by Lacy Hart
It was difficult for me with Alex sometimes because of the age difference between us. Jodie was only a couple of years’ difference with me, but Alex was several, and it seemed like there was a big gap between us at times in a lot of ways. I never meant for her to be excluded, and it was tough for me to think of her as a young woman now and not just the little kid that was always getting into my stuff.
Alex came out with a tray filled with frosted chocolate donuts, glazed donuts, and plain donuts and placed it on the counter next to me. She started to move back towards the coffee when I asked her to help me fill the case. I looked over at Mom, who saw what I was doing, and shifted my eyes toward the kitchen. Mom took the hint and went in to help Jodie.
“Alex, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
“Be insensitive?” she interrupted. “I get it, Kelly. I’ve been dealing with it my whole life.”
“Hey, that’s not fair,” I said to her. I stepped back from the display case and leaned on the back counter, staring at Alex. “You have to understand that Jodie and I are close in age. We relied on just each other for years before you were born. It’s just different is all. I know I act too much like the oldest sister at times, and I don’t treat you like the young adult you are now, and I’m sorry about that. I promise to be better about it, okay?”
I put my arm around Alex after she filled the case and pulled her to me, making sure to wipe some of the powdered sugar that was on my gloved hands right on her chin.
“Does that mean you’ll tell me about your date?” she asked me.
“I will, I promise, but not right now, not with Mom here. It feels… weird.”
Mom came walking out of the kitchen with a tray of warm pastries.
“You know, you three go around hiding all this talk about boys, men, dates, sex, and whatever from me like I don’t know anything about it,” she said calmly as she placed pastries in the case. “Where do you think you three came from? The stork didn’t deliver you, you know.”
“Ugh, Mom,” Alex answered, crinkling her face in disgust. “I don’t want to hear about you and Dad.”
“Go get the rest of the trays,” Mom said to Alex, shooing her into the kitchen and giving her a light swat with a towel as Alex sped by.
Mom walked over to me as I was looking over the cases to see what else we might need for the day.
“Did you have a nice time, honey?” she asked me as she wiped down the counter.
“I did Mom, it was great,” I said to her.
“I’m glad to hear it. It’s been so long since you started seeing someone. Do you want to come over for dinner tonight? I’m making your favorite – chicken parmesan.”
“You know I can’t resist your chicken parm. Of course, I’ll be there.”
Once the bakery was opened, it was the usual madness of a Tuesday morning. Locals and visitors rushed in and out to get coffee, donuts, pastries, and snacks, and we were kept moving for hours. The morning quickly vanished and spread into the early afternoon before things started to slow down. I seemed to have boundless energy and kept moving, getting things prepped, baked, and out to the shop. I even took a turn working the register and helping customers when it looked like Mom could use a break.
After the early afternoon rush died down and closing time was nearing, I saw Damian walk in. He was wearing a dark green polo shirt that clung nicely to his body, and a pair of khaki shorts that looked just as nice on him. I smiled as soon as I saw him and watched him walk towards the counter.
“Hi there,” he said to me with a big grin.
The room suddenly felt ten degrees warmer to me just from the look he gave me.
“Hey,” I said trying to be casual, but I knew I had a huge smile on my face.
“I just thought I would drop by and see if you had any jelly donuts left.” Damian scanned over to the display case with the donuts, and there wasn’t much left in there.
“I don’t think we have any left,” I said to him. I could see he looked disappointed, but then his gaze turned back to me, and he smiled again.
“That’s okay. I’m sure I don’t really need them anyway,” Damian said as he patted his firm stomach.
“I might have a few left in the back,” I said, pointing to the kitchen doors and I started to move to go look. Damian reached out and grabbed my hand, holding it, to keep me in place.
“Don’t bother,” he said to me. “I didn’t really come in looking for donuts. I just wanted to see you and see if you were free tonight.”
The heat turned up even more as he held my hand. Damian’s index finger lightly stroked mine, and it made my heart race.
“I would love to,” I replied. I then snapped out of my haze. “Oh, wait, I’m supposed to go to my Mom’s for dinner tonight. You know, a sisters-daughters-Mom kind of bonding thing.”
Damian looked disappointed, but Mom then popped up right behind me as he held my hand.
“Damian, you are more than welcome to join us for dinner if you like. It’s nothing fancy; just a home-cooked meal,” Mom chimed in.
I looked back at Damian, expecting him to politely say no. Why would he eat a chicken parm dinner in Mom’s cramped house when he could eat anything he wants at his place?
“I would love a home-cooked meal,” he answered. Part of me was thrilled that he accepted, and another part of me nervous about him getting grilled by my sisters.
