“Too many nachos?” the dark-haired woman laughed. “You cleaned out their supply. And I recall you trying to bite my finger off when I reached for one.”
The redhead snickered. “Man, that cheese was good. What do you have that’ll settle this stomach? Money is no object,” she said playfully.
Anna lifted an aqua box stamped with an emblem of the bakery’s logo. “Peanut butter truffles cure cheese overload. Eat a few of these, and you’ll forget your rumbling tummy,” she said with a smile.
“I could really use a good night’s rest,” the dark-haired woman said. “Crashing with these two nuts takes its toll on my beauty sleep.”
Anna gave her two bags of double dark chocolate chip cookies. “Guaranteed to bring you peace and relaxation.”
“What do you have to spur creativity?” the woman with long, curly hair asked with a laugh.
Anna motioned for her to follow her to the far end of the table. “I call this the Black ‘n Blue,” she explained. “It’s a freshly made pie with blackberries and blueberries and a buttery double crust. I’d say one piece will do the trick, but if you find yourself in a creative lull, I’d add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.”
The redhead squeezed in beside her friend. “I think we passed the ice cream station a few minutes ago.” She looked up at Anna. “Don’t suppose you have a fork and spoon handy?”
Eli rummaged around in a box while Anna took payments for the desserts. Then, Eli passed the woman three forks and spoons. “We have a little bit of everything.”
“I bet you do,” the redhead said, and she winked at Eli. Then all three women giggled and walked off.
Eli shook his head and watched the women fade into the crowd. “Do people really think your sweets are magical?” he asked.
Anna shrugged. “If they believe it works, then it does. I know only what they’ve told me.” She refilled her travel mug with hot chocolate.
“What’s the most magical thing you’ve ever made?” he asked, and she coughed as she choked on her drink.
Tessa chose that moment to bound around the side of the tent. “Hey!” She waved at Anna and pulled Eli into an awkward side hug. “I haven’t seen you in days,” she said to him. “Anna’s been working you too hard.”
Anna wanted to look away, but she couldn’t stop staring at Tessa’s arm wrapped around Eli, breathing him in, staring up into his blue eyes. Eli gave her a squeeze and patted her back for a moment.
“Hey, Tessa, how’s the festival?” Anna asked, hoping forced conversation would pry Tessa’s arm off Eli.
“It’s great,” she said, dropping her arm, but not moving away from Eli’s side. “Mama felt like walking around today, so we’ve been taking everything in. There’s so much more to see this year. She’s resting in the park, listening to the band, so I told her I wanted to come by and see how y’all were faring.”
“We’ve been busy,” Eli said. A customer stepped up to the booth and ordered a slice of coconut cake.
Tessa lowered her voice. “Think you can let Eli slip away with me for a while tonight? Later, of course. I don’t want to take away your help, but I think after suppertime, you’ll be a lot slower and able to handle things by yourself. I’d love to watch the fireworks with him.”
So would I. “Check back tonight. If it’s slow, I’m sure he’d love to have a break.” Anna knew they might be done early, but she didn’t mention it to Tessa. Because you’re being a bad friend.
Tessa made a squealing noise in her throat—very unlike her—and squeezed Anna’s forearm. “Thank you, thank you. I’ll be back later.” She bounced over to Eli and managed to touch him five different times while she explained she would check on them later.
Anna felt as though she’d eaten too many raw oysters. How could she tell Eli how she felt when Tessa was so obviously crazy about him? What kind of friend would she be? Just as her guilt was spiraling out of control, Lily and Jakob walked up.
Lily’s arm was hooked in the crook of Jakob’s elbow, and she carried a travel mug of coffee in her mittened hand. Jakob wore a down jacket and a black stocking cap pulled over his ears. He shook hands with Eli.
“It’s dinnertime,” Jakob said. “Can you sneak away for some pub grub? The Thirsty Whale has a booth in the park, and they’ve got the best fish and chips you’ve ever had.”
Eli looked at Anna and rubbed his stomach. He grinned at her, and she was rendered incapable of saying no. “Go,” she said and made a shooing motion with her hands.
