Lulu's Cafe: A Novel

by T. I. Lowe

  “I’m working out negotiations for a high-profile divorce. The estranged couple is some bigwigs that own an island off the coast of South Carolina. The sad part is that they’ve been married thirty-eight years and are now divorcing after investing all that time.” Crowley shook his head.

  “That’s one heck of a way to start the New Year off.” Leah propped her feet on the couch and shifted around to face Crowley as he spoke.

  “Yeah. They didn’t want to ruin their family’s holidays, so I agreed to have the paperwork ready by the end of the month.” He grabbed hold of Leah’s bare feet to check for coldness and found them freezing. “Where’s your socks?” He shot her a disgruntled look as he rubbed her feet with a bit of force to help heat them up.

  Leah didn’t pull away, finding the heat and contact of his hand comforting, which surprised her immensely. It took a few moments to find her voice. “At the apartment. I forgot to pack some.”

  Crowley released her feet and sat up so that he could pull out the quilt he was resting on. He placed it over Leah and tucked it firmly around her feet. The quilt was warm from his body heat, and Leah gladly snuggled into it.

  “How do you feel?” He placed his hand on her forehead and looked at her with concern.

  “The fever is finally gone.” Leah was astounded by the comfort she took in his attention. “I’m just weak. I’m feeling pretty hungry, actually.”

  Crowley removed his hand from her forehead. “What sounds appealing?”

  She gave a guilty smile. “Something chocolate, but I’m guessing I won’t find that in this house.”

  Crowley made a show of looking over his shoulder before fishing out a king-size Snicker’s bar from his briefcase. “I’ll share it with you, if you promise not to tell Lulu,” he whispered as he opened it and handed Leah half. His eyes held a hint of mischievousness.

  “Promise,” she whispered back as she took her first bite. “Hmm. It’s been too long. You wouldn’t happen to have a diet Mountain Dew hiding in there too?” she asked as she nodded towards his briefcase.

  “Nope, but I can get you a cup of hot coffee.” Crowley shoved the last of the candy bar in his mouth and headed into the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later, carrying two steaming cups and handed Leah one. “Instant will have to do until the electricity is restored.”

  “I don’t mind. I actually like the taste. It was all I could afford starting out.” Leah took a sip. “Even though I’ve drunk my share of gourmet coffee since then, I still enjoy a cup of instant every now and then.”

  “I like it pretty well myself,” Crowley said as he sipped from his cup and watched the fire.

  “Hey. Thanks for sharing your chocolate with me.” Leah smiled.

  “I don’t take sharing my chocolate lightly either. Most people don’t know this, but I have an overgrown sweet tooth,” he said, causing Leah to snort in amusement.

  “You don’t have anyone fooled on that one, Crow. I heard all about your pie contest binge, and I’ve seen you in action, with my own two eyes, with all of those Christmas cookies.”

  Leah saw Crowley grin at that. She took a good look at him, making her laugh some more. She had just noticed his unruly hair was sticking up in every direction and his long sleeve T-shirt and plaid night pants were pretty wrinkly.

  “Why are you camped out on Lulu’s sofa instead of your bed at home? You scared of a little storm?” She grinned.

  “I’ve always stayed to help her out during any storm for as long as I can remember.”

  “But, why?”

  “For one thing, it was actually stated in my parents’ will to always take care of her.” He saw the questioning look on Leah’s face. “Both my parents have passed away. Can we just leave it at that?” He looked away with a bit of uneasiness.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” The smile vanished from Leah’s face.

  “It just hurts too much to talk about it.” They sat in silence for a few moments, studying the fire before Crowley continued. “I genuinely love Lulu. I’m a blessed man that God saw fit to bless me with two mommas. My Momma and Lulu were best friends. Lulu had no children of her own, so Momma always shared me. I see it as an honor to fulfill my parents’ wish, but I would have done it regardless.” Crowley smiled somberly and met Leah’s gaze. He saw that she was shaking her head at him. “What?”

  “How can you be born so good and some men are born so bad?”