“Great!” Mom exclaimed. “We close up here in a bit. Come on by around five. I’m sure Kelly can show you the way.”
I came out from behind the counter and walked with Damian as he moved toward the front door.
“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” I said to Damian, trying to give him an out.
“I really want to come,” he said seriously. “I want to get to know your family. It will be fun.”
“You think so, huh?” I said sarcastically. “Be prepared for what my sisters have to bring.”
Damian let out a chuckle. “You’d be surprised what kind of questions I have been asked over the years, Kelly. I don’t think they can throw anything at me that I haven’t heard before.”
“Don’t let them hear you say that,” I warned. “They’ll take that as a challenge.”
“Stop worrying about it,” Damian told me. “What’s the address?”
“18 Allan Drive,” I told him. “I won’t be offended if you don’t show.”
“I’ll be there.” Damian leaned in and kissed me, placing his hands on my waist.
I felt myself drawing closer to him as the kiss lingered. It was only the “Oooh” from my sisters that caused me to break it and shoot them a stern look while they stood laughing behind the counter. Damian just smiled down at me and ignored them.
“I’ll see you at five,” he told me before he walked out the door.
I closed the door behind him, locking it and flipping over the sign, so it showed “Closed.” As soon as I looked towards Alex and Jodie, both started making kissing noises, wrapping their arms around each other.
“You guys are jerks. I should fire both of you,” I said as I stomped towards the counter.
“If she’s this worked up now, wait and see how she’ll be at dinner,” Alex prodded.
“If you embarrass me at all, you can be sure I will be telling Mom about your little skinny-dipping adventure with your friends two weeks ago down on the beach.”
Alex looked worried for a second and then burst out laughing.
“It’s okay, it will be totally worth the grounding,” she said with a laugh.
“It’s going to be a long night,” I lamented out loud as I walked into the kitchen to clean up.
16
Damian
I went back to the house after meeting Kelly and making plans for dinner so I could change and get myself ready. I walked inside and didn’t hear a sound. I called around for James and Shannon, but neither of them answered me. I even knocked on their bedroom doors but got no replies. I made my way upstairs without any
sign of them before finding a note stuck to my bedroom door:
Boss,
Gone out for the night. We figured you were doing the same. See you later and have fun!
Shannon and Sarge
At least I didn’t have to feel guilty about leaving them to their own devices yet again for the night. They seemed to find plenty of things to do themselves, and I was glad they were making the most of their vacation like I was.
I quickly went into the bedroom to change, putting on a simple button-down shirt and a pair of shorts to go along with my sandals. I grabbed a couple of bottles of wine off the wine rack to bring with me and went down to the garage to get a car to bring with me. I saw that James and Shannon had taken the Mustang again, so I opted for the truck to get myself over to Kelly’s mother’s house.
Getting to the house was easy for me now that I was getting more comfortable with driving around town. I pulled into the driveway right on time and made my way from the car to the front porch in just a few strides. I knocked on the door and waited patiently for someone to answer. Kelly’s sister Alex pulled open the door quickly and greeted me with a smile.
“Hiya!” she said enthusiastically, opening the screen door for me. “Come on in.”
I was greeted by the familiar smell of cooking pasta and sauce and could feel the warmth coming from the kitchen. Kelly’s mother Mary peeked her head around the corner and gave me a wave.
“Kelly’s just getting changed,” Alex said to me as we walked into the living room. She pointed towards the couch, and I took a seat. Alex positioned herself right next to me, looking like she was anxious to pepper me with questions.
“Alex, offer Damian a drink!” I heard Mary yell from the kitchen.
“Would you like something to drink?” Alex muttered.
“Sure, that would be great,” I answered. “I brought some wine to go with dinner.”
I handed Alex the two bottles, and she looked at them.
“Great, something else I can’t have,” she said with a sigh as she rose from the couch with the bottles in her hands.
She walked into the kitchen, and I heard Mary yell again from the kitchen.
“Thank you for the wine, Damian!”
“You’re welcome,” I yelled back, laughing.
Alex appeared again momentarily with two glasses in her hands. She handed me one tall glass and kept the other for herself.
“I hope iced tea is okay,” she said, sitting next to me again.
“Perfect, thank you,” I replied.
The glass sent a chill up my neck it was so cold. I took a small sip, seeing Alex watching me the whole time like I was something on television. I placed the glass on the coffee table in front of us and sat back. I saw Alex take a breath as she got ready to speak, but I noticed behind her, coming down the hall, were Kelly and Jodie.
I stood up from the couch as they entered the room. Kelly looked stunning in an olive-colored tank dress. I could not take my eyes off her as she walked over and stood in front of me.
“Wow,” I said softly to her.
Kelly brushed a stray hair from her face and smiled at me.
