Joy and Tiers

by Mary Crawford

  I’m not a huge hugger by nature, years of being alert has pretty much trained that out of me. But, I feel compelled to hug this man. I think he just saved me from making a huge mistake. “Thank you sir, I’ll take your advice to heart.”

  Denny pats me on the back as he disengages from my hug, “Now, I’ll tell you the same thing I told my son-in-law. Stop calling me sir. My name is Denny. If you call me sir, I’ll start looking around for my dad,” he teases.

  “I’ll tell you the same thing my best friend told you, ‘I’ll try my best, but my training runs deep.’ I suppose we had better get back inside before all the food is gone.”

  Denny smirks. “Get real. Between your girlfriend and mine? The possibility that they might actually run out of food is between slim and none.”

  My eyes widen a little as I ask, “So, it’s like that, huh? What do Jeff and Kiera think of their parents dating?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not even sure Gwendolyn realizes I’m courting her yet. I’m trying to give her time to get over whatever garbage that ant-turd of an ex left behind. She is becoming stronger by the day. I consider it remarkably good news she still wants me to be around. So, I’ll stay, until she tells me to go. I consider her to be my second shot at happiness.”

  “What about your advice to live today for today and seize as much love as possible?”

  “Who says I’m not? It just looks a little different at my age. I’m happier than I’ve been in years. So, until I need to rock the boat, I won’t.”

  When we reach the house, I realize what I thought was going to be an informal get-together of my best friends has turned into a bona fide Christmas party. It makes me miss my family even more. I wish I could take Heather to meet my parents. They would absolutely adore her.

  The entire kitchen island is covered in food. Jeff’s mom made a thick beef stew and some crusty French bread. Kiera and Mindy made a couple of fancy salads and of course there was the smorgasbord of cookies created by my girlfriend. They are almost too pretty to eat—almost.

  My mom would have been in seventh heaven during the dinner conversation. Everyone is chattering about kitchen cutlery and knife techniques. Mindy is turning out to be quite the culinary student and was eagerly displaying all of the work she had done on the complex salads. When we finished dinner, Mindy was shocked when her Papa suggested that she open her biggest present first, but we wanted to unveil Velvet while there was still plenty of daylight left.

  Heather took one of her bandannas and blindfolded Mindy and carried her out to the barn. Jeff wasn’t quite as dramatic with Kiera but asked her to close her eyes. We didn’t tell Kiera about the improvements to the barn, but I built a wraparound ramp to the corral so that she could get into the barn and see over the fence to see Mindy ride in the corral. I’m not sure how much Jeff shared with Kiera so I don’t even know if she knows about the horse. This may be as big a surprise to her as it is to Mindy. I reach out and squeeze Heather’s hand as I open the barn.

  We warned Becca and Mindy in advance that we are going to use sign language instead of our voices so we don’t wake up any sleeping elves. We’ve all gotten pretty efficient in sign language thanks to the tutelage of Tara and Aidan. Tara, a sign language interpreter, started a creative arts studio where she teaches dance and arts and crafts. I’ve gone there to help teach some woodworking courses and picked up some rudimentary sign language skills along the way. I’ve also helped her fiancé, Aidan, take some of the kids out rock climbing. Since Aidan is deaf, I’ve had the opportunity to pick up a much more colorful sign language vocabulary from him as he explained what signs the kids were using.

  Heather removes Mindy’s blindfold and we all sign Merry Christmas and wave our hands in the deaf equivalence of applause. I realize as I catch Kiera filming the whole thing with an iPad that she’s on Face Time with Aidan and Tara live. So, the sign language is actually both keeping the horses calm and allowing Aidan to fully participate even though he’s backstage at a very noisy concert.

  Despite her best efforts, Mindy can’t help but shriek, “Look Mom, it’s a horse just like I asked for.”

  Kiera narrows her eyes at Jeff as she answers, “Imagine that! What a surprise … for everyone.” She has a smile on her face, but she’s glaring at Jeff with disappointment and resentment in her eyes.

  Heather and I look at each other in dismay. This is not going well at all.

  Heather tries to intercede, “I don’t think you understand Kiera. This is like a big group gift. Velvet was my pet horse when I was a little girl, but as you all know, before I met Ty, I was far too scared to ride her. She was kept at my grandma’s house until she passed away. Velvet was so impossibly lonely after my grandma was gone that I knew I had to find her the perfect owner. Fannie was really needing a new companion too, so Tyler offered to keep her here. Since he’s leasing to own the place, we wanted to make this a place where you could enjoy horseback riding alongside Mindy. So, Jeff decided to surprise you too. It was all done with the very best intentions. I promise.”

  Mindy scrambles off of the stall railing where Heather had perched her for the big reveal and throws her arm around Kiera’s shoulder. “Please Mom, don’t be mad. I promise I’ll do all my homework and pay special attention to Uncle Ty’s lessons. Justice Gardner already taught me how to brush the horses, remember?”

  “Oh sweetie, I’m not really all that mad.” Kiera reassures her. “I guess I should be used to your Dad’s big surprises by now. It’s just that it would’ve been fun to be in on this one.”

