“Yes, I do,” Kristine murmured. “And so do you, yet, you sided with her against me, making horrible accusations… Untrue accusations.”
“Kristine, we don’t have time to talk about this right now. The bakery…”
“Will survive a day without me.” She sighed. “It may not survive Lori, but I’m going to let you worry about that right now.” She rose slightly and pounded her pillow, and then lay back down.
Ruth stared helplessly at her daughter. Finally, she left the room and closed the door behind her. Kristine perked her ears, listening. Was her mother actually going to rouse Lori, who would sleep in until eleven otherwise?
“Lori! Wake up!” Her mother’s command floated along the hallway and to Kristine’s ears.
She smiled. So her mother was going to enlist the help of her oldest? How was that going to work out for her?
***
Kristine woke hours later. Her eyes widened when she spotted the time. It was after ten. She hadn’t slept so many consecutive hours—ever. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She wondered how Lori was faring at the bakery, provided she had actually gone in to work.
She rose with a yawn and padded to the bathroom she shared with her sister. She found it in disarray, her sister’s makeup scattered all over the vanity. Apparently Lori had started her day in a hurry, which meant…
Kristine couldn’t help smiling. Lori was about to get a taste of real work for the first time in a good, long while. She prayed Minnie would forgive her for unleashing her on a loyal, long-time employee.
Where was her mother? She perked her ears and listened. No sounds emanated from inside the old Victorian.
Where was Devon? She prayed they hadn’t forgotten about her precious nephew. Had either one of them remembered to take him to school? She detoured to his room, found it empty, and sighed with relief. They hadn’t driven off without him.
She returned to the bathroom and quickly showered and dressed, and then headed downstairs for a bite to eat. She prepared toast, downed a few ounces of orange juice, and made an impromptu decision to go for a walk. She hadn’t taken a leisurely stroll in years. Nothing about her life had been leisurely for years.
She grabbed a light jacket from the coat closet and started off. Seemingly of their own accord, her feet took her into downtown. As she reached the bakery and casually strolled by, she spotted Lori inside, behind the cash register helping a customer.
Even from a distance, she could see her sister appeared harried and overwhelmed. Strands of her blond hair had escaped her hair net, and her cheeks were bright red from apparent exertion. So, Lori had been exerting herself? She chuckled at the thought, felt guilty for her meanness, but chuckled again.
Her mother suddenly hurried toward Lori with a tray of brownies. She slipped it into the case, spoke briefly to Lori, and scurried back to the work area.
So her mother had joined Lori at the bakery? It was a good thing, she mused, since Lori would have been out of her element without her. Her mother hadn’t spent a single day at the bakery since her husband had passed, but she was definitely better equipped than her daughter to make a go of it.
Feeling slightly better after seeing her mom was helping Lori out, but also feeling a bit wounded that her mother had never mustered the energy to help her, she continued on her way. She had just reached the corner of the building when Minnie appeared, stepping off a walkway between the bakery and the building beside it.
“Minnie!”
“Kristine!”
Minnie suddenly grasped her by the shoulders. “How could you do that to me?” she cried.
“Do what?” she asked, confused.
“Unleash both of them on me!”
“I … don’t understand.”
She sighed. “Listen, I can handle working with your mother, and I might even be able to handle working with Lori, but both of them at the same time! Are you trying to kill me?” She pinned her with eyes that reflected sudden worry. “Are you all right? Your mom said you weren’t feeling well. I got concerned because you never miss work. Thank God,” she muttered under her breath. “Thank God you’re okay. You are okay?”
“I’m okay.”
“What happened?” she demanded.
“It’s sort of a long story,” she said, smiling ruefully at her friend. “What are you doing? Did Mom send you on an errand?”
“No, I’m going home sick,” she said with a wince.
“Oh, Minnie! Are you feeling ill? Do you need anything?”
“I’m not sick,” she whispered, dragging Kristine away from the bakery. “I just couldn’t take another moment with those two. Between their bickering and complaining and their general ineptitude…”
Kristine shook her head, confused. She didn’t doubt for a single moment that Lori was inept from lack of experience, but her mother… She’d worked at the bakery for years, prior to her husband’s death.
“Minnie, I don’t understand…”
“Come on. Let’s talk,” she whispered. “My car is parked just up ahead. Hurry! We don’t want them to see us.”
“Them? My mom and sister?”
“Yes!”
“Oh.”
Kristine climbed into Minnie’s car and watched her friend round the hood and climb in. She appeared frazzled, as if her hours with her new coworkers had really taken a toll.
Minnie started the car and pulled away from the curb. “Duck! They might see you.”
Kristine chuckled as she slid low in the seat. She rose up when they’d passed the bakery.
“What were you thinking walking past the bakery like that?” Minnie demanded. “They might have seen you.”
Kristine laughed uncertainly. “Oh, well.”
“They would have dragged you inside. Neither one of them knows which end is up.” She shook her head and blew out a breath. “I’d forgotten how awful it was working with your…”
Minnie’s eyes widened. She’d nearly said too much.
“With my mother?” Kristine clarified, surprised.
