She placed the patties in the hot skillet. The delightful sizzle was comforting. So nice to be able to cook stuff now, even though she just focused on simple foods. “Well, not everybody feels like that.”
“By everybody, I’m assuming you mean Sterling.”
“Yes.” As she cooked the burgers, she finally told Adrian what Sterling had said during their last two conversations. “I was glad that he finally talked to me. He said he’d pray for me last night and I appreciated that.” She flipped a burger. “Adrian, I really miss him. I miss how close we used to be.” She took a deep breath. “But, it was wrong of him to judge me when he found out about my past. But, I don’t think he knows what he’s talking about when he questions my reasons for getting Jennifer into Juliette’s.”
“Misty, I know you probably don’t want to hear this but I do think Sterling has a point. You do feel that getting Jennifer into that school is proof that you’re as good as those rich people.” Oh no, not again. “You just haven’t admitted that to yourself yet.”
“That’s not true.”
“Misty, I know you. Your upbringing bothers you. You moved here to leave that part of your life behind. But, I think you still carry shame from your past.”
“No, Adrian—”
“Let me finish. If Jennifer gets the scholarship and is enrolled into Juliette’s would you be open with the other parents about your upbringing? Do you think you’ll ever feel comfortable enough to tell your new friends that your mother was a drug addict and that you had to be in foster care for a few years?”
Adrian’s words sunk deep into her soul. She didn’t answer Adrian’s question because she didn’t think Adrian really wanted her to answer. She wanted her to think about what she’d just said.
While Adrian and Jennifer feasted on burgers and chips, all Misty could do was stare at her plate. She’d lost her appetite. Just thinking about Adrian’s words made her sick.
*
Sterling closed out the register. What a day. Eddie and his other assistant had just mopped the floor and had left to go home. There’d been a fair in Miami and they’d had double the amount of customers. It looked like he wouldn’t be taking leftovers to the food bank this afternoon. This was the first time in ages where he didn’t have any leftovers. The bell above the door tinkled, signaling another customer had arrived. “Sorry were clos—-”
No way. “Aunt June?” The twins followed in behind the older lady. He vaguely recalled Louis mentioning that their Aunt June was returning for another visit, but he didn’t realize she was coming today.
“Don’t just stand there looking at me, boy, come and give me a hug!”
He rushed from behind the counter, pulled her into his arms. “Why are you here?”
“She called me again,” announced Louis. “She said she needed to talk to us about something important.” Leon remained silent, sulking. Sterling figured he was still upset that he had not given over one third of the insurance money to him.
“Hi, Leon.”
“Hi,” he mumbled, glancing down at the floor. At least he was sober, which was an improvement.
“Louis tells me that you guys still aren’t getting along.”
“That’s an understatement,” Louis mumbled.
“Come on, I’m taking all three of you out to dinner.” She mentioned an upscale steak house in the heart of Miami.
No way could he go there looking like this. “So you just flew here from Germany and decided to take us to dinner?” He still wondered why she didn’t warn them that she was coming that day.
She placed her hands over her hips, giving him a hard look. “Don’t ask so many questions. I’ll explain during dinner. How about we meet up there in a couple of hours? Deal?”
He nodded, still trying to understand why she was there. He then recalled that he’d already agreed to take Misty out that night. He wanted to ask her about dating him, exclusively. He sensed she was the person that he could imagine spending time with for the rest of his life. Granted, he didn’t want to mention marriage – their relationship was still so new and so fresh. However, he felt it was time to at least talk about their relationship.
When he got home, Misty and Adrian were still at work. They wouldn’t be home for another two hours. He removed his cell phone from his pocket, dialed her number. “Hi, Sterling.”
“Misty. Something has come up. I can’t take you to dinner tonight.”
“Oh?” Disappointment echoed in her voice. He’d better tell her what was going on. In a rushed voice, he explained about his aunt and the twins showing up at his bakery. “I’ve got to see what she has to say.”
