by Leah Atwood
His feet tapped the asphalt. Too much restless energy filled him. Standing up, he decided to go for a walk. One thought persisted, refusing to leave, and the solution became perfectly clear. He needed to talk to Dani. She’d agreed to be friends, right? They’d gotten along those couple hours after he apologized. In some ways, they understood each other. Neither was looking for a relationship—she had her career, he had his ghosts. Why not try to contact her? He didn’t have her phone number, but there were other ways. And if she didn’t respond, well, then he’d find a way to forget her.
He paused his walk and pulled out his phone, opening the Facebook app. Going to the search box, he typed in “Danielle Trahan”, but it didn’t return any results that he recognized. Maybe she wasn’t on Facebook, but if she was, wouldn’t she be friends with Bryce? He pulled up Bryce’s private profile, the one only friends and family knew of, and looked through his friends.
A slow smile formed. Danica Trahan—he’d been mistaken what Dani was short for, but there she was, her bright, perfectly round face filling the profile photo. He doubted himself, before deciding it was acceptable to find her this way. He clicked on the Add Friend button. The rest was up to her. If she didn’t accept, he wouldn’t ask again.
Chapter 6
“Thanks again for coming over.” Gina reached down and grabbed another item from the box.
“No problem, glad I could help.” Dani held up a plate. She was spending the morning at Gina’s new house, helping her unpack. “Which cabinet do you want these dishes in?”
“The one right by you, to the left of the sink.”
Reaching up, Dani clasped the round brass knob and opened the cabinet door. “Any particular way you want them arranged?”
“Plates on bottom, cups and glasses on top, please.” Gina walked over and looked at the available space. “They’ll all fit with no problem.”
One by one, Dani unpacked the dishes, carefully removing them from their newsprint and bubble wrap. Within minutes, she had the box emptied with room to spare in the cabinet. “What next?”
“Let’s take a break.” Gina put a hand to her back and stretched. “I tire so easily these days.”
“Have a seat. Can I get you anything?”
“You’re my guest. I’m supposed to serve you.”
Dani laughed. “I’m not the one who’s eight and a half months pregnant. Now, what can I get you?”
Gina shuffled to a chair at the dining table. “I bought a gallon jug of tea this morning. A glass would be nice if you’re sure you don’t mind helping.” She sat down and pushed a sweaty strand of hair from her face. “It’s decaf, but I have bottles of regular tea, as well. Greg takes them with his lunch.”
“Plastic or glass cup?” Her years in food service had taught her that some people had a very strong preference although she’d never cared either way.
“Glass, please.”
She took two glasses that she’d just put in the cabinet and rinsed them before setting them on the counter and pulling the tea from the fridge. When she finished, she carried the drinks to the table and sat down. “Do you have everything ready for the baby’s arrival?”
“I think so.” Gina took a long drink. “Mom and my best friend had a shower for me a few weeks ago and everyone blessed me with a lot of gifts. We shouldn’t need to buy anything but diapers for the first few months.”
“Did you get my gift? I received the invitation, but couldn’t take the time off work.” It was true, but for some reason, the excuse sounded hollow.
Gina smiled. “Yes and thank you. With the move and all, I’m behind on sending out thank you notes, but I can’t wait to use your gift and make an imprint of this guy’s feet.”
“I’ve always loved baby feet. They’re so tiny and cute.”
“I’m not sure about tiny. The way this baby kicks, I think he’s going to have monster feet.” Gina rubbed her stomach.
“I’m sure they’ll be perfect. Do you have a theme for his nursery?”
“Boats and airplanes. The nursery is all we have left to do, but we can work on it as we go, since we’ll keep him in our room for the first few months. At least, that’s the plan.”
“I can’t wait to meet him and get my baby fix.” Dani thought of another distant cousin who’d recently given birth. “Did you see the pictures on Facebook of Miranda’s daughter?”
“No. I heard she had her baby, but haven’t seen the pictures. We cut off the internet at the old place three months ago and haven’t had it connected yet at this one. I’d use my phone, but we only have basic cell phones for now. Trying to save money for the baby and all, you know.” Gina looked away, as if embarrassed by the admission.
“I can show them to you on my phone if you want to see. Bailey is adorable. She’s got the chubbiest cheeks I’ve ever seen.”
Gina’s face brightened again. “I’d love to see them.”
“Hold on a sec, and I’ll pull them up.” She stood and went to her purse, which was sitting on the couch in the other room. She grabbed her phone and went back to her seat at the table.
The past week had been so busy she hadn’t logged in for a while, which was evident by her high number of notifications. One caught her eye—she had a new friend request.
Curious and distracted from her main purpose, she tapped on it. Most of her friends and family whom she talked with on a regular basis were already on the network. Her chest tightened when she saw who it was and then she smiled. Questions raced through her mind, the most prominent of which, was why, followed by what does it mean?
Get a grip, Dani, it’s only a friend request, not a marriage proposal.
“Did you just win the lottery or something?” Gina’s teasing question interrupted her thoughts.
“No, why?”
“You’re sitting there with a huge, cheesy grin on your face. I figured you must have had good news or something.”
