“Really? How come?” He glanced at Adrian. “Where did she go, anyway? I saw her leaving at five o’clock this morning.”
“She took Jennifer home.”
His heart skipped and he dropped his spoon on the floor. “She’s gone...for good?”
Adrian reached over and touched his arm. “No, I don’t mean she moved away. I’m just saying that she took Jennifer home to Lehigh Acres for the weekend. She’s not coming back until Sunday night.”
Relief swept through him, like the waves crashing upon a dry Florida beach. “Oh, okay. I’d thought we were going to go look at cars today.” He threw his spoon into the kitchen sink and fished another spoon from the drawer before he continued eating his cereal. Would Misty be spending time with Nate while she was gone? The thought proved unsettling, so, he pushed it from his mind.
Adrian sighed, popped a piece of avocado into her mouth. “She took Jennifer to Lehigh Acres because the child wants to see her grandmother.” She shook her head.
“What’s the matter?”
“I don’t think she should’ve gone. Jennifer’s been wanting to see her grandmother, and she lets Jennifer talk to her grandmother on the phone every day. I think since she just moved here, and Jennifer’s having a hard time adjusting, this visit will confuse her. She’ll probably think that they’ll be staying in Lehigh Acres.”
He chuckled, fondly recalling the time he’d spend with the two-year-old girl. “I’m sure she’ll figure it out when they get back on Sunday night.”
She shook her head. “I’m not a mother, so maybe I’m not the right person to give this kind of advice to Misty, but, I thought she should wait for a month or so before taking a weekend trip to Lehigh Acres with Jennifer.”
He frowned, finished his cereal, not understanding what Adrian was talking about. He stood and rinsed out his bowl. He returned to the table and opened the box. He removed three muffins. “Did you want a muffin?”
“I’d love one.” He served Adrian a muffin. “Get the butter out of the fridge, please.”
He got the butter, and slathered it on their muffins. He popped half of a muffin into his mouth.
They tasted exquisite. The large grains of crystallized sugar coupled nicely with the sweet fruit and the muffin was soft and tender. The slathered butter took the taste over the top.
“Oh, my goodness.” Adrian licked the crumbs from her lips. “Sterling, this is the first time I’ve ever had a mango muffin. I love it. I have never tasted anything like this. Do you mind if I keep some for Jennifer and Misty to sample?” Chuckling, she helped herself to another muffin and slathered it with butter.
“I brought a lot. I wanted them to taste them.” He wished they were here. The muffins always tasted better when they were fresh out of the oven. “Thanks for the compliment.”
She popped another bite into her mouth. “You’re welcome.”
Once they’d finished their muffins, he thought about Adrian’s advice to Misty regarding her visit to Lehigh Acres. “Why do you think Jennifer should wait before visiting her grandmother?”
“Well, you know how she’s been having trouble with Jennifer using the bathroom at the daycare?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, I don’t think seeing her grandmother now, when she’s still upset, will help Jennifer. I think Misty should wait until Jennifer’s well-adjusted, and acting like herself, before she takes a weekend visit.” She shook her head. “I just have a feeling that this visit will do more harm than good. Jennifer might act worse when she gets back because she’ll be returning to a situation that she doesn’t like.”
He sipped his coffee, giving Adrian’s words plenty of thought. “I can understand her wanting to take Jennifer to her mom’s house. Jennifer’s been sad since she left and it might make her happy to see her grandmother again.”
Adrian nodded. “That’s true. But, like I said, I wonder how the visit will affect her once she’s back.”
Sterling shrugged, not knowing enough about the behavior of toddlers to offer an opinion. He again thought about Nate, wondering if he should ask Adrian about Misty’s ex-boyfriend. “What’ll Misty be doing when she’s in Lehigh Acres?”
“What do you mean?”
He hesitated, wondering if Adrian would mention it to Misty if he asked about Nate. “I mean,” he paused before taking another sip of coffee. “Will Jennifer be spending time with her dad?”
