The Wish List

by Linda Leigh Hargrove

  “Another time, maybe?”

  “Maybe.”

  Not!

  She couldn’t get away from Harry Jackson quick enough. On the way past the visitor’s desk, she said goodbye to the elderly attendant.

  “Goodbye, dear,” she said. “Tell that Zeus I said hello. Have a blessed day.”

  “You too,” Freddie said.

  Zeus got around. He seemed to be a hit with the older ladies.

  As she walked, she texted her Brighton Construction crew to let them know she was on her way. Mentally, she happily checked item Number One from Zeus’ Wish List.

  “Six more to go.”

  There was a paper tucked under her windshield wiper.

  “Ugh,” she exclaimed as she neared her vehicle. “A ticket.”

  But instead of a parking citation, it was a flyer from a restaurant.

  “Chew at Chu’s,” Freddie read the large letters across the top. “Joe Chu. Fine Fast Asian Food.”

  She looked around her as she buckled in. Joe Chu’s restaurant was at the far end of the strip mall. The bottom half of the flyer was a buy-one-get-one coupon. She’d be back for sure.

  “Bingo.”

  Smiling, she texted Zeus: Hi. That was fun. One down. I’m on my way to work. Should be done after 6pm. Chu’s for dinner?

  Per her usual pattern, she added a gazillion emojis onto the end. His return text came while she was taking a lunch break on site. Was he mad at her or only delayed for medical reasons?

  The message was short and sweet: Six more to go.

  Yeah, he was mad.

  Men.

  He hadn’t said anything about dinner.

  Well, Joe’s place looked like fun. She was going even if she had to go by herself. Or maybe Chelsea would want to go with her.

  After work, she fought traffic on US 1 North back into Wake City. This little town was growing in leaps and bounds. In her mind, she saw potential tiny home customers lining up to rent a lot from Big Red.

  “Not a crazy idea, dad. I’m not crazy.”

  If only she could reason with her father and brothers as easily as she talked to herself in her car.

  Chapter 9

  Freddie found Elsa in her sewing room surrounded by shimmering fabric and Chelsea nestled in an armchair, making pom poms out of yarn.

  “So how was work?” Elsa asked.

  “Good.”

  Chelsea used a pair of scissors to snip at the fuzzy white ball. Since Freddie’s entrance, she hadn’t mumbled a single word. Freddie leaned against the door frame and watched her friend.

  “Whatcha sewing now, Grammsie?”

  “A possible bridesmaid dress. You’re my model. The bride needs to see it before she can make up her mind. If the bride likes it, then the bridesmaid can keep the dress. At least that’s what the bride told me.”

  Freddie thought it was cute how Elsa kept stressing the word bride and her eyebrows raised.

  “Really?” Freddie admired the honey-colored sheath that Elsa held up for examination. “Nice. Thank you. You’re such a great talent. Isn’t she, Chels?”

  Chelsea nodded and issued a tight-lipped smile.

  “What’s wrong with Mumford Muppet here?” Freddie asked, referring to Chelsea.

  Elsa chuckled. “Too much peanut butter sandwiches.”

  “Is that … um … jocularity, Elsa?”

  Elsa laughed. “You two are cute. She was anxious to ask you about your meeting with Zeus today and I told her to take a chill pill.”

  “Yeah, take a chill pill, Chelsea Lynn.”

  Chelsea narrowed her eyes but continued shaping her pom-pom with fervent snips.

  “For those inquiring brides in the room, I didn’t meet with Zeus much today. I checked in on Wake General’s Marketing Director. Zeus wanted me to do a little customer care.”

  Elsa grunted. “Not ole Handsy Harry.”

  “Good grief, I didn’t know he had that kind of reputation. Glad I had to rush off to my day job. He was a flashy dresser.”

  “Yeah, those shoes. Too much, in my opinion.” She finished her hand stitching and bit off a thread. “Run, don’t walk, away from the man with the shiny shoes.”

  Freddie pulled Zeus’ list from her bag and looked at it. Her mind traveled back to yesterday in his office. The way he tossed his hair to one side when it fell in his eyes.

  She could watch that all day. He knew so much about music. He’d made her laugh with his lip syncing. If it were not for day job, she would have stay longer.

