Just Perfect (12 page)

“Do you drive?”  She leaned into the side of his leg.  Damn
she was sweet.  Her voice was soft and she was genuinely interested in his
job.  Actually curious, not just making conversation.

“I used to but not since I opened the shop.  I keep my CDL
up to date but I don't drive unless I'm testing a truck we're working on.  My
brother drives local.  Once in a while, he'll make a long trip.  He works in
the shop some too.”

“What's his name?”

“Dean. You met him yesterday.  He helped you with the
cupcakes.”

She looked confused. “That's your brother?  You don't look
anything alike.”

Sam's good mood tanked.  He already knew Dean was better
looking but he didn't want to hear it from Lily.

She leaned forward and ran her small hand over his bearded
cheek. “Lucky for me, huh?”  She whispered a dimpled a cheek at him.

Just like that, he was on top of the world.  He stood up and
pulled her against him.  “I think I'm the lucky one.”  He whispered back.  

After Sam and Glen left, Lily and her mom tackled the
cakes.  By ten that morning people started showing up.

Her mom hadn't said anything about Sam and Lily didn't ask about
her date with Glen.  But now they finally got to sit down with coffee.

“How was your date, Mom?”

“I had a great time.  It was so nice to get out. Glen was a
perfect gentleman.”  She said, giving her daughter a pointed look.

Lily blushed.  Her mother obviously meant she didn't sleep
with him. 

“I was actually going to come home last night until you told
me Sam was here.”  Her blue eyes watched intently waiting for Lily to say more.

“Um...Sam..he um...stayed last night.”  She was a little
embarrassed but she didn't feel ashamed.  Being with Sam was overwhelming but
didn't feel wrong.

Her mom grabbed her hand.  “Don't be embarrassed, Lily.” 
She signed wistfully.  “I remember your dad was intent on being with me.”  She
laughed quietly. “He would
not
give up.  He was older than me and seemed
so out of my league.  But once I finally let him take me out, I knew he was it
for me.  I never felt one moment of regret or felt it was too soon.”

Lily smiled, feeling better. “I haven't been very nice to
him, but he keeps showing up.”  She shifted in her chair.  “I forget about John
when I'm with him.”  Tears pricked the backs of her eyes. “I feel so guilty
about that.”

“Oh, Lily.  You can't live your life trying to remember
everything about John.  You have to move on for Johnathan and yourself.  You
don't think you deserve to be happy but you're wrong.  You deserve it. 
Probably more than anyone I know.  Being with Sam is a good place to start.”

Lily thought her mom was right.  Being with Sam was
definitely a good place to start.

“What about Glen?  How do you feel about him?”

“He's a nice man.  I'm going to see him again.  He has a son
a few years older than you. Jake.  Apparently he'll be coming here to work. He
just got out of the service.

Lily siged.  “Things are changing, Mom.  I guess we'll have
to start looking for a house.”

“Yes.  We'll look after the weekend.”  She snapped her
fingers.  “You know, last night I saw a building in downtown Falls for rent.  A
lot of those building have apartments on the top floor.” She shrugged. “Might
be a way to start a bakery.  Have to start somewhere.”

She wasn't sure how she felt about living in a small apartment
but her mom was right.  You have to start somewhere.

Lily knocked on Candace's door at four o'clock to pick up
Johnathan.  Candace and her son Derek lived in a small apartment just outside
of Falls.  She knew that Candace was a single mom and she worked at a doctor’s
office in town but she really didn't know much more about her.  They talked at
school function because their kids were in the same class.  Lily decided to
make more of an effort to befriend her.

Hearing boyish giggling coming from inside made her smile. 

The door opened slowly and Candace peered out.  “Hi, Lily,
come in.”  She smiled and stepped back.

Candace was about the same height as Lily but she had long
straight brown hair and dark brown eyes.  She was always kind but Lily never
saw her talk to anyone else the school.  It had been up to Lily to start a
conversation with her when she noticed Johnathan and Derek had become best
buds.  Candace had been painfully shy at first but slowly relaxed.

“Hey.  Was Johnathan good for you?”

“Yes.  They had so much fun.  They had pizza and stayed up
late.  Total success.  Please come sit down.”  She waved Lily to a small living
room.  She noticed the apartment was sparsely furnished and the only pictures
were of Derek.

“How's the cake business?' 

“It's actually going very well.”  She sighed. “Mom sold the
house so we're going to find a place in town. I don't know if we'll find a
house with the same amount of space to bake.  We'll see.  What about you?  Do
you still work at the doctor's office?”

