by Sasha Fino
“There’s more to a person than meets the eye, Kimberly. He
wanted to be an engineer because he was very smart. Instead, he took a part-time job and cared for his abusive father until the day the man died. I still don’t know how Dean did it. I started working as a desk clerk at a hotel, and we saved money to buy this home with the help of your grandfather. After Dean’s dad died, we had Bethany. I’d had a hard time with pregnancies, and, with a newborn, we didn’t want to relocate. I have wanted to tell you this
for quite some time now,” Blanche said finishing her story “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand. Uncle Dean must have thought
that the whole world was against him, and the frustration and
disappointment led him to drink.” Kimberly said in a voice that
conveyed that she was sorry for her uncle for the first time.
Blanche was surprised at the maturity in Kimberly’s
understanding
“Now you better be off to school. Don’t want to be late for your
last week “Yeah, I better hurry. Aunt Blanche, can I ask you
something?” Kimberly requested as her aunt got up from the table “Ask away!”
“Do you believe in true love?”
“I’m not sure if I do, but I believe in bonds. Your uncle and I
have a very special bond between us.”
“Well, sure, everyone has bonds, of course. Aunts with nieces,
parents with children, siblings, cousins, and friends, but I’m
talking about true love, the kind where two souls are
interconnected. Do you believe in that?”
Her aunt was speechless for a moment. “You know what,
Kimberly, I don’t know if I do or not. If there is such a thing as true
love, I have never had the great fortune to experience it,” Blanche
told her niece with sadness in her tone.
All of her classmates were in attendance. The kids were engaged in sharing plans and chatting about the last week of school gossip. They couldn’t concentrate on their schoolwork to save their lives! Kimberly was pleased to see Lexy, who excitedly filled her in on her father’s breakup with Brianna. Lexy was back to her old self. Ms. Patella let her homeroom class play around as long as it did not get out of hand. Despite the confidence she had shared with Kimberly and Lexy, she ignored them most of the morning. Yet when the bell rang for the next class, she gives them a cold and dirty look as they exited the classroom, then turned her back to them
At the lunch break, Kimberly and Lexy raced to the tree that was their favorite lunch site. On the way, Kimberly told Lexy about the shop. As they sat, Kimberly let Lexy know that Blanche and Max were signing papers for a café at Oak Creek
“No way, this is so awesome, Kimberly!” Lexy exclaimed happily
“Yeah, I know, and we will name it ‘The Sedona’s Heart Cafe!’ I am so happy we sat them together at the party!!”
“It was my idea in the first place, but it sure turned out different than we planned!”
“You can say that, again,” Kimberly replied, leaning back on the tree.
“So, when will your aunt tell the Pig about The Sedona’s Heart Cafe?”
“Well, Aunt Blanche told me a little about Uncle Dean that made me look at him in a new light. Uncle Dean still blames himself for my Cousin Bethany’s death. I always thought he was a high school dropout who turned to drink.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Aunt Blanche told me that once he was top of his class, planning to go to college and get out of Sedona, but life got in the way,” Kimberly said
“So, the Pig was a nerd in high school who would have thought it,” Lexy said with a grin on her face
“Not me!”
“Now, we need to have a great prank to put on for my Dad’s dummy summer party.”
“Like what? I knew you would plan something!” she said, eyeing Lexy
“Of course! I like raising hell!”
“You are bad! Your Dad will kill you if we do a prank!” Kimberly exclaimed as she watched Lexy play with her hair
“I know. But he hasn’t killed me yet!” Lexy said as Kimberly looked at the water sprinkler going off across the street.
“Hah, what if we turn the water sprinkler on all of the people there? It will be fun!” Kimberly said, sitting up.
“Kimberly, you are brilliant! It is what I was looking for. Something I hadn’t thought of! We will do it after everyone is finished eating,” Lexy said clapping her hands together
“Do you know that your Dad invited Aunt Blanche and Uncle Dean to the party?”
“He would,” Lexy said with a sarcastic tone in her voice, “Hey, I kind of feel sorry for my uncle.”
