Sweet Baklava

by Debby Mayne

"You're such a do-gooder, Nick."

  "Are you still mad at me about her?"

  "I wasn't mad, just annoyed." She pulled the chicken out of the oven and checked to see if it was done before sticking it back in. "Ten more minutes."

  "Well?"

  Paula pulled off the oven mitt and plopped it on the counter. "I understand now why you did that. Amanda needs some guidance, but who am I to give it? I don't have experience with kids."

  "You're perfect. But it's not just guidance she needs."

  "Yeah, she needs hope."

  "And the Lord," he reminded her.

  "Well, that goes without saying."

  "Is she coming back?"

  Paula nodded. "And she's bringing her history book. You'll never guess who her teacher is."

  "Nelson."

  "How did you know?"

  "The way you said it. Plus I knew she was still teaching."

  "Get a load of this, Nick. I'm going to try to help her bring her grade up in Ms. Nelson's class."

  "Don't you wish someone had done that for you?"

  "Actually, someone did. Remember? You spent countless hours helping me remember stuff for my tests."

  Nick made a face. "Yes, I do remember."

  "I guess it's my turn to pay it forward."

  Nick closed the distance between them, and Paula thought he was going to put his arms around her. He stopped a few feet away and opened the oven door. "I think it's done now. I'm starving."

  The next morning Paula got to the shop early. Alexa was scheduled to stay until closing, but since Amanda was coming after school, Paula told her she'd be back.

  "You don't have to come back," Alexa said. "I can supervise her."

  "I promised I'd help her with history."

  Alexa propped her elbows on the counter. "So you're helping her now, huh?"

  "Yeah, the poor girl is struggling with Ms. Nelson."

  "Poor girl is right. I had Nelson, and she's enough to make anyone want to drop out of school."

  "I figure if I can help her get a decent grade in history, she'll feel like she can do anything."

  "Isn't that the truth!"

  "So I thought I'd run some errands, grab something to eat at home, and come back to take over."

  "I'll stick around and take care of the store so you can concentrate on Amanda."

  "Thanks." Paula grabbed her handbag. "I'll need all the concentration I can get."

  The people at the Senior Center were just finishing up a covered dish lunch when she arrived. Mildred motioned for Paula to follow her to the kitchen. She pointed to a row of ceramic molds. "What do you think about having a manger scene in soap and candles?"

  "It's a little late for that," Paula replied.

  "I was thinking for next year."

  The expression on Mildred's face melted Paula's heart. She didn't have the heart to say she wasn't interested. "I'll ask the man who makes my molds if he can come up with something."

  Mildred smiled. "I thought you'd like it. We're working on the saltwater taffy candles this afternoon. Can you afford to hire one more person?"

  Paula nodded. "I have an idea. Why don't I give you a budget and put you in charge of production? You can bring in as many people as you need for each project."

  Mildred's eyes lit up. "I'll be a supervisor?"

  "Yes. We'll have to discuss some of the legal issues of paying people by the project, but I think it'll work."

  "That'll be wonderful. I always wanted to be the boss."

  Paula laughed. "Now you get to do just that."

  With that out of the way, Paula ran home and ate a late lunch. She got back to the shop a few minutes before Amanda came walking in, looking dejected.

  "What happened?" Paula asked.

  "I told Ms. Nelson I was going to study for the test, and my goal was to get at least a B."

  "So what's the problem?"

  Amanda rolled her eyes and sighed. "She told me I'd get a B when pigs fly."

  Fury raged through Paula as she remembered how mean-spirited Ms. Nelson could be. "Tell you what, Amanda. With enough of a push, pigs can fly just fine. We're gonna get you so studied up, Ms. Nelson will see pigs flying all over that classroom."

  Amanda burst into laughter. "That would be hilarious. Too bad we can't make a real pig fly."

  "Maybe not, but we'll show her that no one talks to Amanda Katsaros like that and gets away with it." She took some of the books off Amanda's stack and led the way to the back room, where she'd set up a folding chair next to her desk. "Let's get all your other assignments done so we can concentrate on history."

