Chapter Seven
Gossipy Town
Callum was absolutely serious about rebuilding my building. Hours later after saying goodbye at Blueberry Lane, he messaged me two new sketches he drew up. The new version of the floor plans looked more official, though I still liked the original one better. I liked it so much I stuck it on my fridge over a Christmas mug magnet.
Today was my day off work, and surprisingly I found some sort of courage or inspiration to even try to make something today.
I had lunch and cleaned up, as much as I could anyways, my back was killing me. I wasn’t gonna miss sitting around driving all day anymore once my place opened.
In a month.
I squealed at the thought.
Callum said it was possible and that’s all I needed to hear.
I dreamed of having my own pottery shop since I learned how to make my very first mug, which resembled a ball with a hole inside of it.
I tied my floral apron behind my back. In just two months it would barely fit. I glanced down at my swollen belly and felt that same empty feeling I’ve always felt ever since I found out that I was pregnant.
It’s not a secret that this was not how I imagined my first pregnancy.
Single, struggling, and the baby wasn’t even mine, well scientifically and biologically, yes, but besides those two factors the baby wasn’t mine. The very first person that’s been keeping me company since shit hit the fan.
Maybe this is for the best.
Some people weren’t meant to be parents, even if the world worked out the odds for them and they still had kids, there was a consequence.
A lesson that was taught to them through the child, or a lesson that was unfairly taught to the child.
Who knows? Maybe this was how it was supposed to work out.
I sat down on my stool and I swear I heard a bone pop.
The baby was really spiteful during my second trimester. I had to pee almost every thirty minutes because it felt like he was sitting directly on my bladder, but I guess now, he was messing up my back—the weight of this pregnancy fell on my lower back.
I groaned as I got comfortable and started playing with the clay on the wheel before grabbing my water to get the clay wet enough to mold.
I was using the same clay mold I’ve been using to work through my frustration, well, it started out as making myself a push present. I wanted to make myself a teapot. I wanted to paint it and decorate it, but I haven’t been able to get the shape of the handle right.
I was struggling with the easiest part and that frustrated me.
Every time.
So in the end I always end up destroying the teapot.
The clay was getting tired of me, and I was getting tired of the clay. The compromise was the fact that today I was motivated to make anything but the teapot.
As I started playing with the clay, my phone vibrated. I dug the pocket of my apron and pulled out my phone. The screen immediately lit up.
Val: I’m outside, open the door.
My lips pulled together, partially disappointed in myself for being responsible enough to lock the door. At this moment, if I was irresponsible, I would’ve been able to tell him to just come in because the door was left unlocked, and I’d save myself the trip of getting up after finally settling on the stool.
My phone vibrated again.
Val: Are you home?
Alas, I stood up and groaned the whole way until I unlocked the door and clicked it open.
Val just stared at me like I had this great ability to read him.
I sighed and gave up with the mind games and started walking back. Val closed the door behind him and followed me back inside after just a beat.
“Have you eaten yet?”
he asked as he walked behind me.
I dropped down on the stool again and started spinning the wheel as I worked on my clay.
I began to mold the mug.
“Yes, Dad,”
I mumbled once I realized I didn’t say anything.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if you actually had one of those?”
He chuckled.
My head snapped in his direction as I sent him a glare.
He stopped laughing and pulled a straight face, “sorry, that was mean.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know why you’re making these kinds of jokes, you don’t have one either.”
“And that’s exactly why I’m entitled to making those kinds of jokes, I know what it’s like.”
I continued on molding my mug, “the line between us is the fact that I never knew what it felt like to have one, you did, and honestly I feel like that’s worse.”
“Maybe,”
he mumbled under his breath.
“So did you come here to sulk about being an orphan or…?”
“Cal’s building you the shop?”
I quickly looked up, quick enough to catch his eyebrows raised.
“Your baby daddy Cal is building you a shop?”
He rephrased himself for dramatic effect I’m sure.
“He’s not my baby daddy, if anyone’s my baby daddy it’s Ardley,”
I defended myself.
