Flirt (Chasing Hope Book 1)

by Lavinia Leigh

  “I think you’re being too nice. My mom doesn’t know where I am.”

  “Figured.”

  “How do you know so much?”

  “Like I said. When you get old you learn a thing or two.”

  “I should go back.”

  “Don’t worry, you stay here for a few minutes and collect your thoughts. It looks like you have a lot on your mind. I’ll swing by the shop and tell your mom where you are.”

  “Thank you.”

  Knowing that she had a few extra minutes where her mom wasn’t worrying about her helped tremendously. Now all she had to worry about was what she would say when she got back. There was no doubt that her mom would want to talk about the fight, and worse than that, perhaps she’d want to rehash it all over again.

  Chapter Fifty

  Emmeline

  Emmeline looked at her little girl cowering on the window seat and knew she had to handle this carefully. Yelling wasn’t going to help even though so much of her wanted to. Millie had scared her badly. She sat down beside Millie and hugged her until she started to squirm uncomfortably. Emmeline looked at her sternly, noticing the tears in Millie’s eyes that matched her own.

  “Don’t you ever do that to me again. If you are having trouble, you need to talk to me. Do you understand?”

  “I know.” Millie looked at her toes. Emmeline could tell she felt bad. “It’s not fair!” Millie said, a touch of bitterness in her voice, and she slumped in her seat.

  “What’s not fair? Moving here?”

  “I was happy. I didn’t want everything to change.”

  “I know, but that’s just the way life goes. You can’t run away when things get tough. That isn’t the way to deal with things. You need to talk to me. You need to understand that things aren’t going to stay the same forever, and you need to know that even when things change we have to stick together.”

  “I promise I won’t run away again.” Emmeline could tell by the look on her daughter’s face that she truly meant it.

  “Thank you.”

  “You know what else isn’t fair?”

  “What?”

  “That you gave up a trip all around the world just for me. Wouldn’t you have rather done that?”

  “Oh, Millie, I have no idea how you know about that. But that life, traveling around the world, it may be nice sometimes, but not right now. I finally get to have my dream. That’s you and me, here, surrounded by our friends. Opening my own bakery. When I travel, I want you by my side, and I want it to be when the timing is right for both of us. Got it, kiddo?”

  Millie smiled weakly. “Are you sure, Mommy?”

  She sounded like a little girl, a rare treat for Emmeline. She looked down into Millie’s big doe eyes. She stroked her hair again and kissed her on the forehead. “Listen, Joel is doing what is best for him, and we are doing what is best for us. Those are some of the choices that you have to make when you grow up. No regrets, okay?”

  “Okay. Are you going to date Callum now?”

  Emmeline could feel her cheeks go bright red. How did this become all about her?

  “I think so. Would you be okay with that, Angel Face?”

  “Yes, but promise me, no kissing when I’m around!”

  “Deal!”

  They didn’t get much done over the next few days. It was time to take a break, and Emmeline didn’t want Millie to have another running away episode just before school started. It did make Emmeline a little nervous. Her timeline was tight, and she didn’t have money to float them for too long. But Millie, as always, came first, no matter what. Besides, she would be starting school in just a few days. She would just have to hunker down after that.

  Together, they made a new deal, deciding to work for a few hours in the morning, and in the afternoon, they went to the beach or had a picnic at the playground. In the evenings, they hung out with Callum or Ginny. It was a good compromise. On Sunday night, they watched a movie in the park on a giant inflatable screen, and on the last day before Millie headed to school, they went and had their first all-together dinner at Emmeline’s parents’ house. By the time Tuesday rolled around, Millie was feeling better and almost ready to face her new school.

  Emmeline kissed her head before sending Millie off to the bus stop, saying, “Bye, Kiddo. You’re going to be amazing today.”

  “Bye, Mom.” A small spark of excitement danced in her eyes.

  “Are you sure I can’t take you to the bus stop?”

  “Mom, it’s not that far, I can walk. I want to.”

  She was so independent. Always was.

  “Besides, you have a big day yourself,” Millie said, looking around at their soon to be bakery—presently a mess—as she swung her old backpack over her shoulders. At least something was familiar. The glass cabinets had been delivered the day before, so Emmeline still needed to put them together, and there was still a bunch of painting that needed to be done.

  She watched as her eight-year-old daughter ran down the street, then threw on her grubby clothes, and tied her hair up in a messy bun as she went through the door that led to the back room of the bakery.

  There was so much to do. It was almost overwhelming. That seemed to be the story of her life these days. But she had to push forward. If she let it get to her now, then nothing would ever happen.

  She turned on the coffee machine and opened up the white paint can and poured it into a tray. Then she made sure the drop cloth was properly in place. She wasn’t going to have a repeat of the other day. She started on the second coat of the baseboards, crawling around on her knees.

  A loud bang on the door scared her, and she jerked her hand. Tiny drops of white splattered onto the pink walls. She scrunched her nose, took a wet cloth, and quickly wiped them away before she stood to see who made the noise. She got up and looked out the window in the door. There stood Callum, waving.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, ushering him in, along with a line of others. “What is this?”

