Bliss, Inc. (Indigo Love Spectrum)

by Chamein Canton

  “Nothing as long as I’m the only sexy woman for your Sunday morning.”

  “You are.” He kissed her. “Okay, Prudence, you’re going to have to move over.” He reached into the bag and took out a small container of lox.

  Prudence began to meow.

  “Here you go, girl.” He put the container on the floor. Prudence jumped down in a hurry to get it.

  “I see you spoil the little kitty.”

  “She’s a sweet cat, and I know Ms. Hall likes to give her treats.”

  “She is a one contented cat.”

  Matthew opened the bag. “Here’s a coffee for you with cream and sugar.”

  Paige took a whiff. “Thank you.” She sipped it. “That’s the second thing I needed this morning.”

  “What’s the first thing?”

  She kissed him. “That was the first thing.”

  “You know how to sweet talk a man, don’t you?”

  “I don’t know about that. I don’t sweet talk everyone.”

  “Now that’s what I wanted to hear.”

  “So what kind of bagels did you get?” She sat up.

  He looked in the bag. “There’s a couple of cinnamon raisin, plain, and sesame. I left the everything and onion bagels in the shop for obvious reasons.”

  “Naturally.”

  “I also got cream cheese and butter.”

  “I know this sounds weird, but I don’t really like anything on my bagels other than an occasional touch of butter. Usually I eat them plain.”

  “It’s probably healthier for you that way. I love them either way. So what will you have?”

  “Make it sesame.”

  “Sesame it is.” He took it out of the bag.

  Paige and Matthew had a nice little breakfast in bed with the Sunday Times.

  Matthew finished his second bagel. “That was good.”

  Paige looked up from the Style section. “I can see that.” She wiped a little cream cheese from his chin.

  He kissed her. “What was that for?”

  “Do I need a reason?”

  “No, not at all.”

  He cleared the bags and papers away. “So, baby, tell me how upset you were last night.”

  “When all those vultures descended on you?”

  He laughed. “They were vultures, weren’t they?”

  “Yes. It was like you were the last single man on an island of women.”

  “Unfortunately, that’s closer to the truth than you think.”

  “All of those eligible young ladies dying to bear your children.”

  Matthew was jolted. “Whoa, where did that come from? Dying to bear my children?”

  “Well it is something women have to think about. We’re born with a finite number of eggs, while you guys continue to generate those little swimmers.”

  “I didn’t realize that about women.”

  “It’s true. My doctor told me when I was pregnant with Max.”

  “You learn something new every day.”

  “Do you want children?” Paige was nervous about his response, but she had to ask the question.

  “I never really thought about it.”

  “You never gave it any thought at all?”

  “I wouldn’t say that, it’s just never been high on my list of things to accomplish. It might get a little higher as I get older, but I don’t let it keep me up at night.”

  “I see.” That’s a maybe, she thought, and then changed the subject. “I got a taste of what Jennifer must have gone through.”

  “You only got a taste of it. They’re probably not done with Jennifer yet. She won’t be in the clear until December ninth.”

  “I don’t care who they’re related to or how much money they’ve got, I’ve never seen such ill-mannered women. I will do whatever I can to help Jennifer get through the next few months before the wedding.”

  “It’s March. She’s got nine whole months to go.”

  “I know it sounds like a lot of time but it goes by quickly, trust me.”

  “You’re the expert.”

  “I loved twirling on the floor with you.” She sighed.

  “I did, too. It was great having you in my arms. It felt like we were the only two people in the room.”

  “It did.” She sighed.

  “Larry said we had the look of love.”

  “Really?” Paige said. Then she was hit with a bolt. “Do you think the Kleins noticed?”

  “They were busy working the room. I’m sure they didn’t have time to pay attention.”

  “Good. I don’t care if you take an ad out in the Times as long as it’s no sooner than December tenth.”

  “Whatever you say, baby.” He kissed her check and then her neck.

  “Mmm, that feels nice.” She closed her eyes.

  He got closer to her. “I know something that feels even better.”

  “Is that right?” she asked as she lay back down.

  “Oh, yes.”

  He kissed her and then proved he indeed did know something that felt better.

  * * *

  Although Matthew always took the subway to get around town, he drove Paige home in his Volvo. She panicked when she realized her things were still at the Kleins, but felt better when she found them in a box on her doorstep. Matthew hung around for awhile and they had a late lunch together before he left to grade some papers.

  Paige took advantage of a little downtime before Max got home. She took a bath and a catnap. It was a good night for a little chicken takeout for her and Max because she had messages to catch up on.

  One of the messages was from Michelle at Madame Butterfly. It turned out she had an early appointment open for Monday. So Paige called Jennifer.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Jennifer, it’s Paige.”

  “Hi, Paige. How are you?”

  “I’m good, thanks. How about you?”

  “Fantastic. Mike and I are just hanging out.”

  “That sounds nice and I won’t keep you. I just wanted to see if you’d be able to go to an appointment with Madame Butterfly Cakes tomorrow morning around ten?”

  “I don’t see a problem.”

  “Do you want to check with your mom first?”

  “No, I don’t need my mother for this appointment. Mike will come with me. He’s actually taking Monday off.”

