My mouth dries. I take a quick swallow of the coffee. “Just going to lay it out, since there isn’t a better way to do this, but…” I exhale. “I’m dating your niece.”
The smile on her face falters. “You mean Max?” Her voice grows flat, without a hint of emotion.
“Yes,” I say, not understanding the abrupt change in tone.
Her gaze grows sharp. She looks me up and down, her eyes lingering on my face, then on my hands. Finally she looks at me again. “So what does a slick city boy like you want with me? I haven’t seen Max in years, not since her mother passed on.”
I nod. “I know…but I really need your help.”
She crosses her arms.
“Max mentioned that her mother had a special recipe for cheeseburgers.”
“Anna wasn’t the best cook, but that was good.” Bea continues to gaze at me warily.
“Max said she tried to replicate it, several times, but something was always missing.”
Bea snorts and moves her eyes to a corner of the ceiling. “That was just like Anna. Probably forgot to update her records.”
“Do you know what the secret ingredient is?”
The eyes come back to me. “Why do you want to know? You don’t look like the type to cook. You even know how to turn on a stove?”
I gesture helplessly. “Not really.”
She pours another cup of coffee and takes a long, thoughtful swallow. “Also don’t look like the type to open a burger joint. Own one, maybe.”
I laugh and shake my head. “No, it’s nothing like that. Max misses the cheeseburgers, says they were comfort food growing up. So…I want to make one for her.”
“You?” Bea looks skeptical.
“I’m sure I can learn,” I say, not admitting that I’ve never really cooked before. Nearly blowing up a microwave while trying to make cup ramen shouldn’t count. I mean, that was in college.
Her mouth lifts into a lopsided smirk. “I could teach you. But I want to know how serious you are about Max first. Pretty obvious you’re a money guy.”
It doesn’t take a genius to know what she’s thinking. “I’m nothing like Trevor.”
“Know that piece of shit too, huh?”
“Hard not to, if you care about Max. I had the misfortune of meeting the man, although I haven’t seen him in a while. He might be busy getting his knees rehabbed.”
She cocks her head.
“I tripped him.” My tone’s dry, but the smile is genuine.
She slaps the table. “Wish I’d been there to see it.”
“If it makes you feel better, the boy he had with Boobsie Barbie isn’t his real son.”
Bea bursts out laughing. “Boobsie Barbie?” Her eyes glint with vindictive gratification. “Good. That son of a bitch. He had the best in Max, but never appreciated her.”
“She said you and she weren’t very close,” I say, curious why she didn’t remain in touch with Max.
“Wasn’t close to Anna, either, after she got together with Trevor.” Her mouth purses for a moment. “I was against it from the very beginning. Didn’t think he was good enough for her. Always trying too hard…nothing he did came off sincere. But Anna was in love and then she got pregnant. I told her I made enough here to take care of her and the baby both—she didn’thave to rely on that snake. But that wasn’t enough. She wanted my unconditional support. Thought I should be happy, bless her and Trevor, all that. But I couldn’t pretend, not even for my baby sister. And when she finally divorced that son of a bitch, she didn’t come back to New Hampshire—her home. Probably too embarrassed to admit I was right. She was headstrong, you know.”
“So what happened?”
“I called her a few times, and we spoke once in a while. But it got to be strained between us. So, naturally, I never had a chance to know Max as well as I’d like. When Anna passed away, I went to the funeral. That was the first time we’d met in person. She was old enough that she didn’t need a guardian, and she wanted to stay in L.A. because that’s where her life was. So I left.” A bittersweet smile tugs at Bea’s mouth. “I gave her my number and asked her to reach out if she needed anything, but she never did. And stupid me, I didn’t get her number because I thought she’d call at some point and I’d naturally get it. She’s a stubborn girl, reminds me of her mom. But I’m also proud, because if she isn’t reaching out, that means she’s doing a pretty decent job living her life. No matter how obstinate she is, if she was truly desperate, she would’ve reached out,” Bea says. “I don’t want her to make the kind of mistake that Anna made.” She gives me a hard look.
