She lowered her head hand clenching in the wet soil as thoughts ran through her head and when she lifted her head, her hazel eyes were filled with grief and sadness that she hid when she slowly got to her feet sliding her sunglasses on her face.
“I will make it right,” she vowed glancing down at the area one last time before she turned and walked away unaware of what happened next.
The wind stilled for a second in that secluded spot and for a second, if one looked closely, there seemed to be image of a woman standing in the area eyes staring after Calida before she vanished, and the man who saw it blinked rapidly before looking down at the bottle of liquor he held. He turned and chugged the rest as he threw the bottle away and muttered, “Oh, well, another hallucination I can add to my daily life.”
Quarter after eight that evening, Calida walked in the same restaurant she had lunch with Edric before only this time the hostess gave her a smile as she asked, “Do you have a reservation, miss?”
“Yes, under the name Calida,” Calida responded back giving the hostess a polite smile as she looked down at the book in front of her before she stated, “Please follow me.”
Calida followed the hem of her dress brushing against her legs while earrings swung from ears although her hair she had pulled up in a bun on the back of her head.
“Here you go miss,” the hostess said as they reached the table and Calida sat down. “Your server will be with you in a few minutes.”
“Thank you,” Calida said placing her purse on the table as she opened it and pulled out a small notebook where she began to make notes.
“Miss, here is the menu,” a young man said giving her a smile and Calida nodded her head taking the menu. “What can I get you to drink?”
“Sweet tea, please,” Calida told him giving him a polite smile unfazed by the charming smile he was giving her.
The server nodded his head and walked away as Calida went back to her notebook making some calculations.
A short time later she glanced down at her watch noting that it was eight thirty, and she shook her head as the server returned.
“Miss, are you ready to order?” He said his smile relaxed and more polite than from earlier as he realized she wasn’t interested in his tactics.
“I’m waiting for someone,” Calida told him with a smile. “If he isn’t here by nine, then I will go ahead and order, and take it that I’ve been stood up.”
He chuckled as he said, “All right, would you like a refill while you wait?”
“Please,” she said as he reached over and picked up her glass.
He walked away and Calida watched him thoughtfully seeing the look he shared with one of the female server’s before she turned back to her notebook making some last minute calculations before she flipped it closed. She tapped a finger to her lips as she gazed at the flowers on the table while she made some decisions unaware of the man who walked up to the table.
“Lost in thought?” Edric said bringing her out of her thoughts and her head snapped up meeting green eyes that were staring down at her.
“Making some decisions,” Calida told him as he leaned forward and brushed his lips across her cheek.
Edric straightened back up to see the look of wariness that crossed Calida’s face and he smiled as he said, “Take it as a greeting from a friend.”
“A friend, huh?” Calida said watching him closely as he walked around and settled in the seat across from her noting the tired lines on his face.
She shook her head as she leaned forward and told him, “Why didn’t you just call tonight off so you could go home and get some rest?”
Edric looked at her in surprise before he chuckled and settled back in his seat. “I wanted to see you,” he told her.
Calida felt her heart flutter at those words although she forced herself to take it as merely a pretty comment. “Thank you,” she told him with a nod of her head as their server came back over.
“I see you didn’t get stood up this evening,” the young man said putting down her glass.
Calida didn’t respond although she nodded her head as the server said, “Sir, you would like some time to go over the menu? The young lady hasn’t order yet as she said she was waiting for someone.”
Edric wondered about that as he gave his usual order and watched as Calida gave her order, and the server smiled as he walked away.
“It seems he is smitten,” he told her as he leaned forward slightly and Calida shrugged her shoulders as she put her notebook in her purse.
“He is a nice looking young man if that is what you are hinting at, but he has a girlfriend,” Calida told him before she smiled. “Only he doesn’t call her that, if I’m not mistaken.”
“So what does he call her?” Edric said intrigued.
Calida tilted her head for a second before her eyes started brimming with laughter as she leaned forward and whispered, “The polite term is ‘friends with benefits’.”
Edric couldn’t help but laugh at her words as she settled herself back in her seat a slight smile on her face.
“Interesting,” she said giving him a thoughtful look. “You actually have a nice laugh, Mr. Walwyn, who would have thought?”
“My name is Edric,” he told her leaning back in his seat green eyes steady on her. “You can call me Ric.”
She stared at him for a few minutes before she smiled and shook her head. “Calida, as you know and no, I don’t have a shortened version of my name.”
That wasn’t the complete truth as her brother had given her but she didn’t like it then and she definitely didn’t like now.
“Why do I get a feeling that isn’t the complete truth?” Edric told her giving her a smirk when her eyes opened wide at him.
Calida frowned slightly before she told him, “My brother came up with the nickname ‘Lida’ when I was teenager.”
Edric frowned as he picked up the glass and said, “There is nothing wrong with that.”
“There is when your girlfriend’s name at the time is Lida,” Calida told him bluntly, and Edric’s eyes briefly flashed at what she was telling him.
