The Icing on the Cake (5 page)

Kristine was uncertain how to respond. 
So Joe had paid a visit to her mother.  She couldn’t help but wonder why, but
then surmised he had probably hoped to see Lori. 

“Joe has come home to run his father’s
business,” she informed.  “I understand he sold a business out-of-state.  I’m
afraid his father is having health issues.”

Kristine nodded, still unsure why her
mother had suddenly come out of her depression.  She suspected it might be
short-lived, but it was wonderful to see her more like herself.

“Grandma, can I have a cookie?” Devon
asked.

“Sure, honey.  You’ll find some of your
favorites in the cookie jar.”

Devon turned toward Kristine.  “Did you
bring them home from the bakery?”

“I baked them, silly,” his grandmother
said.  “Now run along.  You can have two.  I don’t want you to spoil your
dinner.”

Devon beamed with pleasure and with a
glance from his grandmother to his aunt, and back, he bolted toward the
kitchen.

Kristine watched her mother with
cautious optimism.   She uttered a quick prayer that her mother would retain
this sunny disposition and that she was finally on the mend after losing her
husband.

“I’m so glad you’re feeling so much
better, Mom.  Would you like to follow me into the kitchen and visit with me
while I start dinner?”

She waved off the offer.  “Oh, honey,
you don’t have to cook tonight.  Joe brought an entire chicken dinner.”  Her
eyes twinkled.  “What do you want to bet he’s hoping to rekindle his
relationship with Lori?”  She clasped her hands gleefully.  “Wouldn’t that be
wonderful?  He’s such a nice young man.  I always liked him.”

Kristine stared at her mother, uncertain
how to respond.  Her mother knew that Lori was dating Chad and that the two
were apparently serious.  Lori had certainly told them as much, but then, she
wasn’t the most reliable of sources.

But if Lori and Chad really were serious
and heading toward some sort of permanence in their relationship, how was Chad
going to feel if Lori suddenly broke up with him?  She might break his heart. 
Kristine sighed.  It wouldn’t be the first time her sister had left a grown man
in shambles.

Friday came and went in a flurry of
activity.  Kristine was relieved when Saturday came, because Sunday followed, and
she was desperate for a day off.  Sunday’s arrival was always the icing on the
cake.

 Sunday morning, she managed to wake
early for church, and after having attended the early service along with her
mother and nephew, she hurried home and claimed the couch.

As she pulled her favorite throw blanket
up to her neck, and reached for the television remote, her mother surprised her
by sitting down at the end of the sofa.

She was grateful her mother was still
doing well, having dressed and readied each day since Thursday.  Kristine
prayed her improvement would continue and she would soon rejoin her at the
bakery.  She hesitated to broach the subject, however, and opted to leave it
for later.  Besides, it appeared her mother had something to tell her.

  “Honey,” she began tentatively. 
“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.  It’s … important.”

Kristine read the seriousness to her
tone and abruptly sat up.  “Are you okay, Mom?”

“I’m fine,” she said, smiling
reassuringly.  “It’s just…”

“Yes?”

She sighed and forced a smile.  “Listen,
after Joe’s visit the other day…  Well, he and I got to talking and later, it
really got me to thinking…”

“About?”

“Honey, I’m just going to say it.  I
think we should sell the business.”

Kristine felt as if she’d been punched in
the gut. 
Sell the family business?
  Her mother had taken her by
complete surprise.  Particularly since she had always said she would never sell
the business, which represented a legacy for her children.  She had always
envisioned her grandchildren and their grandchildren working in the bakery that
had been in the family for generations.

“Mom…  I don’t understand?  Why now?”

She smiled and spread her hands.  “I
feel like a change.  I really do.  And I think it would be good for you too. 
You’ve been bogged down by the demands of the bakery for years.  Honey, don’t
you ever wonder what else is out there—in the world—waiting for you?”

Kristine couldn’t deny the thought had
occurred to her, but she couldn’t
really
imagine parting with the
bakery.  It was a huge part of her life.  It
was
her life.  She shook
her head and ran a hand through her hair.  “Mom, I don’t get it.  What brought
this about?”

