I’d only been back an hour, but I remembered the reasons Pierce complained about our hometown.
I scowled at Pearl, trying to decide what she was up to this time because Mrs. Ashwood was always up to something, but Anessa clapped her hands so loudly behind me that she drew my attention back in her direction.
“Right,” I said getting back to business. I came to order cupcakes and cookies, not give Pearl a look into my life. “Why don’t you give me one of all your cupcakes and then two of every cookie. Whatever you can get to fit in that box.”
It didn’t pass my notice that more than likely Loretta would accuse me of trying to make her fat, which would start an argument, but I’d hoped I’d be able to persuade her otherwise in bed.
Anessa set to work filling the box with various confections. It seemed the theme for the month of July was red white and blue, even though the fourth had passed. She set the full box next to the cash register but didn’t make a move to ring up my purchase.
“Let us give you advice. We never get to give the men advice.” She was definitely a protégé of Pearl’s.
“But I don’t need advice,” I said as I tried to grab on to the box, but she held on tightly.
“Everyone needs advice. I’ll give you half off this box if you let me tell you what to do.”
The woman had a real hankering to be helpful. Maybe she should have gone into psychology.
“I don’t want half off the box.” Not to be conceded, but if I purchased every item in the bakery, it wouldn’t even dent my bank account.
“Seriously,” she said staring at me hard. “Everyone needs advice, especially when someone comes in buying snacks for a lady friend.”
I shook my head. “I still don’t need any advice.”
She nodded, mimicking my head motions in the opposite direction. “Yes, you do. So just spill it or else you’re not getting the cookies.”
Anessa latched onto the box of cookies and in that moment, I realized I couldn’t get out of the bakery without telling them something. Her hands held on so tightly she dented the side of the box and stuck her entire chest over them as if she thought I’d rip the container out of her grasp and run out the door screaming.
Actually, the idea didn’t sound so horrible.
If I wanted to escape, I needed to come up with a story. These ladies were good. Pierce wanted to know why the entire town learned of his relationship problems, but he didn’t have to look any further than these two people in particular. Katy Kadish might not work at the bakery any longer, but she and Pearl taught them their favorite interrogation tactics.
“You better tell her something before she quits breathing,” Pearl said on half a chuckle, pretending to sip her tea as if she wasn’t watching the whole thing like a curious cat.
“Fine,” I said taking a deep breath and working out a way around the story. I didn’t want to give out too many details. My law degree needed to be good for something. It was time to spin a masterful tale based on truth with a heaping pile of fiction. Show time.
“It’s for a friend I recently met andhe’shaving problems with a lady.”
It sounded like a good opener to me, but Anessa frowned. “You said the treats were for a woman.”
Right. “I’m helping my friend by buying the treats forhiswoman.”
Pearl laughed again from the corner, but I ignored her and kept my eye contact on Anessa. She pursed her lips together and did a slow blink. “Okay, we’ll go with that. Why is your friend needing to buyhislady friend cupcakes?”
“Well, they recently met but seem to share a deep connection. She’s special to him. Except soon he’ll have to return home and he’s not sure what will happen.”
Anessa’s frown turned into a smirk. “Home to New York where he’s lived since abandoning his hometown after high school graduation?”
My eyebrows furrowed. “No, he lives in…” I tried to think of some place close but not too close, but the way she stared at me with her inquisitive eyes, Anessa could’ve made an amazing attorney. “Clearwater. He’s in Clearwater and she isn’t and so they’re not sure how they can make a long-distance relationship work.”
Was it hot? I tugged on my shirt collar trying to bring in cooler air. The ovens had to be open and running at full blast. A trickle of sweat slipped down my forehead. Give me a court room and a hostile witness and I was fine, but this woman had me wanting to run.
Anessa loosened her hold on the box but not enough to hand it to me. “Well, silly, Clearwater’s only thirty minutes away so I’m sure he’ll able to handle it. For fun let’s pretend she lives further away. Think Portland,” she said supplying extra details for the fake story. “In that case I would say that long-distance relationships are hard, but if your friend believes this person is the one, he should go for it. Because a couple can move anywhere in the world but you can only find happiness when you’re together with that special person.”
I thought on what she said for a second. In a roundabout way it resembled a fortune cookie, but decent advice lay within the mush. “You think so? Is it fair to ask one person to uproot their life for another?”
She shrugged and let go of the box. “Maybe it wouldn’t be that big of an ask. You’ll never know until you… I mean your friend has an honest conversation. But you definitely shouldn’t let her get away if you feel strongly.”
I passed over my credit card and Anessa slipped it through her machine as I continued contemplating what she said. It couldn’t be that simple. Could it?
