by Jenny Hale
Alex stopped just as they reached William’s door. “What are you doing?”
“I’m putting an end to your and William’s issues once and for all.” She knocked on his suite door and entered. “He’s wonderful. So are you. You two need to see that.”
“You’re trying to change a lifetime, Noelle.”
William stood at the door and regarded them curiously, stepping back to allow them to enter. Noelle went in first, turning to face them as Alex shut the door.
“Just because we can sit together without killing each other doesn’t mean that everything will come together like some kind of Christmas miracle. You can’t erase a lifetime of absence with a few days of cookie-baking.”
“Right,” she said, pointing to the sofa for both men to sit down. “But you can listen to one another, try to understand each other. I know both of you well enough to be sure you’re capable of that.” She turned to William. “Tell him why he shouldn’t move to New York.”
William sat, wide-eyed for a second, and she paused in her argument long enough to realize that she and Alex had burst in without any notice whatsoever. But she held her ground. “Tell him,” she said, more gently.
With a moment to gain his composure, he turned to Alex. “You don’t have to go chasing it,” he said.
“Chasing what?”
“Wealth. Success. Whatever will get you away from here.”
“You know as well as I do that I need to be in the center of real estate—big real estate—to know what’s going on in the business, to see trends, to be at the forefront of decisions. You said it yourself, ninety-nine percent of this job is being there.”
William’s head dropped down, the lines on his face more evident with his frown.
Alex addressed Noelle. “That’s what he told me on my thirteenth birthday when he wasn’t going to be at my party. He spent it in New York.” His voice was hurt rather than the usual irritation that she heard when he spoke to William.
“Because I was being stupid; just like you are now.”
Alex’s gaze snapped over to his grandfather, his hands on his knees, the blood rushing away from his knuckles, the anger returning in a flash.
“There’s a little boy here who reminds me so much of you when you were that age. And I see how angry you’ve become with me. And I know that I’ve contributed to that anger. I’ll bet he’d love to have you stay.”
The mention of Lucas clearly affected Alex and for just a minute he looked as though he’d been blindsided. But once he’d gained composure again, he said, “Well, I’m not going to stay.” Noelle had to wonder if this ridiculous move of his was more to spite his grandfather than out of necessity. It was as if his resolve to move had been built out of years of yearning to have his grandfather’s love and now that William was here and needed him, Alex wanted him to feel hurt, just like he had as a boy.
“Alex, it’s true that being in New York makes sense for what you do, but I’ve lived it. I’ve done it. And I left a gorgeous, wonderful wife and grandson here all alone,” he said, his voice breaking. He cleared his throat. “With a little bit of forward thinking—which I know you’re great at—you can do it from here as well.”
Alex stood up, his expression so vulnerable that Noelle worried that he felt they were ganging up on him. “I’m going. That’s it. You won’t convince me otherwise.” He turned away from them and left the suite, the door shutting loudly behind him. Noelle wanted to scream at him and tell him that she thought he was doing this to prove a point, more than just to get ahead, but the truth was that if he didn’t care enough for any of them to stay, then there was no use in saying anything, so she let him go.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Noelle had thought about Alex the whole way to the bakery. After she’d pulled herself together with a cup of coffee and a little time in her suite, she’d gone back to see William. They’d decided to give Alex time to see if he’d change his mind. Her heart ached, and she’d spent all night wondering if he would. But for now, she pushed the thoughts away. She had a coffee shop to open.
Noelle and her family were working like little buzzing bees. Her mother had taken Lucas to school that morning while Noelle picked up the paint she’d purchased a few days ago online, which had been delivered to the home improvement store. The new sign she’d ordered was leaning against the bakery’s front door when she’d gotten there, and she’d dragged it inside but hadn’t had a chance to unpack it, her time consumed with calls to local television and radio stations regarding advertising.
