The Icing on the Cake (4 page)

Same ol’ Lori, he thought, but then
realized, he wasn’t being fair.  Who knew if it was really true?  He’d been
away for so long.  Maybe Lori had finally grown up.  He hadn’t been within a
mile of Lori since he’d visited home when he was around twenty-five.  She was
married at the time, but it hadn’t stopped her from giving him her ‘come
hither’ routine. 

He shook off thoughts of the older
Branton sister, in favor of the younger woman who was presently in his truck. 
She still had the power to make his protective instincts flair.  He’d always
admired her, but now, being in her presence once again, he realized—he still
had feelings for her.  And maybe now that he was home, and if Krissy was
willing and one day felt similarly—they could explore those feelings.  

  He didn’t feel particularly hopeful,
however.  It was obvious she didn’t like him very much.  He wasn’t sure why. 
When they were younger, they had often bantered back and forth.  He’d been
impressed by her quick wit and flair for the come-back.  Of course, he was over
four years older than her, and he had viewed her as a child—back when he was a
senior and the big man on campus.  But later…  When he’d returned home from
college, she was eighteen and it was then he’d realized how attracted he was to
the younger Branton sister.

The timing had been all wrong, since she
had gone off to college for four years.  Upon his return to Cooper Glenn, he’d
taken a position in his father’s commercial construction business and had worked
hard, learning every facet of the business.  Upon Kristine’s return home, he
had already made the decision to leave his hometown and start his own
construction business in another state. 

He’d experienced astounding success and
had recently sold the business for an amount of money that could allow him to
live comfortably for many lifetimes, but he wasn’t ready to retire.  His dad
having called him and informing him of his newly-diagnosed health problems had
been the impetus for the sale and he’d come home to take over his father’s
business.  He looked forward to the challenge of growing it beyond his father’s
expectations.

When a car horn honked behind them, Joe
realized his thoughts had taken on a life of their own.  He shook his head to
clear it and turned toward Kristine.  She hadn’t answered his earlier
question.  He decided to order for her and soon left the drive-through behind. 
Kristine was still asleep when they arrived back at the bakery. 

Joe found a parking place out front and
carefully parallel parked.  Gracie, behind him, rose and rested her head on the
back of the seat.  “Hold on, girl,” he said.  “I didn’t forget you.”  He
rummaged through the bag and found a plain burger he’d ordered for her.  He
passed it to her.  “Now don’t get used to this,” he said.  “This is a special
occasion, since I haven’t bought your dog food yet.  So enjoy it.”

She appeared to smile at him as she
gingerly accepted the burger from him and settled in the back seat to eat it. 

“Krissy,” he said softly.  “Wake up.”

She remained asleep, and only snuggled
deeper into the comfort of the heated seat.  He felt awful waking her, but knew
she’d be furious with him if he allowed her to nap the day away.  He nudged her
again and this time, she roused and her eyes fluttered open.  She appeared
alarmed, as if uncertain where she was.  Her eyes finally focused on him and
she sat up taller in the seat and looked around.

“Did I fall asleep?” she asked, still
seeming disoriented.

“Yes.”  He passed her her burger and
fries and put her soda in the cup holder between the seats.

“What time is it?” she cried, checking
the watch that wasn’t currently on her wrist.  “How long was I asleep?”

“Only a few minutes,” he answered.  “I
figured we could eat our food while parked here.  That way, you’ll know if you
suddenly have a crowd show up at the bakery.”

She turned toward him and registered his
words.  His thoughtfulness warmed her and a smile tugged at her lips.  “Thank
you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said with an
answering smile.   “I hope you like burgers, because it was about the only
option available, considering your time constraints.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, meaning it.  It
was apparent Joe wasn’t an axe murderer, or serial killer, but was a nice guy
who had simply wanted to take her to lunch.  Her imagination had gotten the
better of her, likely because of her ongoing sleep deprivation.

It was as if he read her thoughts when
he spoke.  “Do you ever sleep?”

She considered the question.  “I’m off
on Sundays…”

“But do you sleep in?”

“No.  I go to church.”

He nodded.  “Have you thought about
hiring additional help at the bakery?”