“Yes, but I'm looking for part time work too.  Christmas
will be here soon.”

“Well, I was going to work evenings at the cafe on Second
Street.  I decided not to take the job, so they have an opening.”

Candace flushed. “I don't know.  I don't do well with large
groups of people.  I like the doctor's office because I just do document
scanning and stuff.”   She smiled. “Sometimes I go hours without talking to
anyone.  I don't know if I could talk to people all day.”  She looked away. 
“You probably think I’m strange.”

Lily didn't know if she should ask any questions.  She
didn't want her to feel like she was prying.  It had been so long since she had
a friend, she didn't know how to make one.  “You haven't seen strange until
you've spent time with me.  I'll call you if I hear of anything.”

“Hi, Mom!”  Johnathan called from a doorway off the small
living room.

“Hey, kiddo.  Having fun?”

“Yeah!  We stayed up late.  Almost eleven o'clock!”  His
eyes were wide and his smile huge.  Johnathan's happiness was contagious.  She
couldn't help but feel good when she was with him.

“Oh my goodness, wild man!”  She laughed and motioned for
him to come and give her a hug.  Derek followed him out of the room to lean up
against his mom's side and watched them silently.

“Hi there Derek,” She greeted. “Did you have fun too?”
Definitely got his shyness from his mom.

“Yes, ma'am.”

“Good. You guys will have to do it again soon.”

“Absolutely.” Candace agreed.

“Get your stuff Johnathan, we've got some errands to run.” 
He ran back to the room he came out of and Derek was hot on his heels.

Turning back to back to Candace, she smiled. “Thanks for
having him.  When we move to town, they can play more often.

“That sounds great.”  Candace's cell phone rang she stood to
walk the short distance to the kitchen.  After glancing at the screen, she
pursed her lips and silenced the phone.  On her way back to the living room the
phone rang again.

“I'm sorry, Lily.” She grabbed the phone “I'll just turn
this off.”  Lilly noticed Candace's color become pale.

“It's okay if you want to answer that.”

“No.  I don't ever want to answer that.”  Her voice was
quiet.

Lily stood up. “Candace, are you okay?”

“Ready, Mom.” Johnathan came into the living room.  She
looked down at him and then back to Candace.  She wanted to say something, to
let her know she could talk to her if she needed.  She'd been so wrapped up in
her own little world she never noticed other people's pain.  Here it was, right
in front of her.

“I'll call you soon, Candace, alright?”

“Sure, anytime.”

“We're off.  Bye, Derek, see you soon.”

“Drive safe.” Candace saw them to the door.  Unable to say
anymore with the boys present, she said her goodbyes.

Since meeting Sam, she felt...awake.  All she cared about
for so long was Johnathan, then her father's death and making ends meet. 
Candace was worth her time and she promised herself she would do what she could
to help her if needed.

“I missed you,” she said to Johnathan.

“I missed you too, but I had fun.”

“I'm glad.  How about a movie and popcorn tonight?”

“Can I pick the movie?”

Lily chuckled.  Her child knew his mom's love of romantic
movies.  He definitely didn't want to get roped into watching another one.

“I guess it's your turn.”

Her phone rang from the passenger’s seat. Not recognizing
the number, she hoped it might be a cake order. “Hello?”

“Hey, baby.”

Sam.  She quickly glanced at Johnathan through the rear view
mirror.

“Hello?” His deep voice rumbled in her ear.

“Oh..um..hi.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am.  I just picked Johnathan up.”

“Did he have fun?”

“He had a blast at his sleepover.”

Sam's voice lowered. “I had fun at mine too.”

Her face heated. “Um...”

His laugh was deep and rich.  “What are you doing tonight?”

“I have a date,” she said brightly, relieved that he changed
the subject.

“You better be talking about me.”

“Nope.  I have a date with a very handsome seven-year-old
boy and I'm going to force him to watch romantic Christmas movies with me.”

“No way!  You said I could pick!”  Her date cried from the
back seat.

Lily laughed. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Well, I was going to take you two out to dinner, but since
you already have plans, we'll do it tomorrow.

“Probably best.  I need to get to bed early.  I have a huge
cinnamon roll order in the morning. Plus, an anniversary cake.  I have to deliver
the cake to the venue. They're paying extra.”  She sighed. “I don't have
anywhere to store it anyway.”

“Well damn, you make me feel lazy.”