  “Terrific. I’ll e-mail you the directions to the shop.”

  “Good. So how are you and Matthew doing today?”

  “We’re good.”

  “I figured as much. It’s obvious you two are nuts about each other and Mike and I couldn’t be happier.”

  “Did anyone else notice?”

  “I’m sure it crossed a few minds, but they probably dismissed it. I don’t think it’s a concept they can grasp.”

  “Eventually they’re going to have to get a grip. Anyway, Matthew’s back at his place by now. He had to grade some papers. That’s the life of a teacher.”

  “True. So we’ll see you tomorrow at Madame Butterfly’s shop.”

  “Okay.”

  A couple of hours later Joshua brought Max home, and Paige and Max feasted on a sixteen-piece chicken dinner complete with fries, coleslaw, and Coca-Cola. Paige dished out an ice cream sundae for Max.

  “Cool, ice cream sundaes.” Max clapped.

  “Do me a favor and get the chocolate sauce out of the fridge, please?”

  “Sure, Mom.” Max got it. “So how was the ball?”

  “It was nice. I had a good time.”

  “Did you dance?” Max asked.

  “Oh, yes. I did the waltz, the fox-trot, and the cha-cha.”

  He had a blank look on his face.

  “What did you think I would do? The chicken noodle soup with a soda on the side?”

  Max broke up. “Mom, you know how to do that?”

  “No, Max. But you do. You broke it out at the last school dance. You keep forgetting I chaperoned the party.”

  “That’s right,” Max s
aid.

  She put a couple of cherries on his sundae. “It was a fundraiser that went for about $5,000 a plate. No one busted any moves on the dance floor.”

  “Five thousand dollars for a dinner? These people must have crazy money,” Max said as he shoveled a big spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

  “They do.”

  “Aren’t you having a sundae, Mom?” Max asked.

  “No, you can have at it. I need to work on some more spreadsheets.”

  Paige was about to put the ice cream in the freezer. “On second thought, I’ll leave this out here.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “You’re welcome, my beautiful child.”

  Paige poured a glass of soda and headed to her office. She’d already had dessert.

  CHAPTER 20

  After a rough night of trying to sleep, Paige arrived at Madame Butterfly Cakes a few minutes ahead of schedule.

  “Good morning.”

  Michelle came out from the back. “Hey, Paige.” She kissed her on the cheek.

  “How are you, Michelle?”

  “Not bad at all.”

  “I was surprised to get your message. I didn’t think you did appointments on Mondays anymore.”

  “We really don’t, but Terry and I talked and we figured the earlier we could get started on working with you for this wedding cake the better.”

  “It’s a little matter of pacing,” Terry said as he stepped out from the back.

  “Hey, you.” Paige kissed him on the cheek.

  “How’s it going, Paige?”

  “Not bad. I went to the Platinum Ball Saturday night.”

  “Oh, wow, you’re really rubbing shoulders with the crème de la crème.”

  “After witnessing them in person I will say that some, not all, need another crash course in etiquette from Emily Post.”

  Just then Michael and Jennifer entered the shop.

  Paige stood up. “Hello, you two.”

  “Hi, Paige.” Jennifer smiled.

  Paige turned to Jennifer and Michael. “Jennifer and Michael, may I introduce you to Michelle and Terry. Michelle and Terry, this is our happy couple Jennifer Klein and her fiancé Michael Smythe.”

  “Pleasure to meet you both.” Terry said as he shook both of their hands.

  Paige turned to Jennifer. “She’s the lady who will be mixing a cake just for you, Michelle.”

  “Lovely to meet you both.” Michelle smiled as she shook their hands.

  “How about we take a seat,” Paige suggested.

  “Would anyone like a cup of coffee? I could run over and get a pot from the Babylon Beanery,” Terry offered.

  “That would be nice, if you don’t mind,” Michael said as he got up. “I’ll go with you.”

  “Sure. It’s just across the street.”

  Michael kissed Jennifer’s hand. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay.”

  They left.

  Michelle took out her list of cakes and fillings. “While the men are getting the coffee I’ll show you what types of cakes and fillings we do. Just so you know, we can pretty much do anything you’d like.”

  “So this is just a starting point, right?”

  “Something like that.” Michelle smiled.

  Jennifer seemed impressed with her list. “Wow, you even do vegan cakes.”

  “Yes. Terry and I are vegans.”

  “And I can testify that her vegan cakes and her traditional cakes are fantastic.”

  “You might be a little bit biased.”

  “I could be, but that doesn’t change the truth.”

  Michael and Terry returned with coffee and all the accoutrements. Everyone made their coffee to their taste.

  Michelle got up. “I do have samples ready for you to taste.”

  She brought in several different cakes and fillings to choose from. There was yellow cake with a crème anglaise, lemon cake with a lemon curd filling, and chocolate cake with a chocolate buttercream filling, as well as a sample of more custom cakes.

  “Here’s a white cake with whipped mocha filling, a tiramisu cake flavored with hazelnut liqueur and a vanilla Marsala mascarpone filling with chocolate shavings. This is a pistachio cake with buttercream and this one is a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache.”

