by London Casey
“We’re working, Anna.”
“We’re fine,” she said.
She took one step and stumbled toward me.
I smelled the booze as I caught her, keeping her from falling on her face.
She pushed off from me just as a man came walking from the bathroom stall. He gave me a cocky grin, followed by a quick nod.
I curled my lip.
I realized he was in a tux. Not a suit. But a tux. A black tux.
I looked at Anna. I looked at the guy.
My heart sank.
“Please tell me you’re not the groom,” I said.
Because honestly, it wouldn’t have surprised me one bit.
“I’m not the groom,” he said. “I’m the Best Man.”
“And I’m the best woman,” Anna said and giggled.
The guy had a flask in his hand. His left hand. He held it out for Anna to take. That’s when I noticed the ring on his finger.
“You’re married,” I said. “And you’re the Best Man at a wedding. And you’re…”
“Shhhh,” Anna said. She waved her hands. “Don’t mind her. She’s my uptight sister. If she bends over you can see the broom up her ass!”
They both started to laugh.
“You two are disgusting,” I said.
I walked away, my stomach in a twisted knot.
This was the biggest job for my business. My name was everywhere at this wedding. And there was my sister, fucking the Best Man in the bathroom. Worse yet, the guy was married. That meant his wife was out there. On the dance floor, having a good time. Maybe even eating one of the baked goods I made. While my sister was…
I opened the bathroom door and a guy stood there.
His eyes went wide. “Whoa…”
“Sorry,” I said. “I can’t read.”
I pushed by him and went back to the wedding.
I needed a plan, and fast.
So I hurried to call Riley. I could always count on her.
She was willing to come and get Anna.
The twenty minutes it took were the longest twenty minutes of my life.
I did my best to keep my composure though. Nobody at the wedding needed to know the hell I had brought with me. As I stood behind the dessert table, I replayed everything in my mind. At what point did I really believe this was a good idea? I honestly thought bringing Anna would have helped myself and her. I planned on giving her a little money, to show her what working feels like. She held jobs like she held men. Just like that guy in the bathroom stall. They probably gave each other flirty eyes and what was temptation Anna made reality. It’s what she did. And that guy was married. He would have to forever live with this decision…
As I helped a little girl and her younger brother with a plate of brownies, I heard someone shout. Not a painful shout. No. But a happy shout. A dancing shout.
I looked up and saw Anna on the dance floor. Her arms in the air and hair bouncing around. The bigger problem here was that Anna was drunk, which meant she was in her own world. That meant she thought she was fitting right in with the rest of the wedding party and the guests. In reality, everywhere she went, people spread apart like she was on fire.
“No, Anna,” I whispered.
She was drunk, dancing, making an ass of herself… wearing a shirt with my bakery’s name on it. It would take anyone two seconds to realize she was with me. And from there it only took a couple more seconds before people started looking at me. I knew that look. The look that said come get her!, as though she were a dog barking and I was her owner.
I just stood behind the table.
Anna turned and stuck her ass out, slamming it against a woman. The woman let out a yell and jumped back. Anna began to back up, moving her ass up and down, chasing the woman. She stood up and spun around, laughing and yelling.
Anna wiggled her hips and danced to a table. She grabbed a glass of champagne and threw it back like it was water.
“Congrats!” she called out and threw the glass into the air.
There was a gasp right before the glass hit the floor and broke.
Then someone came through the crowd. The Best Man. He grasped Anna’s arm, his face red with anger. Granted, I could have - and maybe should have - stepped in at any time to help, but I was frozen. Embarrassed. Wondering how long it had been since I called Riley.
The Best Man dragged Anna toward me.
“This yours?” he asked.
“I think she’s yours,” I said.
His eyes went wide. “Don’t. Not like this.”
“Not like what?” I asked. “Right…”
“Get off me,” Anna said and threw her arm to get away. She broke away from The Best Man and stumbled into the dessert table. Her elbow landing in a stack of brownies.
“Ew,” she said. “Looks like I’ve got shit on my arm.”
Anna laughed and looked right at the two kids still standing at the table.
I gasped and hurried from around the table. I touched the kids’ shoulders. “Hey, why don’t you go to your seats.”
“I’ll be there in a few,” The Best Man said.
The kids nodded and walked away.
“They’re yours?” I asked.
“That’s none of your business,” The Best Man said.
“Oh, this just gets better,” I said.
“Keep her here,” The Best Man said. “She’s drunk.”
“Give me that flask again,” Anna ordered.
“No,” me and The Best Man said at the same time.
“Fuck you both,” Anna said. She pointed to The Best Man. “You weren’t even that good. Feel bad for your wife. Hope she doesn’t choke on small things.”
I grabbed Anna’s arm and pulled. “Get over here. I’m so fucking mad at you.”
“Your business is done,” The Best Man said. “I will fucking ruin you.”
“What did I do?” I asked.
“You heard what I said,” The Best Man said.
He walked away and I was left alone with Anna.
“You fucked up,” I said to Anna.
She put her pointer finger to my nose. “You’re cute, Adena. So fucking cute.”