  “I have my moments, Lee.” Crowley stood and stretched. He noticed the fire dying out, so he tossed on a few more logs.

  “Not evil ones,” Leah said quietly.

  Crowley caught Leah’s comment. Without turning towards her, he stoked the fire as he pondered how best to respond. “I guess it comes down to the choices you make.” He shrugged. “I’ve worked on some criminal cases where I thought I was fighting the devil himself. All I know is that drugs, alcohol, or childhood abuse typically play a big factor in crime. A lot of consequences can come from one bad choice.”

  Leah nodded her head thoughtfully as Crowley rejoined her on the couch. He propped his socked feet up on the coffee table and leaned his head back on the couch.

  “Tell me about your New Year’s Eve date.” Leah wanted to change the subject, and she just couldn’t resist teasing him with this topic.

  Crowley closed his eyes and shook his head. “Next subject.”

  “Oh come on. It couldn’t have been that bad.” Leah nudged him in the side with her foot. “I guarantee I had a worse New Year’s than you.”

  Crowley turned his head and opened his eyes to meet Leah’s. “I would have rather been burning up with fever.”

  “You’re full of it.” After Leah teased him, she noticed how tired he suddenly looked.

  “Look, I love Ana,” Crowley said, noting he now had Leah’s full attention, “as a sister. Sometimes she takes my brotherly love and tries to make it into something more.” He shook his head as he ran his fingers through his hair.

  “I spent the entire night keeping jerks in line as she showed off in front of them all. Instead of looking like the protective brother, I looked like the super-jealous boyfriend.” He sighed in frustration.

  “Why not love her more?” Leah asked.

  “I tried for a while, but it just felt wrong. You can’t help who you fall in love with, or not.”

  “You’re right.” Images of Brent flashed through Leah’s head, with the last one being him motionless on their bloody bed. She shivered.

  “Next subject?” Crowley raised his eyebrow questioningly and smiled when Leah nodded in agreement.

  The next few hours passed by with them rambling through various topics, steering clear of any serious ones. They debated what soup they would beg Lulu to make the next day, with Crowley wanting chili and Leah wanting vegetable. They teased each other on who Lulu liked the most between them.

  A little after midnight, Leah watched Crowley’s eyes shut as he dosed off, midsentence. He had been telling her all about his ideas for the next youth fishing tournament. She watched him for a while, wondering if he would rouse back up and finish his sentence. But his bottom lip puckered out, making him look like a youth himself, so she decided he was out for the count. After watching Crowley sleep so peacefully, Leah eventually dozed off.

  ****

  Lulu found her two guests snuggled in quilts on opposite ends of her oversized couch, sleeping, the next morning when she came downstairs. She didn’t know if she was supposed to like that or not, but chose to like it. She was relieved Crowley was finally warming up to Leah.

  A hot breakfast of grits, eggs, and turkey sausage encouraged the sleepy heads off the couch by midmorning. After eating and helping Lulu clean, the trio spent most of the day playing board games and snuggling up in quilts by the fire. Lulu found it amusing how the two young’uns, as she referred to Crowley and Leah, teased and bickered like siblings would.

  They both had different requests for supper, saying Lulu would fix her favorite person’s request,
and she did just that. Lulu began prepping the ingredients for chili, making Crowley whoop in victory over Leah, until Lulu started a second pot for the vegetable soup. Leah doubled over in laughter and stated that Crowley was no longer the only favorite Lulu had. Lulu loved her house being filled with young banter and laughter. This was how her house was always meant to be, and she was happy that it was finally starting.

  Later that night Crowley bundled up and said he was going to check things out. He stopped by the closet and pulled out the box he had tucked away and took it with him. The two ladies were in the kitchen, heating water for coffee, when the first set of booms sliced through the silent night. They rushed to the back door just in time to see the night sky burst into a rainbow of sparkles. They spotted Crowley, crouched down by the deck, lighting fireworks and aiming them up over the river.

  Lulu pulled the door open to holler at him. “Are you crazy?”