It felt wrong as soon as it came out.
“No!”
I shook my head as my skin crawled, “no one’s my baby daddy. It’s not my baby.”
Val took a stool and slid it right in front of my wheel, so now he was across from me. “Back to this Cal business,”
he tilted his head to the side, “he’s building your shop?”
I remained silent.
“Juliette.”
“Valerian,”
I groaned, “yes, he volunteered to do so, in my defense I only wanted help with the floor plans.”
“Volunteered my ass.”
He scoffed, “did he ask you for anything?”
I looked at Val with furrowed brows, “what are you inclining?”
“Did he ask for anything in return?”
He pushed.
“No.”
I shook my head. “He just said he could make it happen in a month. How do you know all of this?”
“Word is all over town, Jules, don’t be shocked when you start hearing people call Cal the father of your baby.”
My shoulders sagged. “How the hell is word all over town?”
I air quoted as the clay water dripped down my elbow.
Val shrugged. “I just heard it from the bar at Molly’s.”
“How?”
I whispered under my breath.
“What shocked me the most is the fact that this is the first I’m hearing of this and apparently Cal and his crew start working in a couple of days.”
Val tilted his head to the side with his lips pulled into a deep frown.
“I was going to tell you,”
I grumbled under my breath as I shaped the handle of the mug.
“Oh yeah? When?”
I shrugged. “Soon.”
Val shook his head as he chuckled, “do you like him?”
I grimaced. “Literally, what are you talking about?”
“That would explain why you didn’t tell me,”
he said, “it would make sense.”
“Do I have to tell you everything?”
I retorted.
He pouted then blew out a breath. “you don’t have to,”
he continued with his sulking, “but it would be very nice to be kept in the loop when it comes to such important things.”
As the wheel turned, I perfected the hole in the mug and decided it was a good time to stop. It was basically finished I just needed to smooth it out and design it.
I sighed as I looked at Val. I forgot he could be such a big baby sometimes.
“Okay.”
I mumbled, “I’ll remember to tell you everything important.”
“Cool,”
he replied casually like he wasn’t basically throwing a fit.
I laughed at him as I shook my head.
The sound of the construction trucks was loud. The constant; Beep, Beep, Beep. But I wasn’t complaining. That was the sound of my dream coming true. So I smiled broadly as I approached the under construction sign and caught sight of Callum. I waved at him, and he squinted to see me—he was pretty far. Still, I tried grabbing his attention again, this time by waving a box full of to-go iced lemonades.
He started walking in my direction as I dropped my hand down. The weight of the drinks plus the weight of the heat felt multiplied with the sun beaming down on me like a laser.
When Callum reached me, it was hard to read his face. He had a baseball hat on and another one of those fitted tees, cargo pants and everything.
My eyes darted to his chest before I could make eye-contact with him again. I licked my lips as a bead of sweat rolled down my forehead.
My brows dipped as I tried to match his facial expression.
“Juliette, it’s hot out.”
I nodded without acknowledging that we haven’t said hello yet.
“That’s why I’m bringing you guys lemonade,”
I said as I lifted the box of drinks for him to see.
“That’s very sweet,”
he said and placed the clipboard he was holding down on an orange construction cone.
He leaned down and grabbed the drinks from my hand. “Thank you, I’ll let the guys know you brought these in, now go back inside. It’s hot out,”
he said, and pretty much just stood there until I nodded and started walking back to Blueberry Lane.
I had a lot more deliveries to do than usual. I’d been working since ten a.m. today, it’s almost noon now and I still have a few more deliveries to get done before I’m off. Marshall was content with me and Bailey…was still Bailey. I ate two of his sandwiches so far today—I couldn’t be held responsible for that.
“Are you gonna pay for those?”
Bailey asked the second I plopped down in one of the chairs—even with how well deliveries are doing, the store was still dead.
“Pay for what?”
I glanced at him as I tried to cool down.
I really didn’t know how Callum and the others were working out there.
