"That's incredible, Grace," I said. "And how did getting that tattoo help you?"
"It gave me a different kind of pain. One that could take my mind off of the searing pain of loss. That kind of pain makes you feel as if your heart is being scratched from the inside out by red hot fireplace pokers. And that was followed by over a year of feeling nothing. Numb."
I blanched, considering her words. I'd been lucky enough to never experience a loss like she was describing, but I often wondered what pain would come if and when we did eventually lose my sister to her addiction. I'd been bracing myself for a while in the hopes that it would make it easier when that news inevitably came.
"I'll definitely put that plan in motion," I said. "I'll give my parents a call tonight to find out if her insurance will cover herif she's here. My mom loves making phone calls, so this is right up her alley."
When they left forty-five minutes later, we had run the gamut of our discussions, updating one another on each member of our friend group and their children, significant others, and pets. The time sped by until a customer walked through the door.
Dunedin was and always will be a small town where most people know one another when out and about in their daily lives. So it was no surprise when a customer recognized Grace, who is also somewhat of a local celebrity, as a well-known romance author. All seven of her books line the shelves, and an eight is nearly there.
A few minutes later, they were off—enthusiastic hugs all around and plans to see each other at Paige's pool party in a few weeks, but I was sure we'd see each other sooner than that.
ELYSE
I was unloading the dishwasher when my phone vibrated in my back pocket.
Jenna: Are you free for a little taste testing today?
Absolutely. What time should we be there?
Jenna: I should have everything cooled and ready to go in about an hour.
Sounds good. See you then.
Jenna: Make sure you bring Holly.
An hour later, we were parking in front of the Flour Shoppe, which was right next door to Back in the Day Books. She was closed for the day, but I could still see a light shining from the kitchen in the back. Jenna was one of the hardest working people I knew. She was the perfect fit for our group; not a slacker in the bunch.
"All right, kiddo, ready to go?" Iasked Holly, who was staring down at her phone. I glanced over briefly and saw that she was staring at her mom's pictures on her Facebook page.
"Any change?" I asked.
She looked over at me and flipped her phone upside down on her lap.
"Nothing," was all she said.
"You ready to eat some pastries? Nothing makes me feel better than flour, butter, and sugar baked into submission."
A brief laugh escaped Holly's lips. "I'm ready," she said.
Jenna, who had probably been watching for us, was standing at the door when we walked up.
"Good evening, ladies," she said. "Who's ready to be my taste testers?"
I bounced up and down on my toes with one hand in the air. "Oh, me! Pick me!"
Holly looked over at me and a small smile curved one side of her mouth. "Sounds good," she said with a little more enthusiasm than I'd seen from her in days.
We walked past Jenna, who locked the door behind us and then led us back to the kitchen. The metal stainless steel countertop down the center was covered end to end in baked goods and the air was fragrant with vanilla and browned butter. There was every variety you could think of: croissants, tarts, apple tartlets, cupcakes, tiny cheesecakes, cream puffs. It was a smorgasbord of carbs, and I couldn't have been more excited.
"What have you gotten us into?" I said with a laugh.
"I have one of Paige's retreats coming up," she said, "and I wanted to make some changes to the menu this time, so I've been trying a few new desserts. I figured I could try it for a week and if Paige approves, the retreaters would have a dessert to look forward to after they came back from dinner."
"That's really smart, Jenna," I said. "It's always a good idea to try to expand your offerings. I think if everyone has been sothrilled with what you've been providing for breakfast, having something there for dessert would be wonderful."
"She asked me to put a couple ideas together because her retreaters have been looking for something when they get back from dinner, and Paige doesn't always have a dessert ready for them."
