AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They chatted about the weather, with her mother saying that they were due for a late snowstorm, since they hadn’t had one in several years, and the waitress came out to take their orders.
She and Mark both ordered the special. Griff’s specials were known far and wide for being the absolute very best thing on the menu. They often became permanent fixtures.
Thankfully, Griff and Chi had been teaching Rodney, the young man they’d semi-adopted, how to cook as well.
Rodney had a team of draft horses he’d gotten from a dude in North Dakota, starting a business giving carriage rides along the beach, but from what Pam understood, he was planning on going to college in the fall after taking a year off school.
“I have to tell you, not because I’m forced to, but because I want to, there are strawberry crumb bars for dessert, and you need to save room for these. They are amazing.” The waitress tucked the electronic tablet she had in her hand into her apron as she took the last order from Paulette.
“I think I’ll take one of those, maybe as an appetizer,” Pam said.
“Pam! Isn’t that...a little uncouth? Eating dessert first? What is your husband going to think?” Her mother sounded genuinely shocked that Pam would order dessert and eat it as an appetizer. Like there was something morally wrong with it, rather than just being a little unconventional.
“Her husband would think that’s a good idea, and I’ll take one too,” Mark said to the waitress, who nodded her head and pulled her electronic device back out to add to their order.
“Strawberry crumb bars?” Paulette said thoughtfully.
“That’s right. Griff’s recipe. He made a couple of batches the other week, and while they were good, he made some improvements that made these ones chewy and soft and the flavor just bursts in your mouth, and that is the only way I can explain it.” The waitress sounded like she was truly in love with the crumb bars, and if Mark hadn’t already ordered some, she would have convinced him to do it just then.
“I’ll take one,” Paulette said right away.
The waitress smiled and nodded, punched it into the electronic tablet, then began to walk away.
“Wait. I suppose I better order one as well, or I’ll be sitting here watching everyone else eat them and...wishing I had one too.” Her mom sounded genuinely distressed to have to order a strawberry crumb bar. “Give me a salad while you’re at it. Maybe it will help offset some of the cancer-causing agents I’ll ingest with the crumb bars.”
“You got it. What dressing?” the waitress asked, meeting Pam’s eyes and smiling just a bit.
Her mom told her what dressing, and the waitress thanked her and walked away.
“I’m so glad you were there. I am starving, and I was hoping that by ordering the special our food would come out fast, but this way, we’re going to be eating in another couple of minutes.”
Mark grinned at her, and she made a mental note to remember to thank him, profusely, after they got out of hearing distance of his sister and her mom. She really appreciated him supporting her. Her mom had a tendency to do that, divide and conquer. She often tried to do it with her daughters. Whatever Pam said, she took the opposite side and then tried to get her grandkids on her side. It was annoying. And more successful than Pam wanted to admit. Her daughters were all too often happy to make fun of their mom, and while she was sure they didn’t really mean to hurt her feelings, it was hurtful the way the three of them seemed to gang up against her.
She was glad that Mark didn’t have anything to do with that.
“What made you decide to get married?” her mother asked. Again.
“I already told you. I looked at her one day and realized that I liked her for more than a friend.”
Pam had glanced at Mark when he started talking, and he looked at her as he spoke, and she felt like his words were...true. Actually, Mark didn’t like to lie any more than what she did, and she’d never heard him utter something that wasn’t one hundred percent true.
Funny that he was doing it now for her. Except, the way he looked into her eyes as he said it made her feel like he meant it.
“I know you said that, but it’s just so hard for me to believe. You guys have been friends for so long.”
“You know, I’ve heard of this. People who have been friends and never really thought about each other as more, until something has a tendency to throw them together, and then they realize that hey, we’ve been missing this all along.” Thankfully Paulette interjected into the conversation and drew her mother’s attention away from them.
Pam didn’t think she had any words at the moment. Looking at Mark seemed to pull them all from her head. Not necessarily because her brain wasn’t working, just because her feelings seemed overwhelming. She didn’t want him to look at her like that, because it made her feel...like he really did love her.
She already knew he cared about her. Of course he did. She was his friend. His best friend. But when he looked at her like that, it made her feel like there could be more. Actually, it made her want more.
She barely noticed when the waitress brought their strawberry crumb bars out. Mark said a quick prayer, and Pam said a few words of her own. Questioning God. What was going on? Why was she having all these crazy feelings? Was it just because of marriage and all the things that that was supposed to entail? Had it gone to her head?
She forgot about all of that as she bit into the bar. It was divine.
“What I really need where I live is not the beach, but Griff. I need Griff.” Paulette sighed as she took another bite of her strawberry crumb bar.
“Griff’s wife might have something to say about that.” Mark laughed.