With quick directions to her father, she’d asked him and Pop-pop to begin sanding the woodwork and shelves for painting. She’d wanted to take all the books down for them, but hadn’t had time. She’d labored tirelessly to organize the repairs on the wall and flooring with the company Alex had emailed her. The calls and preparations had taken nearly all morning, and before she was really ready, she’d had to leave them to it so she could run over to the mansion, to check on William. Slightly late to give him his medication and help him get dressed, she raced down the hallway to his suite, skidding to a stop to get herself together before going in.
When she entered, he was sitting on the sofa, the fire going beside him, holding a glass of brandy. “I’ve been thinking,” he said with no introductions. “I want to see Elizabeth. She shouldn’t spend Christmas alone.”
Noelle knew that it would be hard for him to see her, but she was so glad he had decided to. She guessed that it had been on his mind since he’d talked to Alex yesterday. It meant that he’d worked through his own sadness enough to realize that she needed him just like she had for all those years he was away, and even if she didn’t fully recognize him, there was a part of her that might.
“Would you take me?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“I have one more request.”
“Anything.”
“Use that charm you have on Alex to see if you can convince him to go with us. You ground him and make him a good man. But even if you can’t get him to say yes, I want you there.”
She knew what William was asking wasn’t easy for her to accomplish, and it didn’t seem like Alex was as apt to do things for her as William thought, given his decision to still move to New York, but she’d give it her best shot. Alex had said, himself, that he’d wanted to see his grandmother, and he’d even asked Noelle to go with him. She might be able to convince him to let William come along. “I’ll see what I can do,” she said, determined to make it happen.
When she got back to the bakery, the first thing Noelle did was put the “Coming Soon” sign up in the window. Then, Pop-pop helped her hang the new Hope and Sugar Coffee House sign. She’d called Heidi yesterday and asked her to clear out the pastries before her dad and Pop-pop got there and to be thinking of the best selection of coffee syrups to have on hand. Heidi had said she’d box the cookies up and take them to their parents’ house. They could all nibble on them while they tied up loose ends and she’d bag up the smaller ones to use with the combination packages. Then, she sent out the large stack of invitations that Heidi had addressed for her, sending a little prayer that each one would be met with excitement. She wanted this re-opening to be not only a great start for the coffee shop, but also, in a way, a celebration of Gram and all that she’d accomplished with the bakery.
After school, Lucas and Pop-pop had emptied the shelves, the books lying in haphazard piles on the floor under a tarp to protect them from the sanding dust. One of the books had slipped out from under it. Noelle reached down and slid the bookmark back into its spot to keep the place for whoever had last left it and blew the dust off the cover. She’d had a call from the plumber that he wouldn’t be there until next week, and, while that was pushing things, she had to go with it. The problem was, the flooring guys couldn’t start until the leak was fixed.
“It’s looking good!” she said loudly to her father over the noise of the electric sander, trying to stay positive. She gave Lucas a sque
eze, his smile doing little to calm her anxiety at seeing the bakery in shambles, the time literally racing away from her.
Her dad stopped, the squeal coming to a halt, and turned to her with a smile that pushed his safety goggles up just a little, making her edgier, his trust in her apparent. “This, I can do. Deciding which cakes to make is more your thing. I have high hopes for the coffee shop, Noelle. I know you can pull it off. Your gram would be so proud.”
She smiled back, trying not to worry, as she leaned on the old jukebox, now draped with a sheet. Even given the difficulties, there was something intoxicating about making her own decisions and seeing her plans come to life that made Noelle feel like this was what she’d been born to do. She’d do everything she could to make it work.
“I’ll be done with the shelves shortly,” he said. “Then you and Pop-pop can start painting those while I sand the bottom of the counter.”
“Sounds good!”