“And you’re drunk. I asked you to be here. I was going to pay you.”
“Whatever,” Anna said. She reached to the side and put her hand right into a special chocolate creme eclair I made. And she didn’t just grab one, she jammed her fingers into three. She slammed one to her mouth like she was a two year old child. “This is good. So good.”
“Adena!” another voice yelled.
I was never so happy to see Riley in my life.
“I’m so sorry,” I said to Riley. “She got drunk.”
“Shocker,” Riley said. She looked at Anna. “You can’t help yourself.”
“You like me,” Anna said. “I know you do. You’ve got a thing for me, Riley. I won’t lie… I think I could try you on for size…”
“I might have to hurt her,” Riley said.
“As long as you get her out of here,” I said. “Please. Right now.”
“On it,” Riley said.
“Thank you,” I said. “I owe you.”
“Come on, Anna,” Riley said. “We’re going for a ride.”
“Sounds kinky,” Anna said and laughed.
As they walked away, Anna reached for the wedding cake. I wasn’t close enough to stop her. Riley didn’t see what she was doing.
Her parting gift to the wedding was swiping a handful of the cake I had worked so hard to make.
I stood there, in shock.
My back to the wedding and the guests.
Which was good.
Because my eyes filled with tears.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
(Hidden Conversation)
NOW
(Evan)
Waking up with Adena in my arms was something I could get used to. My fingertips caressing every inch of bare skin I could find as the sun filled the bedroom. I had been through too many lonely night
s and lonely mornings in the apartment and in my life. Not that I was ever truly alone, but there was a difference between waking up next to a woman you met the night before and waking up to a woman that had stolen your heart.
Adena had this power to slow down time. I didn’t rush right out of bed and start to think about what I had to get done. I didn’t think about the shop. The orders. The business itself. What I did think about was what Adena had told me. Not having a job. Losing her sister. Feeling so lost. I wasn’t going to be able to instantly save her from all that shit. I knew Adena. She would want to do this all on her own. What I would do though was be there for her. Right by her side for whatever happened next.
Hell, I was in the same boat as she was. Winston’s words penetrated my brain deeper than I thought. Did I really want to end up at the shop for the rest of my life? Even if Uncle Davey thought about selling the business or giving me the business, is that what I wanted?
My fingers moved down and over the crest of Adena’s ass. I put my hand there and held tight, pulling at her. She moved a little, groaning, her legs still clutching to my leg. I felt her… all of her… and I smiled.
She finally opened her eyes and smiled when she looked at me.
There was no good morning or any of that crap. We just stared at each other. Probably wondering the same damn thing. Why did we wait so long for this?
Adena moved her left hand and slid it up my chest. She went all the way to my face and stopped. She lifted her head and licked her lips.
“Evan… can I ask you something?”
“Of course you can, sweetheart.”
“All of this between us. I mean, right now. Is it all because of Anna?”
I sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t know how to fairly answer that, Dena. I can’t say no… but I won’t say yes…”
“Right,” she said. “I mean, in a month from now…”
“Stop,” I whispered. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She smiled. I touched her face, stroking the corner of her mouth. “You’re beautiful, Dena. You really are. I think we both know this has been a long time coming.”
“True.” She kissed my chest. “So dare I ask about breakfast? I mean, can I assume you actually went to a store and bought food?”
I laughed. “Not a chance in hell, sweetheart.”
“Great.”
“But I’ve got you covered.”
“You do?”
“Yeah,” I said. I grabbed the covers and threw them off our nude bodies. “You need to get dressed first.”
“I don’t like this already,” she teased.
I rolled toward Adena and hovered over her. “Let me correct myself… you’re my breakfast, Dena. When I’m done with you… then I have somewhere to take you…”
“Uncle Davey told me about this place,” I said as I held the screen door open.
It was like stepping into someone’s house. Which was exactly what you were doing.
The old woman who owns the place was named Josephine. When her husband died twenty years ago, she decided, instead of selling the house and moving to Florida, to turn the house into a little breakfast place. She lived upstairs where the second floor had been converted into an apartment. And the first floor was the restaurant. Her niece, Margie, ran the place since Josephine was pushing ninety.
“Evan,” Margie said as she grabbed two menus off the counter where four people sat, sipping coffee.
“I don’t need a menu,” I said to Margie. “You know what I want.”
“What about your friend?”
I slipped my hand around Adena’s waist and pulled her close. “She’ll have the same as me.”
“Then I’ll bring the coffees first,” Margie said.
Adena looked at me. “What did you order me?”
“Food,” I said.
I took her to my favorite table in the corner near the front window.
The little restaurant sat on the top of a hill. The angle from the table was really something. To see all these old buildings cascading down the hill and turning, looking as though they were connected. Old buildings that used to have a better life and a better purpose. Faded signs for a furniture store, a lamp store. Even a shoe repair shop. Some of the stores were left empty and boarded up. Others were replaced with more modern things like a laundromat and a few lawyer offices.
I sat sideways with my back against the wall.