“Humph. I hope not. But she probably will. Nate’ll probably find out that Misty’s at her mom’s house and I’m sure he’ll be popping by over the weekend to see Jennifer, and he’ll also be bothering Misty about reconciling.” Adrian shuddered and Sterling didn’t blame her for her strong reaction. “That man is so unsettling.”
“I agree. Do you think Misty will go back to him?”
She shook her head. “I doubt it. She’s moved, found a good job, and has started a new life here. She was determined to get away from bad influences in Lehigh Acres. I can’t see her making all of these drastic changes if she were open to the idea of accepting Nate back into her life.”
He leaned back into his chair, folded his arms in front of his chest. He’d been thinking about the conversation he’d had with Misty after church. “What do you think about her wanting to send Jennifer to Juliette’s?”
Adrian told Sterling her opinion about Juliette’s. “I think she should look into other preschools. I don’t think that Juliette’s is necessarily the best, even though they charge the highest tuition.” She took a deep breath. “I just hope it works out for her. She’ll be crushed if it doesn’t.”
“Is that the only reason she wants to work in the soup kitchen, to get community service hours to make her eligible for that scholarship?”
Adrian shook her head. “You can ask Misty more about that, but, it’s safe for me to say that, no, that’s not the only reason she wants to volunteer in the soup kitchen. She’d be doing this even if there were no scholarship involved.”
He still couldn’t believe that she wanted to send Jennifer to Juliette’s. He figured he’d understand that better with time. Misty obviously had her reasons for wanting to do this. As he got to know her better, maybe she’d feel more comfortable confiding in him. He highly doubted Juliette’s provided a better preschool education than the other local preschools. It sounded like Adrian agreed with him. Why wouldn’t Misty listen to her cousin?
Chapter 14
Sitting at her mom’s kitchen table, Misty logged onto her account for Juliette’s. She needed to finish the application process. She’d recently gotten her first pay check and now she had to pay the $200 application fee.
A Disney song crooned from the living room. Jennifer and her mother were sitting in the living room with a big bucket of buttered popcorn, enjoying a Disney DVD. Jennifer’s sweet little voice sang along with the childish tune. Oh, how she wanted the best for her child. Nothing but the best. She didn’t want Jennifer to ever doubt how much she was truly loved.
She entered her credit card information, keeping an eye on the living room. She didn’t want her mom to come into the kitchen and spot what she was doing. Her mom could be nosy, and the last thing that Misty wanted was for her mom to start asking questions. Her mom would never understand, not in a million years, why this was so important to Misty. Things like elite private schools was not something that her mom understood or cared about. If her mom had her way, Jennifer would be in public school. She inwardly cringed.
Shortly before moving to Miami, she’d told her mom about her dream of sending Jennifer to Juliette’s. The only reason she was open with her mom about it is was because her mom had accidentally found the Juliette’s brochure in Misty’s bedroom. She could never keep anything from her mom for very long, so, she confessed as to what she’d planned on doing. She could tell her mom didn’t approve of her dream. Well, there was nothing she could do about that. If her mom didn’t want to support her with this decision then that was fine.
However, it was hard not
to feel dejected about her quest to send Jennifer to Juliette’s. Nobody seemed to fully support her decision, and that bothered her.
It bothered her a lot.
Adrian said she hoped it worked out, but, she could tell that her cousin did not want her to apply. Sterling had outright laughed at her! She’d been so angry when he’d reacted that way. Nate, well, Nate’s opinion didn’t really matter, but, he obviously didn’t understand why she wanted to do this, and neither did her mom. At times, she felt all alone and that was not a good feeling. It’d be nice to have someone in her corner who fully supported her preschool decision.
She focused on her computer screen. Yes! She pumped her fist into the air. Her payment had been accepted.
*
Nate clutched his gifts to Misty, determined to make her forgive him for all that he’d done. His friend Mike sat behind the wheel of the car, and Nate occupied the passenger seat. They’d parked across the street from Misty’s mother’s house. All of the car windows were open since Mike’s air-conditioning was busted. A slight wind blew, bringing some relief from the intense heat. Mike doled out advice to Nate. “Man, you need to just forget about her. She’s moved to Miami and she doesn’t want you back.”