  “They all sound so wonderful, don’t they, Jennifer?”

  “They do, Michael.”

  “So go ahead and give them a try,” Michelle said.

  They tasted every cake on the trays.

  “I don’t envy you two. This is a hard decision to make.” Paige licked the spoon like a child.

  “You know I read somewhere that you can have a variety of cakes for different tiers. Is that possible?” Michael asked.

  “Yes, it is. We’ve done it before.”

  “It sounds like a great idea. This way you’re doing something different,” Paige said.

  “You need to serve about five hundred people, and that’s a lot of tiers.”

  Michael and Jennifer looked at one another. “So what do you think, sweetheart?”

  “There are seven samples. How about we go with them?”

  “Works for us.”

  “Now all you have to do is look through their book and choose a style you like.”

  “Or we can come up with some designs for you to look at and we’ll fax them over to Paige.”

  “That sounds like a plan to me,” Michael said, relieved that he didn’t have to make that choice right then.

  “Terrific, then we’re all set.”

  Jennifer reached into her purse jacket and pulled out a check. “Here you go. This is our deposit so we can reserve that week.”

  Paige watched as both Terry and Michelle tried to remain calm when they saw the amount of the check.

  “Oh, thank you.”

  Michael and Jennifer stood up. “Well, we decided to make a day out of being on the island so we should get going.” Michael helped Jennifer with her coat.

  “Thank you, sweetie.”

  “Don’t mention it, love.”

  Paige got up. “Thanks again for coming out here. I know you’re anxious to have some alone time. We’ll talk later.”

  Michelle and Terry said their goodbyes and they watched as they left.

  “Okay, you can scream now if you want. They’re gone.”

  “Oh, my God, Paige. I can’t believe it. This could really land us on the map.”

  “I know, Michelle, but that’s where I always thought you should be.”

  “We are going to knock this one out of the park, Paige.”

  “I know you will, Terry. That’s why I brought them here. I trust you implicitly.”

  “We can’t thank you enough.”

  “Don’t thank me. You’re the best ones for this wedding, plain and simple. Anyway, I need to head back to the office but I will be in touch.” Paige put her coat on and grabbed her keys. “Talk to you later, my darlings.” She kissed both of them and left.

  Paige drove straight from Madame Butterfly’s to Dr. Schwartz’s office. Once she got there, she took a couple of minutes to compose herself before going in.

  It was strange to walk into an office with no one in the waiting room. The nurses and receptionists were in civilian clothes.

  Paige walked over to the front desk. “Hello there, ladies.”

  Trina rolled her chair over to the front desk. “Hey there. Come on back, Dr. Schwartz is in his office.”

  “Okay.” Paige walked in and followed Trina.

  “Look who’s here, doctor.”

  He looked up. “Hey, Paige. Come on in. Take that worried look off your face, you’re not going to die.”

  Paige sat down. “That’s comforting.”

  Trina closed the door.

  He opened her chart. “I just have a few questions.”

  “Sure.”

  “When did your mother enter menopause?”

  “I think she was either fifty-nine or sixty.”

  “Yo
ur mother had her period until she was sixty?” He was shocked.

  “Imagine how she felt. Are you telling me that I’m menopausal?”

  “No. According to your blood tests your hormone levels are normal.”

  Paige was stunned.

  “That’s good news, Paige.”

  “I know.”

  “So why don’t you look happier?”

  “No reason.”

  He put her file down. “You were hoping there was something, weren’t you?”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “I’ve been your doctor for twenty years plus now, I think I know you pretty well.”

  “As crazy as it sounds, I guess I was hoping there was a problem. At least if there was a problem it would be easier for me to…”

  “To say that you can’t have children, instead of telling him you don’t want any more kids.”

  “It sounds awful when you say it out loud. Here you have a waiting room that’s usually filled with women wanting to get pregnant.”

  “It’s okay to not want any more children. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.”

  “Maybe not but it feels like I am.”

  Dr. Schwartz scratched his head. “I still don’t get it, Paige. Did he say he wanted children with you?”

  “No. He just wondered what ‘his’ children would be like.”

  “That doesn’t sound like anything, Paige. It sounds like you’re reading too much into it.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “Max is graduating from high school in a few months, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “So it’s fair to say, you might be a little sensitive to children issues right now, right?”

  “That would be a fair statement.”

  “It’s not easy to let go, but you’ll live, I promise. Two of my daughters are in college now and the third graduates from high school next year.”

  “Are you ready for the last one to leave the nest?”

  “As ready as I will ever be. In the meantime do yourself a favor and relax. There’s no need to worry about things that haven’t happened.”

  Dr. Schwartz was right; Paige was worrying about nothing. “That’s good advice, Dr. Schwartz. So are you going to bill me for an appointment or a therapy session?”

  He laughed. “Neither. Now get back to your life before I change my mind.”

  Paige got up and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, Dr. Schwartz.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  As Paige left the office she realized that she was guilty of making a mountain out of a molehill. Paige was a little sensitive on the subject of kids and she shouldn’t have let such a simple and innocent comment bother her. After all, she and Matthew hadn’t talked about much beyond taking their relationship public after the wedding.