  “This is your crew for the day,” Callum answered.

  “Dad! What are you doing here?”

  “Hello, Princess,” he said and kissed her on her forehead.

  He hadn’t called her that since she was little, and the memory made her feel warm and special.

  “We’re here to be put to work,” he said.

  “Really?” she squealed, then asked, “Where’s Mom?”

  “It’s okay, she’ll be here in a while. I think she’s making your construction crew lunch.”

  “I don’t understand,” she said.

  “You need help to get this going, and that’s what we’re here for,” he said. “We are so glad you’re here, and we are so proud of what you have done. Really, you are a wonder.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” She could feel her cheeks burning. She never thought she would hear those words come out of his mouth ever again. She felt really good about moving home. This was her place, and these were her people. She greeted all the familiar faces in the room. Most were her dad’s old friends who she had known since she was small.

  “I can’t stay for long, but I noticed that you needed a new top for the counter,” Callum said.

  “I have one,” she said, looking at the beat-up thing she had picked out for twenty dollars at the reclaim store.

  “That is ridiculous,” Callum exclaimed. “I’m here to take measurements, and then leave you in their capable hands.”

  Emmeline showed him what she was looking for, and he measured the cabinet that it was going on top of. Then she showed everyone what needed to be done. Part of her wanted to argue, to say that she could do it on her own, and yet she knew she needed them. It was nice to truly be part of a community, and that meant that when one was in need, everyone came.

  By the end of the next day, things were starting to look like she had imagined. Her mom even came by, and they had a good talk with none of the disappointment that Emmeline had feared would come after Millie had run away. Amy must have mell
owed out over the years, thought Emmeline, or maybe it was her. Emmeline had always felt like if she did anything wrong in front of her mother, she would be a total failure. Now it didn’t bother her as much. Mistakes were a part of life, and although Emmeline had perhaps made more than her fair share, she had done a lot right too. By the time Millie came home from school, so much was already done, and Emmeline was thrilled.

  “Seriously, Mom! Do you know everyone in this town? Even some of the teachers at school today knew who I was. I swear, this is the town that no one ever leaves!”

  She was half joking, but that was true of so many little towns. The bloodlines ran deep. Millie happily helped out, and Emmeline couldn’t help but notice the special attention that her dad gave Millie. She was even laughing, something Emmeline hadn’t been sure was going to happen since they moved there. It was beautiful. Everyone left around seven and promised to return. Emmeline must have said “Thank you” a million times, but there was no way she could truly express her gratefulness.

  Emmeline made them both some hot chocolate and sat Millie down to find out how school went that day. Unlike in previous years, she hadn’t come home with as much information. Emmeline wasn’t sure if that was because she was upset, or if she was changing again with her age.

  “Tell me, how was school?”

  “School is school.”

  “School should teach you how to be more descriptive. Remind me to buy you a thesaurus.”

  “School was a plethora of information, to which I seem to already have acquired.”

  They may have been sarcastic words, but words indeed they were. “That’s my girl. The first day, they always seem to go easy on you. Do you have any homework?”

  “No.”

  “Did you meet anyone?”

  “No.”

  “Millie! Seriously, this conversation would be much better if you added your thoughts to it too.”

  “It was a school. There were teachers. I didn’t know anyone, which is awkward. My lunch seemed to have all my favorites in it, which was probably the best part of my day.”

  Emmeline smiled. It was the only thing she could do to help her.

  “I read all through lunch break.”

  “What did you read?”

  “Stuff. Why all the questions?”

  “Because when you don’t talk to me, you run away.”

  Millie made a face and tried to change the subject. “Any banana bread left?”

  “Yep. Upstairs. I’ll be up in a second. I need to put a few things away and then I’ll join you for a snack.”

  “Deal.”

  Millie grabbed her backpack and went upstairs, while Emmeline made sure there were no paint brushes laying out and put away a few of the tools so she’d be able to find them in the morning.

  Emmeline went to lock the back door when she heard Millie screaming.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Emmeline joined Millie up the stairs in a flash and found her with her face pressed against one of the windows that looked onto the main street. The streetlights illuminated a woman in a long cotton nightgown wearing a pair of white roller skates that looked like they were from the seventies. Her skin was pale, and her hair was stringy. Out the window, she looked more like a ghost floating dizzyingly in circles.

  “What is that?” Millie asked.

  There was something eerily familiar about the swirling figure. “Stay here, let me go see.”

  Emmeline raced back down the stairs, slowing as she reached the front door of the bakery. She peered out the window. The figure was singing loudly. A song with no real words, no real meaning. It was happy gibberish. She knew who this person was—not a ghost really, but perhaps a ghost of who she used to be. For the first time, she felt sympathy for the woman who had haunted her dreams for so many years.

  “Dorothy?” Emmeline cautiously reached her hand out as she approached her. “Dorothy. Are you okay?”

  Dorothy’s song continued. She was off in her own little world, delightfully beautiful, clearly out of her mind. Emmeline thought that for the first time in her life Dorothy looked happy. Strange to see her, such an opposite of what she had ever been. She was normally so stiff, so perfect, her hair never out of place.