Nate shook his head. “She might change her mind.”
“What you gonna do? Pray about it?” Mike smirked.
Nate narrowed his eyes. “Cut it out.”
“You go to church again today?”
“Yes.” Nate stared at the rented car that Misty had been driving over the last couple of weeks. Good thing he’d made it over here before Misty returned to Miami. He’d been going to church for the last few weeks, determined to make a change in his life, a change that included Misty Rae Stewart.
“What’s up with you, man? First you start going to church, then you buy a Bible? You think doing all that will help you get Misty back?”
Nate didn’t know how to explain this to Mike. He was still trying to figure it out himself. “My life is a big mess and I need to do something.”
“Your life is a mess, but reading that Bible and going to church ain’t gonna change a thing.”
“I don’t know if it’ll help either, but, it can’t hurt.”
“You tell Misty that your driver’s license was suspended because of your drunk driving?”
Nate winced. “Heck no. Besides, the judge said I could get my license back later, depending.” Since he’d lost his license, he’d been depending on public transportation and his friend Mike whenever he needed to get someplace.
Relief flowed through his veins when Misty exited her mother’s house, holding Jennifer’s hand. He opened the car door, speaking to Mike. “I’ll be right back.”
*
Tears gushed from Jennifer’s large brown eyes while Misty strapped her into her car seat before setting their overnight bag into the trunk. Her mother hovered nearby, her arms folded. “When are you coming back to visit?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure.” Guilt, as cold and hard as limp biscuits, settled into her gut. She’d failed this weekend, and she hoped she didn’t have to pay for it with Jennifer’s rude behavior. The child had been ecstatic all weekend, but, much to Adrian’s credit, her cousin had been correct. When she’d begun packing their bag that afternoon, announcing they’d be leaving, Jennifer had started crying. Misty wondered if she would stop soon. The sound of her crying was distracting, especially since they would be on the road for two and a half hours. “I still have to go car shopping for Adrian.”
Jennifer opened her mouth and bawled louder.
“Stop crying. I told you we were just going to visit grandma.” Ashamed, she didn’t want to admit to her mother that Jennifer had backslidden, and reverted back to using diapers. While at her grandmother’s house, she’d used the potty every time she had to go to the bathroom and Misty had not had to use the stash of diapers she kept in the trunk.
Her mother stepped closer, and before Misty could close the trunk, she spotted the plastic bag of diapers. “What are those doing back there?”
Misty refused to respond, slamming the trunk shut as Jennifer continued weeping. She opened the front car door and plopped into the driver’s seat and started the ignition. Her mother leaned forward. “Misty, why don’t you leave Jennifer here with me for this week? You can come back to get her next weekend.” She squeezed her daughter’s shoulder. “You look a little tired and…”
“I’m fine.” She probably looked tired because she’d tossed and turned all night, her gut riddled with unwanted guilt. She felt bad about cancelling the car shopping trip with Sterling. She also felt bad because she’d let Adrian down. She recalled that she was supposed to take Adrian grocery shopping yesterday morning. The magnitude of what’d she’d done pounded into her once she’d gone to bed the previous evening. The only person she’d been concerned about was Jennifer, and she’d been determined to make her child happier by bringing her for an impromptu visit. She squeezed the steering wheel and closed her eyes, Jennifer’s cries continuing to sound in the background. “Be quiet!”
Jennifer whimpered, squeezing her pink teddy bear. Her mother rubbed her shoulder. “Are you getting a headache?”
She nodded.
“Hold on, I’ll get you some aspirin. You shouldn’t be driving if your head hurts.” Taking a few deep breaths, she continued gripping the steering wheel. Nate approached from across the street. When did he get here? He ran over to her car, holding pink balloons, a dozen bright scarlet roses, and a small Styrofoam container. Great, she didn’t need this now. She’d already seen Nate twice this weekend. Both times he’d played with Jennifer and acted the perfect gentleman and he’d been completely sober during both visits.
Nate rushed to the car, leaning his head into her open window. “Hi, I’m glad I caught you before you left.”