“Please don’t go and feel sorry for the Pig. He hurt you and I bet he knows what he is doing,” Lexy said rolling her eyes
“Maybe he doesn’t?” Kimberly replied back to her
“Get real, I thought the Pig was out hunting?”
“Bad hunting this year. He is coming home tonight. What did happen between your Dad and Brianna?” Kimberly said. “Oh, forget, Brianna! Daddy is all mine, once again! Now tell me more about this ‘Sedona’s Heart Café’ Lexy said, leaving Brianna behind once and for all Kimberly told Lexy more about The Sedona’s Heart Cafe, but in the back of Kimberly’s mind her aunt’s words about love and Uncle Dean’s story were still racing around and continued to do so the rest of the day.
Chapter 13
Max and Blanche met to sign the rental agreement and ended up having a long lunch in the back corner outside the Café at Oak Creek. There was a wonderful umbrella that kept them out of the sun. Oak Creek was twelve minutes away from Sedona, but it was cooler than Sedona. A light midmorning breeze hung around blowing at Blanche’s hair as they sat with a cup of post-lunch coffee
“Max, thank you for your help,” Blanche said. Afraid that Blanche might change her mind, Max had called in several favors owed him by the town of Sedona and got Blanche’s business license well on its way
“You are welcome. I have a little sway in town, and I figured you would want to open your coffee house as quickly as possible,” Max said
“I am so lucky to have met you, Max. You have really been very supportive, with your time, efforts, and interest,” Blanche told him
“No problem.”
“Max, why are you so concerned for me? It is because of that night.” Blanche asked the question Max had been waiting to hear all afternoon. Unfortunately, he didn’t have an answer yet. Maybe it was the electricity that he felt when he was with Blanche. It was a strange feeling, one he didn’t remember experiencing before, even with his beloved late wife.
“My daughter and your niece are best friends, so it was natural for me to want to help you out,” Max said to her even though he knew that wasn’t all of it.
“You are an amazing man,” Blanche told him
“We should probably sign the papers,” Max said as he grabbed his briefcase. He felt a little like a teenager on his first date. Funny, he’d always felt very secure in his relationships with women.
“All right. This morning I applied for a small business loan, and I should know if it is approved by next week so I can repay you for the business license along with the first month’s rent.”
“Sounds great,” Max said as he put the papers before Blanche “Nervous?” Max asked handing a pen to her
“A little, but I am so happy at the same time. It’s opening a new chapter in the Book of Life that hasn’t been written yet,” Blanche told him
“I have never heard a reference to a ‘new chapter in the Book of Life’ before. I like it. It holds promise.”
“Really, I like to think that your life is a book full of chapters that you are always writing
“I never thought about life like that before,” Max replied
Max and Blanche got down to business and went through every detail in the papers. Max saw that Blanche was intellige
nt and knew her stuff. He was certain he had made an excellent choice when he decided to help her out. Blanche signed all of the papers, and he put them safely back in his briefcase. The lunch bill was called for and paid, and they walked together back to their cars. Soon after, it started to drizzle.
“I feel like I just signed over my life to you,” Blanche told him
“It was just paperwork, nothing more. You need to meet with my property manager in the morning to finalize the paperwork. I don’t normally take a personal interest in my clients,” Max said, smiling at her.
“Thank you very much for everything.”
“You are welcome. I can’t wait to have a cup of coffee at your shop,” Max said
“Then you will always have a cup of coffee waiting for you on the house at The Sedona’s Heart Cafe,” Blanche told Max as he laughed
It had been a long time since a woman made him laugh so effortlessly, “The Sedona’s Heart Cafe?” Max asked
“Yes, it’s the name of my sandwich and coffee shop. Do you like it? “Yes, it’s got a ring to it. ‘The Sedona’s Heart Cafe,’ I like it,” Max told her, “I love the smell of rain, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do, Blanche,” Max admitted, thinking about how she was caught in a miserable marriage
“I like to cuddle up with a good book when it rains and enjoys the comforting sound of the rain pattering against the roof and window and falling to the ground,” she told him as they stopped at her jeep
“That sounds lovely. I must confess, I don’t have time to enjoy a rainy afternoon.”