  “It’s okay, Mom. One of these days, we’re gonna have a big secret from him that he’ll never be able to figure out and then he’ll know what it feels like, right?”

  “I suppose that’s possible. But, it will have to be a mighty big surprise to compete with a surprise wedding and a horse. That’s going to take some planning.”

  Mindy thinks about it for a minute before she answers, “Well, it’s a really good thing you guys decided to get married forever.”

  “Tara and Donda, I can’t thank you enough for helping me paint this place. Can you believe it’s only a month before Valentine’s Day?”

  “It is a bit wild. Are you ready to be an up-and-coming entrepreneur as they say?” Donda asks as she folds up a tarp.

  “As Ty would say, ‘Does the military love camo?’ After the asinine court fight my parents put me through to try to keep me from getting this place, I’m more determined than ever to make it a success. I can’t believe they were arrogant enough to think they were going to win. It’s so awesome that your brother is a lawyer and practically the adopted godson of a former Supreme Court Justice in Oregon. It made finding someone to take my case so much easier.”

  Tara shakes her head at me. “I don’t think that was the deciding factor in your case as much as the letters and drawings you and your grandmother exchanged back and forth over the years, discussing potential strategies if you were to ever open a store. The box of handwritten recipes that she had collected for you and named with commercial sounding titles and the blueprints she drew out for you when you were still a child were pretty much irrefutable proof that she had been planning to open a business for you for decades. This was not a decision she made last-minute under the influence of blood pressure medicine or whatever bogus medical diagnosis they made up. I talked to your grandma on a regular basis. She was sharp as a tack. She knew dance moves that she learned when she was twelve and she remembered what college courses I was taking in any given term.”

  Donda pipes in, “You know what the funniest thing was? I thought it was hysterical they accused you of being selfish and greedy, but in the end those are exactly the terms that the judge used when describing them when he ordered them to pay all of the court costs and your attorney fees because they abused the judicial system with a frivolous lawsuit.”

  “I don’t know if I told you this, but their attorney told them they didn’t have a case. So, they fired that attorney and tried to hir
e two more and when that didn’t work they just acted as their own. I guess my dad thought being a CPA and an attorney were pretty much interchangeable.”

  “How has this affected your relationship with your family? Is anything salvageable?” Tara asks.

  “I don’t really know yet,” I answer with a sigh. “As you know, there wasn’t much to salvage with my parents after I made the break and decided not to follow my dad into the family business. After I saw the way they treated me through Ty’s eyes, I knew I wasn’t ever going to accept that from them again. I think they knew I had reached the end of my rope with them and they could not bully me into believing less of myself. I just can’t believe it took me so long to summon the courage to find my voice. It makes me really angry at myself.”

  Tara pulls me into a tight embrace. As she lets go she says, “Sometimes it takes your true soulmate to show you where you have to heal before you can truly find love.”

  Donda gives Tara a double-take and shudders. “Girl, you give me goosebumps every time I’m around you.”

  Tara shrugs nonchalantly as she remarks, “I’m not really making any profound statements here, and I’m just telling you what I’ve seen happen in my life and the lives of the people I love. I understand it even better now that it’s happening to me. It took Aidan loving me despite my frailties and flaws for me to see where I needed to get stronger to be able to accept the gift of love that he was giving me. It was like I couldn’t see all of me without the full light of his love. I would either focus only on my strength or only on my weaknesses and without addressing everything that was going on in my life, there wasn’t ever going to be balance.”

  Donda studies Tara carefully. “I still can’t believe you found a guy who doesn’t care that you’ve been raped.”

  I have a reputation for being blunt, but Donda usually has me beat by a mile. Yet, this is extreme, even for her. I can’t disguise my gasp of surprise.

  Tara places her hand on Donda’s forearm as she looks into Donda’s eyes. “No, I think you’ve misunderstood what I said. Aidan cares very deeply that I was raped. In many ways, I think he still feels like he should have been there to prevent it even though he was dealing with his own crisis at the time. The thing I had to learn to accept is that I am still worthy of Aidan’s love. That’s part of the healing I was telling Heather about. Not everyone has as many wounds as I did, but everyone’s got something. The person who loves you can help you heal those wounds.”

  Donda blinks away a tear and whispers, “What if I never find that person?”

  Tara takes the tarp from her hands and sets it down on the floor. She clasps Donda’s hands between hers and pledges, “Then, we as your friends and family will do our best to be that light for you until you find your own. Don’t forget, you’ve been inducted into the Girlfriend Posse. We do not take our duties lightly. We watch each other’s backs. So, if you need us, we’re all a phone call away.”

  I give Donda a crooked grin as I reply, “Just a word of warning, you don’t even always have to call Tara. Sometimes she just knows you’re in deep trouble. So, don’t be freaked out by that; it’s perfectly normal.”

  Donda lets out a snort of laughter, “Okay, I’ll consider myself forewarned.”

  “Hey, I didn’t say you could take that off!” I scold as I catch Tyler trying to take off the bandanna I placed over his eyes before I had him fully seated.

  “This looks a lot sexier in the movies,” he whines. “I feel like a kid playing pin the tail on the donkey.”