  Paula spent a half hour teaching Amanda some tricks and tips on grammar and math. "Nothing is as complicated as we try to make it," she said.

  Amanda looked dazed. "This is awesome. I always wondered how the smart kids remembered all this stuff."

  "Now you know. If there's not a trick, make one up. That's what I always did." She stuck Amanda's math homework back in the folder and pulled out her English. "This is where you're gonna soar. English is fun when you really get into it."

  "You're kidding, right?"

  "Nope, I'm serious as a heart attack."

  Amanda giggled. "You are so funny." Suddenly her smile faded. "I can't believe you're doing all this for me, after what happened. My mom says you must have some sort of interior motive."

  "You mean ulterior motive?"

  Amanda nodded. "Yeah, that."

  Paula tapped a pencil on the edge of the desk. "You know, your mom is right. I do have an ulterior motive. If your grades improve, and you make something of yourself, you won't have to steal from people like me."

  "It still seems weird."

  Paula smiled and wiggled her eyebrows. "I've never been accused of being normal."

  Amanda laughed again.

  "But I have to be honest with you about something. It was Nick's idea for you to come in here and do work for me."

  "I know. I was here, remember?"

  "Yeah, if he hadn't set this up, we wouldn't be here right now making you all smart and studious." Paula pulled opened the English book. "What page are you on?"

  Paula was surprised at how little Amanda understood about the parts of a sentence. But after a half hour of tutoring, Amanda caught on.

  "Good job. Now for the dreaded history. Let's see what we can do for you with that."

  Amanda groaned and Paula made a face, pretending to gag herself with her finger. They heard a sound by the door and glanced up to see Nick standing there, leaning against the doorframe.

  "Looks like the two of you are having way too much fun to be studying." He pulled away from the door, walked over to them, and looked over Amanda's shoulder. "History, huh? I hear you have Ms. Nelson."

  "Yeah, and she hates me," Amanda said.

  "She hates everyone," Nick said. "But there are people like that everywhere you go, so consider that part of your lesson."

  Amanda looked at Paula. "You don't have to deal with people like that, do you?"

  "Some of my customers can be rather difficult."

  Nick offered a mock salute. "I gotta run. I just wanted to see how the two of you were doing. Call me later, okay?"

  Paula nodded and waved as he left. Once he was gone, she caught Amanda staring at her with a curious expression. "Did you have a question?"

  "Is Nick your boyfriend?"

  19

  Paula pondered the question before looking at Amanda. "It's complicated."

  Amanda leaned back, folded her arms, and smirked. "Wait a minute. You just said nothing's that complicated."

  "I sure did, didn't I?"

  "So it's a simple yes-no question. Either you're together, or you're not."

  "We used to be . . . boyfriend and girlfriend, but, well . . ." Paula shrugged. "I went away to college, and he joined the Arm—er, Air Force."

  "But he's here now, and you're all done with college." Amanda never dropped her gaze. "So what's stopping you?"

  "I have m
y business, and he's leaving in a few weeks."

  "People have to work," Amanda reminded her. "And they find ways to hang out if that's what they really want. Are you not into him anymore?"

  Paula was very into him. Way more into him than ever. "I don't know, Amanda. Let's get back to your history so you can pass this test."

  Amanda snorted. "You've got it bad." She reached for her book and held it up. "So how are we gonna get all this stuff in here?" She slapped the side of her head.

  "We're gonna make a game out of it."

  "A game, huh? This I gotta see. Okay, so tell me how we're supposed to play this game."

  With only a few interruptions from Alexa, Paula managed to teach Amanda more history in two hours than her teacher had since the beginning of the school year. "You caught on fast, girl," Paula said with pride.

  "I guess I never really thought any of this stuff was real until you explained it."

  All Paula did was compare some of the historical events with Amanda's favorite TV shows. "It's very real."

