Chapter Seventeen
Cami
The next morning, I decided to chat with Dad, so I baked a fresh batch of muffins. I visited my GP beforehand, and he confirmed my hand had healed, and I didn’t even need the bandage anymore.
Afterward, I went to Dad’s house.
”Darling, you don”t have to spoil me so much,” he exclaimed when he saw the muffins.
”Of course I do. Besides, I wanted to share something with you,” I said as we sat down in his kitchen. His house was even smaller than mine, but he insisted that he didn”t need more space. I”d helped him decorate every part of it. ”I want to move forward with the sale.”
His eyes lit up, and I knew deep in my heart that I was doing the right thing.
”Honey, you don”t know how happy you make me.”
”I’m glad. So, I’m going to go to Boston this evening to talk to Maddox about it. Do you think you could drop by the park just in case we get any bookings?”
”Sure, sure. You know, why don”t you take tomorrow off as well? I don”t think there will be a lot of commotion. And if there is, I”ll handle it.”
”Yes, I’ll do that. And how about having dinner tomorrow evening so I can catch you up on what I”ve discussed with Maddox?”
”That”s great. I look forward to it.”
”All right, then I should get going.”
We got up at the same time, and I hugged him tightly.
”This will be good for both of us, baby girl. You”ll see that.”
I knew it wasn’t easy for him to let go of the park either. We were both at a crossroads, but I was starting to get excited about what might be on the other side.
”I”m heading home. I want to look at the projections for the upcoming period.”
”Are you sure? It’s just going to sour your mood.”
His statement was legitimate. With all this bad weather, our income had dropped significantly.
”It”s best to know what”s coming our way.”
He took care of the day-to-day bookkeeping, but I was the one dealing with projections and managing our cash flow. We”d always been a great team. How would things work out when I was no longer working side by side with Dad?
I hopped in my car, wondering what the future might hold for me. On the drive home, I got a call from Miriam.
”Hey,” she said.
”Hey, Miriam, how are you? Everything okay with the storm?”
”Yes. There’s no damage to the house or the school. By the way, I”ve got some cookies. Are you at home? I could drop them by.”
”I”m going to be home in a few minutes, and I would never say no to your cookies.”
As soon as I arrived, I opened my laptop and started crunching numbers. They didn’t look good at all.
Miriam came about ten minutes later.
“Oh, I know that expression. Are you doing cash-flow projections?” she said instead of hello.
“Yes. They’re terrible.” I eyed her Tupperware, and she passed it to me.
Miriam pulled her long blonde hair to one side, running her fingers through it. She narrowed her eyes at me. ”You look surprisingly well. No mental breakdown about losing income.” Her eyebrows flew to her hairline. ”Oh, you”ve decided to sell, haven”t you?”
”Yes. Dad wants to retire. And Maddox has a good offer.”
”Uh-huh. More like his magic dick made a good case,” Miriam said, and we both start laughing.
Of course she knew everything. I”d picked up the phone and spilled the second Maddox left.
“We didn”t even discuss the business,” I said.
”Well, no, obviously. Why talk about anything boring when you can have sex and more sex?” she asked. ”And what was that last thing? Oh yeah, sex again.”
I scoffed. ”Miriam, you make me sound like a nympho.”
”No, I think you just have a lot to catch up on. And you”re excited to see him again,” she said with a smile.
I took a deep breath, closing the booking program. There was no use pretending that I was checking next week”s business. The weather was too unpredictable. I wasn”t panicking as much as usual, but I knew the sale would take some time to finalize. We still had to make a living before that, so I hoped the weather would stay stable.
I side-eyed her and said, ”I didn”t tell you, but I”m seeing him tonight.”
”What? When? Where are you going? You know what? Never mind. I”ll hear it all afterward.”
”We’re going for dinner in Boston. He said he’ll make reservations at a restaurant.”
”Faaancy,” Miriam said. ”So you two... I mean, I assumed it was a onetime thing.”
”It still felt like we had unfinished business.” I wiggled my eyebrows.
”So... going to Boston is code for more sex?”
I put my hands on my cheeks. They were flaming hot. ”Dinner. We said dinner.”
”Uh-huh,” Miriam replied. Then she tilted her head. ”So. aside from his magic dick, what else convinced you to sell?”