Heat reached the tips of her ears. “No, just an unexpected friend request from an old friend.”
“Uh huh.” Gina crossed her arms casually over her chest in a relaxed pose. “Methinks there is more to the story or else you wouldn’t be blushing.”
Why, oh why had she offered too much information? Her cousin had inherited Gram’s sharp instinct for ferreting out information. “I thought you wanted to see pictures of the baby.”
Gina grinned. Unfortunately, she hadn’t acquired Gram’s knack of knowing when to let a subject drop. “I do, but that can wait a few minutes. First, I want to hear what you’re not telling me.”
“Remember Rob, the groomsman?”
“The cutie-pie that couldn’t keep his eyes off you?”
“I don’t know about all that, but yes.” Leaning back in her chair, she fidgeted with her phone.
“Go ahead, look through his profile. I know you want to.” The teasing smirk never left Gina’s face.
“No.” She pushed her phone away from the table, just out of her reach.
“So what happened? Something obviously changed because at the wedding you were bemoaning his presence.”
“He’s not the person I thought he was. The day he left, he came by my house to apologize. We talked, hung out for a bit, and then he left.” Dani sighed. “He’s a nice guy once you get past the Casanova exterior.”
“But?”
“But nothing.” The surge of happiness that had pumped through her when she saw the request faded. “We can be friends, but that’s it.”
“Even though it seems apparent you both would like to explore more?” Gina’s prompting was tiresome.
Dani didn’t have answers for that question. “I think something happened to him in the past, but I don’t know.” Another time, another place—the four words that constantly echoed in her memory. “There’s no point in pushing because there are too many other factors that would preclude a relationship with him anyway.”
“Where there’s a will, there’s always a way.”
“Not if he’s an
unbeliever.” Not that she could know for sure, but in a moment she wasn’t proud of, she’d asked Sophie, who said, as far as she knew, Rob didn’t share their faith.
When Gina didn’t respond, Dani stood, forgetting the original reason she’d brought out her phone. “Let’s get some more stuff unpacked. I have to be at the restaurant in an hour.”
Moving into the living room, they proceeded to unpack in silence. Dani lifted a book from a large box and placed it on a built-in bookcase, situating it between a book of similar size and one slightly smaller. On the other side of the room, Gina removed pictures in frames and lined them up on the sagging cushions of the couch.
“I can’t decide which ones to display.” Her gaze transferred from frame to frame, her eyes watery. “This place is smaller than our place in Monroe, which wasn’t very large to begin with.”
At seeing Gina’s tears, Dani crossed the room and went to her side. “I’m sure the changes are difficult, especially with a baby on the way.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was so emotional.” Gina looked at one of the frames, which held a picture of her and her husband on their wedding day. “Before we got married, everyone told us we were too young, but we both just knew, you know?”
“Yes.” She didn’t, not really.
“It hasn’t been easy, but we were finally in a good spot. We never imagined Greg would get laid off months before the baby’s arrival.” A tear fell and Gina dabbed it with her index finger. “Few people know, but we were evicted from our apartment.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.” Dani took her into her arms, giving her a comforting hug.
“We tried to hold on, but we couldn’t, not on our own. I begged him to ask our parents for help, but he wouldn’t, and we’ve been arguing ever since.” Gina backed away with a dry laugh. “Do you want to know what the worst part is? Even though I’m mad that he wouldn’t ask for help, I respect him more for owning up and taking responsibility.”
Uneasy, Dani shifted. She wanted to help her cousin, but had little experience in that department. “Have you told him that?”
“No.” She set two frames on an end table. “I’ve made such a mess of things, I don’t know where to begin healing them.”
“Tell him how you feel and make sure to tell him you’re proud of him. I might not be a relationship expert, but I know about pride. Losing his job, and then the apartment, probably crushed Greg’s ego. He likely feels like he failed you and the baby.”
“But he hasn’t,” Gina said with conviction. “He’s a good husband and will be a great father. I know coming here wasn’t what he wanted, but he did it to provide for us.”
Gina’s eager defense of her husband made Dani smile. “It’s obvious the two of you are very much in love. Hard times fall on everyone, but talk to him and be honest.”
With her hands now empty, Gina rested them on her belly and gave a shy smile. “I shouldn’t have unleashed all of this on you.”
“We’re family—that’s what we’re here for. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Just pray for us, please.”
“You’ve got it.” The alarm on her phone rang. Time for work. “I have to get to the restaurant. Will you be okay?”
“Yes. I feel better already, telling someone.”
“You have my number, you can call anytime.”
“Thanks again for coming by.”
Dani hugged her cousin and left, contemplating ways to help as she drove to work. She would ask her mom, but, not knowing who knew Greg and Gina’s full situation, she didn’t want to betray any confidences. No ideas came to her that wouldn’t seem like charity. The idea of a second baby shower crossed her thoughts, but that might seem obvious, since the family in Oden Bridge had sent gifts to the shower held in Monroe.
A welcome party—maybe that would work. Kind of like a housewarming party, but it wouldn’t be hosted by Greg and Gina. Ideas poured like an upset bucket. Gram would love to help plan it and not only would Gina know she had the support of her family and new friends here, but the young couple could receive gifts welcoming them, gifts that could help in their time of need.
