—er, Air Force."

"But he's here now, and you're all done with college." Amanda never dropped her gaze. "So what's stopping you?"

"I have my business, and he's leaving in a few weeks."

"People have to work," Amanda reminded her. "And they find ways to hang out if that's what they really want. Are you not into him anymore?"

Paula was very
into
him. Way more into him than ever. "I don't know, Amanda. Let's get back to your history so you can pass this test."

Amanda snorted. "You've got it bad." She reached for her book and held it up. "So how are we gonna get all this stuff in here?" She slapped the side of her head.

"We're gonna make a game out of it."

"A game, huh? This I gotta see. Okay, so tell me how we're supposed to play this game."

With only a few interruptions from Alexa, Paula managed to teach Amanda more history in two hours than her teacher had since the beginning of the school year. "You caught on fast, girl," Paula said with pride.

"I guess I never really thought any of this stuff was real until you explained it."

All Paula did was compare some of the historical events with Amanda's favorite TV shows. "It's very real."

Amanda picked up a pencil and tapped her chin. "When I think about all this and how people like Nick are willing to go out there and make sure I'm safe . . ." She shook her head. "I don't know, it's just so strange that no one ever talks about it."

"People do talk about it."

"Maybe grownups, but no one at school ever does."

"Maybe you can start a trend." Paula organized Amanda's schoolwork and handed it to her to stuff into her bag. "Now I have to help Alexa close up shop. Are you coming back tomorrow?"

"Nah, I think I'll go home after school and study on my own."

They stood, and Paula placed her hand on Amanda's shoulder. "You're a very smart girl, Amanda. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."

"What am I supposed to do when they try?"

"Nothing. They're just tryin' to get your goat."

"My what?"

"They just wanna get you all riled up. Don't let them do that. Hold your head high and know they're the idiots for sayin' stuff."

"First you have pigs flying, and now you have goats." Amanda snickered. "You are too funny."

"And you are very smart," Paula said with a grin.

Amanda stared down at her feet for a few seconds before reaching over and hooking Paula in her arm. As Paula hugged her, something strange fluttered inside her.

Amanda abruptly pulled away and grabbed her books. "Gotta go now." She took off, leaving Paula standing there wondering what all the strange feelings were floating around in her chest.

The bell on the front door jingled, signaling Amanda's departure. Paula went out to see how Alexa was faring. "How's business?"

Alexa lifted an order form. "You just got another wholesale order from the West Coast."

"As in California?"

Alexa nodded. "Apparently one of the big suppliers out there can't keep up with the natural candle and soap orders, so they're having to scramble to find a new vendor. Apparently, they heard some good things about us from another outlet."

"Amazing." Paula glanced at the order. "Are you serious?" The numbers were more than double her last big order.

"Positive. In fact, as always, I had her repeat the numbers just to make sure, then I read them back to her. She said they have shops in LA, San Francisco, and San Diego."

"This is insane," Paula said as she read the order. "I'm gonna have to hire even more people."

Alexa grinned. "I thought you might, so I called Mildred and she said everyone wants more hours, and there's already a waiting list of more people who want to work."

"How did I ever manage without you?"

"I don't know. I'm wondering the same thing." Alexa laughed.

"Seriously, girlfriend, you're amazing."

"Someone needs to tell my mother and Aunt Ophelia that."

"Maybe you're not cut out for the baking business. I think you're a natural here, though."

The bell on the door jingled again, and Steph came walking in, a grin covering half her face. "I heard about your order, Paula. That is terrific!"

Paula gestured toward Alexa. "She gets the credit for taking this order." Then she frowned. "How do you know already? I just found out myself."

"I was at the Senior Center when Alexa called Mildred. They're over there celebrating."

"Celebrating?"

"Are you kidding?" Steph said. "You've just given all those people a chance to do some of the things they couldn't afford to do until you hired them."

"Alexa's idea." Paula turned to Alexa. "You are absolutely incredible. Until you spoke up about the Senior Center folks working for me, there was no chance of growing my business much bigger than it was. But now . . ." She lifted her hands. "The sky's the limit."

Steph winked at Alexa. "Good job, cousin." She tilted her head as a pensive look washed over her face. "Now I need a job."

"I could use you a whole lot more here," Paula said.

"That's what I was hoping you'd say." She gave a thumbs-up. "Think you can manage another ten hours a week?"

Paula laughed. "At least that much with all this production we have going on. I appreciate being able to use the Senior Center, but I have a feeling that won't last forever, since it's supposed to be for the community."

"I can try to find a place if that would help."

"That would be great, Steph. With Alexa handling wholesale orders and you being my facilities person, there's no way we can fail."

The next morning Nick's mother greeted him with a cup of coffee and a scowl.

He looked up. "Did I do something wrong?"

"You need to be more aggressive with Paula."

"Huh?" He rubbed his neck with one hand and cleared his throat as he stirred his coffee with the other hand. "What brought that on?"

"She's too busy being a businesswoman because you're not spending enough time with her."

"What's wrong with her being a businesswoman? You are."

"I know, but if her business keeps going like it is, she'll never be able to quit."

"Mama." He shook his head and took a sip of his coffee. "I would never ask her to quit. She loves her soap and candle shop."