“I’ll swap Lily for Eli,” Jakob said, herding Lily to the front of the booth.
Eli grabbed his coffee mug. “You’ll be okay?” he asked.
“I have Lily. What could go wrong?” Anna asked. Another powerful north wind blew through the streets. People grabbed their hats, and paper napkins tangled around ankles on their escape. Anna pressed her hands against the bags of cookies as if they might take flight and find new homes. Eli zipped his jacket and smiled.
“Don’t blow away,” he said. Then he followed Jakob as they weaved through the crowd. She watched him walk away until Lily tugged her arm.
“Tell me you didn’t sell out of the almond truffles,” Lily said.
Anna lifted a pink box with Lily’s name written on the top. “My treat to you. Two dozen almond truffles. Don’t eat them all at once.”
Lily grinned. “I can’t make any promises.” She opened the box and popped one into her mouth. She closed her eyes while she ate it. “Perfect,” she said. “They always make me feel so stress-free. And speaking of stress, when are you going to tell him?”
Anna sagged against the table and slumped on the edge. “I don’t think I can,” she admitted. “I can’t do that to Tessa.”
Lily put down her box. Then she dragged Anna to the back of the booth. “You can’t do this to you,” she argued. “How do you think Tessa is going to feel when she finds out later that Eli has always been in love with you? You’re doing her a favor by telling him the truth.”
“You’re operating under the assumption that Eli is going to choose me if I tell him how I feel,” Anna said. “What if you’re wrong?”
“I’m not,” Lily said.
Anna caught movement at the front of the tent.
“Could I buy a slice of pumpkin pie?” a young boy asked.
Anna smiled and helped him while Lily waited impatiently for her to return. When she finished with the customer, Anna pulled Lily farther back and lowered her voice. “I read some of Grandma Bea’s letters. She wasn’t in love with my grandpa at first. She actually made him for someone else. She said Grandpa Joe loved her because she created him,” Anna explained. “What if Eli is only attached to me because I made him?”
“What do you mean you made him?”
Lily and Anna jumped in unison. Lily squeaked in surprise while clutching Anna’s forearm. Anna’s heart leapt into her throat and cut off her air supply. Tessa was one of the last people on earth Anna wanted to happen upon such a conversation.
Tessa stared at them with expectant brown eyes. Lily was the first to respond. She tried to chuckle. “She meant she made Eli his favorite dessert.”
Tessa tucked her hair behind her ears and glanced around. “I heard what you were saying, Anna. Something about Grandma Bea making your grandpa. Is that true?”
“How could that be true?” Lily asked, still trying to laugh, but it sounded fabricated and tight in her throat.
Tessa looked only at Anna. “The truth,” she said.
“Tessa, it’s nothing,” Anna said. “I thought you were with your mama.”
Tessa exhaled. She looked at Lily and Anna and rewrapped her brown scarf before speaking. “How could Grandma Bea have created your grandpa?”
“That’s an absurd question,” Lily said, fisting her hands on her hips.
“Don’t make fun of me, Lily,” Tessa said. “I know y’all aren’t telling me the truth. You’re both acting weird.”
“It’s a long story, Tessa,” A
nna said. “We can talk about it some other time. Did you need something?”
Tessa went through the motions of tucking her hair behind her ears again even though it was unnecessary. She licked her lips and leaned forward as though she had a secret to tell. Anna and Lily involuntarily leaned toward her. “Was your grandmother making your grandpa for someone named Mildred?”
Anna’s mouth dropped open. The air around them chilled and filled her lungs with an icy breath. “Why would you ask that?”
“Mildred was my grandmother. She told me this story at least a hundred times when I was growing up. She said your grandmother made a man for her out of dough. She said your grandmother used magic sand from a tin box given to them by gypsies. Then your grandmother stole him. I assumed she was crazy. She never seemed quite right in the head.”
“That’s quite a story,” Lily said, casting a sideways glance at Anna.
“There’s no way that story is true, is there?” Tessa asked, gripping both hands on her scarf. “It’s impossible, right?” She looked as though she wanted to laugh but was afraid.