“The drinks,”
he clarified.
I sighed, “don’t I get an employee discount or something?”
Bailey’s facial expression was unwavering. “No.”
I groaned, completely frustrated because I was finally starting to get comfortable and I had to get up. I could feel Bailey’s glare on me.
“I’ll get up, I swear, I just need a moment,”
I said as I placed a hand on the lower part of my back.
He groaned, almost as if my pain was an inconvenience for him. “It’s fine, I can just start you a tab or something.”
“A tab for what?”
Marshall walked in.
“I got Cal and the others a few drinks,”
I immediately answered. “I’m gonna pay as soon as I get up, I swear.”
Marshall’s brows furrowed. “Nonsense,”
he chuckled, “it’s on the house, that was a very kind thing of you to do.”
My brows shot up, smiling as I glanced at Bailey and shrugged. I could tell he sensed my smugness. He looked away but I still caught his eyes rolling in annoyance.
“Thank you, Marshall,”
I said with a smile.
His eyes averted from Bailey to me, and he waved his hand at me, “c’mon, let’s finish those deliveries.”
I nodded as I stood up from the chair, which took a lot from me to do so quickly—the room started to spin around me. I placed a hand over my waist and started walking in Marshall’s direction. My brows furrowed as I concentrated on the small ache in my lower back.
Marshall’s brows dipped as he studied the look on my face and my posture, “you doing okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, yes, I’m alright,”
I mumbled as I reached his side.
He shared a brief look with Bailey before we started walking to the back.
The sun was still as hot as ever, and it was really weighing me down, as well as the baby. Fatigue was almost all I’d been feeling lately, and back pain.
I opened the passenger door of my truck so Marshall would start loading me up.
Marshall walked past me with a box full of bakery in his hands. “Go sit down, Juliette, I’ll load you up,”
he said as he glanced at me over his shoulder.
I would sit and wait in the car but my AC was still broken. Sitting in the car when it was not moving was worse than standing outside under the sun.
I chuckled nervously. “I’m fine with helping,”
I said as I waddled my way to the piled-up boxes by the back door. I was really working up a sweat today.
“It’s my job anyways,”
I said as I leaned down to pick up one of the boxes without groaning.
Which was a much bigger challenge than I thought it would be.
“Be careful!”
Marshall was quickly at my side and helped me with the box—it was a lot heavier than anticipated.
I pulled my lips into a thin line and transferred the full weight of the box to Marshall since he was so determined to take it away from me.
“What was that?”
I wiped my hands at my side, whatever was inside was melting.
“That is a twelve-pound jello.”
I swallowed dryly, “gross.”
Since it was the last box, I made my way to the truck and opened the door, when I got settled in my seat, Marshall came to my window.
“Tell the customer to grab the Jello for you, okay?”
I shook my head, “I’ll be fine, I was just caught off-guard earlier.”
“Juliette,”
he pressed as his brows creased, “you’re pregnant, get someone to help.”
I finally nodded as I started the car. “Okay.”
When I drove back to Blueberry Lane the sun was just about to set. Thanks to GPS I was lost finding my way to most of the addresses, the routes in this town were rather confusing, and it seemed like everyone I was delivering to either lived near a forest or in an apartment complex that didn’t have the room numbers hanging on the doors.
I sighed as I parked my car, I was tired and frustrated, but mostly tired. My back was even more stiff than when I woke up this morning, but the sun was about to set soon so I didn’t have the heat wearing down on me anymore.
I opened the door of the bakery and to my surprise there were actually a couple customers inside. I counted three human beings. They were real, and Bailey wasn’t at his post—he was finally using the espresso machine that was partially for collecting dust.
I was so impressed I momentarily forgot about my long annoying day figuring out the routes and stuff. I walked behind the counter and stood next to Bailey, and I felt a specific gaze on me. I spotted her the second I walked in the shop. It was that lady that was helping Val find a place.
What’s her face?
I forgot her name, but I remembered her face.
She’d been staring at me since I walked in.