  “Tyler Joseph Colton, please just sit down. You’re making this far too complicated. The blindfold isn’t there as a sex toy; it really is just a blindfold. I’m trying to surprise you, you big dork.”

  Tyler flashes me a big cheesy grin. “Yeah, but I’m your dork.”

  “Yes, yes you are. That’s the only reason I’m not leaving you tied to the chair with the balloon hat on your head.”

  “I don’t know, that kinda sounds like fun.”

  “I think you’ve been on maneuvers for too long,” I quip as I sneak a kiss to his ear lobe.

  “Sitting in a classroom learning classified stuff I can’t tell you about for a whole month is not my idea of a vacation, even if it was at the request of Uncle Sam.”

  I run my hands through his close cropped hair as I untie the bandanna. “I hope you expect me to treat you a little better, otherwise, we’ll have to work on your expectations. I thought you might be a little hungry after eating military rations for so long, so I fixed a few of your favorites.”

  Tyler opens his eyes and looks around. I wish I’d planned ahead and recorded his reaction to seeing my shop for the first time because it was everything I hoped it would be. I guess if I were to describe the decor, I would say it’s a cross between a faded photograph and a watercolor painting. My grandmother wanted this place to feel like it had been here for decades and had been passed down from generation to generation. So, I used checkerboard tiling on the floor reminiscent of old soda shops but instead of doing them in black and white, they are in sepia tones. Gwendolyn went a little crazy with the renovation budget when she found water damage during one of the inspections. She was incredibly generous in compensating me. This allowed me to add some really cool aesthetic touches like copper backsplashes and a brick wood oven for baking artisan bread.

  Donda and Tara painted huge murals that look like large advertisements from the 1900s. They show families enjoying cookies and cupcakes. I can tell the moment Ty sees my favorite painting. It’s on the back wall of the shop in a cozy back corner where I plan to hold all of my wedding cake consults. It shows a couple playfully feeding each other wedding cake. But, to anyone familiar with Tara and Aidan, it’s their love story portrayed generations before, right down to the ballet shoes on the bride and the piano in the background. Even their fingertips are linked in the familiar handhold that’s second nature to the couple. “Wow!” Tyler murmurs, “Tara really outdid herself on that one.”

  I shake my head as I correct him, “Would you believe Tara doesn’t even know about it? Donda painted it as a surprise wedding gift.”

  Ty walks over to take a closer look at the painting. “This is just incredible. I knew she was talented because of what she did in Becca’s room, but this is amazing. This cake looks edible. Did you make her a model cake?”

  “No, that’s the really cool thing. She seems to have really become part of our group and nailed our personalities. As far as I know, Tara hasn’t had a free second to talk about wedding cake with anybody. Heck, she is such a health-nut, she may not even have a wedding cake.”

  Ty chokes back a guffaw of laughter. “Gidget, you’ve met Aidan and his band, right? Darlin, you’re going to be making so many sweets, dentists will name a holiday in your honor. Get prepared. Joy & Tiers will be the home of the chi-chi treats that brought America’s favorite couple together.”

  “Just the thought of that is daunting. I wonder how long they’re going to wait until they get married. I hope they’re not my first order or anything. As much as I would like a little positive publicity, I’m not sure I’m ready for my shop to be overrun by paparazzi.” I look around the shop anxiously. “Ty, this is a whole lot more than my little food truck. What if I’m not ready for all of this?”

  Tyler gathers me in a warm embrace and kisses me tenderly. “Heather, I work with generals on a routine basis and they’ve got nothing on you. It’s only been about five weeks since I’ve seen this place and I hardly recognize it. When I left, workers were hanging sheet rock. What you’ve done here is nothing short of a miracle. Especially when you consider your original timeframe was messed up by the bull crap your dad pulled. By the way, when I offered to help you, I meant it as more than as just a character reference.”

  “I know you did. But, it was important for me to do it on my own. I didn’t want you to feel like I was just using you or your status to reach my dreams. Besides, I want to be able to prove once and for all that if you have talent a
nd a dream, it’s possible to be successful regardless of what field you choose.”

  “Gidget, I would’ve never given it a second thought. If I had any doubts, I wouldn’t have offered. I would’ve been honored to help make this dream come true because I know it’s going to be spectacular. Just look at this place. I thought I had an idea of what it might be like when we were drawing it up, but this just completely blows my mind. It’s beyond perfect. I can’t wait until you open.”

  “You’re such a great cheerleader. I feel like I should get you some pom-poms or something.”

  “Did you forget I’m a big macho dude? I don’t do pom-poms. Tight Levi’s to attract customers, maybe; but pom-poms are a line I just won’t cross,” Tyler teases. “Didn’t I hear you mention food?”

  “Why, yes I did. But, somebody I know got up from the table. Can I show you to your table, sir?”

  When I walk Ty back to the table, his expression is priceless. His jaw drops to the floor as he sees the overwhelming variety of food I’ve prepared for him.

  “Gidget, I love you for doing this, but I don’t know I can eat all this. Pardon the pun, but you could feed an army with this amount of food.”