“Talking to Joe, I guess.  He sold his
business…”

“…And is now running his father’s
commercial construction business.  It’s not as if he changed his career.  He
simply made a lateral move,” she said, struggling to retain a calm and cool
demeanor.  How dare Joe come along and upset the apple cart?  Who did he think
he was?

“But still…”  Her mother gave a
dismissive wave.  “Anyway, that’s neither here nor there.  I’ve been doing a
lot of thinking lately—Lord knows, I’ve had the time—and I realized,
I
need a change.  I married your father when I was barely nineteen and he was my
world.  When I lost him, I … lost me.”  She reached for Kristine’s hand.  “I
want more, and I want more for my girls.”

“More?”

“Live your life, Kristine. 
Your
life, for
you
.  Find your own happiness and don’t look to a man to
provide it for you.”  She drew a shaky breath.  “Because if you lose that man,
you’ve lost everything.”

“Mom, you have Lori, Devon, and me.”

“Oh, I know that,” she was quick to
assure her.  “And I love you all to pieces, but you’re all going to eventually
move on.”

“Mom, I’m not going anywhere. 
Obviously, my livelihood is between the four walls of the bakery.”

She smiled softly.  “Honey, are you
sure?  It’s fairly apparent Lori isn’t interested in working there.  And you
don’t have to if you don’t want to.”  She squeezed her hand.  “Don’t you see,
Kristine?  I’m setting you free.  This is your chance.  If you want something
different—to do something different—you have my blessing.  We can post a ‘for
sale’ sign first thing tomorrow morning.”

“May I think about it?  I really need
time to think.”  She yawned.  “Frankly, what I need more right now is a nap.”

Her mother watched her sympathetically. 
“You’re killing yourself, Kristine.  You work far too hard, and owning a
business is a twenty-four-seven proposition.  Think about that as you make your
decision.”

“I will.”

“I love you, honey.”

“I love you too.”

***

Kristine was left stunned by the
conversation she’d just had with her mother, but she was simply too exhausted
to properly process the implications of that conversation.  She needed rest,
and then she would attempt to sort it out and make sense of it.

She closed her eyes and promptly drifted
off to blissful, dreamless slumber.  Not even the sound of the doorbell a
couple hours later managed to awaken her.

“Auntie Kristine is sleeping,” Devon
told the visitor, whom he had just allowed into the house.

“Devon, who’s at the door?” his
grandmother called out.

“I don’t know, but he’s inside now.”

Ruth came running out of the kitchen, a
dishrag in her hand and an alarmed expression on her face.  “Oh, hello, Joe,”
she said with relief, as she gave Devon a quick, chagrined glance.  “Devon, you
know you’re not supposed to open the door to strangers.”

“Sorry, Grandma.”

She turned her attention to Joe.  “How
are you, Joe?”

“Good, good,” he said.  “I just thought
I’d stop by and…”

“See Lori,” she finished for him, and
then shook her head regretfully.  “I’m afraid she isn’t here.”  She perked up. 
“I expect her home around six.  Would you like me to call her for you?  Or, I
could give you her number.”

“Actually, I’ve come to talk to Krissy,”
he said.

“Krissy?” Devon said, breaking into
laughter.  “Do you mean Auntie Kristine?”

“That I do,” Joe said, ruffling the
boy’s hair.

“She’s sleeping over there.”  He pointed
in the direction of the couch.  “She’s out like a light,” he added, using a term
he’d heard from his grandmother.  “Auntie Kristine!  I mean, Auntie Krissy,” he
laughed.  “Wake up!  Somebody is here to see you!”

Joe cringed.  “It’s okay.  Don’t wake
her…”

“Too late,” Kristine murmured, as she
swung her legs over the side of the couch.  “So who’s here again?” she asked
groggily.

“Joe!” Devon told her.  “Open your
eyes.  He’s right here.”

Joe smiled wanly and patted Devon on the
head.  “That’s okay.  Let’s give her a minute to wake up.”

Devon laughed.  “Look, she’s sleeping
sitting up.  She does it all the time.  The other night, at dinner, she was
sitting there and all of a sudden, I looked at her and she was sleeping!”  He
slapped his leg and laughed uproariously.  “You should have seen her when she
smashed her face into the mashed potatoes.”