Excited, Dani pulled into the parking lot of Bayou Bits then drove to the side spots. Once inside the building, she turned on the lights to her office and the kitchen area. Observing the illuminated kitchen, she noted with pleasure that the area was spotless from the night before.
She went to her desk, sat down, and pulled out her planner. Tonight’s scheduled specials were fried green tomatoes topped with a creamy crawfish sauce for the appetizer, beef tips served over rice as a main course and bread pudding with white chocolate sauce as the dessert.
She made a list, ordering the tasks that needed to be accomplished. Going back into the kitchen, she stuck the list on the freezer door for easy access. Next, she went into the freezer, doing a quick inventory of her food supplies. Her stock of chicken was low, but she should have enough for tonight, and the truck would bring more tomorrow. Everything else looked sufficient, with no danger of running out this evening. Satisfied, she began her prep work. As she lined up bowls, bread, sugar and other ingredients, a peace came over her.
This was when she was happiest, elbows deep in cooking and baking. She lined up the loaves of yesterday’s French bread, proceeding to slice them until the loaves became hundreds of tiny cubes. After putting the cubes into a large steel mixing bowl, she cracked the eggs into a separate bowl. She poked each yolk with a whisk—no matter how old she got, she never outgrew the simple joy that accompanied breaking the yolk.
When all the ingredients were mixed, she spread the batter into two large pans, using a spatula to even the tops. Sticking them into the oven, she sniffed, imagining the sweet and spicy smell that would fill the air in a few minutes. Her bread pudding was a dessert she usually reserved for the colder months, but she’d received numerous requests for it over the last several weeks.
THE NEXT EIGHT hours passed in a blur. She dropped an entire stockpot of black-eyed peas, her only consolation being that they weren’t yet hot, so no one was burned. One of her waitresses called out sick, and no one was available to take her shift. To top it all off, a representative from the Department of Health and Hospitals dropped in for an inspection. Even though she ran a tight ship at the restaurant, the inspections always made her nervous, afraid she’d missed some minute detail. To her relief, she passed this visit without any violations. Fortunately, she’d never had any critical violations to date, and only one non-critical, which she’d promptly corrected.
By the time she got home that night, she was exhausted. Resting on her couch, she looked around her living room, spotting the haphazard pile of magazines on the coffee table and the layer of dust on the TV stand. No wonder it’s always messy at home—I spend all my energy at work. Tomorrow, she would tackle the cleaning.
She picked up a fashion magazine, one she hadn’t subscribed to but still received every month. Her eyes grew heavy with each turn of the page, and she paused to cover a yawn. Giving up on reading, she tossed the magazine aside and trudged into the bedroom. Her phone buzzed, alerting her to a notification.
“I’ll check it tomorrow,” she told Pip, who’d followed her in and was grooming himself on the dresser. “I just want to sleep.”
After taking a quick shower to rid herself of the myriad food smells, she put on her standard, comfy sleepwear and crawled into bed. She closed her eyes, ready to meet the world of slumber. A few seconds passed until her eyes flashed open. She’d never had a chance to look at Rob’s profile or send him a message. What if the notification was from him? She’d never logged out, so it was possible.
A spurt of excitement gave her the energy to get out of bed and grab her phone from the dresser top. She looked at the screen. One new message. Her fingers couldn’t move fast enough to tap the icon. There it was, a message from Rob.
A giddy smile took over, and she hadn’t even read the message yet. Was she twenty-eight or eighte
en? She didn’t even care. After the day she’d had, she needed something good to happen. She looked down at her phone, reading the message, as she sat down.
Hey Dani,
Thanks for accepting the friend request. How are things going? Did the new menus turn out how you wanted?
We’re in California this week, but I’m sure you already knew that through Bryce. The tour has been great, and venues are all sold out, so everyone’s happy about that.
Anyway, I just wanted to say hi. Feel free to drop a line if you want.
Rob
The message had come through a half hour ago. Would he still be around if she replied now? She typed quickly.
Hi back at you. The menus turned out great. I told my friend what you suggested and the changes he made gave it the exact look I was going for. If you look under my photos, you can see a picture of them I uploaded last week.
I’m glad the tour is going well. I know how much Bryce was looking forward to it. How’s Gracie doing with all the traveling? I’ve been playing phone tag with Bryce and Sophie this week and have missed my Gracie talks. If you see her tomorrow, can you give her a hug from her Aunt Dani?
She blanked on anything else to write so left it at that. Sitting cross-legged on her bed, she hit send. Her teeth grazed her bottom lip, waiting for a reply that may or may not come. She’d give it ten minutes—if nothing came in that time, she’d go back to bed.
Chapter 7
Soft murmurs throughout the house roused Rob from his feeble attempt at sleep. Soon, the massive log cabin, which was nestled into a mountainside, would be filled with flutters of activity and noise. He threw his legs over the side of the bed, reluctant to leave the comfort of the luxury, pillow top mattress. Since he had not been able to sleep, at least he’d been able to lie in comfort.