  “What’s that?” Elsa asked, indicating the paper in Freddie’s hand.

  “A wish list.”

  Elsa Parker’s eyes lit up. “A wish—”

  “Not that kind of wish list, Grammsie.”

  Chelsea rolled out onto the floor, laughing.

  “What?” Elsa asked. “Chelsea Lynn Parker, behave yourself.”

  “You have to be careful with lists around here,” Chelsea said as she pulled herself back into the chair. “Especially if you use the words ‘wish’ with ‘list’. Beware.”

  “Be nice,” Elsa said. “I only want to see you ladies happy. Marriage is not to be entered lightly. Some people probably shouldn’t even get married. But if you do, you should do so with a great amount of thought and prayer.

  “I wish I’d been more careful and not rushed into marrying your grandfather, Chelsea. All I saw was a handsome face with fancy clothes and a fast car. My Husband List idea is not a magic enchantment or shopping list.”

  “We know, Gramm.” Chelsea said. “You mean well, and we love you for it.”

  Elsa added, “It’s really meant to make you slow down long enough to listen to the Almighty. People want to rush into things so much these days.”

  “So true.”

  Maybe Elsa Parker’s husband list wasn’t so cuckoo after all. She’d never heard her explain her rationale behind it until now. Or maybe Elsa had but Freddie hadn’t slowed down long enough to understand.

  It wasn’t the creation of some busybody with too much time, and too many Harlequin romance novels, on her hands. Elsa Parker had created the idea out of her own painful experience with her ex-husband.

  Chelsea left the scissors and misshapen yarn ball in the chair. “I’m famished, Freddie. Let’s go get takeout.”

  “On a Monday night?” Elsa asked. “We’ve got leftover pot roast from Sunday dinner.”

  “Gramm,” Chelsea whined.

  Shaking the list, Freddie interrupted. “My list … rather, Zeus’ list … has a visit to Joe Chu’s on it. This morning, I received a BOGO coupon to Chu’s.”

  Elsa perked up. “Chew at Chu’s.”

  “Exactly. So, what do you say? Fine. Fast. Asian food. My treat.”

  Chelsea raced past her. “I’ll get my coat and shoes.”

  As soon as they were in the car on their way to Joe’s, Chelsea leaned over the center console and gave Freddie a side hug. “You’re my bestest friend. Thanks for getting me out of the house. Good Lord. I love my grandmother, but she was driving me bonkers. Makes me regret taking so much time off from work in December. I can’t wait for my mother to come next week so Gramm has someone else to pester. Whew, Lord Jesus, take the wheel.”

  Freddie laughed at her friend’s antics. “You know what I just realized while listening to your Gramm. She ain’t all bad. This Husband List is a good idea.”

  Chelsea stopped her rant and looked at Freddie. “Whatchu talkin’ ‘bout Freddie? Who are you and what have you done with my bestie?”

  “I’m serious.” Freddie merged into traffic on the main thoroughfare into downtown Wake City. Evening traffic was bumper to bumper. The mixture of red, white, and amber car lights reminded her of Christmas decorations. “She’s put a lot of thought and prayer into this thing. She genuinely wants us to experience the opposite of what she had. I respect that.”

  Chelsea chuckled. “So, does this mean you’ll be making a
husband list soon?”

  “Girl, I didn’t say all that.”

  Maybe I will. Who knows?

  “Well, Mr. de Sousa has made a list for you and he’s checking it twice, to see who naughty or nice. In less than 24 hours you will have done two things for the man. Maybe, he’s given you a Wife List.”

  “Stop being silly, Chels.”

  “Tell you what,” Chelsea said as she took her phone from her purse. “I’ll text Marc to come get me from Joe Chu’s. He should be leaving the library soon. You won’t have to worry about taking me back to Gramm’s house. You can take Zeusy Baby his food. Can’t keep your man waiting.”

  “Not my man.”

  Chelsea grunted as she completed your text.

  “Did you hear me.”

  “Uh…yeah. I heard your words.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Chelsea shrugged.

  “Chels, I’m not buying the innocent act. I don’t mind being your side kick, the Robin to your Bat Woman.”

  “Now, I’m Bat Woman?”

  “Better than Bat Girl.”

  “True.”