Joe looked horrified at the image.  He
bent slightly to see her face, and sure enough, she appeared to be sleeping
sitting up.  Unsure what to do, he walked over to her and took her by the
shoulders.  He urged her to lie back down.

“I’m up, I’m up,” she murmured.

“She’s really tired,” Devon observed. 
“Do you want me to get a class of water?”

“For her to drink?” Joe asked, confused.

“No, to throw in her face.  So she wakes
up.”

Joe gave the boy a startled look.  “You
don’t really throw water in her face, do you?”

He grinned.  “No, but it would be
funny.”

“I don’t think she would find it funny,”
Joe said.  “So let’s not ever do that.”

“No, let’s not,” Kristine said, finally
sounding semi-awake.  “And by the way, young man,” she directed to Devon, “I was
under the impression we adored one another.  I would never throw water in your
face.  And when did you get so talkative?”

He grinned sheepishly.  “I don’t know. 
But you know I love you, Auntie
Krissy
,” he said, emphasizing the nickname.

Kristine glared at Joe, who shifted
uncomfortably under her angry glare.  “Lori isn’t here,” she told him.

“He came to see you,” Devon supplied. 

“Oh.”

Suddenly, she remembered her
conversation with her mother, prior to her nap.  Had it been a dream?  Surely
it had been a dream.  Her mother would never suggest selling the bakery.

She spun toward her mother, who was
standing in the doorway.  “Mom, was I dreaming, or did you really ask me if I
wanted to sell the business?”

“You weren’t dreaming.”

Kristine turned to Joe again.  She
regarded him through narrowed eyes.  “Did you need something?  Or, did you stop
by to dispense more unsolicited advice?”

He lifted both shoulders in a confused
shrug.  “I don’t…”

“Did you tell my mother she should sell
the bakery?

He began shaking his head and spread his
hands wide.  “No.  Well, I told her to do what makes her happy.”

“And I’ve been doing a lot of thinking
about that while you’ve been sleeping,” her mother declared cheerily.  “And…” 
She giggled.  “I’ve decided, I’m taking a trip.”

Kristine was suddenly wide awake. 
“Where are you going?”

“I don’t know.  That’s the beauty of
it.  I’m going where the winds take me.”

“Oh, heaven help me,” Kristine muttered,
now shooting Joe a look of daggers.  Obviously he’d said something that had
caused this change in her formerly stoic mother.  Suddenly, she was alive with
a capital ‘A.’  And although she was pleased her mother had apparently snapped
out of her depression, she had hoped that when she did, she would get her
mother back.  Not this smiling, flighty version who seemed more like Lori than
herself.

“I’m going back to sleep,” Kristine
declared in a surly voice.  “Don’t wake me up until … next Sunday.”

Her mother laughed.  “If we sell the
business, you can sleep as long as you like.”

“But, where will we get our cupcakes and
cookies?” Devon asked, suddenly very concerned.

“Grandma will make them,” Kristine said,
“between her flights of fancy.”

“Now, Kristine…”  She cleared her
throat.  “Did you forget?  We have company.  He came to see you.”

Kristine spun and glared at Joe.  “Did
you need something?”

“Uh, yes.  I was going to ask you if
you’d like to come by my place.  I’ve finished Gracie’s dog run and if you’ll
remember, I invited her former owner and family over to see it.  I thought you might
like to come, as well.”

She furrowed her brow.  “Why?” she
asked, for the sake of being obtuse. 

“Auntie Kristine is cranky when she
doesn’t get enough sleep,” Devon offered by means of explaining her
impoliteness, and then gave Joe an imploring glance.  “So, you got a dog…?  I’d
like to see your dog.  Maybe I could come over instead.”

“There’s an idea,” Kristine said.  “A
fine idea.  Bring him back by six—oh, what the heck.  Keep him as long as you
want.”

“Kristine!” her mother scolded. 

“If you’re taking Devon, you may as well
take Mom too,” Kristine suggested.

Joe gave her an assessing glance.  “You
know,” he said congenially.  “I think you’re on to something there.  Let’s all
go.  I have hot dogs in the refrigerator.  Let’s barbecue.  Maybe the Williams
will join us too.”