“That makes no sense. She just flew in from Germany to take you to dinner?”
“Yeah. I’m thinking she wants to talk about me and the twins, about me and Leon not getting along. I’ll call you later to let you know what happened.”
After he’d showered, he shaved, dressed in his best dark suit and tie. He then drove to the restaurant. He entered the posh establishment. The dark walls had tiny white lights scattered on the surface, like random stars. Well-dressed men and women spoke in hushed tones. The scent of grilled meat filled the air as he approached the hostess station. In spite of his nerves, his stomach rumbled. He’d only eaten here a few times. “Sir, what time is your reservation.”
“Uh.” He didn’t have a reservation, did he? “Is there a reservation for June Walters?”
“Certainly, come this way.” He followed the hostess to a secluded booth. A bottle of wine rested on the table. Aunt June had already arrived. The waitress was about to open the bottle with a corkscrew. He looked at the hostess. “Could you take the wine away?”
“Sterling?” Aunt June narrowed her eyes, pushing her glass toward the waitress, ready to be filled. “What gives?”
“Leon has a bad problem with drinking. I want him sober, if you know what I mean.”
June nodded. “That bottle of wine cost me $100.” She handed the bottle to the hostess. “Is there any way that you could keep this for me and I’ll just take it with me when I leave?”
The hostess nodded, obviously listening to their entire conversation. “Since the bottle is unopened, then, yes, we can let you take it with you.”
Sterling made himself comfortable in the booth. He couldn’t help staring at his Aunt June. She sipped her water, gave him a warm smile.
“Sorry for staring. You just look so much like my mom.” She touched his hand, still giving him a warm smile. “I understand. So, tell me more about your brothers before they get here.”
He reminded her about Leon’s behavior after their dad’s funeral, Leon’s drunken rages, his job loss as well as the loss of his apartment. “Aunt June, he needs help. I know he’s mad about dad, I get that, but he can’t let that anger eat away at him like that.”
Minutes later, the twins arrived. When the waitress came to take their order, Leon grunted. “I want a rum and Coke.”
Sterling glared at Leon. “You don’t need to be drinking.”
“But—”
Aunt June touched his hand. “Leon, this is probably going to end up being one of the most important conversations you’ll ever have in your life. I want you sober when you hear what I have to say, okay?”
He sulked, poked his lip out. After they’d ordered their steaks, Aunt June engaged the twins in small talk. She asked about their jobs and Louis took over the conversation, talking about his job as a bank manager. June had questions about managing her finances, and she spoke to Louis about that until the food arrived. After Sterling prayed over their meal, they ate. The succulent, tender meat and creamy mashed potatoes were excellent. For dessert there was apple pie with ice cream.
Once they were done eating, Aunt June folded her hands in front of her, briefly closed her eyes. “I’m concerned about what’s been going on with the three of you since your father died.” She paused and took a sip of water. “When your mom died, she left me with a secret. I promised not to tell that
secret to anyone. But, this secret is affecting your lives.” She took a deep breath, kept her hands folded. “Louis, Leon, Gary Richards was not your biological father.”
Sterling’s heart skipped a beat as blood rushed to his head. Lord, did I just hear correctly? He closed his eyes, tried to calm down. “Aunt June…my dad isn’t Louis’s and Leon’s father?” He eyed the twins, and both of them appeared shocked, and speechless.
“Aunt June…” Louis’s eyes watered, tears spilled down his cheeks. He’d always been more sensitive than Leon. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, your mom and dad were having marital problems and she had a short affair. That’s when she got pregnant with the two of you. Your father never forgave her for what she did and he took out on his anger on his treatment of you two.”
Whoa, for the first time in ages, Sterling felt like he needed a drink. He glanced at Leon. His brother continued to be silent, and he knew he’d go and get wasted afterwards. “Leon, are you okay?”
“What do you think?” he snapped.