  Amanda picked up a pencil and tapped her chin. "When I think about all this and how people like Nick are willing to go out there and make sure I'm safe . . ." She shook her head. "I don't know, it's just so strange that no one ever talks about it."

  "People do talk about it."

  "Maybe grownups, but no one at school ever does."

  "Maybe you can start a trend." Paula organized Amanda's schoolwork and handed it to her to stuff into her bag. "Now I have to help Alexa close up shop. Are you coming back tomorrow?"

  "Nah, I think I'll go home after school and study on my own."

  They stood, and Paula placed her hand on Amanda's shoulder. "You're a very smart girl, Amanda. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."

  "What am I supposed to do when they try?"

  "Nothing. They're just tryin' to get your goat."

  "My what?"

  "They just wanna get you all riled up. Don't let them do that. Hold your head high and know they're the idiots for sayin' stuff."

  "First you have pigs flying, and now you have goats." Amanda snickered. "You are too funny."

  "And you are very smart," Paula said with a grin.

  Amanda stared down at her feet for a few seconds before reaching over and hooking Paula in her arm. As Paula hugged her, something strange fluttered inside her.

  Amanda abruptly pulled away and grabbed her books. "Gotta go now." She took off, leaving Paula standing there wondering what all the strange feelings were floating around in her chest.

  The bell on the front door jingled, signaling Amanda's departure. Paula went out to see how Alexa was faring. "How's business?"

  Alexa lifted an order form. "You just got another wholesale order from the West Coast."

  "As in California?"

  Alexa nodded. "Apparently one of the big suppliers out there can't keep up with the natural candle and soap orders, so they're having to scramble to find a new vendor. Apparently, they heard some good things about us from another outlet."

  "Amazing." Paula glanced at the order. "Are you serious?" The numbers were more than double her last big order.

  "Positive. In fact, as always, I had her repeat the numbers just to make sure, then I read them back to her. She said they have shops in LA, San Francisco, and San Diego."

  "This is insane," Paula said as she read the order. "I'm gonna have to hire even more people."

  Alexa grinned. "I thought you might, so I called Mildred and she said everyone wants more hours, and there's already a waiting list of more people who want to work."

  "How did I ever manage without you?"

  "I don't know. I'm wondering the same thing." Alexa laughed.

  "Seriously, girlfriend, you're amazing."

  "Someone needs to tell my mother and Aunt Ophelia that."

  "Maybe you're not cut out for the baking business. I think you're a natural here, though."

  The bell on the door jingled again, and Steph came walking in, a grin covering half her face. "I heard about your order, Paula. That is terrific!"

  Paula gestured toward Alexa. "She gets the credit for taking this order." Then she frowned. "How do you know already? I just found out myself."

  "I was at the Senior Center when Alexa called Mildred. They're over there celebrating."

  "Celebrating?"

  "Are you kidding?" Steph said. "You've just given all those people a chance to do some of the things they couldn't afford to do until you hired them."

  "Alexa's idea." Paula turned to Alexa. "You are absolutely incredible. Until you spoke up about the Senior Center folks working for me, there was no chance of growing my business much bigger than it was. But now . . ." She lifted her hands. "The sky's the limit."

  Steph winked at Alexa. "Good job, cousin." She tilted her head as a pensive look washed over her face. "Now I need a job."

  "I could use you a whole lot more here," Paula said.

  "That's what I was hoping you'd say." She gave a thumbs-up. "Think you can manage another ten hours a week?"

  Paula laughed. "At least that much with all this production we have going on. I appreciate being able to use the Senior Center, but I have a feeling that won't last forever, since it's supposed to be for the community."

  "I can try to find a place if that would help."

  "That would be great, Steph. With Alexa handling wholesale orders and you being my facilities person, there's no way we can fail."

  The next morning Nick's mother greeted him with a cup of coffee and a scowl.

  He looked up. "Did I do something wrong?"

  "You need to be more aggressive with Paula."