  He stood with a mischievous grin on his face. “No ma’am. Lee missed her fireworks show, and I’m just being the gentleman you raised me to be, trying to make it up to her.” He crouched down to get back to work. “Now close that door before she gets sick again,” he said.

  Lulu huffed at being told what to do but listened. The two ladies grabbed dining chairs and planted themselves in front of the French doors in the living room to enjoy the show. Crowley lit the sky up in a continuous procession of flamboyant bursts for the better part of the next hour, before coming in and placing a light icy kiss on Lulu’s cheek. He then did the same to Leah, causing her to shiver at his cold, lingering lips. “Happy New Year, Lee,” he said before planting himself in front of the fireplace to unthaw.

  “Thank you, Crow. That was very gentlemanly of you.” She smiled after regaining her composure. Lulu didn’t miss how the young woman had become flustered, or the lingering kiss that caused it.

  The following day, the ice melted, the electricity was restored, the café reopened, and Leah and Crowley moved back to their own homes. Even though Lulu’s house emptied of her family, her home stayed warm and cozy with the memories made and the ones to come.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Mid-January crept up on Leah in an unforgiving rate. She had done everything to repress it, to avoid it, to forget it, but nothing could wash away the knowing from her mind. Her expected due date showed up on a frustrated Saturday, empty-handed.

  She had asked Lulu after closing on Friday if she could spend her Saturday shift on kitchen duty.

  “What for?” Lulu asked, distracted with slicing fruit. When Leah didn’t answer right away, Lulu turned to repeat the question, and she glimpsed the hurt all over the young woman. She put the knife down and gave Leah her full attention. “You need tomorrow off?”

  Leah cleared her throat. “No. I need the distraction of work. I just don’t think I’ll be up for customers.”

  Lulu nodded. “Tomorrow is very significant.” Her clear grey eyes took in her friend’s pain.

  Leah batted away an escaped tear. “It was supposed to be,” she whispered.

  “The kitchen it is.” Lulu wiped her hands on her apron as she crossed the kitchen and gave Leah a much-needed hug. As she did this, she heard the front door unlock. She patted Leah and released her. “Crowley’s here. Why don’t you head on upstairs?”

  Nodding, Leah mumbled as she walked to the stairs, “Why’d you let him have a key?”

  “I didn’t really have a choice.” Lulu chucked.

  Leah took the stairs two at the time, without replying to Lulu’s comment. She had no desire to let Crowley see her in another hot mess. She had not seen him but in passing since the ice storm. Lulu had told her that the high-profile divorce case had kept him quite busy. He even had to spend a few days locked up on the island, negotiating with the other spouse’s lawyer on the final details.

  Leah had actually been relieved not to have him around. He was genuinely a nice guy, but she couldn’t take being pitied by him. Crowley kept referring to it as being gentlemanly, but Leah knew it was pity. She didn’t want to be painted as some pathetic damsel in distress, and she had no desire to be rescued by some gentlemanly knight in shiny flip-flops.

  The somber due date arrived. As Leah worked that day, she found herself constantly restraining the lump in her throat from flaring up with anguish and heartache. Lulu had kept Leah extremely busy throughout the work hours. She was mindful at having the young woman do tasks that required focus, such as making out next week’s grocery order and the work schedule for the part-time help for the next two weeks.

  Lulu also had Leah research two different healthy versions of brownie recipes online. Leah prepared both versions so they could be tested the next afternoon at a community picnic. She typed and printed out voting comment cards, which were placed in fifty bags containing bite-size samples of the two versions. She made fifty bags with plenty of brownies to spare.

  All the busyness did the trick. Before Leah knew it, the café was closed for the day. She stayed for several hours after work to organize the kitchen and storage room. After that task was complete, she tackled cleaning out the refrigerators. Leah eventually ran out of chores in the café to occupy her time, so she moved upstairs to give the apartment an early spring cleaning. Baseboards were scrubbed, curtains taken down, washed, and rehung. Windows were washed until they glittered…the tasks continued at an almost obsessive rate.