Margie brought us coffee and reached into her apron and threw some creamers and sugar packets on the table.
“How have you been?” Margie asked.
“Good. Busy. Keeping an eye on the old man.”
“Good luck with that,” she said. “Who’s your friend?”
I looked at Adena. “See, she’s jealous of us, Dena. I sort of promised my heart to Margie a few years back.”
“Did you now?” Adena asked.
“To be fair,” Margie said, “he was still drunk from the night before and had no money to pay for breakfast.”
“You came here drunk?” Adena asked.
“Not the first one to do that,” Margie said. “Not the last, I’m sure.”
“So, yeah, me and Margie here…”
“Hey, I get it,” Adena said. “Don’t let me impose. I just want something to eat.”
Margie laughed. “Well, I guess you’re lucky.”
“Me?” Adena asked. “Why’s that?”
“I’ve never seen Evan with someone here,” Margie said.
“Really?” I asked. I had the feeling like my cheeks were going to turn red but they didn’t. I didn’t blush. Fuck that.
“It’s true,” Margie said. “He comes in here alone. Sits right here. Eats. Drinks coffee. Stares out the window like a poet. Then he leaves.”
“Is that so?” Adena asked me.
“Margie, I think you’ve said enough,” I said.
Margie looked at Adena and winked.
As she walked away, Adena gave me a look.
“Stop that,” I said. “You know how I feel about you. Plus, this is my secret place. And I have intentions.”
“What are those intentions?” Adena asked.
I reached for her hand. “This is my secret, Dena. Right here. This is my life. So tell me about yours. What happened with the bakery…”
Adena lowered her head.
I expected her to argue a little. But she didn’t. In what felt like the longest sentence without a breath, she told me what Anna had done at some wedding. Drunk. Fucking someone from the wedding party in the bathroom. Causing a scene. Almost ruining the wedding cake. Making a big scene. Sadly, that was just how Anna always was.
Margie brought us each a giant stack of golden brown pancakes.
Adena’s eyes went wide.
“See, this is why I don’t need breakfast foods in my house,” I said. “I’ve got this place.”
“I’ll be back with the sausage and the bacon,” Margie said.
“More food?” Adena asked.
“I’m a growing boy,” I said with a wink. “So the wedding did your business in?”
“It was the beginning of it,” Adena said. “Everything was just a mess. People were quick to talk about Anna and what happened. I tried to fix the wedding cake where she grabbed a piece but it was obvious it looked bad. All of it reflected on me. I got so mad at Anna I refused to talk to her for weeks. I sank into a depression. She got into trouble and I had to use the business to help her. Everything I built and worked so hard for… it started to teeter.”
“People still liked what you did though, right?”
“Yeah,” Adena said. “They did. I just couldn’t keep up. The business. The money. Anna. It was like having a bad child or something. I would be awake at one in the morning, dragging her from a bar with some guy trying to have his way with her. Then I’d get her home, settled, and an hour later it would be time to go to the bakery. It just…”
“Got to be too much,” I whispered.
“Yes. So I just let it al
l go. It collapsed and when I realized I needed money I went to Mary Anne’s bakery. The worst part was she got most of my customers. So I kept dealing with the same people. Knowing what they wanted and how they wanted it. But I was getting an hourly wage to do it. Not that it was a money thing…”
“Of course not,” I said. “I get it, Dena. That’s fucking terrible. All of it. So what’s the plan now? Where do you want to go now?”
“I don’t really care at this point,” she said. “I want to finish these pancakes.”
“You got it,” I said. “Pancakes, now. Life, later.”
Adena smiled.
Right then I wanted to tell her I loved her.
But it wasn’t the right time.
She still needed to know one more thing about her sister… and myself.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
(The Extra Line… Shh…)
YEARS AGO
(Evan)
I had the pregnancy test hidden in my pants. Seriously. That’s what had become of us. All I wanted to do was keep Anna out of trouble and let Adena and Beth live their lives. Just like Dick had asked me to do. That shit was easier said than done. Especially when Anna called me at ten at night, crying, saying she felt weird. Saying she felt pregnant.
Pregnant?
My first instinct was to ask - how did this happen? - but I wasn’t an idiot. I knew how this happened. And now it was somehow on my shoulders to fix. But there was no fixing anything. If Anna peed on the test and it came up positive, then everything would forever change.
I ran my hand through my hair as I walked down the street. My heart was racing and my mouth was bone dry. This was far beyond anything I ever imagined. I had nowhere to turn either. I couldn’t talk to my mother. She was working diligently on meeting her grave at a young age. My friends were all worried about getting drunk, high, and laid. Which was what I should have been doing too. It was what I used to do. Before meeting Anna. Before meeting Adena.
Somewhere in my head I pictured a baby in that house. Adena not getting sleep because the baby was crying. Beth waking up to feed the baby because you sure as hell could bet everything you own that Anna wouldn’t get out of bed to feed the baby. Chances were Anna wouldn’t even be around. She’d have the baby and then disappear. Back to normal. Only coming around when it was convenient to be a mother. For appearances.