  "Huh?" He rubbed his neck with one hand and cleared his throat as he stirred his coffee with the other hand. "What brought that on?"

  "She's too busy being a businesswoman because you're not spending enough time with her."

  "What's wrong with her being a businesswoman? You are."

  "I know, but if her business keeps going like it is, she'll never be able to quit."

  "Mama." He shook his head and took a sip of his coffee. "I would never ask her to quit. She loves her soap and candle shop."

  "Apparently you haven't heard the latest. She just got another big wholesale order, so she's having Steph scout out new locations for a factory."

  "I'd like to think of that as a good thing."

  His mother made her clucking noise then mumbled a few words in Greek. "Nick, you're not getting any younger. If you want Paula to marry you, it's time for you to make your move before it's too late." She scowled again. "And I'm not just talking about window shopping for rings at the mall."

  Nick lifted his eyebrows. She had spies everywhere. "Who said anything about marriage?"

  "Oh, come on, Nick, I wasn't born yesterday. I know the look of love when I see it."

  He put down his coffee, glanced at the headlines in the St. Petersburg Times, then turned back to her. "So tell me more about what I should do."

  She held up one finger. "For starters, you should do everything you can to sweep her off her feet. Then you need to let her know how you feel, deep down." She made a fist and tapped her chest. "Then you need to promise to be a good husband."

  Nick managed not to laugh. "Is that what Papa did?"

  "Well . . . not exactly, but you don't want to do what he did."

  "What exactly did he do?"

  Mama frowned. "You don't wanna know. It doesn't matter anyway. Paula is different. She's a modern woman who needs a man to show how he feels."

  Nick understood exactly what his mother was saying. His father had never been a man of words. In fact, he couldn't remember his dad ever coming out and telling his mother he loved her. But everyone, including Mama, knew he loved her with his entire being.

  "So after I do all this, what if she isn't ready to commit to a lifetime with me?"

  Her lips twisted as she thought it over. "I don't know."

  "There are some big obstacles here, ya know."

>   "Of course I know that, Nick. But she won't say yes if you don't ask."

  "I have a better idea. Why don't I try to spend more time with her while I'm here, and then I'll invite her to visit me on the base." He already planned to do this, but he wanted Mama to think she'd helped him come up with the idea.

  "She won't go."

  "And why not?" Nick asked.

  "Paula loves her shop too much. I don't think you'll ever get her to leave unless there's incentive."

  "Oh, I think I might be able to now that she has Alexa and Steph to help her run the place."

  His mother pursed her lips then smiled. "Maybe so. I guess it's worth trying."

  Oh yeah, it was definitely worth trying. He changed the subject while he ate the eggs and toast she put in front of him. After he helped her clean the kitchen, he got ready for his day of wooing Paula.

  The first place he went was her shop. Alexa greeted him and told him Paula wasn't due in until afternoon. "I think she's still at home, so why don't you try her there?"

  He went to Paula's house next, but she wasn't there either. Instead of running all over creation, he pulled out his cell phone and tried calling her, but she didn't answer. He decided to try one more place—the beach beside the church.

  Nick recognized her silhouette from a distance as he turned onto the road leading to Crystal Beach. Watching her, his heart thudded as he remembered all the times they'd sat together on that very same bench, talking about their hopes and dreams for the future. Funny how neither of them actually came out and talked about marriage, but he always assumed it would happen someday. But if he didn't act soon, it might not.

  He pulled into the shell-covered parking spot near the bench. Her body stilled, letting him know she was aware of someone behind her, but she didn't turn around—even after he started walking toward her.

  "Paula," he said softly.

  She lowered her head then slowly turned to face him. He couldn't read her.

  "Is everything okay?" Nick stopped and waited for a sign that it was okay to get closer.

  Paula nodded. "Couldn't be better." But she didn't smile or invite him closer.

  "Mind if I join you?"

  "That's fine." She turned back and faced the water. "So much has happened lately, I needed a little time to regroup."