“Anyway, my mom is the one who named me and my father chose my middle name so I’m happy with it,” she told him lifting her own drink to her lips.
There meal arrived then and they settled on an easy topic to talk about, and Calida found herself enjoying the evening with Edric.
Their server had removed their dinner plates and requesting if they wanted dessert when Sophia walked over to the table a balding man by her side that Calida recognized after a few minutes of studying him.
“Ric,” she cooed as she reached them. “You know Mr. Treston.”
She shot Calida a triumphant look as she told her, “He owns a variety of restaurants and cafes around state, and a few others, just so you know.”
Calida nodded her head not bothering to tell her that she knew all about Mr. Dean Treston as he owned a variety of restaurants that were very successful, and Calida had took a hint from him when she opened her bakery even though it was a smaller scale than what he achieved.
“Mr. Treston, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Edric said standing up and he waved a hand at the empty chairs. He didn’t consultant Calida about it and she took it as their evening was over as Sophia and Mr. Treston settled down at the table. “This is Calida Reseda, my dinner companion.”
Calida smiled and nodded her head as she said, “A pleasure, Mr. Treston.”
“Reseda,” Mr. Treston said, and Sophia smiled slightly as she said, “Her brother owns the electronic company, Reseda Electronics.”
Mr. Treston didn’t hear her words as he reached forward and grabbed Calida’s hands. “It is an honor to meet you Miss Reseda. Are you opening a bakery here?”
Edric and Sophia looked on in surprise as Calida told him in a slightly stunned voice, “I have been thinking about it, but I haven’t decided yet.”
“If you need any funding, or anything, you let me know,” Mr. Treston said
reaching in his pocket and handing her a business card. “My wife loves your strawberry shortcake and she was so upset when you sold your bakery in Selena.”
“It was time for me to come home,” Calida told him truthfully although she was confused as he knew who she was. She reached inside her purse and pulled out her notebook writing down her number and tearing out the sheet. “Here is my number. Have your wife call me and we will make sure that she doesn’t go without her strawberry shortcake.”
She handed over the sheet of paper without any fuss and the man laughed. “I can do better than that,” he told her as he pulled his own cell phone from his pocket and dialed his wife. “Honey, you won’t believe who I’m sitting with at this moment.”
He winked at Calida who shook her head as he told his wife and he laughed at whatever she said before he hung up. “She hung up on me,” he said with affection as he turned stern gray eyes on Calida. “I hope you don’t plan on going anywhere young lady.”
“Well, I was…” Calida began only to stop when he shook his head.
“My wife specifically ordered me to keep you here until she arrives,” he told her and Calida’s mouth dropped open at his statement.
“But why?” Calida asked puzzlement in her voice as she glanced over at Edric her eyes questioning and he shrugged his shoulders.
“My wife wants to meet you in person,” Mr. Treston told her.
Calida stared at him in confusion and he laughed as he said, “I did my research especially when my wife came home raveling about you from her one time stopping into your bakery. Unfortunately, she said that you were out at the time and she didn’t get a change to meet you.”
Calida bit her lip at his words feeling Edric and Sophia staring at her as someone walked over to their table getting their attention.
“Honey,” Mr. Treston said standing up as the others glanced at the middle age woman who even though she was slightly pump was very pretty.
She glanced over the people at the table and her eyes settled on Calida who was still sitting there looking slightly bewildered and Mrs. Treston said breaking her thoughts, “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Calida, if you don’t mind me calling you that.”
Calida shook her head clearing it of its thoughts for the moment as she said, “I prefer Calida as I feel older than my twenty-eight years when someone calls me by my last name.”
Mrs. Treston laughed as she took her husband’s seat and asked for another. “I know exactly how you feel although I can’t say the same about age wise,” she said with a slight grimace.
“Well, if you want my opinion, you have aged gracefully,” Calida told her sincerely.
Mrs. Treston smiled after studying her for a moment and told her, “And you mean that too.”
“I don’t lie although I will admit to exaggerating sometimes, but lying can only lead to trouble no matter what kind of lie it is,” Calida told her bluntly.
Mrs. Treston nodded her head and asked, “So are you opening a bakery here in town?”
“I was thinking about it like I told your husband, but I haven’t decided yet,” Calida told her at ease as she talked about what she loved to do. “An old friend said she knows a few places to check out if I plan on going in that direction again.”
Mrs. Treston sat there thoughtfully for a moment before she said, “How about you come and work in my bakery? It’s bigger than the one you owned and operated but as of right now, I haven’t been able to keep my customers and I don’t know why.”
Calida saw the frustration in the woman’s face and she said, “It takes time for the customers to come and stay.”
“The bakery has been open almost six years and now, it barely makes a profit,” Mr. Treston told Calida from his seat. “We were discussing just the other day about closing it down.”
Calida saw the disappointment in the woman sitting before her and she mentally sighed as she went through some things in her head before she nodded her head once. “All right, “she said giving the woman in front of her the business stare she developed over the last few years. “I will work for you, but we do it on a probational period as like other employees. In that time, if business doesn’t pick up within that time of my working there, then you have the right to fire me as you wish.”
