Chapter Thirteen
ThePeppermintCourtyard.
Really?
Holly was surprised this was where her parents wanted to have lunch, instead of the Kringle Cup Café.The Peppermint Courtyard was the fanciest dining in town.It didn’t have a dress code or anything, but it was definitely a step up from the other places.This was the place that she dreamed about one day having dinner with Colin.
She glanced down at her blue jeans and white sweater.She felt underdressed.She looked around at the other patrons in their dress clothes.She didn’t recognize many of them.The others must be tourists.
She glanced across the table at Billie Jean.Her brown hair was streaked with white.And even though she’d applied makeup, her face showed lines from, as her grandmother would say, hard living.When she held up the menu, Holly could see her nails were chewed to the quick.
Sympathy welled up in Holly, but she stamped it down.After all, these were the people who had abandoned her as a baby and only stopped back twice in her life.And then it struck her that this was only the third time she’d seen her parents since she was a baby.The third time.The thought landed like a rock in her stomach.She lost her appetite.
“What are you going to have, sweetie?”Roger asked.
Holly assumed he was speaking to Billie Jean, so she didn’t say anything as she continued to stare down at the menu without seeing any of the words.
“Holly, did you hear me?”It was Roger’s voice again.
She lowered the menu and looked at him.“Uh, sorry.What?”
He frowned at her with a look that said how-dare-you-not-hang-on-my-every-word.When Billie Jean elbowed him, he smiled.“I wanted to know what you’re going to order.”
“Oh.I don’t know.”Her gaze moved back to the menu and the prices.Wow!This place wasn’t cheap.No wonder her grandmother never wanted to eat there.
“Well, I’m going to have the seared salmon with a side of couscous.”Billie Jean set aside the menu.
“I’m having a New York Strip steak.”Roger placed his menu on top of Billie Jean’s.
Anotherwowspun through her mind.They certainly eat fancy for lunch.She usually just had a salad or burger.There were no burgers on the menu.So, she checked out the salads.
These salads were not your run-of-the-mill salads.They had a seared salmon with avocado.Another salad had Maine lobster.And the prices definitely matched the fancy salads.She didn’t have the money to splurge on a salad, but her parents were here, so this made it a special occasion.
Her gaze landed on the last salad listed.It was a cobb salad with sliced tenderloin.It was the cheapest on the menu so that was the one she picked.It was still expensive, but she would make it work.
After they ordered, Roger said, “We can’t stay in town long.We’ve got a lot going on back in California.”
“That’s right,” Billie Jean said.“Your father has just gotten in on the deal of a lifetime.”
Her parents talked about themselves, their financial success, and what a hardship it was to be in Vermont when everything was happening on the West Coast.Holly tried to look interested in what they were saying, but she didn’t care about some software or some sort of special computers.
Billie Jean leaned toward her and held up her phone with a photo.“This is our house.Isn’t it a beauty?”
Holly stared at the white two-story building that was more like a mansion than a house.She had to admit she was impressed.Her parents had done well for themselves.
“It’s nice,” Holly said.“Have you lived there long?”
“That’s just one of our houses,” Roger said.“We got ourselves a beach house in Galveston.And a place in Lake Tahoe.”They continued to talk about their residences and how much they liked to travel.
Meanwhile, her thoughts kept returning to Colin.She missed him.She wished he’d have stopped when he drove by her shop.She was certain he’d seen her.He probably didn’t stop because she was with her parents.She couldn’t blame him.They were a lot.
And yet, she did her best to look interested as Roger and Billie Jean went on and on about their business, their home, and their life.Holly nodded where appropriate.She didn’t have to say anything, because they just kept talking.She didn’t know anyone could talk that much.Then again, it took the pressure off her because she didn’t have to think of what to say.
She felt guilty for growing bored when they talked about their business.She told herself to act more interested.After all, this was what she’d wanted since she was a kid.
She cleared her throat, and when there was a slight pause in the conversation, she asked, “Have you always lived in California?”
“No,” Billie Jean said.