She bit into her burger and savored the
taste of the artery-clogging food.  “Mmmm,” she said, realizing she was
starving.  She reached for a fry.  “I have Minnie and Mitch, who are both
bakers.  Mitch is off today.  And then there’s me, of course.”

“What about Lori?  And your mom?”

She sighed.  “Well, Mom isn’t herself
these days.  Losing Dad was…”

He nodded in understanding.  “But Lori…”

“She’s…”  She hated to speak ill of her
sister, and refrained from doing so now.  “She has a lot going on right now.”

“Things are only going to get busier for
you, as spring arrives and then summer.  If I remember right, your dad told me
that business really picks up, since you get a lot of tourist activity.”

“That’s true.  With so many people
coming to enjoy the lake, our business does increase substantially.”  She
raised a clarifying finger.  “And that’s a good thing.  I generally hire a
couple teenagers each season, to pick up the slack.”

He nodded, glad to hear it.

“What about you, Joe?  What brings you
back to town?”

Kristine glanced at the clock on the
wall.  She was in the work area of the bakery and eager for the workday to
end.  Minnie was scrubbing down tabletops while she was sweeping up the floor. 
They’d already done much of the prep work for the following day—Friday—and
fortunately, Mitch was scheduled to work tomorrow, as well.

Fridays were always their busiest day,
since people often picked up fritters or cupcakes to take into work to share
with coworkers.  Additionally, Kristine had several customers who had an
ongoing order of assorted items, which she delivered like clockwork Friday
mornings.

As she finished up with her work, she
recalled her lunch with Joe.  She had to admit that once she got over her fear
of being taken into the woods and hacked into bits, she had enjoyed herself. 
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d spent any time with anyone of the
opposite sex, other than Mitch at work.  And he was fifty-five and happily
married.

Lori, on the other hand, had an active
dating life and it never seemed to occur to her that Kristine might actually
enjoy some downtime so she might have the opportunity to meet someone.  But by
the time evenings rolled around, she was physically exhausted and mentally
weary, but still had chores awaiting her at home.

Thanks to Lori moving home with her
young son, Devon, Kristine’s chore load had increased two-fold.  Lori seemed
oblivious to this reality and somehow had gotten the impression that if she or
Devon made a mess, Kristine would always follow behind and clean it up.  She
felt as if she had little choice but to act as Lori’s maid, since the house
would be in a constant state of disarray if she didn’t stay on top of the mess.

Kristine sighed as she remembered the
long list of chores needing doing at home.  She knew her mother felt awful that
she was little help, but she just seemed unable to muster the strength to do
much more than an occasional load of laundry.  Thankfully, she had finally
acknowledged her depression and was scheduled to see a behavioral specialist
the following week.  Kristine hoped desperately that the doctor would prescribe
something for her mother that would help restore her to her old self.

Kristine shot another glance at the wall
clock, just as her cell phone rang from a nearby table.  She hurried to answer
it. 

“Kristine, I’m so glad I caught you,”
Lori said in a rush.  “I need you to pick up Devon from daycare…”

Kristine sighed.  “Lori, I’m afraid…”

“Don’t say ‘no,’ please,” she implored. 
“Chad surprised me with dinner reservations at that new Italian restaurant in
Ridgeway.”  She let out a delighted cry.  “I’m so excited.  I understand the
food is excellent and the ambience…”  She gave a dreamy sigh.

“I wouldn’t know,” Kristine said under
her breath.

“What’d you say, sis?  Hey, will you
hurry to get Devon.  If you’re not there soon, they’re going to tack on a
late-pickup fee to my bill.  Oh, I have to go.  Chad is here and we’re
leaving…”  The line went dead.

Minnie stepped into the large room and
frowned.  “Lori again?”

Kristine nodded.  “She needs me to pick
Devon up from daycare.”

Minnie pinned her with accusing eyes. 
“You need to stand up to that sister of yours, once and for all.  You’re going
to collapse if you don’t get some rest.”

Lori spread her hands and shook her
head.  “I…”

“Need to grow a backbone,” Minnie
asserted, and then sighed.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have said that.  You’re my
employer, but you’re also my friend.  Kristine, you’re wasting away to
nothing.  I doubt you weigh more than ninety pounds.”

