The Bloom Girls

by Amy Pine

  And when Alissa made it back up to the reception desk, Matt was gone.

  She checked out, made her next appointment, and then pulled out her phone to add the date to her calendar and saw she had a text waiting from him.

  Matt: Just got called into a meeting. Had to run. Call you later so we can talk about some of the things that came up in the exam room?

  Like custody and living arrangements. Becca was right. She needed to get her mind off things for a while, focus on Gabi and the wedding.

  Alissa: Busy later. I’ll call you when things quiet down maybe Sunday or early next week.

  She watched the telltale ellipses for what seemed like minutes, expecting some sort of rant to appear on the screen, but when his text finally showed up, all it said was Ok.

  Matt had told her to put him through the wringer, and she’d laid on him her first task—making it to the ultrasound appointment—and he’d shown up. She should have been thrilled. But then he threw out custody and living arrangements, and it felt like they’d taken three giant steps back instead of one step forward.

  Maybe these past couple of weeks had given him time to realize that he didn’t actually want the baby and her.

  She blew out a breath and then tapped on her sister’s name in recent texts.

  Alissa: I’m free tomorrow night if Chris wants to go out. Does that make me desperate if I’m free on a Saturday the day before? Whatever. I don’t care. Maybe just set up drinks?

  I’ll get there early and order a fake cocktail or something. I don’t know. Is this crazy? He probably has plans already anyway. Ok. Just let me know.

  She hit SEND, and a little ripple of electricity surged through her.

  An hour later she was at the bakery helping Sadie close up when Becca finally responded.

  Becca: IT’S ON! 7:00 at Bluegrass, just down the street from you. Cute bar area, and if drinks go well, you can move on to dinner! Here’s his picture so you know who he is. Sent him yours as well and he thinks you’re gorgeous! Have fun and TELL ME EVERYTHING.

  The picture took another few seconds to pop up, and when it did, Alissa’s eyes went wide. It was for sure his photo from the law firm’s website. He was in a suit, hair perfectly coifed and jaw perfectly chiseled.

  “Who’s that?” Sadie said, having sidled up over Alissa’s shoulder in stealth.

  Alissa scoffed and spun around. “No one. Just—are you done packing up the rejects to donate?”

  Sadie narrowed her eyes. “Yep. In my car and ready to go. I think we’re all good to lock up.”

  Alissa nodded. “You go ahead. I have a few more things to take care of in the office. I’ll see you tomorrow after yoga.”

  Sadie slung her purse over her shoulder. “Sounds good. Then you can tell me all about the date you’re going on tomorrow night.”

  “You read the text?” Alissa asked.

  “Don’t worry,” Sadie said. “I know the baby thing doesn’t mean you and my brother are suddenly back together. I think we both know it takes more than a pregnancy to solidify a relationship. You do you, Liss. And if things don’t work out with Hottie McBusinessman, feel free to send him my number.”

  She winked and spun toward the back door, outside of which they both parked.

  Sadie was a good egg. Despite the decade between them, they’d always been close—from taking her to bounce gyms when she and Matthew had just started dating, to teaching her how to bake her first cake, to watching Sadie follow in Alissa’s own footsteps. Not that she expected Matthew’s family to cut her out of the picture once they got divorced—because, hello, Gabi—but she hadn’t expected her relationship with Sadie to continue to blossom the way it had. And while nothing compared to Alissa’s relationship with Becca, Sadie was as much a sister as she could be, and also one of her closest friends.

  “Hottie McBusinessman,” Alissa said aloud, then snorted.

  Well, this Hottie McBusinessman thought Alissa was gorgeous, and no matter what happened tomorrow night, despite her sore boobs and bloated midsection, Alissa Adler still had it, and there was nothing wrong with riding high on that knowledge for the rest of the evening and long into tomorrow.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Matt stepped hesitantly over the threshold separating the general mall population from the strange world of Baby Gap. At first he just stood there, not knowing if he should turn right, left, or back the way he came.