He focused on his aunt. “Maybe you could get the hostess to bring back that bottle of wine.” He figured Leon would go out and get drunk, maybe try and drive himself home. At least if he drank in the restaurant, he could look out for him.
The wine was returned to the table. The hostess poured four glasses of wine. Sterling pushed his glass toward Leon. He leaned back into the booth and focused on the ceiling. The ceiling had a weird curving pattern etched into the tiles. He blinked and took a deep breath. Stunned and numb, he wasn’t sure what to say or do. If he focused on the ceiling long enough, then maybe he’d find the energy to accept his Aunt June’s news.
One thing that crossed his mind – why didn’t he ever figure this out before? Looking back, it was so obvious as to why his dad had always favored him over the twins.
Chapter 35
Sterling pulled his car into the parking lot of Louis’s apartment building. He stared at the brick structure, thinking about all that had been going through his mind since the previous evening.
He again recalled Louis’s reprimanding words regarding his judgmental attitude. He recalled his father being judgmental towards others. Perhaps that’s where he’d learned his behavior. Or, maybe his attitude was just one of his flaws. He got out of the car, removed his checkbook from the glove compartment. He needed to speak with the twins, try and settle this issue that had been plaguing him since his father’s death.
*
The echo of the twins arguing spilled into the carpeted hallway. Since Leon had gotten evicted from his apartment, he’d moved in with Louis. Louis had called a few nights ago, complaining about his brother. He figured Leon would make his twin’s life miserable. Well, he was here to make things as best as he could. He rapped on the door. Louis opened it. Relief spilled into his brother’s eyes as soon as he saw Sterling. “I’m glad you’re here. I need to talk to somebody sane.” He studied Sterling. “You look upset. What’s wrong?”
He needed to start fixing his relationship with the twins, starting now. He gestured toward the kitchen table. “Let’s have a seat.”
Leon dropped into a chair, slouched forward. Sterling eyed him - he seemed sober, just mad. But, he needed to make sure. “You haven’t had anything to drink today have you?”
“What’s it to you?”
Louis spoke up, glaring at his twin. “He’s sober.”
“Drop your attitude, Leon. I’m here to split the money.”
Leon sat up straighter in his chair, his dark eyes wary. “Really?”
Sterling nodded. “What Aunt June told us...look, I feel bad about what happened with dad while we were growing up.”
Louis clapped Sterling’s shoulder, his dark eyes sympathetic. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“I know but, I still feel bad about it. I wonder if things would be different between us if Dad didn’t treat me as his favorite.” He also wondered if Leon would still have a drinking problem if he’d had a more stable relationship with their father. Well, there was no way of determining that. He just had to do what he felt was right. “Leon, before I split with you, I need you to promise me that you’ll get some help.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Help?”
“Yeah, with your drinking. We’re going to an AA meeting next week.” He’d already found out where the meeting was held.
“No I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. You will if you want your money.” This was so awkward. “I’m driving you to the meeting and dropping you off at home afterwards. I won’t go in with you. I just want to be sure that you’re going.” He needed to tell the truth. “I’m worried about you. What if you get a DUI? What if your drinking causes an accident? I’m trying to help you.” Why couldn’t his brother understand that? “I was going to give you the money gradually.” Leon needed to get a job. Sterling didn’t think Louis would appreciate his twin living with him and not working at all. He didn’t think he’d be doing his brother any good by giving him all of the money at once. Sterling figured going to the AA meetings might help his brother face the pain and bitterness that caused him to drink.
He briefly mapped out how he’d dole out the payments to Leon, again stipulating he attend AA meetings and search for a job. Surprisingly, Leon agreed. After Sterling had written out a check to both of the twins, he figured it was time for him to state the second reason for his visit. “I also wanted the three of us to get together at least once a month.”
“Why?” Leon truly looked puzzled.
He shrugged. “Why do we need a reason? We’re brothers and your being angry with me all the time bothers me. We could go out to dinner or I can do a barbeque or something.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Louis agreed.