Kristine couldn’t argue with her.  Her
weight had plummeted of late, but she barely had time to breathe, let alone
plan and cook wholesome meals.  And by the time she prepared dinner for her
mother and sister, and doled it out, she was too tired to eat.  And then there
were dishes to do…  And laundry…  And bill paying…  Forget it.  Food was the
furthest thing from her mind.

“May I talk to Lori for you?” Minnie
asked sweetly.  As a mother of two daughters, close in age to Kristine, she
often took a motherly tack with her young employer.  “I promise you I’ll get
through to her,” she added menacingly. 

“I’ll talk to her,” Kristine promised.

“Will you?”

She forced a cheerful smile.  “I will, I
promise.”  She made an apologetic face.  “Do you mind finishing up here?  If I
don’t pick up Devon in the next ten minutes, we’ll have to pay a penalty fee
for late pickup and they really add up.”

Minnie sent her off with the flutter of
her hand.  “Go, go.”

Since their mother was footing the bill
for Devon’s daycare, Kristine was determined to make it to the daycare before
they could assess any additional fees.  It wasn’t as if Lori would cover it. 
She wasn’t particularly inclined to part with a dime.  Since she’d moved in,
she hadn’t contributed to the cost of groceries or utilities.  Her mother owned
her home, but that didn’t mean Lori had the right to expect to live there for
free.  She paid her mother rent.  And as much as she wanted to confront her
sister and have a lengthy conversation about everything troubling her, she knew
it would create a rift between them, which would add to her mother’s burden. 
As such, she simply bucked up and took what her sister dished out.

Kristine hurried to her car and drove to
the daycare where Devon had spent part of his day.  Despite the fact that she
wasn’t working a steady job, Lori had put him in after-school care.  Kristine
couldn’t understand why her sister didn’t spend every moment with her son that she
could manage, particularly since he had started first grade in September and
was gone six hours a day in school.

Kristine resolved that if she was ever
fortunate enough to be a mother, she would spend every moment she could with
her children.  She simply couldn’t wrap her mind around Lori sending Devon off
to the care of others, particularly when she didn’t work often enough to
justify it. 

As she pulled up to the daycare, she
noted the parking lot was nearly empty.  The other parents had already picked
up their kids and gone on their way.  She jumped out of her car and rushed to
the front door.  She pulled it open and immediately spotted Devon waiting for
her by the front counter of the reception area.

“Hey, sweetie,” she called.  “How was
your day?”

“Okay,” he said.  “Where’s my mom?”

“I’m afraid she has somewhere she has to
be,” she said, smiling his way as she signed him out for the day.  “So you had
a good day?” she prompted.

He shrugged as he walked toward her. 
When he reached her, she draped an arm over his shoulders.  She nudged him
playfully, hoping to garner a smile from him.  He was such a quiet little boy,
and seemed to have the weight of the world on his thin little shoulders.

When he still failed to smile, she
tickled his side.  Still no response.

“Hey,” she said, watching him with
concern.  “Are you okay?”

He shrugged.  “I don’t like daycare,” he
told her.

She opened the back door of her car and
helped him into his booster seat.  After closing the door behind her, she
hurried to climb into the driver’s seat.  She glanced at him in the rearview
mirror.  “Why don’t you like daycare, honey?”

“Mike is mean to me,” he said, jutting
out his lower lip.

“Can you tell me more about that?” she
asked.  “Is Mike your age?”

“Yes.  He’s in my class at daycare. 
Today, I was playing with my Spiderman game and he took it away from me.  When
I told the teacher, she said I needed to learn to share.”

Kristine considered his words.  “Did
Mike ask you permission to play with your Spiderman game?”  She knew he treasured
that game, which she had gotten for him for his last birthday.

“No.  He just took it.  And he threw it
across the room.”  His lips began to tremble.  “He broke it.”

Kristine watched his sad little face. 
“Listen, I’m going to talk to your teacher.  And Sunday…” she added, in a
sing-song voice.

He glanced up, his expression expectant.