Noelle had chosen a buttercream color for the trim, the shelves, and the counter. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on that beautiful counter to spruce it up. Pop-pop had made it from an antique dresser, the legs of it spindly like an old claw-foot tub. He’d replaced the middle drawers with lit-up glass-fronted units for display. With the larger pastry case beside it, the whole counter glowed with sugary goodness. The top was an enormous slab of granite—a pearly-gray swirling pattern that, in itself, looked good enough to eat. As a girl, Noelle had thought it looked like cake batter just before all the ingredients were stirred together. Right now, the wooden base of the counter was a dark-wood color, like the rest of the space, but it was time to lighten it up.
The small bistro tables would get a buttercream makeover as well, their worn tops covered in articles from a few coffee magazines she’d picked up, and sealed with glass. To complement the browns and creams, she’d planned to paint the chairs a bright turquoise. She’d also found petite glass vases to fill with coffee beans for each of the tables, which would accompany yellow-and-turquoise tea-light candles in their centers.
“How’s this?” Pop-pop called from across the room. He was holding a huge framed blackboard against the wall. That wall had been exposed brick since the shop had originally opened and she was going to leave it just like that.
“Oh, that looks perfect,” she said, envisioning the pastel chalk menu that would be scrawled across it soon. The darkness of that wall and the blackboard would look so lovely against the bright yellow she’d planned to paint the other three walls. She ran her fingers along the granite countertop. “Pop-pop, you know Gram’s old dresser that’s in your bedroom—the one that matches this?”
With a nail between his lips and the electric screwdriver in his hand, he looked over his shoulder, nodding.
“Do you think I could have it for the shop? Right now, the coffee machines are in the back, but it might be nice for people to see us making the coffee. We could paint it to match the counter and set it right here.” She pointed to the open space on the other side of it.
With a buzz of the screwdriver, the blackboard was hung and Pop-pop came down from his ladder. “I’ll do you one better,” he said. “I’ve got another slab of that granite sitting in the shed. I’ve had it for years and didn’t know what to do with it. I’ll make it match for you.”
“You will?” Her voice came out squealing with excitement. “What will you put your clothes in?”
“Who cares?” he said, with a big smile. “Gram would be so thrilled with this that I think she’d put her clothes in boxes if she had to.” Then, with a sentimental look in his eyes, he said, “But may I ask one thing?”
“Anything.”
“It’s full of her stuff. Would you help me go through it?”
Noelle’s skin prickled at the thought of filling her lungs with Gram’s scent, running her hands across the blouses that she used to wear. But maybe it would bring a little of Gram to her when she needed her most. Noelle’s emotion bubbling just below the surface, she agreed.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Phoebe’s apartment was in a shabby building above a bar, downtown, only a few minutes’ drive from Noelle’s parents’ home. The only entry door was glass, but the view in was completely obstructed by stickers for bands and local shops and merchants. Noelle hit the buzzer to alert Phoebe that she was there and then she heard the click and let herself in. The stairway was narrow, the steps creaking loudly with her weight, and the paint in the dark hallway had yellowed with age, years of coats painted over the cracked and peeling plaster. But when Phoebe opened the door, Noelle would always smile because it was the apartment itself that was worth the rent she paid for that ramshackle of a building.
The walls were exposed brick, thickly painted bright white, surrounding an enormous picture window that overlooked the city, the colors on the street below so vibrant that they made the window look like an enormous painting on that wall. The fireplace was also painted brick, and so grand that it reached the high ceiling. Above the mantle, Phoebe had hung a simple wreath, and silver candles were clustered at one end of it. She had a Christmas tree in the corner, all done up in greens and reds, complementing the reds on the street awnings below. Her furniture was simple: white slip-covered sofas and chairs with a stone table in the center. A candle was lit on it this evening, and Phoebe was bouncing with excitement on the sofa.
Jo came in from the kitchen with three glasses of wine and set them down. “I’m so glad you got here when you did,” Jo said. “She’s gonna explode if you make her wait any longer to tell her news.”