Anna could see disbelief in Tessa’s eyes. She rubbed her right temple. “And if I tell you it’s true?” Anna asked.
Tessa shook her head. “It can’t be. Things like that don’t happen.” She reached up and tucked her hair behind her ears, pushing the hair a few times to make sure it stayed.
Lily exhaled loudly and rolled her eyes. “Tessa, please don’t flip out like you did when I told you my secret. I don’t want to have to sedate you. But the story is true. Grandma Bea tried to make a man for your crazy grandmother, and it backfired in a way.”
Tessa pressed her hand to her chest and shook her head. “Are you serious? And you…you made Eli?” she asked, leaning backward as though the truth knocked her balance askew. “But that’s impossible. All these years I thought my grandmother was a nutcase. How did you do it?”
Anna looked at Lily before answering. There was no going back now, no laughing the entire conversation off as a joke. “With the magic sand we found in the tin box and a recipe,” she said honestly. “I didn’t think it would work.”
“But it did,” Tessa said, and her eyes shone in the strung lights. “No wonder none of us had ever heard of Eli before.” She laughed, but the edges of the sound were stained with a wildness that filled the air with the scent of fire burning through a green forest. “And your grandpa only loved Grandma Bea because she made him. Does that mean Eli’s feelings for you aren’t real? Is that why he’s so attached to you? Because you made him? I was worried something was going on, even after he kissed me, but this means he might actually want to be with me! Do you think I should tell him?” Tessa said and pressed her hands together over her heart.
Anna grabbed Tessa’s forearms. “You can’t tell him.” Lily shook her head in agreement.
“Why?” Tessa asked. “That way he’ll understand that his attachment to you is because you made him. He’ll be free to love me the way he wants to.”
Anna shook her head vehemently. “No, Tessa. You can never tell Eli the truth.”
“You want to lie to him?” she asked.
“It’s not lying,” Lily argued and stepped beside Anna. “You can’t tell someone he’s made from dough. He’ll think you’re out of your mind. It’s better he doesn’t know anything.”
Tessa frowned. “I think we should be honest with him.”
“For what purpose?” Lily asked. “So that you’ll know you have all of his affections? You already do. You win. Game over. There’s no reason to tell him anything.”
Tessa frowned a moment longer, and then she nodded her head. “You’re right. I really do think he cares about me.” She smiled and pulled them into a hug so quickly Anna and Lily knocked foreheads. “This is so exciting. You created a man just for me. I don’t even know what all of this means, but I feel all jittery inside.” Tessa sobered slightly and added, “I definitely don’t want to be like Grandma Mildred and have the whole town think I’m batty. Maybe it’s best if this is our little secret.” She looked at Anna and Lily, and they both nodded.
“I should get going,” Tessa said. “I came to grab Mama a few oatmeal raisin cookies, and she’s waiting on me. How much?”
Anna flicked her hand to the side. “Take whatever you want. No charge.” You’ve already taken Eli.
Tessa thanked Anna and told them she’d be back before the fireworks. Anna wrapped her arms around her chest. The wind rushed through the tent and whipped her long hair around her face. Her teeth chattered.
“You have to tell him,” Lily said.
Anna stared at the uneaten sweets. The lights dimmed and colors faded. “Why? You said Tessa’s already won.”
“I only said that so she wouldn’t go off blabbing to Eli that he’s the Dough Boy,” Lily said. “If he ever hears the truth from anyone, it should be from you.”
Lily refilled Anna’s travel mug with the last of the hot chocolate and handed it to her friend. “Now get up and put a smile on your face. You look like someone burned down your house. Jakob and Eli will be back soon, and we can’t have you looking like that.” She smoothed flyaway hairs away from Anna’s face. “Speak of the devil, and he appears,” Lily said as Jakob, Eli, and Jakob’s parents, the Connellys, walked up to the booth.
“Look who I found,” Jakob said to Lily. “Mom brought back a surprise for us from their trip.”
Anna motioned for everyone to come behind the booth. Eli offered Anna a french fry from his cardboard boat that had once been filled with battered cod and fries. She declined and said hello to Jakob’s parents. Then she made herself busy by straightening the display. Eli finished his dinner while Jakob and Lily talked with the Connellys in the rear of the tent.
