AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Was she out of her mind?
I chewed and swallowed a bite of chicken that burned my whole mouth. “I think he’s well-aware by now, Mom. Besides, I’m not his keeper. He’s a grown man.”
“Still, he deserves better.”
I put my food down. This was ridiculous. “What about me?! Don’t I deserve better than him? He fucked me over, Mom. How many times do I have to tell you that?”
She set her chicken down and pursed her lips. “There’s no need for language like that, Paige. I’m just saying, he was good to you while you were together. Weren’t you happy? You told me you were happy.”
I shouldn’t have come over. Not even for the chicken. “Mom, that’s not the point. In the end, he was using me and lying to me the whole time, and he dropped me like garbage. After a year. After leading me on and making me believe that I was the only one for him. He threw me away.” My voice shook and I got up from the table, wiping my greasy fingers on the napkin I’d put in my lap.
“Sit down, Paige, don’t go. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Let’s just have a nice dinner,” she said, in her most placating tone.
I should have left. I should have made a stand. I should have not caved to pressure.
Instead, I grabbed another napkin to wipe my face and sat back down again.
“Did you hear that Haley Roberts is pregnant with twins? She’s so tiny, I don’t know how she’s going to stay standing up,” she said with a laugh, as if nothing had ever happened.
“Wow, twins,” I said, and she prattled on about Haley Roberts and I finished my chicken and left the house with a box of leftovers and a pit in my stomach that had nothing to do with the food.
* * *
“I should text her,”I said to Linley the next day when I stopped by the bakery. This time, she was making delicate roses to put on a birthday cake. I sat and watched as beautiful flowers bloomed while she moved the pastry bag in a circle, piping out the petals in varying shades of pink before carefully placing them on the cake with a tiny knife.
“Go ahead,” she said, partially distracted by the cake.
“I don’t know what to say,” I said.
“Hey, you’re the one who had the big plan with the cereal opening line.” She turned the cake, scrutinizing it from every angle.
I looked down at my phone and chewed at my lip.
“Yeah, but that one’s better delivered in person, you know? Some things don’t come across as well in a text. And I need a reason to text her. The joke isn’t a good enough reason. I should probably just wait.”
Linley looked up and put the piping bag down. “What happened to the girl who was so confident and fired up about taking down her ex? Are you having second thoughts?”
“No. I’m not. I’m just trying to figure out the right strategy. I can’t blow this.” It had to be perfect, or it wasn’t going to happen.
Linley’s only answer was to get out a spoon, pipe some frosting onto it, and then hand me the spoon. Perfect, fluffy buttercream.
“Didn’t you invite her over to your house?” she asked, as I was licking the spoon clean.
“I mean, in a general sense. I don’t think she took me seriously. And she works until like 2am. I feel like we need an icebreaker first.”
That was what I needed. An in.
“What was that drink she made you?” Linley asked, going back to the roses, turning the cake on its stand to make sure all the roses were evenly distributed.
“A paloma, I think.” I’d made a note of it that night, and double checked.
Linley pointed the piping bag at me. “Say that you’re at the store and you want to make it for yourself and ask her what’s in it. Say you don’t remember the name.”
“Why didn’t I think of that?” I asked. It was so obvious.
“Because that’s what best friends are for. To see the things you can’t see and point them out in loving ways.” She grinned at me and went back to piping roses.
“His mom said he wanted a pink rose cake, so that’s what he’s getting,” she muttered to herself. I got lost again in the hypnotic movement of Linley making the roses and placing them on the cake before frosting the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM in beautiful cursive.