“Sunday, we’re going to drive to
Ridgeway, you and me, and we’re going to get you a new Spiderman game.”

He broke into a smile.  “Really?  You’re
going to get me a new one?”

“Yes, I am.  I know how much that game
means to you.”

He looked stricken.  “Mama said if
something happened to it, it’s my fault.”

“You mean, because you chose to take it
to daycare with you?”

He nodded and suddenly began to cry.  “I
can’t take my new one to daycare...”

“Honey…” she said, wishing she could
wrap her arms around him and comfort him at this moment.  “If you take it back
to daycare, Mike might break it again.”

“But…”

“What, sweetie?”

“My game feels like…”

“What?  What does it feel like?”

“It feels like home.”

She frowned, unsure what he meant. 
“Devon, I don’t understand.”

“It makes me think of you.”

She smiled.  “You mean, because we play
the game at home.”

“Yes.”

Her heart broke for her little nephew. 
His world had been turned upside down.  His parents had split up years before,
but he had retained a relationship with his father.  Unfortunately, his dad had
met someone and had recently moved out of state to be with her.  He no longer
seemed inclined to take advantage of his visitation with his son.  To make
matters worse, his mother was more concerned with spending time with her boyfriend
than him. 

Kristine wished she could do more for
Devon, but she was practically working around the clock. 

“Auntie Kristine,” he said softly.

“Yes?”

“I don’t want to go to after-school
daycare anymore.”

“I know.”

“Can I go with you to the bakery after
school?”  His voice became more animated.  “My school is really close to the
bakery and I could just walk there.”

“Honey, you’re only six.  It wouldn’t be
safe for you to cross the street on your own.”

“I’m big enough!” he cried.  “And I
promise I’ll be quiet at the bakery.  I won’t get in your way.  And I’ll help
you.  I can sweep the floors and wipe the counters, and maybe you can teach me
how to bake stuff.”

Kristine’s heart tugged.  She knew the
incident with the Spiderman game wasn’t Devon’s first troublesome incident at
the daycare.  He was such a sensitive kid that he’d been the target of bullying
by older children.  When Kristine had discussed it with Lori, she had been
dismissive of the bullying.  “He has to learn to stick up for himself,” she had
said matter-of-factly.  “If he doesn’t learn to fight his own battles…”  She’d
shrugged.  “What can I do?”

“Protect your child!”
Kristine had shouted.  Lori had refused to speak to her for a week after, until
she needed a favor, and then the silent treatment had ended.

“Please Auntie Kristine,” Devon
implored.  “I don’t want to go back to daycare.”

“I’ll talk to your mom,” she said. 
“We’ll see what we can do.”

As she drove, she reviewed a mental
checklist of the things needing done around the house.  When she arrived, she
climbed out and hurried to help Devon from the car.  She took his hand.  “Let’s
run,” she cried, and the two ran full out to the front porch.  They took the
steps two at a time. 

Devon tapped the door with his hand.  “I
beat you.  I won!”

“Yes, you did,” she said, smiling his
way.  “I don’t get it.  You always get to the door first, even though we’re
holding hands.”

He shrugged.  “I’m really fast.”

“You really are,” she said, as she
pulled open the door.  To her surprise, her mother greeted her at the door,
dressed and ready for the day and wearing a bright smile on her face.

“Mom,” she said, her expression
incredulous.  “You look…”

“Almost human,” she said, her expression
rueful.

“You look great,” she assured her. 
“You’re feeling … better?”

“I am,” she said crisply, pulling Devon
into a quick hug.

He smiled widely at her, surprised at
the change in his grandmother.  Kristine was stunned, and couldn’t help
wondering what had precipitated the change.

“Kristine, I understand you had a
visitor today,” she said, her eyes bright and eager.

“I … did,” she said, and then frowned. 
“You’re talking about…”

“Joe!  Yes, Joe Lancaster.  He paid me a
visit too.  He mentioned he’d stopped by the bakery and saw you.”

“Yes…”

“He came by here shortly after.  He
brought his beautiful dog with him,” she said.  “She’s part pit bull.  Imagine
that.  I’ve never been particularly fond of the breed—was frightened of them,
really—but this dog was so beautiful and precious.”