“I’m sorry, Kristine. But yes, working with your mother. Frankly, the only thing more stressful and difficult is trying to work with your sister.”
“But… Mom has years of experience…”
She moaned and took a withering breath. “I’m sorry. I’ll just … shut up.”
“No. Please. Let’s talk.”
“You’ll fire me.”
“You know better than that.”
“Do you promise if I tell you the truth, you won’t punish me for it? I love my job, but only when … you and Mitch are working with me.” She pointed ahead to a fast food restaurant. “Shall we go in and get an early lunch? We can talk there.”
“Sure. Okay.”
Inside the restaurant, the women ordered and after receiving their meals, selected a table at the back. Minnie watched Kristine warily, as if she had perhaps already said too much. Kristine sensed her discomfort and reached across the table and patted her hand. “Minnie, it’s okay. Just tell me the truth. I won’t fire you.”
She watched Kristine speculatively and finally relented. “First, Kristine, will you tell me what happened at home that prompted you to foist those two on me today?”
She was still shaken by her mother and sister’s accusations. She took a deep breath and relayed the story to her friend.
Minnie sat back in the chair and widened her eyes in shock when she stopped speaking. “Wow. I’m so sorry, Kristine. That must have been horrible, having them gang up on you like that, and when it was undeserved.”
“Was it?” she said. “Did Joe come into the bakery originally, in order to find Lori? Did he come back to town to rekindle their relationship? Did I somehow insert myself into a situation that didn’t involve me? I mean, it is strange that Joe said he has feelings for me.”
Minnie gasped with delight. “Hey, you didn’t tell me that part. Details!” she demanded, smiling brightly.
“Well, he took me to
dinner and for the most part, we had a really nice time.”
“Yeah, yeah. Get to the good stuff.”
“He told me he wants to get to know me better.” She grinned sheepishly. “He likes me.”
“Oh, he more than likes you, honey.”
“No. I mean, we really don’t know each other very well. He used to come around the house when I was a kid, because he and Lori were dating back then.” She winced. “Maybe in light of that, it isn’t inappropriate for me to get involved with Joe.”
“Kristine, that was ancient history.”
“But Mom and Lori do have a point that Joe seems to have developed an interest in me fairly quickly.” She dropped her head. “Neither one of them can understand what he sees in me, I guess.”
Minnie practically leapt out of the chair. “What? I’ll tell you what he sees in you. You’re smart, loyal, kind, hard working, not to mention—beautiful, and you care about others. You really do. You’re unselfish. You put the needs of others above your own. You’re clever, funny, fun to be around… Shall I go on?”
“No,” she said, smiling at her friend.
“Oh, and if you’ll remember, Joe didn’t suddenly develop feelings for you over the past few days. They’ve been years in the making.”
“What? That’s not true. He’s been away for a long time.”
Minnie pinned her with a look. “Do you remember when you graduated high school? You worked that summer at the bakery, until you went off to college?”
She nodded.
“If you’ll search your memory, you’ll recall that Joe came into the bakery every day, sometimes twice a day—to see you.”
“No, he came in to buy baked goods for his coworkers.”
“Kristine!” She watched her as if she were a bit dense. “Boy, those coworkers of his must have been rotund by summer’s end, because he bought enough to feed a Third World country.”
“No!”
“Yes! Kristine!”
“But that was such a long time ago.”
“True, but do you remember when you returned home after college…?”
“Yes. I went right back to work at the bakery.”
“True, and Joe hadn’t left town to start his own business yet. As had happened during the summer previously mentioned, he stopped by the bakery every day, sometimes twice a day,” she said, chuckling, “to see you.”
Kristine shook her head, truly confused. Was Minnie correct? Had Joe come in to see her?
“Did I even talk to him?” she asked, genuinely perplexed.
“Yes. You’re always friendly to every customer.”
“Did I use my feminine wiles on him?” she asked with a humorless laugh.
“I wish,” Minnie said. “Maybe you’d be married to him by now.”
Chapter Eleven
After she and Minnie had finished their lunch, Minnie invited her to her house so they could finish their conversation without fear of Ruth and Lori spotting them playing hooky. Kristine followed Minnie into her tidy bungalow and took a seat in the living room. She breathed a sigh as she settled into the soft cushions of the vintage couch.
“What are you thinking right now?” Minnie asked, as she took the seat across from her.
“I don’t know. I guess I’m having trouble wrapping my mind around the idea that Joe might really care about me.”
Minnie gave her a warning glance. “Need I give you another accounting of your many fine qualities?”
“No,” she answered, smiling.
Minnie drew silent and regarded her thoughtfully. Finally, she spoke. “Back at the fast food place, I confided in you my difficulties working with your family members, but I didn’t tell you everything.”
Kristine nodded, urging her to continue.
Minnie wrung her hands nervously. “Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut,” she muttered.
“Minnie. It’s okay. Go on, please.”
She sighed wearily. “Yes, okay. As you know, I’ve worked with your mother for years.” She grinned suddenly. “Worked with you, too, but you’re a very talented manager and baker, unlike your… Er, anyway….”