I sighed. “Dad truly wants to retire. And there”s no way I can buy him out of the business.”
”Would you want to?”
I hesitated. ”I”m not sure. I’ve done this for so long...” I grabbed one of the cookies, munching on it. “I didn”t even think about a day when I might be doing something else.”
”There was a time when you wanted to spread your wings,” she added. ”And I’d love that for you. Even if I would miss you.”
I shrugged. ”I honestly don’t know what I’d do. It”s a bit scary, but it”s also exciting.”
”Plus, you would get a great lump sum to get you started.”
I nodded as I finished eating the cookie. After Mom passed away, I”d inherited her part of the business. I’d always told Dad it was his, but he insisted that it belonged to both of us. He also told me today that I’d get half of that money.
”I plan to stash most of it in a savings account.” An idea was percolating in my head. ”And I could travel for a bit. Who knows what kind of ideas that might spark?”
”Yeah, do that. And send me pictures so I can live vicariously through you.” She rubbed her belly and grinned.
I nearly dropped my plate. ”You’re pregnant?”
“Way to catch on, girl.”
”You”ve let me talk about Maddox and—”
”His magic dick?”
”Oh my God, will you stop saying that?”
She laughed. ”No. You blush so hard. It’s hilarious.”
”How far along are you?”
”Sixteen weeks.”
I jerked my head back. ”What?” But then I pressed my lips together. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask her why she didn”t tell me—I was her best friend, after all—but I knew many people liked to wait until they were further along. ”How didn’t I notice?” I asked.
”I’m not showing. But the doctor says he’s growing nicely.”
”So it’s a boy?”
”Yes.”
”Oh, Miriam, you’re going to have a little boy.” She’d been trying to get pregnant for a while.
She smiled through tears. ”Yep. And I can’t wait to show him pictures of Aunt Cami’s adventures.”
“I’m so happy for you.”
Miriam was like a sister to me, and I truly was happy for my best friend, though I felt a bit wistful at the news. As I opened my mouth to ask if she’d had any morning sickness, my phone beeped with a message from Maddox.
Maddox: I made reservations for seven o”clock at The Express.
He”d sent me the address too.
Cami: Thanks. I won”t be late.
Maddox: Do you have any special requests?
I grinned, typing back quickly.
Cami: Just for the food to be delicious.
Maddox: That was at the forefront of my mind when booking a location.
”Wow!” Miriam exclaimed.
I looked up. I”d practically forgotten she was here. ”What?” I asked.
”I don”t think I”ve ever seen you smile like that.”
My brow furrowed. ”What do you mean? I”m a very smiley person.”
”Yeah, true. But this is different.” She looked at the phone and said, ”Who”s texting you?”
”M-Maddox,” I said, stammering for some reason.
Miriam put both hands on her belly. She”d done that often over the past few months, now that I thought about it. How on earth had I not noticed?
”Hmm. Interesting,” she said.
”What do you mean?”
She shrugged. ”Nothing. I imagined the dynamic between the two of you to be a bit different.”
”Meaning?” I asked.
”Hate sex comes to mind.”
I gasped. ”Miriam!”
”What? You kept saying the guy was a complete ass. And then you sort of told me you jumped his bones.”
”I did fill you in on the details in between,” I pointed out.
”True,” she said. ”Still.”
”He”s taking me to a place called The Express.”
Miriam took out her phone and googled it. Her eyes widened.
My stomach turned. ”What?”
”You might need to bring out the big guns.” She turned the phone to me.
My jaw went slack. ”This isn’t what I was expecting.”
The place was extremely fancy.
”You”ve still got about three hours until you leave. Chop, chop, we have lots to do. You don’t have any bookings today, right?”
I opened the booking program, pointing at the screen. “Not even one.”
“All right, minimize that.”
”You”re bossy today,” I said.
”Yes, and pregnant, so you have to indulge me.”
I laughed and closed my laptop. ”You”re going to use the pregnancy card to get your way as often as you can, aren”t you?”
”You bet I will. I just don’t want you to look at cash flow and stuff because I don”t want you to be all panicky when you”re on your date.”
”I wasn”t going to be panicky,” I countered, though without much conviction.