  “But I don’t like it when you put words in my mouth. Or in this case thoughts and intents behind my words.”

  “So, tell me. What are you feeling towards this … let’s see … this abso-freakin-lutely gorgeous man?” She’d used air quotes on her made up adjective.

  “That’s not the way I say it.”

  “He has money,” Freddie said. “Oh, I almost forgot. He’s planning to pay for Marc and Trey’s makerspace idea for the group home?”

  Chelsea clapped her hands. “Actually, it will be for the entire community in the Bottoms. That’s abso-freakin-lutely wonderful. Such a generous man. How could you not be curious about where things might go with him? A man who asked you to marry him! I’d forgotten about that. Goodness, girl. Maybe this is God’s way of giving you both a second chance.”

  The thought had entered her mind.

  But, what about her personal aspirations to build her tiny home empire? What about this widening rift between she and her family? Was rekindling a romance with the guy who fell in love with her more than a decade ago going to fix any of this?

  Probably not. If her previous single life was any indication, she’d end up guzzling a cheap bottle of wine on the bathroom floor while binging old black and white movies on her laptop. Trying to drown her sorrows over the past, instead of creating the beautiful future in her head.

  Why wasn’t he married or attached anyway. Everyone in her family was always asking her why she hadn’t settled down yet. Zeus was three years older than her, what was his reason for remaining single?

  What was his brokenness story?

  Maybe she wasn’t broken after all. Maybe the broken thing here was the expectation of others. Oh, who was she kidding. It was a little of both. She didn’t want to disappoint anyone, but she had to be true to her heart.

  Deep in her heart she wanted to empower people, especially women, to own homes, care for their children apart from abusive situations, and give back to her Latino community. The solution to all her issues started with Dandelion Homes.

  Why couldn’t her father see that? Why couldn’t her mother stand up for her now like she had in the past?

  Chelsea’s hand was on her right shoulder. “Freddie? Where’d you go? I’m sorry if I’ve been too hard on you. You are not my forgotten best friend. I know the past five months have been a bunch of craziness. Freddie, help me pick the flowers. Freddie, help me decide on the menu. Like I didn’t have a mom and grandmom to help me make those decisions, right? But I was doing that to make sure you knew that I still need you. You’re my ride or die, chica. You’re the sister I never had. Forever and always. Por siempre y para siempre.”

  Freddie’s heart warmed. Chelsea’s Spanish wasn’t flawless, but she’d made efforts to come into her world, her culture. She appreciated that.

  “You can come to me with anything you’re dealing with,” Chelsea said with tears in her eyes. “Okay? I don’t like seeing you this way. I wasn’t around when you were dealing with all the stuff Carlos was putting you through, but I have a funny feeling you were in an ugly place. Call me crazy, but it just looks like you’re trying to find a dark place again. A place to crawl in and lick your wounds. Away from anybody. Please don’t pull away. Am I making sense?”

  Freddie swallowed hard to force the tears away. As usual, Chelsea had hit the heart of the issue. All she could do was nod in agreement.

  She pulled the car into a parking spot in front of Joe Chu’s and killed her engine. The neon OPEN sign formed a morphed jumble of melty letters across the dark hood of her Jeep.

  She took a deep breath and let her head fall back against the seat rest. “Thanks, Chelsea. I needed to know that you’re there.”

  “Always.”

  “I’m not sure all of what’s going on in my head. I’m not ready to unpack it all now. It’s a little overwhelming.”

  “Fair enough. I’m here when you’re ready. Anything else on your mind? Gramm’s list? My wedding? Concern over my future husband?” Chelsea dried her face with a tissue from her purse.

  “Well, now that you mention it. There is one thing. It’s not Grammsie’s pray-and-get-a-man list. I’m finally coming to terms with it and with her. Bless her heart. As for the future Mister Chelsea. I can’t find a thing wrong with Marc Choco-Santa Cooler-Than-A-Wendys-Frosty Waterman, even with all his secrets. It’s your dress that I have issues with.”

  She could see Chelsea frowning in neon-lit interior of the vehicle.

  “My dress?” she asked.