“Minnie, my mom is an excellent baker,” she said.
“No, honey, she is not, nor does she practice the skill very often. If you’ll think back to all the times you and I worked with her, it was the two of us doing all the prep and baking off of our goods. And if it wasn’t us, it was Mitch.”
Kristine cocked her head in thought and her eyes widened with surprise. “You’re right, Minnie. I never really thought about it before. Mom has always been such a presence at the bakery. I mean, she spent mornings until closing there, six days a week, and then usually stayed until later than that…”
Minnie nodded. “That’s true.”
“Why did my mother spend so much time at the bakery?” she mused. “Especially when she wasn’t actually doing much when she was there?”
“Well, I didn’t say that,” she said. “Your mother was great with the customers. She’s a social butterfly. She enjoys chatting with customers. She really gets to know them and before long, she’s practically a member of the family.”
“Minnie, then why did you dislike working with her so much?”
She chewed her lip thoughtfully before continuing, “Although your mother didn’t actually do the baking, she took credit for it anyway. If someone complimented her on a particular item, she’d talk at length about what inspired her to come up with the recipe—even if she hadn’t been the one to come up with the idea.”
Kristine had to concede that Minnie was right about that. Her mother craved attention, much like Lori did…
Minnie continued, “Whenever Lori was working with her, she allowed her to get away with…” She sighed. “Lori refused to work, plain and simple. But your mother portrayed her to customers as a rare talent when it came to preparing baked goods. She gave people the impression she was the work horse around the bakery and that she was being groomed to take over.”
Kristine nodded. She remembered her mother ignoring her contributions. She had taken the time to memorize every recipe and had learned to work under intense pressure. She had always assured the case was filled. Her mother had never acknowledged her hard work. Her father had, however. He had praised her often.
“Lori spent her time complaining about how much she hated the bakery and was angry that your mother expected her to work there,” Minnie said. “She always said she had much bigger plans for her life. I remember times Lori would throw a fit and literally trash the work area. Your mother barely scolded her.”
“Lori was always Mom’s favorite,” Kristine said matter-of-factly.
“I think your mom sort of took the path of least resistance with your sister. It was easier to defer to her than to try to correct her. Besides…”
“What?” Kristine prompted.
“Your mom and Lori are a lot alike. Your mom never wanted to work in the bakery, back when she was a teenager and her parents expected her to give up her free time to help out.”
“You and Mom were friends in high school, weren’t you?”
“Er, well… No. I knew ‘of’ her, but we didn’t have the same group of friends, or ever spend any time together.”
“But Mom gives the impression you were the best of friends.”
Minnie sighed. “Your mom believes if she says it, it’s true.” Minnie gasped. “Kristine, I’m sorry. This is your mother we’re talking about. I just… I want you to understand that the problems with your mother aren’t your fault. You’re simply two different people. You happen to be more like your father—low key, level headed, while Lori takes after your mother.” She frowned. “Have I said too much, or overstepped my bounds?”
“No. It’s okay, Minnie.”
“You know, your mom is probably siding with Lori over you when it comes to Joe because it’s easier to do so than to disagree with her. Imagine the fallout if she tells Lori something she doesn’t want to hear.”
&
nbsp; “That could be,” Kristine acknowledged, “but it still hurts. For once, couldn’t she be on my side?”
“I guess it all evens out, or used to anyway. When your dad was alive, he was your biggest supporter. He used to get really frustrated with Lori’s antics. And he used to…”
“He used to what?”
Minnie hesitated, as if fearful she was going to say too much. She watched Kristine, as if uncertain is she should say more. “Minnie, please, go on. It’s okay.”
“Your father used to beg your mother to spend more time at home. He knew she enjoyed being at the bakery for the sole purpose of interacting with ‘her’ public. When he’d ask her to come home, to help with you girls, she…”
“She refused,” Kristine said. “I remember that. Dad used to plead with her to limit the number of hours she spent at the bakery, but she wouldn’t hear of it. And poor Dad, he worked a full-time job, did his best to hold down the fort at home, and was also at the beck and call of Mom when she needed something repaired at the bakery.”
“What I found strange was that your mom really didn’t want to be at the bakery. She was miserable when things were quiet and customers were few and far between.”
“But she wanted to be home even less,” Kristine finished, as understanding dawned.
Kristine suddenly felt she’d gained some real insight into her mother’s behavior. Maybe her mother felt closer to Lori because Lori wasn’t inclined toward domesticity, either. She wasn’t particularly maternal and preferred being anywhere but home with her child.
“I’ve never given much thought to any of this,” Kristine admitted. “I just accepted Lori was spoiled, although she and I have fought about it enough. But my mom… I never really connected that she and Lori are a lot alike.”
“Well, it stands to reason you didn’t notice,” Minnie said. “You’ve been too busy working to notice.”
Kristine acknowledged her words with a humorless laugh.
“Kristine,” Minnie ventured, “you are entitled to a life, you know. It’s time you thought about your own happiness, rather than trying to keep the family business going without help from the family.”
The Icing on the Cake Page 9