“Perhaps you should, it’s very relaxing.”
“Then, I shall!” Blanche giggled in a way that made Max’s heart beat faster
“Well, I better be on my way. I don’t want to keep you from anything important,” Blanche told him as she fished her car keys out of her bag. Max was in awe of her beauty
“You aren’t keeping me from anything important.”
Blanche looked into his eyes just as the mood changed between them. Max wanted to kiss her but held back.
“Blanche, I can’t act like that other didn’t happen; I want to be with you. I don’t care if your married or not. We had something between us, and it wasn’t casual sex that we had had.
“Max…” was all she could say, and then he let it happen. It was like a magnet was pulling them together. Max swept her hair from her face as he kissed her deeply and passionately. The rain became a torrent as they stood there, enraptured, kiss after kiss.
Kimberly and Blanche pulled into the driveway and parked the Jeep. Blanche hardly said anything to Kimberly when she asked about the lunch with Max. Kimberly got out of the car, toting her backpack, and closed the door. She glanced into the backyard next door as their neighbor looked up from her lawn chair to see Kimberly and Blanche picking up grocery bags
“Hello, Blanche!” the woman called jumping the fence with a wine glass in hand
“How are you? How are Ken, Kyle, and Sara?” Blanche asked, pasting a smile on her face
“Ken is hard at work at a new law firm, Kyle made the dean’s list, yet again, with his 4.0 in college and Sara is Sara, being a pain as always.”
“Oh, that’s nice!” Blanche told her
“So, this is Kimberly. I have been trying to meet you since you moved in last April, but somehow, I keep missing you. I was very sorry to hear about your father’s death,” the woman said. She had black curly hair and brown eyes and was dressed in her work clothes
“Thanks,” Kimberly said, wondering how this woman knew her.
“Kimberly, this is Mrs. Gabrielle, our next-door neighbor.” “Hello, it’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Gabrielle,” Kimberly said
“Please call me Jocelyn. I’m the neighborhood gossip. I know everything that’s going on in this neighborhood, and I just love getting into other people’s dirty laundry,” Jocelyn said proudly
Kimberly just stared at her
“How old are you, anyway?” Jocelyn asked her
“Fifteen last March,” she said turning shy
“Oh, you are only one year younger than my daughter, Sara. You have finished ninth grade,” Jocelyn commented.
“Yes!”
“That’s wonderful! I am the tenth-grade school guidance counselor. I can get you into any class that you want art, science, band, sports you name it.”
“Wow, that’s cool,” Kimberly said to Jocelyn
“Anytime, that’s what neighbors are for. Oh, Blanche, that reminds me, you have to come over and share a glass of wine with me. I have to share the latest hot gossip!”
“I would love to Jocelyn, but Dean is coming home tonight, and I want to make him a special dinner,” Blanche replied
“Maybe after dinner, you can sneak over, I must tell you this,” Jocelyn said to her
“Well, I will try, but I am busy working on opening my own business,” Blanche said happily
“What?” Jocelyn asked. “What and where?”
“It’s just a little coffee house in Heller Plaza,” Blanche said
Jocelyn choked on her wine. “You are renting a shop from Max Heller, Blanche? And you didn’t tell me?”
“It just happened,” Blanche told her
“Did you see a sign for rent up there, or what?” Jocelyn asked
“Kimberly and Max Heller’s daughter, Lexy, are friends. Max and I met and talked. I have always wanted to open a shop, and Max had one! End of story. I hope you will encourage everyone to stop by when I open!”
“Oh my god! Kimberly, you are friends with Lexy Heller? So, you have made a friend in high society, already. I’m impressed. So that’s who I saw with you the other day. I knew it!”
“Yes, she is really cool.”
“I am sure. Blanche, you must come over. This gossip will be meaningful for you.”