Noelle plopped down beside Phoebe and took a glass of wine. “Sorry. I just got done with work. I had to check in on William before I came.” She and William had talked for quite a while after she’d come back from the bakery for the evening. She hadn’t even had a chance to ask Alex about seeing Elizabeth yet, and she’d been planning to speak to him, but just allowed William to talk instead.
“I’m having a really hard time,” Phoebe said. “I keep wondering if I’m messing up a perfect life here. I’ve already found an apartment in LA.” Then her face dropped considerably. “But…” She grabbed her wine and took a sip. “I talked to Paul and he won’t go. I can’t stop crying over him.” Her bottom lip started to wobble.
“Oh, no.” Noelle reached over and put her hand on Phoebe’s arm.
“I can’t blame him,” Phoebe said, her voice quivering. “Everything he’s worked for is here. And everything I need to move forward is there. But what if I’m meant to be here in Richmond with him? What if we could build a life together?” Without warning, she burst into tears. “He’s so good,” she said. “I’ve never met anyone who’s been that good to me before.”
Gently, Jo said, “If you don’t go to LA, you’ll always feel like you should’ve. And especially if things don’t work out with Paul down the road. Wouldn’t you feel awful, like you’d missed out on the one thing you’ve wanted your whole life?”
Phoebe nodded, more tears surfacing. Noelle couldn’t imagine the decision that was on her friend’s shoulders. Paul truly was a great guy. He might even be the perfect guy for Phoebe. She’d always struggled with relationships after her mother had left, her fear of abandonment keeping her from letting anyone in. And she’d let Paul in. But her big break was sitting right there, waiting for her to grab it with both hands and hold on for the ride.
“I know I have to say yes to LA,” she said with a sniffle. “But it doesn’t make this any easier.”
Noelle went to her parents’ house to pick up Lucas, who’d asked to have dinner with them after helping in the coffee shop, Noelle’s mother cooking his favorite spaghetti dish. But Noelle had something else to do as well. She was emotionally drained, worried for Phoebe, not sure what to tell her, and knowing it was going to be a bumpy road. She could’ve stayed there with her longer, but she needed to share the rest of her plans for the coffee shop with her father and Pop-pop so they could finalize the last few things for the re-opening. She shifted her a
rms to keep her notebook of ideas and her laptop steady as she opened the door. After she greeted Muffy, Noelle went inside.
“Hey, baby!” she said, giving Lucas a hug with her free arm. “Whatcha been doing?”
“We practiced reading the holiday play he’s doing with his class and we’ve been talking a little about his vacation… He’s been asking to go,” her mother said. “He can’t wait to get back to the mansion to see Alex.” She offered Noelle a loaded look and Noelle’s heart fell into her stomach. She was going to have a very difficult time telling Lucas that soon Alex wouldn’t be there anymore. She was always so good at explaining things to him, but this was something that she just couldn’t get her head around because she didn’t understand Alex’s decision to move at all. William was right there telling him he could do his job from the mansion, and she thought there was something between her and Alex, but he wouldn’t budge. It was so confusing. Didn’t he even want to try? It made her feel like she was nothing to him at all, just something to pass the time—she kept giving him chances and he kept making her feel that way. While she couldn’t make Lucas understand how Alex had made her feel and the possible reasons he might be leaving, she’d decided to tell him that Alex simply had to move for his job.
“Sorry, baby,” she said with a smile. “We’ll have to wait just a little longer to see him. I need to talk to your grandpa for a second.”
“He’s in the kitchen with Pop-pop,” her mother said. “Lucas and I were about to work on our puzzle anyway. This year’s scene is Santa coming down the chimney.”
“I remember doing that one,” Noelle said, glad that Lucas would have a chance to work on the family puzzle. It sat out the whole holiday and any time one of the family got bored, they’d work on it, helping each other find the pieces until it was done. They’d leave it put together until New Year’s, when it would be packed away for the next year. Noelle had always hated taking it apart, all that hard work being disassembled.