Mrs. Treston’s eyes widened at the condition and Calida continued, “Also I prefer that no one knows I operated my own bakery because it will probably just create trouble as someone would think I’m trying to take over.”
“No problem,” Mrs. Treston said excitement flaring in her eyes.
Calida said quietly, “I can’t guarantee that I can help your bakery make a profit, but I will do my best.”
Mrs. Treston smiled as she grabbed Calida’s hands tightly and said with a sigh, “That is all ask for, dear.”
Calida sighed closing her eyes briefly before they opened and she asked, “So when would you like me to start working?”
“Tomorrow if isn’t too soon,” Mrs. Treston said. “We will get the paperwork and such out of the way including getting your uniform and putting you on the schedule. Anything else we can discuss as we go along.”
“Can we make the following day,” Calida asked grimacing slightly as she admitted. “I have something I need to do tomorrow, but I’m free the next day if that’s okay.”
“No problem,” Mrs. Treston stated after a brief hesitation, “but can you come in tomorrow to at least do the paperwork and other things that I will need.”
“Deal,” Calida stated holding out a hand to Mrs. Treston and laughed shaking it in a firm grip getting a chuckle from Calida.
“I already know that my wife is going to be gaining some extra weight,” he said shaking his head and his wife looked at him a blush on her cheeks as she said, “Hush you.”
Calida laughed as she said, “I’ve been working on some new pastries that are less in calories but still taste good, or that was what I was trying to do. It was something I was experimenting with a few months before I sold my bakery in Selena.”
“Hmmm…if I remember correctly, any new pastry that you created would actually be put up as a free sample before you added it to bakery’s menu,” Mrs. Treston said in a thoughtful voice.
Calida nodded her head. “The bakeries customers let me know what was good or not so I tried my hand at making a new dessert then allowed my customers to tell me what they thought about it first before adding it to the menu. Some pastries didn’t do so well and in such, I never sold them. A few I made adjustments to the ingredients I used and had the customers retry them to see if they would sell. The customers are what helps you build the business not just the money alone that you paid to do it. Without customers, as you see for yourself, one truly doesn’t have a business to run.”
Mrs. Treston turned and smiled at her husband as she reached out hand to grasp his, and told him, “I’m going to enjoy working with her.”
“That’s good to hear,” Mr. Treston said with a sigh of relief before he turned his eyes to Edric.
“Now that my wife has concluded her business,” he said giving her a mocking stare and she laughed patting his hand. “We can discuss our business, Ric, if it is okay with you.”
Edric smiled nodding his head although his eyes briefly caught the paper that fluttered on the table that Calida had forgotten in her talk with Mrs. Treston.
“I have no problem with that at all, Dean,” he said as he reached out a hand grabbing a napkin and without anyone noticing, he snagged the notebook paper with Calida’s cell number on it.
“Ric, I had a napkin right here,” Sophia said as he used it to wipe his mouth, and he gave her slight grimace.
“I didn’t see it, Sophia,” he told her with a charming smile and she nodded her head as she caressed his arm with a manicured hand.
Calida watched them for a second before she turned back to Mrs. Treston as Edric and her husband talked business forgetting about the paper with her number as she thought she put it back in her purse.
Calida shook her head as she told her, “Don’t worry about it as I normally stay up late anyway.”
Mr. and Mrs. Treston waved goodbye after Mrs. Treston made sure to give Calida the address to her bakery.
Calida waved goodbye as they drove away before she turned to her car and Edric said behind her, “Did you enjoy your evening?”
She turned her head to look at him seeing Sophia draped next to his side and she smiled slightly, “I did thank you, Edric.”
She slid inside the car not seeing the look of surprise that crossed his face at the use of his first name or the look of hate that flared in the woman’s eyes standing next to him.
She waved once as she drove away and she sighed heading for her temporary home as she uttered to herself, “Hopefully this will be last time we see each other,” feeling her heart flutter again in her chest, and she knew that Edric Walwyn within the short time that she knew him had made a lasting impression, and she couldn’t have that especially one who had business dealings with her brother.
Chapt er 4
A month later, Calida was working in the kitchen making new pastries to be put on display when Simon, Sweets in Fashion main baker, walked over to her work area. He glared at her as he snapped, “You are taking too long. Move faster,” before he walked away.
Calida sighed as she continued working and one of the other baker’s in the kitchen said from where she was rolling dough, “Don’t let him bother you. I think it pisses him off that you can move so fast and yet your pastries come out delicious.”
“I’ve had ten years of practice and that doesn’t count the time when I helped my mom in the kitchen,” Calida told her with a smile although there was a shadow in her hazel eyes.
Her birthday was in two days and always around this time she missed her parents the most so she rarely celebrated it. This year, though, she was going to visit her mom and dad’s graves as she hadn’t been there since the day she left, and it was time to face them.
Past Sins Revisited Page 4