“What is it?” Blanche asked
“It is not for Kimberly’s ears,” Jocelyn told her
“Please, she is not a child, and you can dummy it down if you must,” Blanche said
“Well, you know Dick and Marge across the way from us. Last night I saw Dick with a woman in the car park by bell rock.”
“What?” Blanche gasped
“Yes, I guess Dick hasn’t liked Marge’s cooking lately, or so I’ve heard,”
Jocelyn said. Kimberly wanted to roll her eyes at Jocelyn. She knew what was going on thanks to Lexy and Aunt Blanch.
“Does Marge know?”
“No. And the woman works with Dick. I checked it out. Marge doesn’t know her, and I doubt that they are doing business at 7:00 p.m.”
“I see. We need to go. Take care, Jocelyn,” Blanche told her
“It’s great to meet you, Kimberly. You should come over sometime and meet my Sara,”
“Sure. It was nice to meet you, also, Jocelyn,” Kimberly told her
“Oh, Blanche, she is a dear. And welcome to Sedona,” Jocelyn said to her
“Thanks, goodbye,” Kimberly said
“Good night, Jocelyn, and say, ‘hello’ to your family for us,” Blanche told her
Jocelyn started walking back to her yard, thoughtfully sipping her wine as she went
Without a word, Blanche got the other bag of groceries out of the jeep and locked it up. Then she and Kimberly entered the house and put everything down
“Who is she, Aunt Blanche?”
“Jocelyn is just what she said she is, the neighborhood snoop and a bit of a wino. I try to be nice to her. Her kids are super nice,” Blanche said
“Oh, and who are Dick and Marge? Do you know them?”
“Not really. I mean, I wave or small talk with them when I see them out. They live across the street from Jocelyn, and you have already met Dr. White, our other next-door neighbor,” she told Kimberly. Dr. White is a retired NASA scientist who stops by and talks to Dean and Blanche all the time. Kimberly found him to be incredibly interesting to talk to
“Aunt Blanche, I have been around the world and haven’t met as many remark
able people as I have in the few short months, I have lived with you in Sedona!”
Chapter 14
Blanche had a nice dinner waiting on the table when Dean came home that night. Kimberly smelled the food and came out to find three places settings at the table. Blanche lit a candle and put it in the middle of the table “Wow, what’s this all about?” Kimberly asked her aunt
“I thought we would have a nice sit-down family dinner.” “Great with me. How was your meeting with Mr. Heller?”
“Fine, it will be about two more weeks before we can move in and set up.” “Cool, it will be fun setting up,” Kimberly said noticing that her aunt wasn’t
herself
“I think so. Mr. Heller is wonderful helping us out and getting everything done in a hurry,” Blanche said setting a bowl of Caesar salad on the table
“Yeah, he’s a good guy,” Kimberly commented seeing that same dreamy look in her aunt’s eyes that she’d seen when she and Lexy had spied on them
“Yes, he is…he’s really been wonderful.”
“Aunt Blanche… Are you okay?”
“What makes you say that, Kimberly? Of course I’m fine! I’m opening my shop, you’re here, and Uncle Dean is coming home,” she said getting back to her old self
“Right, when are you going to tell Uncle Dean the good news?”
“Let me tell Uncle Dean after dinner. Why don’t you ask your uncle if he wants to go to the Heller party?”
“Ok,” Kimberly told her, as she watched her aunt neaten her hair in the hallway mirror
“Kimberly, will you take the pork chops and put them on the table?”
“Sure, I will.” Kimberly had just made her way into the kitchen when the front door opened and Dean stepped in and closed it shut.
“Honey, I’m home,” Dean said happily, setting his hunting bags down. “Dean, I am so happy you are home,” Blanche told him as she walked up to him and kissed him on the mouth.
“I made your favorite, pork chops.”
“Great, I’m starving,” Dean said while Kimberly walked to the table and set the pork chops down
“Hello, Kimberly, what’s new?”
“Oh, nothing much. I just can’t wait for school to be over,” she told her uncle