“Well…I guess.” Leon didn’t sound so enthusiastic. Well, at least he didn’t flat out refuse, which was a huge step in the right direction. He figured he may as well be open about his life. He’d recently told Louis about Misty. He may as well tell Leon. Heck Leon may already know about Misty if Louis told him. “I was kind of dating somebody—”
Leon chuckled. “You have a girlfriend.” He acted like the whole idea was absurd.
“Well, she’s not really my girlfriend.” Since Leon seemed to be so amused, he figured he may as well keep on talking and tell him all about his troubled thoughts about Misty.
*
Although it was a hot sweltering Saturday, Misty had decided to take Jennifer out for a walk. For some reason her daughter had been restless for most of the day. It was Saturday and Adrian had decided to spend the day with some friends from church. Misty figured that Jennifer was restless since Adrian wasn’t there. Each Saturday, her cousin doted on Jennifer. She even patiently sat in the living room with Jennifer while Jennifer enjoyed Disney movies.
“Mommy, look. Those are pretty.” Jennifer pointed to the small bunch of flowers planted in their neighbor’s yard.
“Yes, Jennifer, those look pretty.”
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, signaling she’d received a new email. She stopped walking, checked the screen.
The email was from the Sarah Wilkins Society.
Maybe she should wait to go home before checking the email.
No, she couldn’t wait. She’d been anxious for this moment for months. She opened the email.
Dear Ms. Stewart,
We regret to inform you that Jennifer was not selected for the Sarah Wilkins scholarship. It was a tough decision and Ms. Wilkins encourages you to reapply next year. We sincerely hope that you are able to find financial aid from another source.
Thank you for applying.
Sincerely,
The Sarah Wilkins Scholarship Foundation
The heat of the day warmed her skin while she stared at the screen. She read the message, once, twice, three times.
Jennifer tugged her hand. “Mommy? What’s wrong?”
She blinked, suddenly feeling the tears sliding down her cheeks. She swiped the tears awa
y, shoved the phone back into her pocket. So, Jennifer wasn’t going to attend Juliette’s after all. There had to be some way. Sure, she’d applied for other scholarships but, she’d honestly thought she’d win this one. She’d already received the rejections for the other scholarships for which she’d applied. Lord, what am I going to do?
She needed to go back home and be alone for a while. Figure out what she could do. There had to be some way that she could send Jennifer to that school. Latisha was coming by later to go clothes shopping. Maybe that’s what she needed, someone to talk to. Again, she thought about Sterling. He’d written that thoughtful letter. Although he didn’t agree with her motives, he had been supportive. She’d still not heard back from him regarding their dinner date. She still wondered what had come up that was so important. She figured if she didn’t hear from him today, then he’d probably talk to her at church on Sunday about setting up another time for their date.
He was working in the bakery that afternoon. She needed to call him and let him know the bad news. She found his number on her contact list, called him. “Richard’s Bakery.”
This wasn’t Sterling’s voice. It must be one of his assistants. “May I speak to Sterling Richards?” Her voice wavered. She sounded horrible.
“He’s out delivering a wedding cake. Can I take a message?”
Sterling had mentioned that he occasionally did special deliveries for his business. He’d told her once that for weddings, he delivered the cake to the reception area and he had to arrange the huge layers before the guests arrived. “No, there’s no message.” She shoved the phone back into her pocket. She’d call him back later.
*
It’d been two hours since she’d received that awful email. Adrian had returned home and Misty had left Jennifer with Adrian, needing to get out of the house. She’d told Adrian about the email and her cousin had been sympathetic, stating she’d continue to pray for Misty to find the perfect pre-school for her daughter. Adrian had also reminded her about what Sterling had said – it was possible that Misty really didn’t think she was as good as the rich crowd. Maybe by getting Jennifer into Juliette’s, it made her feel more worthy about herself. Could that possibly be true?
Sweet Dreams (The Bakery Romance Series Book 3) Page 24