  It’s just a store, he told himself. You know how to enter a retail establishment and make a purchase. Except the retail establishments he frequented usually contained food and alcohol, items he was familiar with and purchased on a regular basis. He hadn’t bought anything for a baby since—well—Gabi. And back then he was a clueless kid who had his mom and Gabi’s mom to walk him through it.

  He sucked in a calming breath and blew it out, remembering the day he got home from school only to find his mother waiting for him in the driveway, car keys in hand as she leaned against the bumper of her white Subaru Forester.

  “Are we going somewhere?” he asked.

  “Alissa fainted this morning at school.”

  “Oh my God. Why didn’t anyone tell me? I figured she was at Culinary Club after school, which was why I didn’t see her. God I’m a dick. Is she in the hospital? Is that where we’re going? Is the baby okay?”

  She waved him off. “The baby’s fine. She’s fine. She’s home resting. Turns out one of her pregnancy symptoms is low blood pressure, which means if she gets up too fast or something gets her adrenaline going, she could go down for the count. She just has to be a little bit more careful. Doctor says the symptom should resolve after the first trimester.”

  Matthew blew out a shaky breath. “What the hell, Mom? You could have led with that!” He stepped forward and pressed his palm against the Forester’s rear window. “I was so nervous I almost threw up.”

  His mother gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Get over yourself, sweetheart. That girlfriend of yours is tossing her cookies the second she gets out of bed each morning. And now fainting. But there’s one more thing.”

  Matthew’s stomach roiled. Something was wrong.

  “What is it?” he asked, one hand still braced on the car, the other pressed against his gut as if he could keep the contents of his stomach inside if it suddenly decided to come out.

  “Alissa only needs a few more credits to graduate. She and Evelyn talked to her counselor after they got home from the doctor and worked it out for her to finish out the semester from home. She’ll walk through graduation if she wants to, but she’s not coming back to school.”

  “I need to go see her,” he said.

  His mom nodded. “But not empty-handed. She’s sacrificing a lot for this baby—the end of her childhood at the very least.”

  “And a gift is going to make up for that?” he asked, hating there was nothing he could do to make any of this all right.

  “No. It won’t,” was all she said before he finally got into the car.

  Matthew’s heart sat lodged in his throat for the short ride into town. He barely remembered his mother parking in front of the children’s clothing boutique or her showing him around the store, explaining how the sizes of baby clothing worked. All he remembered was finding the little Snoopy lovie, which was what his mom had called the small stuffed animal that had a little blanket hanging from Snoopy’s body.

  “Alissa loves dogs,” he told his mom. “But her dad is allergic, so she’s never had one.”

  His mom cupped his cheek in her palm. “Then let’s get her and the baby a dog.”

  “Can I help you, sir?” someone said, and Matthew shook himself out of the daydream. He wasn’t an eighteen-year-old kid in a store with his mother. He was a forty-year-old man, standing dumbfounded in a Baby Gap, reminding himself how much Alissa had given up to keep herself and their unborn child safe, starting with completing her final high school credits from home. And he’d had the audacity to show up to the first doctor’s appointment for
their new baby tossing out words like custody and living arrangements because he was scared—scared that it was too late to prove to Alissa that she could trust him. Scared that after all this time, he truly had lost her.

  “Right,” he finally said to the young woman, who couldn’t have been older than Alissa was back then. “Do you have—um—lovies? Those little stuffed animal / blanket combo thingies?”

  The salesgirl smiled at him, her blond ponytail swishing as she bounced on her heels. “Right this way, sir.” She led him to the back of the store, to where racks of tiny socks and bibs lined a section of the wall, and right beneath the bibs—an assortment of lovies. There were several lambs and elephants, which he guessed would have done just fine. But he grabbed the lone remaining puppy with its attached soft green blanket. After all, Alissa still didn’t have a dog. The least he could do was remedy that situation once again.

