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ChapterEight
It was the day before Becky’s birthday, and the house was at full capacity. Jules had arrived three days ago. Cora had gone to pick her up at the ferry terminal in Clinton. Jo knew her sister had been itching to confront her daughter about the news she’d sprung on her just over a week ago but had refrained from badgering Jules after she’d expressed that she didn’t want to talk about it right now.
Jo and Andrea told her to give Jules space to process the situation and was comfortable enough to talk to her about it. Jo could see that Cora was struggling to remain quiet but was happy that she was trying to respect her daughter’s wishes.
Erin, Jules’s older sister, would be arriving today but without her boyfriend Brian. Tracy also called to inform her that she and Josh would be arriving later in the afternoon.
Jo had been sitting in the den with the rest of the family when her phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Jo. It’s Kerry,” her cousin greeted from the other end of the line.
“Hey, Kerry. What can I do for you?” she asked, perking up. She noted that everyone’s gaze had been on her, including her mother’s, even though they continued to converse.
Lifting herself from the couch she’d been sitting on, she walked over to the window furthest from her mother and her keen hearing.
“I just wanted you to know that the package is ready for pick up. I’ll be here until this afternoon, but I’ll leave instructions with my staff to give it to you if you come after,” Kerry informed her.
“That’s great news. I was actually thinking of heading into town within the hour,” Jo told her cousin.
“Okay. Let me give you the address.”
After writing down the Heavenly Treats address, Jo said goodbye and hung up with Kerry. She walked back to her seat beside her mother to continue with the conversation.
“I’m heading into town,” Jo announced after half an hour had passed. “Do you guys need anything while I’m out?” she asked.
“Can you bring me back some soft pretzels and sauerkraut, please, Aunt Jo?”
At Jules’s weird request, Jo noticed Cora’s eyes focus on her daughter before looking away and shaking her head.
“Sure, sweetie,” Jo replied, giving her niece a genuine smile even though her weird cravings seemed to be confirmation of her situation.
No one else had a request, so Jo slipped out of the house and backed the Rav4 out of its parking space and drove off the property toward her cousin’s bakery. It wasn’t difficult to find it because even though she hadn’t gone out much since returning to the island, she still knew her way around— besides, the street names were still the same, and Kerry’s shop was between Midway Blvd and Goldie Road where the intersected I-20.
The moment Jo laid eyes on the bakery, she was in love. The outside was mostly covered in Boston ivy. The glossy green color of the foliage would soon transition into shades of orange, yellow, and red come fall. The orange-colored honeysuckle blossoms reached down from the roof of the building to join the ivy providing a wonderful contrast of colors. If that weren’t enough, the potted crotons and ferns lined the pathway that led to the entrance; even though she couldn’t see clearly through the paneled windows, the smell of freshly baked treats wafted to her nose and called out to her sweet tooth.
When she made it inside, she couldn’t stop herself from gawking. She felt as if she was in pastry heaven. There was a variety of simple and difficult-to-make treats looking back at her from the glass display at the front of the store.
“Hi, welcome to Heavenly Treats. How may I help you?”
Jo looked up at the woman with light blond hair and striking green eyes, who gave her a friendly smile as she waited on her to order something.
“Hi…” Jo squinted to make out the woman’s name tag. “Anne, I’m Josephine. I’m here to see my cousin, Kerry. Is she here?”
“Oh, yes. She said you were coming. She’s in the back. Let me get her for you,” Anne offered.
“Thank you.”
The young woman disappeared through the door behind her. Jo took the time to inspect some more.
“Hey, Jo,” Kerry greeted as soon as she stepped through the door. She wore an apron with the baker’s logo stitched over the top, and her auburn hair pulled back from her face, a handkerchief tied over the top Jo assumed to keep away stray hairs.
“Hey, Kerry,” she returned, smiling in greeting.
Kerry came around the display and drew her into a hug that Jo returned. “The cake’s around the back. Come on,” she continued to say, leading Jo through the door she had just emerged from.
The room, which turned out to be the kitchen, was decked out with the latest appliances and state-of-the-art equipment. A four-tiered deck oven and a twelve-burner industrial stove stood at the back where the exhaust hood was mounted. A long table stood in the middle of the room, and the large refrigerator stood in one corner. Pots and pans were either on hooks in the walls or spilling out of the overhead cupboards. She noted a loader tray filled with freshly baked muffins, cookies, donuts, and bread. All this caused her mouth to water. She wanted to sink her teeth into each of the fluffy dough to taste the sweetness of the sugar that dusted their surface or lick the jelly from their pockets.