  “Yeah. It is an impressive dress in one sense. I’m sure it has the thud factor, literally speaking, but it’s so not “Chelsea” with that low-cut neck and cinched bodice and mounds of frilly skirts. Not something my old cubicle mate from Brighton Construction Management would wear. That Chelsea didn’t freak out if the mud she got on her boots at the job site on Monday was still there on Friday. That Chelsea rarely wore dresses. Now, she’s going gaga over a frilly white monster of a dress with enough flounce to send Liberace into hiding.”

  Her friend was smiling now. “Not Liberace.”

  “Yes Liberace. Your dress is my old quinceañera dress. Take my word for it, you will look like a cupcake. And I thought since we’re besties that I needed to tell you. Friends don’t let friends wear Liberace cupcake dresses to their weddings.”

  They laughed.

  “Thanks for your honesty,” Chelsea said. “I do like the dress, though. I wasn’t just caving in to my mother and grandmother on that one. I caved on the expensive flowers and not one, but two, massive wedding cakes. Maybe I need to express my inner Liberace.”

  “Scary.”

  Chelsea laughed again. “Marc is on his way,” she said after checking her texts. “What would Zeus want to order from Joe’s?”

  “Sushi.”

  “Sushi? You sure? Don’t you need to text or call him?”

  “We already talked. Besides it’s on the list.”

  Freddie opened her door and started to get out.

  “Oh, you mean the wife li—” Chelsea started.

  “Don’t start with me, Chelsea Lynn. It’s just a to-do list from a dude with a broken arm. And how dare you use Spanish on me? Trying to wear me down with my culture. Heartless woman.”

  Chelsea chuckled as she followed Freddie out of the vehicle. “Yes, I have no heart but I really do love my Freddie.”

  Chapter 10

  With two orders of Joe Chu’s best sushi in hand, Freddie made her way up the back stairwell to Zeus’ apartment. He was standing in the hallway waiting for her.

  “What took you so long?” he asked. His tone was light, and he was smiling.

  She smiled back. “Had to slice and dice the fish myself.”

  “Hmm. Puerto Rican sushi. This is gonna be an adventure.” He invited her into the apa
rtment with a sweep of his free arm. “It’s good to see you. Thanks for dinner.”

  He directed her to the dinette table in his little kitchen area. He’d set the table with real plates, cloth napkins, and sleek black chopsticks set on silver chopstick rests. Two frosty bottles of sparkling waters waited in a bucket of ice at the center of the table beside a flickering candle.

  “You’re welcome.” She unpacked the sushi and sauces, and slipped out of her quilted vest before pushing up the sleeves of her turtleneck. “I can’t wait to dig in. Nice touch with the chopsticks and things.”

  “Thanks. They’re from Ciro downstairs. In fact, he just left. All of this setup was his idea. He’s bringing dessert up later.”

  She sat down and slipped the linen napkin over her lap. The ambiance was enchanting. “Well, I hope you like California rolls, spicy tuna rolls, and salmon roll.”

  “Mmm. Yes. Yes, and yes.” He sat and looked at her without speaking for several seconds. “Thank you, Frederica.”

  He took her hand and said a simple blessing over the food. Her heart was in her throat when he released her. She could barely breathe.

  He went about serving them each a generous portion of food, seemingly unaware of the effect his touch had had on her. As they ate, he talked about his doctor’s visit and the new soft cast he now wore. He asked about her visit to the hospital and to Joe’s in his stead. He seemed curious about her visit with Mr. Jackson the most. She smiled to herself as she revisited the comment from the older woman at the visitor’s desk came back to her.

  Poor thing.

  His jealousy amused her but encouraged her as well. Had his interest in her been rekindled? Is that something she wanted? The first few items of Elsa Parker’s list flashed through her mind: Godly. Leader. Humble. Generous.

  She pushed them away, but she couldn’t dispel the notion that she was being drawn in, steadily. Part of her, resisted the tug. The other part of her couldn’t get enough.

  Deep down, she also wondered if this new Zeus was too good to be true. Was he also like his younger brother? What was his end game here in little ole Wake City of all places?

  As Zeus talked, he smiled and gestured with his free hand, chopsticks intertwined in his fingers. He winced once or twice during dinner and rotated the shoulder of his broken arm but went on as if nothing was wrong. She was proud of him for being valiant and fought the urge to apologize. The cast seemed more stable than the body sling, but she felt bad that he had to be in the situation to begin with.