“I told you that dress would get his attention,” Alex said gleefully. Jodie promptly grabbed Alex and ushered her into the kitchen.
“Sorry about that,” Kelly said. “I have to admit though, I did borrow this dress from her. I don’t really have much in my closet other than jeans and t-shirts.”
“I think you look great just in your jeans and t-shirt, you know,” I told her.
I pulled Kelly closer to me and gave her a long, slow kiss. The kiss was finally broken when we heard a brief giggle come from the doorway to the kitchen.
“Dinner’s ready,” Alex said with a big grin.
Kelly took my hand and led me into the kitchen. The table was filled with food, more than the five of us could eat in one sitting for sure.
Alex patted the seat next to her. “Sit next to me Damian,” she asked.
“I don’t think so,” Kelly said, pulling me over so I would sit next to her on the opposite side of the table. Jodie walked over to the table and placed a salad bowl filled with greens down before sitting next to Alex. Mary sat at the head of the table, smiling as everyone took their place.
Before we dug into the meal, Mary asked us all to join hands so she could say Grace. I held onto Kelly’s hand tightly while Alex took my other hand as we bowed our heads.
Afterward, everyone passed around the dishes of chicken parmesan, pasta, and salad so they could fill their plates, and Mary cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.
“I would just like to say how nice it is to have my girls here, and to have you, Damian,” Mary stated, holding up her wine glass. “It’s pretty rare that any of the girls brings a gentleman around to the house. It’s especially nice to see you doing it, Kelly.”
I looked over at Kelly and could see her blushing. I simply turned back to Mary and clinked glasses with her.
“Well thank you for having me into your home,” I told her.
We went through dinner very casually, much more so than I have been exposed to at any time. There was lots of laughter, smiles, and good-natured teasing among all the sisters. Before I knew it, everyone had eaten, a bottle of wine was gone, and the table was ready to be cleared.
I could see Mary giving a look to Alex, letting her know she should get up and start collecting plates. I stood up from the table to gather some things.
“Let me help,” I offered.
“Sit down, Damian,” Mary ordered. “The girls can take care of clearing the table and the dishes. You’re a guest here. You and I can go sit in the living room and relax while they tend to the dishes and fix us some coffee, right girls?”
“I don’t live here anymore,” Kelly said, looking nervous about me being alone with her mother. “I’m a guest. Why do I have to clean up?”
“Because your mother asked you to,” Mary said with a smile. She got up from the table, took my arm, and led me into the living room.
I sat down on the couch while Mary sat in the rocking chair posted across from me. The chair creaked lightly with each light movement she made, and for what seemed like a long time that was the only noise that passed between us.
“Are you enjoying our little town here?” Mary asked me.
“Yes, very much, at least what I have seen of it so far. It has everything I had hoped it would, and more.”
“Wonderful,” she said to me. “I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’ve seen it grow from a much smaller place to what it is today. Somehow, we’ve managed to keep it a tight community even with all that goes on during the summer.”
We sat quietly again, Mary gently rocking, before Jodie appeared in the living room, carrying a tray with a coffee pot, mugs, and more. She placed it on the coffee table in front of me and smiled.
“Thank you, Jodie,” Mary stated, looking at her daughter with a pleased look.
Jodie looked back at her with a serious face.
“My pleasure, Mum,” she said in a broken British accent while she curtseyed.
“Go finish the dishes,” Mary said to her, waving her off with a smile.
I poured a mug of coffee for Mary and handed it to her before pouring one for myself. We both took light sips, and Mary continued to rock, holding her mug.
“Damian, I know it’s only been a few days, but I can tell Kelly thinks a lot of you. You do realize that, don’t you?”
“I hope that’s the case, Mary,” I said to her. “I think a lot of her too.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear that. Kelly is not one to open her heart up too easily. She never has been. The few times she has, she’s been burned in the past. A man a lot like you actually – handsome, wealthy, from New York. She met him while she was in school up there. He gave her a job in one of the restaurants he owned, and she stayed there until she found out he was fooling around with the hostess. Kelly left and came back home and worked here. He had the nerve t
o come down and charmed her again and then broke her heart again, leaving her down here for some socialite. She’s been gun shy since then Damian, and I don’t blame her. I don’t want to see the same thing happen to her again. Do we understand each other?”
Mary sat back in her rocker and stared at me. It was her way of letting me know she was taking care of her daughters, protecting them. This soft, genial woman had her Momma Bear side and wasn’t afraid to show it to anyone, no matter who they were.
“Mary, I understand you completely,” I told her. “I don’t know who this other person was, but I can tell you I am not like that. I care for Kelly a great deal and would never do anything to hurt her. I promise you that.”