  Dorothy stopped spinning for a moment, dizzy but focused on Emmeline. Her head tipped to the side, drinking in Emmeline’s presence.

  “Mom, who is that?” Millie called from the door.

  “It’s okay, sweetie, just stay back.”

  “Mom, what is wrong with her?”

  “She is just confused. I am sure she has someone looking for her,” Emmeline said. “Dorothy, would you like to come with me? I have a nice cup of coffee waiting for you inside.”

  “Hello,” Dorothy said as if this was the first time she had ever laid eyes on her. “Aren’t you such a pretty thing?”

  Years of anger melted away. This wasn’t the same person who had screamed “Slut” at her as she left the hospital; this wasn’t the same woman who had threatened to take her only child away. She wasn’t the same one who had barred Emmeline from her home or blamed her for the death of her son. That woman no longer existed.

  “Hello, would you like to come inside? I have a lovely table waiting for us. Would you please join us?”

  “Mom, who is it? Do you know her?”

  “Come here and help me get her inside.”

  Together, they looped their arms through either arm of the unfortunately confused woman. The stairs up to the store were tricky, with Dorothy losing her footing several times, like a looney-toons character. Emmeline and Millie quietly giggled.

  “There we go, Dorothy, a nice table for us to sit at,” Emmeline said, pulling a chair out.

  “Is this even safe, inviting some strange woman inside? Do you think we should call the police?” asked Millie.

  “Don’t worry about it. I know exactly what she is capable of and what she isn’t.”

  Millie looked at her, puzzled.

  “Angel Face, this is your grandmother, your father’s mother.”

  Millie looked stunned. She’d had no contact with her father’s family since she was a baby.

  “Keep her busy, please, while I call her family.”

  “What am I supposed to do?”

  “Just talk to her, keep her happy.”

  Emmeline pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked up the number while Millie awkwardly talked to her grandmother for the first time.

  Twenty minutes later a man showed up at the bakery and knocked on the door. He was tall, with dark eyes somewhat similar to Millie’s own, and he looked barely twenty. Emmeline answered the door, and after a moment, she hugged him.

  “Millie, I’d like to introduce you to you to your Uncle Erik. The last time I saw him, he was just a kid.”

  “This is her?” he asked, cautiously approaching Millie. His eyes misted over briefly. “Would calling me Uncle Erik be too awkward? I know we haven’t been around. I was just a kid when everything happened.”

  Emmeline drew a line across her neck with her hand. He stopped, but Emmeline knew it was too late to stop the onslaught of questions that was sure to follow from her inquisitive child. Emmeline never thought that it was important to let Millie know all the gory details of her past. Millie needed to know she was loved, that was all that was important.

  “What happened to her?” Millie asked.

  “She’s very sick, Millie. Thank you for looking after her,” Erik said.

  “So, this is your mom?” Millie asked timidly. Dorothy was opening up sugar packages and emptying them into her mouth.

  “Mom, don’t do that, it’s not good for your blood sugar.” Erik reached out and took the packages away. She smacked at his hand, and he sighed. It looked as though this happened regularly. “This isn’t a good day. She refused her meds and then snuck out. It’s getting harder by the day. She is still capable of doing most things by herself, and yet she doesn’t make any good decisions.”

  “How long h
as she been like this?” Emmeline asked, grateful that she had been warned about her state of mind ahead of time.

  “Seems like forever. You must have seen the signs. Early-onset Alzheimer’s. She was officially diagnosed about six years ago.”

  “I heard that she wasn’t doing well. I just didn’t realize how bad it was.”

  “Yeah. I hardly remember her well, to tell you the truth. I think she’s been off my whole life, but after Nicholas died, things got much worse. You were right to leave. She would never have left you alone.”

  “I’m not really thinking about the past, just what’s going on now.” She tried to brush him off.

  “Anyway, I should probably take her home. I brought shoes for her.”

  He went to try and put them on, but his mom would have nothing to do with it. She wanted the roller-skates, and the more he pushed her, the more upset she became.

  “How am I supposed to get her in the car with roller-skates on?”

  “We can help you?” Emmeline suggested.

  “The thing is, in the morning she isn’t going to remember any of it. She’ll be back to her regular self. It’s so hard predicting what’s going to happen. It’s exhausting. Dad needs someone at the house at all times to watch her. She has home care provided by the government, but they send different people in every day, which makes her more upset than anything else. There’s no consistency. Then she just screams and yells. There’s no room for her in a nursing home, and well, she’s so young still, I hate to see her in there. But some days it’s just so hard to take. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you some of the crazy things I’ve had to do for her.”

  Emmeline looked at Millie. “She seems like she could be a handful. Although I think she always was.”

  “Yeah, now even more so. Can you help me get her into the car?” he said, sounding defeated. “Mom, it’s time to go home.”

  “Look at the nice young man. Isn’t he handsome? We’re married, you know. He loves me,” Dorothy said, reaching up and squeezing Erik’s cheeks. He grimaced.

  “She thinks I’m Dad half the time. No, Mom, it’s me, Erik. It’s time to go. Dad is waiting for us at home.”