I brushed the feeling off and finally looked at Bailey. He had just finished up with the order he was making.
I leaned over next to him. “Hey, can you please make me two sandwiches?”
I tried to soften my gaze, “please?”
He looked at me with annoyance, “two?”
I nodded. “It was a really long day, and I am pregnant.”
“You know you could’ve stopped anywhere else for food, right? Your shift is practically over,”
he deadpanned.
I pouted. “But I wanted your signature sandwich.”
He rolled his eyes. “Just watch the register,”
he said and walked to the back.
A small smile broke out of my face as I started pulling pastries from the glass case in front of me. I pulled out two tres leches cakes, two chocolate muffins, and a blueberry muffin. I grabbed a brown bag and started stuffing the items in.
“Juliette…is it?”
I looked up to see the face behind the voice and it was that lady I recognized from before. I felt like an asshole not remembering her name, but I’ve always been like that—I’ll remember the face but not the name. It takes me a while.
“It’s good to see you again…”
I smiled trying to make up for the fact that I forgot her name.
“Amber,”
she said after a beat.
I quickly nodded, “that’s right!”
We weren’t at odds so I had no idea why she gave me a fake smile.
“I’m seeing Cal.”
In uncomfortable silence, I looked to my right, I looked to my left then I looked back at her. “Okay?”
She glared at me now, big wide brown eyes sent daggers my way in every direction. “I just thought it was right for you to know because you’ve been telling people you’re carrying his child.”
Her eyes dropped to my stomach and I felt the disgusted look she sent.
I blinked, shocked with this new piece of information. “I—what?”
I was still speechless. “I’ve been doing what now?” This was a very serious matter, but the rumor sounded so ridiculous I wanted to laugh.
“It’s not his baby. I know.”
“I know that too.”
My brows furrowed. “I never said he was—who told you that? Where did you hear this from?” I was drawing blanks because just like last time, news about Cal re-constructing my building got out overnight…and now this? How is this even happening?
“It’s all over town.”
“So I keep hearing.”
I sighed. “Look, Amber, I’m not after Callum, okay? And I’m not sure who started that rumor about him being the father of my child but he’s not.”
“I know,”
she said firmly as she folded her arms over her chest.
“Okay.”
I started packing the pastries again.
“You’re having two of everything?”
she asked, just when I thought she left. I had no idea why she was still standing here glaring at me after I’d explained myself already.
“Well, I am pregnant,”
I said in a sarcastic tone.
She hummed and finally left me alone.
Before I could think about the uncomfortable conversation I just had, Bailey came over and placed a to-go box at my side.
“I added extra bacon since you kept saying it was a long day,”
he said softly.
My eyes widened with excitement. “Oh my god, really?!”
I grinned.
He nodded and took his spot in front of the register again.
“Yes,”
he said in a bored tone.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Just go home and leave me alone,”
he mumbled as he closed his eyes.
I nodded and grabbed the food and placed it in the brown bag as well. I glanced at Bailey before looking around the place.
Amber had left a while ago after pressing me about something that wasn’t even my fault. But she left me curious. I was still figuring out the rules of this town and how everything worked because now that I’m building a shop here it wasn’t going to be a pit-stop anymore—it was going to be a chance for me to start over and in the process I didn’t want my name slandered all over town based off tasteless lies.
“By any chance,”
I whispered to Bailey, “do you know how rumors get spread all over town overnight?”
He started logging out of the screen since it was nearly closing time, not sparing me a single glance when he shrugged.
“Okay, well thanks for the sandwiches and see you tomorrow, goodnight.”
“Whatever,”
he sighed the word under his breath.
I smiled as I nodded and squinted. What a charming young man. The personality of a saint.
I wish I could just wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze.
Unfortunately, I’d go to jail if I did, so I decided to leave the shop and instead walk my way up to my own soon-to-be pottery shop.
I spotted Cal’s car and immediately picked up my pace. His car was the last one in the lot, and I wanted to catch him before he left.