“You think we’ll be done in an hour?” Eli asked, crumbling his cardboard boat and tossing it into a large city trashcan.
Anna surveyed the tables and glanced back at the empty boxes. “It’s possible,” she said. “There’s not much left to do, so if you have something else you’d like to do, I can handle the booth by myself.”
“We started together, and we’ll finish together,” Eli said.
“Tessa wants to watch the fireworks with you,” Anna blurted and then looked away from his gaze. When Eli didn’t respond, she glanced over her shoulder to see him watching her. She tried to offer him an encouraging smile, but her heart wasn’t in it, and only half of her mouth tugged up.
Jakob’s voice rose and pulled Anna’s attention away from Eli. “They brought it all the way from Italy,” Jakob said, his voice pinched at the edges. “The sommelier a few tents over was nice enough to open it for us. One glass won’t kill you.”
Oh, no. Anna watched Jakob hand Lily a plastic wine glass. Lily’s other hand unconsciously rested on her stomach. Jakob’s father, Mr. Connelly, was distracted by a teenage girl with an overly excited Labrador retriever. The dog’s leash had wrapped around her midsection. She spun around in a circle and giggled, and the dog seemed to think it was a game. However, Mrs. Connelly’s attention was on Lily, and her eyes narrowed.
“What’s wrong, Lily?” she asked.
“Nothing,” Lily said, smiling and avoiding eye contact. Anna caught a whiff of boiling coffee on a hotplate.
“Lily’s had a virus for a week or so,” Jakob asked. “But she’s feeling better. I really don’t think the wine will bother you now.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Mrs. Connelly said. “The flu?”
“Who knows?” Jakob said, filling Lily’s glass with the Italian wine. “She refused to go to the doctor. She was throwing up off and on for a few days, but now she’s only nauseous in the mornings.”
Anna saw a sheen of sweat glistening on Lily’s forehead. “You make it sound terrible,” Lily joked. The wine glass trembled in her hand and created ripples across the surface of the deep burgundy liquid.
“He makes it sound like morning sickness,” Mrs. Connelly said. Then she leaned forward, and her dyed blonde
hair fell across her shoulders, framing the creamy skin on her face. “You’re not pregnant, are you?” she said in a voice that masqueraded as a playful whisper but was clearly spoken loud enough for the group to hear.
Jakob laughed and wrinkled his brow. “Mom,” he said, “that’s awkward. Next subject please. How about this wine?” He nudged Lily with his elbow, but Lily didn’t respond. Her hands were shaking so badly a drop of wine sloshed onto the rim and rolled down the glass until it stained her finger red. Jakob finally sensed something was wrong. “You okay?”
Anna had been unable to move until that moment. She made a motion to swoop in and save Lily, but Eli grabbed her arm. “What are you doing?” she whispered, trying to tug her arm free. He shook his head.
“It was a joke, dear,” Mrs. Connelly said and smiled with her bright white teeth. She adjusted her string of pearls. “I know my son wouldn’t be so immature, especially not in the middle of such an important promotion. Drink to good fortune.” Mrs. Connelly gasped when the tangled dog butted its nose into the back of her designer skirt. “Excuse me,” she breathed out in offense to the apologizing teenager. Mr. Connelly tried to help untangle them.
Lily’s cheeks flushed, and her eyes began to water. She looked at Jakob and said, “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
She handed him her full glass of wine. “For not drinking this. I didn’t want you to find out this way,” she said. She mouthed, “I am pregnant.”
Anna gripped Eli’s arm until she left behind the imprint of her fingers. Jakob’s eyes widened, and he shook his head as if to loosen the words Lily had shoved into his ears. “You’re what? How?”
Lily choked on a pitiful laugh. “I think the how is obvious.”
“This is terrible timing,” Jakob said. Unfortunately, Mrs. Connelly chose that moment to reenter the conversation.
“What’s wrong?” Mrs. Connelly asked, but no one was listening to her.
“I didn’t plan on this either,” Lily said. “But it happened, and now we have to deal with it.”
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