AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, sure, it’s been great catching up.”
“It must be nice having a friend at work,” she said, emphasizing the 'at work' part. Another subtle reminder that I was the help. Mason was totally right. I don't know what I had been thinking.
“Speaking of work,” she continued. “I hear that you're more or less working part-time hours, is that right? It’s great that you have more free time now to spend here with your mother! We’ll have to talk later about adjusting your paycheck.”
Shewouldbring something up like that in public. I felt my mom look at me and some of the other customers shift uncomfortably away from us. Mom looked concerned. I hadn’t told her about the change in my work status.
Noticing my face, Rebecca had the courtesy to pretend to be embarrassed.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought Tristan would have already spoken to you. He said he would. I’ll stop by the house sometime soon and we can talk more officially about the new arrangements.”
“I’ll just go get your order from the back so you can be on your way,” my mom said, sensing the tension. “We don’t want to keep you. I know you must have a very busy day ahead.”
We stood there in the most awkward of silences. How long did it take my mom to get a box of donuts?
“Shiloh is so looking forward to her mom visiting,” Rebecca eventually said. Uh huh. Here it comes. “It’s crazy to think that after everything Tristan and Regina have been through, they might get back together. Spending time together as a family is going to be a blessing. And you know what they say, 'Love always wins'.” Her sing-song voice at the end made me want to roll my eyes, but I held it together.
She smiled at me and I was pretty sure she was just playing mind games with me. She couldn’t possibly be that delusional, right? I heard Tristan tell her that he and Regina were absolutely not getting back together.
“I’m so happy for them,” I simply said. I wasn’t giving her the joy of knowing she got to me.
“Here you go,” Mom said, returning with the bright turquoise box that all the pastries and cakes were delivered in.
Rebecca removed her designer wallet from her designer handbag, but my mom stopped her.
“Put that away, Rebecca, you already paid when you placed the order,” she said.
But Rebecca slipped a couple of twenty-dollar bills from her wallet and handed them to my mom.
“A little something extra,” she said. “You work so hard. You're so brave to run your own business like this.”
I could feel my mom stiffen beside me. She took the money and pointedly put it in the tip jar that was distributed to the staff each day.
“Well, I should get going. I’ll see you soon, Ellen. Arya, I’ll come by the house soon to chat.”
“Can’t wait,” I said under my breath as she walked away.
My mom gave me a quick hug before heading back to continue working on orders, and I turned back to the cookies and tried to fight back the tears of frustration.
Why couldn’t I just be good enough for Tristan and his family?
Tristan
I was taking the garbage cans to the curb when I saw Arya sitting on her front porch. She was absentmindedly peeling the label from a beer and staring into space. I could tell that something was definitely on her mind and I was desperate to listen to her and provide comfort or advice, whichever she needed.
I glanced back to the house, fully aware that Shiloh and my grandparents were glued to the television.
“I’m just going to take a quick walk. I’ll be back in a bit,” I shouted back into the house.
I quickly walked the short distance to Arya’s porch and when she noticed me approaching, she looked up in surprise.
“You scared me,” she said, with a nervous chuckle.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” I climbed the few steps that led to her porch.
“Want one?” she said, gesturing with her bottle.
“Sure.”