Jennifer’s tears stopped when she saw Nate. “Hey, beautiful,” he cooed, looking at his daughter. Jennifer sniffed, but didn’t respond. He opened the backdoor to the car and gave Jennifer the balloons. “These are for you. Pink’s your favorite color, right?” A box of tissues rested on the floor of the car. He took a few of the Kleenex and wiped Jennifer’s face and told her to blow her nose. Jennifer complied and stopped crying once she spotted the balloons.
Her mother appeared with the aspirin and a paper cup filled with water. “Here you go.” She gave the items to Misty, spotting Nate in the backseat of the car. “Hi, Nate.”
“Hi, Ms. Stewart.”
Her mother returned to the house, leaving them alone in the car. Misty swallowed the medicine and sighed, recalling the conversations she’d had with her mother and sisters over the weekend. As they’d doted upon Jennifer, they’d pressed that it would probably be best to reunite with Nate. After all, he was Jennifer’s father and he was making an effort to clean up his life. Her sister pointed out that, far as she knew, he’d not been arrested in over a year – a feat that Misty didn’t really care about. Nate’s rap sheet was a mile long, and that’s one of the reasons why she still didn’t trust him to parent Jennifer like she wanted.
Her romantic feelings toward him just didn’t exist anymore. He’d let her down too many times, and she didn’t think he’d make a very thoughtful husband. However, he was Jennifer’s dad, so, maybe she needed to show him more grace and learn to let him be in his daughter’s life more often? The thought of hooking up with Nate again proved extremely unsettling, plus, she still didn’t know where he stood with God.
Jennifer played with her balloons and Nate got out of the back seat and came around to her open window. “Hi, Misty.”
She glanced at him, wondering what he was trying to prove by purchasing a dozen red roses. “Hi, Nate.” She again eyed the flowers. He handed her the blooms. The sweet smell of the blossoms tickled her nose. She loved roses and the entire time she’d been with Nate, he’d never purchased flowers for her. “Why would I buy you flowers? You’ve got me, isn’t that good enough for you?” he’d boasted. His lofty attitud
e had grated on her nerves like fingernails screeching across a chalkboard.
“Nate—”
“Don’t say anything. Just take the flowers.”
“But I don’t want—”
“Just take the flowers, Misty.”
She glanced at her watch. She really needed to get on the road. She was sure that Jennifer would fall asleep on the ride home. She’d also had to give her a bath and pack her bag for the daycare. Prayerfully, Jennifer would use the potty while she stayed at Ms. Lucy’s tomorrow. She didn’t have time to argue with Nate, so, it was just easier to keep the flowers. “I really need to get going.”
“Hold up. I’m not finished yet.”
She raised her eyebrows. “What?”
“I mean, I have something else to give you.” He held up the small Styrofoam container. “I know how much you like that homemade cookie dough ice cream down at the creamery. I bought you a half gallon.”
She frowned, still suspicious. While she’d been pregnant with Jennifer, she’d enjoyed several quarts of the chocolate-chip cookie dough ice cream from the local creamery. The heavenly rich concoction had helped to ease her nerves while pregnant, plus, it helped to cure her craving for dairy products. Thinking about the luscious treat made her mouth water, and she, again, wondered if Nate would get the wrong idea if she accepted his gift. Another thought occurred to her. “Nate, just leave the ice cream for my mother and my sisters to enjoy. I’ll be driving for two and a half hours. Surely the ice cream will melt during that time.”
He shook his head. “No it won’t. The folks down at the creamery told me that the ice cream will last for a few hours if you keep it in this special container. They said they use dry ice to keep it cold. They use this when people buy ice cream for picnics.” He held the container toward her but she made no effort to take it. He finally leaned into the car, placing the thick container beside the fragrant roses. He refused to move, his face inches from hers. “I know I haven’t always treated you right, but, you can at least give me some credit for trying to change.” His lips were so close. Misty wondered if he were going to kiss her, and she shuddered at the thought. As if sensing her mood, he stood straight up, moved away from the car. “I didn’t mean to hold you up.”
Sweet Dreams (The Bakery Romance Series Book 3) Page 10