Too Sweet to Be Good

by K. M. Jackson

  “Yeah, well, the break was pretty major, and Joyce, not being as young as she thinks she is, is shocked that it will take as long as it will for it to fully heal.” Her mother’s frown deepened as she thought of something. “I honestly can’t believe Kath didn’t call me as soon as this happened. I may just wring her neck for this. Joyce said she told her not to call, but since when does Kath do what she’s told?”

  “You said a mouthful there,” their father agreed.

  Their mother nodded. “Well, at least now Joyce is calling. She’s out of the hospital and, with the shop back open, having trouble keeping it running as it should on her own.”

  “But what about Kath and her kids?” her father asked. “Doesn’t she have one of Kath’s girls working in the shop now?”

  Her mother shook her head. “No, she’s got one of Clint’s children, Rena, working there. As Joyce said, Kath’s kids are a bit too sadity and wouldn’t dare get their hands dirty by messing around in flour and dough.”

  “Okay, so she’s got Rena working there,” their father said. “What’s the problem? Just call in some extra help.”

  Her mother gave her father a “come on and get real” look. “You know how Joyce is, complaining that Rena is only half there and more worried about her babies’ father than about what she has to do in the shop. Not to mention she’s convinced she can’t get decent help in town, at least not someone who is up to her standards. You know what a control freak she is.”

  “And whose fault is that?” her father asked, and Liv could see that her mother was immediately torn as she looked for an answer to the question. Liv knew as well as her mother that her father was absolutely right. Though a real firecracker and Liv’s absolute favorite, it was true, Aunt Joyce was a total control freak. She ran the family’s pie shop, passed down from their mother and their grandmother before—Goode ’N Sweet—with love; care; and total, exacting control. Although it was Aunt Joyce who ran the shop and did all the baking, Liv’s mother and Aunt Kath were still part owners, but really in name only. Goode ’N Sweet was Aunt Joyce’s baby. She’d often said there was a reason that she’d never gone on to marry or have any children of her own. That taking care of the business was just about as much nurturing as she was able to dole out.

  And she doled out plenty in that old shop. Liv’s mind went to her summers down at Sugar Lake. In the shop’s kitchen with Aunt Joyce were some of her happiest times. Although she was a tough cookie, all her warmth came out when she was sharing her love of baking and the Goode family tradition of nurturing through good food and fellowship. Liv had only fond memories of her aunt and could attribute all she knew about making desserts to her.

  “Well,” her mother said, “her being controlling is neither here nor there. Joyce must be in dire straits for her to swallow her pride, pick up the phone, and call to ask for help. I have a feeling it’s not just about hiring extra help. It may be a money issue too. With hospital bills and all. Maybe she can’t afford it. Mitch, you know that calling like this is not like her. It must be serious.”

  Liv’s father’s expression changed to grievous, which in turn sent a feeling of dread to the pit of Liv’s stomach. “You do have a point there. But what can we do? We leave on our vacation soon. Everything is all booked. How can plans be changed now?”

  “I don’t know,” her mother said. “Maybe if I call the travel agent we can make some sort of change and not have any heavy penalties.”

  “Oh, Anne. There you go. Always putting others first. This has been your dream for so long. There has to be another way.”

  Liv could see the pain on her mother’s face and the joy of the wonderful night fade as it slipped from her father’s expression. Why was it that things must always go wrong at the exact worst possible time? There had to be a solution that didn’t involve her parents putting their dreams on hold, yet once again for someone else.

  “Uncle Cole has other kids,” Drea chimed up from the bar. “Why can’t one of them just step in?”

  “Because they all have jobs that they can’t just walk away from,” their mother said.

  Drea nodded. “Yeah, well I know how that is.”

  “Do you?” The words were out of Liv’s mouth before she could shore her brain up fast enough to stop them.

  “Seriously?” Drea said, quickly turning toward her sister. “You use this moment to jump on me and put me down about my job.”

  “I’m not jumping on you, Drea. I’m just saying it’s not like your job is one that you can’t, well, take a leave from. That is, if your boss can do without you for a while.”

  “Don’t start,” Drea said by way of warning. “It’s not like I see your man here worried about what you’re doing.”

  “What you mean by her man?” Liv’s mother asked, speedy with the perceptive pickup. “Your boss is your boss and nothing more. Right, Drea? So why would you even equate him with Livy’s boyfriend?”

  Drea looked at her mother seemingly at a loss for words and then turned to Liv with a look that both said she’d like to kill Liv while it asked how she could put her in such a position. Crap. Liv felt horrible for even bringing the subject up and putting her little sister out there like that. She didn’t think there was anything going on with Drea and her boss, but that tongue slip was really a bit too much. Even if she annoyed her to no end, she didn’t want her sister put in a compromising position and be ratted out in front of their parents tonight. Not without talking to her privately first. “I can go help out with Aunt Joyce,” Liv said in a rush.

  Everyone turned toward her with confused looks on their faces, but it was her mother who spoke up first. “What do you mean you can go and help out Aunt Joyce? You’re just as busy as everyone else. Sure, you may be able to take a couple of days off of work, but it’s not like you can just walk away from your job, Livy. Joyce seems like she will need help for a few weeks at least, maybe more.” She waved a hand indicating her frustration. “No, it’s not an option. Your dad and I will figure something out. I’m sure we can make adjustments with the travel agency.”

  “You’ll do no such thing,” Liv said firmly. “You will take your trip and you will have a wonderful time. In the meantime, I’ll go and help Aunt Joyce. It’ll all be fine, you’ll see.”