  Her thoughts continued in a looping pattern…if I can get through this day – if I cannot think about what could have been – if I cannot think about how sweet-smelling my baby would be – if I can just not wonder how soft my baby’s delicate skin would feel…

  After trying so hard, Leah found herself in a heap of despair in the middle of the living room floor, holding a dust rag to her cheek imagining… A wave of grief slammed into her so hard it left her gasping for air.

  As night fell, Leah deteriorated even more. She tried a scalding hot shower to ease away some of the anxiety, to no avail. She went to go to bed, but sleep would not find her. She sat in the living room with her latest book, but ended up reading the same page over and over with no focus.

  Leah felt completely gutted, hollow, with a part of her missing and the realization that she would never be able to get it back. Not being able to handle it any longer, Leah grabbed some money from her wallet and headed out to find something to stuff in the void. She needed the pain numbed.

  She got no further than the bakery display in the café before she found an old standby. She placed the money by the register and loaded a bakery bag full of brownies. She turned to head back upstairs and almost plowed over Lulu. The two stared at one another for a few moments.

  Lulu could clearly see from the dim hall light that Leah’s cheeks were damp and her eyes nearly swollen shut.

  Leah asked hoarsely, “What are you doing here?” She took in the fact that Lulu was dressed in night pants and matching shirt. Her feet were crammed in rain boots, of all things. Leah peeked out the window and found no rain in sight.

  “Hello. I’m Lulu. I think I’m welcome at Lulu’s any time I see fit.”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean—”

  “I know. Besides, you’re not the only one around here who likes a late-night snack. Well, I’m having a snack.” She eyed Leah’s large bag full of brownies. “Looks like you are having a feast.”

  “I paid for them,” Leah said.

  “Yeah, and you’ll still be paying for it after you eat all that.” Lulu grabbed the bag away from Leah and reached inside to pull out three brownie bites. She placed the treats on a small plate. “Here you go.”

  Leah refused the plate. “But I want the whole bag, please. I paid for them.”

  Lulu walked over to retrieve Leah’s money and handed it back. “It’s on the house.” She grabbed Leah’s hand and waited for Leah to meet her gaze. “Sweetheart, food is intended to be used as fuel for our bodies. You use it for something else, and it’s just going to end up fueling your pains even more.”

  Lulu
guided Leah over to a table. “Come on, and let’s enjoy our treats together. Nothing better than good company to go with late-night snacking.”

  Leah sat while Lulu filled two glasses of milk and rejoined her at the table, with her own plate of brownies in tow. “We need to figure out which recipe we like the best.” Lulu tried distracting Leah, but she just stared at her hands in her lap.

  Leah had no want for company. She only wanted to take the bag upstairs and indulge in private as she always did. She wanted no witness.

  “So…would you like to talk about it?” Lulu asked between sips of milk.

  “I don’t think I can, yet,” Leah said.

  Lulu was hopeful with the yet. She knew the girl would have to eventually get it out. “I’ve finally figured out how. Can I share a secret with you?”

  Leah shrugged as she continued staring at her hands. “Sure. I guess.”

  “I was madly in love with a famous movie star,” Lulu said.

  Intrigued, Leah looked up. “A movie star?” It was hard to picture this tiny, old-fashioned, country lady loving someone famous. “Did he…umm…love you back?”

  “Oh yes. Most definitely. He was shooting a movie down along the coast and tried to escape all of the publicity between filming by staying out here in the very same house I live in now.” Lulu took a bite of her brownie and chewed attentively. “Not this one,” she made note of the recipe. “The texture is a bit gritty.”

  “I thought so too.” Leah waited for more of the love story.

  “We met at this café and couldn’t unglue our eyes from one another. We spent the entire summer sneaking here, there, and yonder to be together. I’d meet him on one of the secluded river bluffs where we would spend the day tangled in each other’s arms trying to figure out a future together. Or I’d meet him in the top of my daddy’s barn. When I got home, I would have to explain why there was straw tangled up all in my hair.” Lulu paused to laugh, and she noticed a smile from Leah. “We had a passionate love affair that summer. One I will always treasure. We were engaged to be married that following fall. We had no desire to wait to begin our lives together.” Lulu sighed.