  He was on his way back toward the mall entrance, when he stopped short outside the window of the mall’s portrait studio, Say Cheese!

  He blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. Sure enough, there was his daughter—watching a young couple try to wrangle their toddler son into sitting still on a small stool, the backdrop of a farm behind him. But the moment one of the parents sat the little guy back on the stool and stepped away, he was off, spinning toward the backdrop and trying to pet the lambs and chickens that were part of the scene.

  He crossed his arms and watched, a bemused grin on his face, until a girl who looked much the same age as the Baby Gap employee appeared and said something to Gabi. Although Matthew was standing too far outside the entrance of the studio to hear the conversation, he could tell by the young girl’s raised brows and the way his daughter took a step back that Gabi was likely getting chewed out by a teenager. When said teenager held out an open palm and Gabi handed the girl her camera, his fight-or-flight instinct kicked in.

  He spun on his heel to leave even though what he really wanted to do was to rush to his daughter’s rescue. She’d be mortified if she saw him. He knew this because he hadn’t even known Gabi was working here, and it was obvious she hadn’t told him for a reason.

  “Dad?” he heard from over his shoulder, and he stopped in his tracks.

  Busted.

  He pivoted to face her. “Hey, Gabs. So how’s—”

  “I can explain,” she said, cutting him off. “It’s not what it looks like.”

  He bit his lip but couldn’t bite his tongue.

  “It looks like you’re working at a portrait studio at the mall.” The words held no judgment because a job was a job, and if this was what his daughter chose to do right now, then he would support her. But he’d hated what he’d just seen, his talented artist of a daughter getting her ass handed to her by a kid who likely had no idea how much more Gabi knew about the craft than she did.

  “Okay.” Her shoulders slumped. “It’s exactly what it looks like. But in my defense this is the only place—and I mean only—that responded to my résumé with a job offer. I received thank-you letters from two of the most talented portrait artists in the area who politely explained they were independent operators who have built up their client lists over the years and that maybe I should do the same. But I don’t know how to get my name out there without any local references. I figured this was a start.”

  Matthew shrugged. “Nothing wrong with getting your feet wet however you can. I guess I didn’t really know portraits were your thing.”

  Matthew crossed his arms behind his back, hoping to keep the small Baby Gap bag hidden, while Gabi leaned against the outside of the studio’s window.

  Gabi worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “I’m good at it. It was my side hustle in college—taking pictures of couples before heading off to a fraternity formal, the occasional engagement or graduation photo shoot. Of course, I got to use my own camera and the locations were almost always outdoors, and I wasn’t answering to a high school junior named Kelsey whose family owns the mall chain, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

  He shoved the small bag into the top of his jeans and behind his jacket, hoping his daughter wouldn’t notice or ask what he might be hiding. This wasn’t the time—when she was in crisis—to spill the beans.

  He took a tentative step toward his little girl and placed a hand on her cheek. “You know, my first few years out of college, I barely made anything. The travel started because of an internship that offered room and board. I jumped around a bit, making a name for myself in the conservation community until people started throwing a little money my way. All I’m saying, Gabs, is that you don’t need to be ashamed of what you’re doing now. If what you really want is to establish yourself in the community, then this is a great way to make connections.” He kissed her on the top of her head and then let his hand fall to his side.

  The corner of her mouth turned up into half a smile, and Matthew hoped that meant what he’d said had been helpful. Even after all these years, he still wasn’t sure how she saw him as a father, and he realized that was because he’d never asked.

  “Just out of curiosity, when I try to impart my fatherly advice upon you, do you just smile and nod to humor me?” He tried to smile as he asked but realized he was asking in earnest. He wanted to know what his daughter thought of him.

  She glanced down at her watch.

  “Shoot, sorry. You probably have to get back inside to Queen Kelsey.” He winced at the thought. “You don’t need to answer that question.”