  “Of course it will. Why, it’s so like you to jump in and save the day, big sister,” Drea said from over her shoulder. “Would you care to tell us how you’re actually going to do that with your job and everything?”

  It was Liv’s turn now to give her sister a look. Her eyes let her know that she’d indeed pushed the right button this time.

  Liv sucked in a much-needed breath and let it out before she began her next sentence. “As of today, I don’t have a job.” The air around her chilled, and she couldn’t tell if it was her body reacting to her admission or that her mother and father had just sucked all the air out of the room at the very same time.

  “Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Liv quickly added. “The company used words like downsized and restructured to make it all very PC, so I got a decent-enough severance package to keep me going for a while.” She could do this. “Though I will admit it still sucks to be fired. That’s never happened to me before.”

  “Well, welcome to Club Screw Up, Miss Perfect. We’re happy to have you here,” Drea said, and their mother thankfully told her to hush it up before Liv rounded on her.

  “I’m so sorry, honey,” her father said. “These corporations have no loyalty. And for them to do something like that to a star like you, they obviously have no sense either. That’s okay, you’ll find something in no time. But are you sure you want to take on going to Sugar Lake? You know as well as I do that Aunt Joyce can be a handful and Georgia is just starting to heat up this time of year.”

  Her father’s words pulled her up short. He was probably right. Well for one, Georgia was getting hot, but with the job, Damon and all, Liv was feeling like she could use the change of climate. And two, Aunt Joyce was a
lot to handle, so Liv knew a trip to Sugar Lake probably was setting herself up for trouble in more ways than one. Sugar Lake held more than a few memories, some sweet and a few bitter. But it didn’t take away from the fact that Aunt Joyce was family. And her mom and dad needed her right now, and well, that trumped any apprehension she had.

  “Yes, your father is right, and what about Damon?” her mother asked. “How’s he going to react to you going away for a couple of weeks to Sugar Lake? It may even be a month or two. You can’t really judge what Aunt Joyce needs until you get there. I don’t know about this, dear.”

  “Well,” Liv said as she prepared herself for more judgment, “I’m sure Damon won’t care, since he and I broke up today.”

  “Today!” Drea shouted from over her shoulder. “Isn’t his timing stellar? Was it before or after he’d heard you’d gotten fired?”

  Liv rounded on her sister with a sharp look. “Not that it matters, but my getting fired had nothing to do with it.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Drea said.

  Liv let out a long breath. She would not let Drea pull her in. This was not about her and Damon right now. And besides, she didn’t get to tell him about getting fired before he’d had a chance to move his crap and her TV out of her place, so one had nothing to do with the other, she guessed.

  “Drea, don’t start,” her mother said by way of warning.

  “I’m just saying, the dude picks today of all days to break up with her. That’s classic bum behavior.” She turned toward Liv and gave her a sharp look. “But hey, now I get why you are being so altruistic and running off to Sugar Lake. It will be a perfect place to make your escape and to lick your wounds.”

  Liv’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got a lot of freaking nerve talking to me about escaping and running off !” She’d gone too far now. “You’ve been running and escaping life ever since you finished college. Fluttering from job to job and man to man looking for your so-called big break. How about you get real? You’re not going to get any big breaks from some walk-in asking for a corner table by the window. When are you going to take your life into your own hands, and when are you going to take a little responsibility and help your family out? At least I’m standing up and doing what needs to be done so Mom and Dad can still go on their trip. Live out their dreams. What are you going to do to help them along, to help the family? Continue to take your acting and singing lessons while never going on auditions, while you live under their roof, eat their food, spend their money? Either grow up or shut up once and for all!”

  Drea’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Oh, I’ll show you growing up, all right,” Drea said as she took a step toward Liv.

  “Enough!” their father yelled, silencing them.

  “Finally,” Elijah sighed from the kitchen entryway, plate in hand. When he slipped away to make it, who knew? Their father whirled on him with a look, one that told Elijah that stuffing his mouth full of sweet potato pie would be his next best step.

  Their dad then turned back to Liv. “Sweetheart, what you’re looking to do is wonderful, and if it’s really in your heart to do it and you’re sure you’re ready to take such a big step for the next couple weeks, at least until we get back from our European trip, we will be greatly appreciative.”

  “But Mitch,” their mother started, but their father put up his hand, stopping her, and continued his speech, this time turning toward Drea.

  “And as for you, young lady, you and your sister need to cut all this fighting. I don’t know what’s going on with your work situation, but whatever it is, you need to get it straightened out. Or do I need to take a trip downtown to talk to this boss of yours myself ?”

  Drea quickly shook her head. “No, sir.”

  Their father nodded. “Good. Though not eloquently said, your sister is right. It’s time to live up to who you are. Who I know you are great enough to be. You’re a talented young woman. Time to show it.”

  Drea looked at her father, and for a moment it seemed as if she was going to say something, but instead she swallowed and her gaze swept the floor.

  Their father clapped his hands together loudly, turned around, and picked up the stereo’s remote control once again, turning the music up. “Good. I’m glad that’s all settled. Anne, let’s get in a couple more dances before my night is over. And then tomorrow you can call that loony roof-climbing sister of yours and let her know that reinforcements are on the way.” He gave Liv a wink before he took their mother into his arms, twirled her twice, and kissed her soundly enough to bring a deep crimson blush to her mahogany cheeks.

  “Come on with that!” Elijah said from his spot by the kitchen doorway. “Some of us are trying to eat over here.”

  With that, Liv just shook her head and enjoyed the moment as she tried to squelch down the budding feelings of nervousness over the decision she’d just made.