“I doubt that.  I'm sorry for going on about myself.  How
was your day?  Did you have a lot of trucks needing work?”

“You can talk to me about your business anytime.  We had
driver's come in but it was a quiet day.  Mostly scheduled maintenance.”

“That's good.  Were there enough cupcakes for the drivers
that came in today?”

“Hell no.  I had to threaten Dean after he had three.  They
were delicious by the way.”

“Thank you.”  His praise made her pleased with herself.  She
always got compliments on her baking and it made her feel good.  However, Sam's
made her feel accomplished.  He didn't seem like a man who handed out praise
without it being earned.

“What time can I pick you and Johnathan up tomorrow?  I
thought I could take you for pizza.”

“Well, I don't know.  My mom and I are going to look at an
apartment downtown.”

Sam was quiet for so long she thought she lost the call.

“Do you want me to go with you?”

Did she?  No, they were just starting to get to know each
other.  She didn't want to start depending on him so early in their
relationship.

“No, it's fine.  We're just looking, but Mom said she was
accepting the offer on the house so we have to start looking.”  Her heart
sank.  She couldn't stop the sale of the house.

“I'll bring pizza to you guys tomorrow night then.  Do you
have time for me then?”

She laughed. “Yes.  Make sure you bring one pepperoni. 
Johnathan's favorite.”

“You got it.  What about you?  What kind do you like?”

“I'm not picky but no olives, green peppers, Canadian bacon
or pineapple.  I love mushrooms, though.”

“Not picky, huh?”  She could hear the smile in his voice.

“Nope.”

“I'll be there at seven tomorrow.”

“Sam?  How did you get my number?” 

“You don't want me to have it?”

“Of course, I do. I just don't remember giving it to you.”

“I called my phone after I talked to Glen last night.”

“You're a sneak.”  She teased.

“I didn't want to argue with you about it.”

“I don't argue.”

“Yes you do, Mom!”  Johnathan added his opinion.

“I rest my case.”

***

“Well?  What do you think?”

The owner of the vacant building was a kind man.  He was
about as big around as he was tall with thinning gray hair and thick glasses. 
His smile was friendly and he seemed more than happy about the possibility of a
bakery opening in his building.  The apartment upstairs was only a two bedroom and
nicely updated but so different from their spacious farmhouse.

“It's nice,” Lily's mom said, “the apartment is only two
bedrooms and there are three of us.  We'll have to think about it.”

“That's fine, take all the time you need.  I'm not in a big
hurry to rent it out.”  He ran his hand up and down his blue elastic suspenders
and rocked back on his heels. “I knew your husband, Mrs. Young.  He was a good
man.  I'm sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you, Mr. Whitehead.” 

There was a time when her mom wasn't able to hear someone's
condolences without tears.  However, today there was sadness in her eyes but
they were dry.

“Are we gonna live here, Mom?”  Johnathan was quiet
throughout the tour of the building.  She assumed he was thinking how different
it was from their house.

“I don't know yet, kiddo.”  She hugged him tightly. “We're
just looking right now.” 

There was a cafe in the building at one time but closed down
when the owner decided it was too much to handle.  There was a small commercial
kitchen.  That was a plus.

As they were leaving the building, she saw Sam parked out
front leaning up against his truck. Her stomach fluttered at the sight of him.

“Hi, Sam,” Johnathan called.

They walked to meet him while her mom continued her
conversation with Mr. Whitehead.

“Hey there, little man. How are you?”

“Fine.” He motioned to the building. “We might live here so
Mom can bake.”

Sam's eyes found hers. “Is that right?”

“Yeah,” her son's voice grew quiet “someone's buyin' our
house so we gotta move.”

Lily ran her hands through her son’s curls. “You'll get to
be closer to Derek. Won't that be fun?”

“Yes.” He gave her a small smile.

“Go tell Gramma we're ready to get home.”

“Okay.” He turned to Sam. “Are you bringing pizza tonight?”

“Yes. Pepperoni for you.”

“Awesome.” Giving Sam a questioning look he asked, “Are you
going to take my Gramma on a date like Mr. Glen?”

Lily was shocked by the question. Why didn't her son assume
that Sam was going to take her out?

Sam's smile stretched across his face.  “Actually, I think
I'll take your mom on a date.”

“Really?”  Jonathan looked shocked.  His eyes jerked between
them.  “Mom doesn't do dates,” he informed.

“Maybe she will with me.”

Why were they talking about her like she wasn't there?  They
could
just ask
her
what she thought about it.