"Apparently you haven't heard the latest. She just got another big wholesale order, so she's having Steph scout out new locations for a factory."

"I'd like to think of that as a good thing."

His mother made her clucking noise then mumbled a few words in Greek. "Nick, you're not getting any younger. If you want Paula to marry you, it's time for you to make your move before it's too late." She scowled again. "And I'm not just talking about window shopping for rings at the mall."

Nick lifted his eyebrows. She had spies everywhere. "Who said anything about marriage?"

"Oh, come on, Nick, I wasn't born yesterday. I know the look of love when I see it."

He put down his coffee, glanced at the headlines in the
St.
Petersburg Times,
then turned back to her. "So tell me more about what I should do."

She held up one finger. "For starters, you should do everything you can to sweep her off her feet. Then you need to let her know how you feel, deep down." She made a fist and tapped her chest. "Then you need to promise to be a good husband."

Nick managed not to laugh. "Is that what Papa did?"

"Well . . . not exactly, but you don't want to do what he did."

"What exactly did he do?"

Mama frowned. "You don't wanna know. It doesn't matter anyway. Paula is different. She's a modern woman who needs a man to show how he feels."

Nick understood exactly what his mother was saying. His father had never been a man of words. In fact, he couldn't remember his dad ever coming out and telling his mother he loved her. But everyone, including Mama, knew he loved her with his entire being.

"So after I do all this, what if she isn't ready to commit to a lifetime with me?"

Her lips twisted as she thought it over. "I don't know."

"There are some big obstacles here, ya know."

"Of course I know that, Nick. But she won't say yes if you don't ask."

"I have a better idea. Why don't I try to spend more time with her while I'm here, and then I'll invite her to visit me on the base." He already planned to do this, but he wanted Mama to think she'd helped him come up with the idea.

"She won't go."

"And why not?" Nick asked.

"Paula loves her shop too much. I don't think you'll ever get her to leave unless there's incentive."

"Oh, I think I might be able to now that she has Alexa and Steph to help her run the place."

His mother pursed her lips then smiled. "Maybe so. I guess it's worth trying."

Oh yeah, it was definitely worth trying. He changed the subject while he ate the eggs and toast she put in front of him. After he helped her clean the kitchen, he got ready for his day of wooing Paula.

The first place he went was her shop. Alexa greeted him and told him Paula wasn't due in until afternoon. "I think she's still at home, so why don't you try her there?"

He went to Paula's house next, but she wasn't there either. Instead of running all over creation, he pulled out his cell phone and tried calling her, but she didn't answer. He decided to try one more place—the beach beside the church.

Nick recognized her silhouette from a distance as he turned onto the road leading to Crystal Beach. Watching her, his heart thudded as he remembered all the times they'd sat together on that very same bench, talking about their hopes and dreams for the future. Funny how neither of them actually came out and talked about marriage, but he always assumed it would happen someday. But if he didn't act soon, it might not.

He pulled into the shell-covered parking spot near the bench. Her body stilled, letting him know she was aware of someone behind her, but she didn't turn around—even after he started walking toward her.

"Paula," he said softly.

She lowered her head then slowly turned to face him. He couldn't read her.

"Is everything okay?" Nick stopped and waited for a sign that it was okay to get closer.

Paula nodded. "Couldn't be better." But she didn't smile or invite him closer.

"Mind if I join you?"

"That's fine." She turned back and faced the water. "So much has happened lately, I needed a little time to regroup."

"Oh, okay." A sense of relief flooded him. "I hear you just got another big wholesale order."

"Yeah. I didn't expect it."

"It sounds good, though. Business is thriving."

"For now, anyway."

"You sound worried." He sat down on the other end of the bench, not sure of how much space she needed.

"I don't know how long this will last. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be. If I expand too fast, it might implode, but if I don't expand at all I'll never know how successful it might be."

"So you're basically expecting the other shoe to drop." Nick should have realized this. After all, Paula had experienced one disappointment after another from the moment he'd first met her. When something good happened, something bad always followed.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Well, maybe things have changed, and it'll only get better."

The downward slope of her shoulders said she didn't believe that would ever happen. Since he knew it was futile to try to convince her otherwise, he decided to change the subject.

"So how's our little friend Amanda doing?"

Light flickered in Paula's eyes as she turned to him. "That girl is very smart. I spent some time helping her study for English, math, and history, and she managed to catch on very quickly."

Nick nodded. "She did seem smart." Then he snickered. "But more than that, she was a smart aleck."

"Oh, she's definitely a smart aleck. I'd hate to get into a battle of words with that one."

"For the first time, you might have met your match," Nick said.

Paula frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're better with words than anyone else I've ever known."

"Until now," Paula said with a hint of a smile. "Now we have Amanda."

He scooted closer to Paula, and when she didn't say anything he closed the distance. She leaned into him and sighed.

His cell phone rang, and Paula pulled away. When he looked at the number, his heart thudded. "It's your shop."

"You better answer it then. I left my phone in the car."

As soon as he flipped open his phone, Alexa didn't bother waiting for him to say anything. "Is Paula there?"

"She's right here. Why?"

"I need to talk to her now."