”Right. Like you weren”t going to calculate how much money you’re losing because of the storm.”
”Why do you know me so well?” I wondered.
”See? Okay, why don”t we start prepping you for your date?”
“You want to help?”
“Hell yes.”
Oh thank God.Miriam was... Well, we were a lot alike, but we were also very different. I spent my days wearing sneakers or boots and jeans. She was an elementary school teacher and had a very feminine style. She wore dresses a lot, whereas I owned all of half a dozen.
“Let’s look in the closet,” I suggested.
As we both went to my bedroom, I mentally reviewed my wardrobe. Nothing would make the cut. Miriam was inspecting the contents of my dresser. She was suspiciously silent.
”Think we should stop by Madam Danvers?” I suggested.
”You read my mind.”
Madam Danvers had a great selection of evening dresses. I”d only been inside the shop twice; I didn”t own any gowns because I had nowhere to wear them. On a few occasions, such as when I attended weddings, I usually rented a dress from one of my favorite shops in Boston. But I didn’t have time for that now.
Miriam and I took my car to Madam Danvers, which was open today, thank goodness. Some of the businesses in town were still closed because of the storm, but Ms. Danvers lived for her shop. She”d owned it for forty-five years and came in six days a week.
Miriam walked in front of me as we entered the store.
”Darling,” Ms. Danvers said.
Miriam often stopped by, and they were friendly. Ms. Danvers was known for her amazing selection and even better prices. I asked her once at a Christmas festival how she managed to keep her prices so low. She’d confessed that it was important for her to keep the store running and have something to do every day. She wasn”t making much profit.
”What can I get you, dear?” she asked.
”Oh, I”m not coming for myself today,” Miriam said, pointing her thumb at me.
”I need a dress to go to an elegant restaurant,” I said.
”In Boston. Very fancy,” Miriam added.
”Occasion?” Ms. Danvers asked.
”A dinner date.”
She smiled sweetly. ”A date in Boston. My, my.”
Oh, heavens.The Essex rumor mill would start soon enough. I wasn”t sure how talkative Ms. Danvers was, but somehow, everything always got out in this town.
”Do you have a favorite color?” she asked.
”Not red or orange because it clashes with my hair.”
She looked affronted. ”I would never. Goodness, my girl. I”m a professional. I”ve been doing this since before you were born.”
Miriam actually winced.
Oops.I didn”t want to get on Ms. Danvers’s bad side before she’d even brought me dresses. ”Know what? Surprise me. Just bring me whatever you think would look best on me.”
Her expression changed instantly. She smiled broadly and nodded. ”I know just what you need.”
Ten minutes later, she”d brought me four dresses and showed me to the only changing room she had.
I inspected the choices carefully. I had to give it to Miriam—Ms. Danvers really knew what she was doing. All of them were beautiful, so I checked the prices, putting on the most affordable one. It was stunning on me. Black silk with elegant straps and a straight cut over my boobs. It was very tight around my waist, but I breathed easily. It was comfortable, and I looked amazing in it. The skirt was just a bit wider from my hipbones to my knees. I twirled around once and then, to my surprise, noticed two delicate pockets. The back had lace from my neck to the middle of my shoulders. It was a very classy dress, and I could see it being a staple in my wardrobe.
I stepped out and immediately twirled.
”I knew this would look fantastic on you,” Ms. Danvers said as Miriam whistled.
”This is truly beautiful,” I announced. “I’ll take it.”
Miriam laughed. ”Don”t you want to try on the other ones?”
”No. I know a winner when I wear it, and this is definitely what I need.”
”I”ll pack it for you. Knock those boxers off,” Ms. Danvers said.
I nearly choked, and Miriam gasped. Ms. Danvers simply winked at us.
Okay, she”s feisty. I did not expect that.
I took off the dress right away, and she gave me instructions on how to steam it. She packed it with great care, and then we were on our way.
”Want my help getting ready?” Miriam asked.
”Oh yes, please. You always do wonders with my hair.”
”You”ve got amazing hair, so it’s easy.”
”Yeah, but whenever I try fancy stuff, it just looks like a bird nest.”
Miriam laughed, putting an arm around my shoulders. ”I”ve got your back. Come on, I’ll get you ready so you knock those boxers off.”