  “I do need to go back in there,” Gabi admitted. “But it means a lot…your fatherly advice. Maybe I’ve never said it out loud, but despite what happened between you and Mom—between all of us, I guess—I’ve always been a little envious of this adventurous life you get to lead.”

  He swallowed. “I missed a lot on those adventures. You know that, right? I missed you.” And your mom, so very much. If Alissa had so much as asked, he would have stayed. But she never had.

  Gabi nodded, then inhaled deeply through her nose. “I have to get back to building a name for myself in the community.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed—the plastic bag crinkling under his jacket. Then she took a step back, brows creased. “Is your jacket stuffed with newspaper or something?”

  Matthew’s eyes widened as he reached beneath said jacket and produced the item in question. “A gift!” he blurted. “For a friend. Forgot I had it. I hate carrying things around, and it was too big for my pocket.” It was the truth but a truth that covered a secret he was keeping from his daughter, which made the truth feel like a big fat lie. He understood that he and Alissa needed to figure their shit out before they broke the news to Gabi. Together. But it didn’t make it any easier.

  She smiled. “I like this, Dad. You and me, one on one. Reminds me of the early days of the tree house.”

  He squeezed his eyes shut, a muscle pulsing in his jaw at the mention of what used to be their secret hideout, which was now his daughter’s secret love den.

  Gabi snorted, and he cracked open an eye.

  “It’s been weeks…” She cleared her throat. “Since the incident. You’re going to get over it eventually, aren’t you? Or are we going back to you calling Ethan Esteban?”

  Matthew groaned. “I don’t think there’s enough sage in Gigi’s house to burn away what I saw.” But then he pulled his daughter in for another quick hug. “I like this too. Maybe we can do it again?” He felt her nod against his shoulder. “Send my regards to Esteban.” He stepped back and gave his daughter a wink and a smile.

  She rolled her eyes and turned back toward the studio, but not before cracking a quick smile herself.

  He strode toward the mall’s exit with a little more pep in his step. Perhaps his relationship with his daughter was unconventional, but look at how great she’d turned out. He could take a tiny bit of credit, couldn’t he?

  This time, with the new baby, he’d do even better. And he’d win Alissa back, one tiny victory at a t
ime.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Are you sure this is okay?” Gabi asked, setting her bag down inside the wall of Miriam’s small cubicle at the Chicago-based design firm where she’d been working since a week after graduation. “You just started this job, and I don’t want to get you in trouble. I just need a place to work that isn’t my mom’s kitchen table or Ethan’s bedroom. He’s putting in some extra hours on this big project the firm just got, which means it would only be me and his roommate T.J. at the condo, but it’s not a conducive work space, you know? I just—It’s my first Saturday off in two weeks, and I need a change of scenery to get the creative juices flowing, but now that I’m here I feel like I’m imposing. I can just go to a Starbucks or something.”

  Miriam patted her friend on the head like she was a kindergartner who’d just fallen off her bike and was afraid to get back on.

  “Sweetie, I told you. You’re my client. We’re working on your brand so that you can be a big, mature grown-up like the rest of us and get yourself some clients outside of the mall.” She shrugged. “Also, when the boss lady is on deadline with top-tier clients who basically fund our salaries—which is always—she doesn’t actually recognize weekends. And it’s not like I actually need my desk when I’m in a meeting, so have at it!”

  Gabi groaned. “But I’m not paying you,” she reminded her friend.

  Miriam raised her brows. “And that’s why you’re going to sit here and work on your portfolio and what you think your brand should be while I head off to my meeting.”

  Miriam nodded past the row of cubicles to where Gabi saw an indoor roundabout of sorts where employees were filling mugs at a coffee/espresso station or grabbing granola out of a cylindrical cereal dispenser. It didn’t matter that it was midafternoon. It looked like coffee and cereal were round-the-clock staples around here. Beyond the little food court sat a raised, glassed-in room that had a whiteboard wall and both a foosball and Ping-Pong table.