Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Alexis shut her eyes for a moment, wishing she didn’t feel so tired. It was late in the morning on Monday, and she already felt that the week was off to an inauspicious start. She’d come to Seaside Sweets Bakery, hoping that the bustling, cheerful atmosphere would help her feel more productive. She’d already been there for a few hours, however, and she’d continued to move as sluggishly as she had earlier in the morning.
I’ve got to stop feeling so tired , she thought, taking another sip of coffee. I meant to be so much more productive today. I wanted to finish planning this community event at the pub by now.
She glanced at her laptop with a sigh. So far, she was nowhere near done, and she’d wanted to spend time working on her jewelry business that morning as well. She shook her head at herself, wishing she was able to focus better. She reminded herself that she couldn’t control her own fatigue, not now that it was there at any rate, and pushing herself even harder was not a solution to the problem. She still felt annoyed, however, and she wished that her body could keep up with her goals.
“Hey, Alexis!”
Alexis looked up to see Julia entering the bakery. She smiled when she saw her sister, immediately feeling more energized.
“Hey.” She stood up and gave Julia a hug. “It’s great to see you.”
“Great to see you too. I’m excited to talk about this event with you.”
The sisters had arranged an informal meeting to talk about the pub’s Christmas event, since both of them were taking on most of the planning for the event. Julia’s fresh energy and enthusiasm made Alexis feel as though it was going to be a productive day after all, and she felt her spirits lift.
“Let me grab myself a latte and one of those adorable gingerbread cookies, and I’ll be right back.” Julia set her coat down on the chair opposite Alexis. “I can’t wait to hear about all of your ideas.”
Alexis sighed as her sister made her way to the front counter. It wasn’t as though she didn’t have any ideas, but she’d meant to have a great deal more than she did at the moment. She tried to focus and type out a few more things while Julia got her purchases, but she still felt sluggish and as if her brain was filled with fog. She felt a little queasy as well, and even though she usually loved the strong, sugary aromas that wafted around the bakery, today the smell seemed to be making the feeling worse.
“Okay.” Julia returned, sitting down across from Alexis with a big smile on her face. “How excited are you for this? I can’t wait.”
“I’m excited too.” Alexis smiled back, happy to be near her sister’s exuberant energy. “Tell me what ideas you’ve come up with so far.”
“Okay.” Julia took a quick sip of her latte as she pulled a tablet out of her large purse. “I’ve got so many. Some of them may be too time-consuming or not cost-effective, so feel free to tell me if I’m flying too close to the sun here.”
Julia began to outline her ideas for The Lighthouse Grill’s community Christmas event, and Alexis did her best to listen. She had to shut her eyes a couple of times, as the smell of the bakery’s sugary treats kept making her queasiness intensify. After a few moments, however, she got so caught up in what Julia was saying that her nausea began to subside.
“And I thought that we could have Christmas coloring pages for all the kids who come in,” Julia said. “And then we can display those on one of the walls at the event.”
“Oh, that’s a fantastic idea,” Alexis said, feeling her excitement growing. “That way families will want to come back for the event to see their children’s art on the walls.”
“Exactly! And I think it’s a cute way of decorating the space too. And it’s a way of telling everyone about the event in a memorable way, rather than just having a poster in the window.”
“Speaking of posters, I do have some designs sketched out for one. You can take a look at them later and let me know what you think.”
“Sounds perfect. Red and green?”
“Well, of course!” Alexis grinned. “It’s a dark green background, but there’s enough white and red font on it to be really eye-catching. And I sketched up some Christmas berries and a little picture of the pub in the snow to put at the bottom. I think once I refine it a little it’s going to be really nice.”
“That sounds fantastic. Let’s pause me talking about my ideas. I want to see your poster design.”
“Well, it’s just a rough draft right now?—”
“Oh, tut. I can use my imagination.”
“Okay.” Alexis chuckled and clicked a few times on her computer. Once she had the image of her poster design pulled up, she turned her laptop around so that Julia could see it.
“Yes!” Julia leaned forward eagerly. “Oh, I love that. It looks so Christmassy—and it’s bright and eye catching while still looking nostalgic and classic. And that sketch of the pub looks just darling. You should print out a large one and frame it for Mom.”
“Oh! It’s not that good.” Alexis felt herself blushing a little under Julia’s praise.
“I think it is. I think Mom is going to love it.”
“What am I going to love?”
Alexis and Julia turned in surprise to see their mother walking up to them. Vivian was wearing a violet hat with a matching scarf and mittens, and her cheeks were flushed from the cold. She was beaming at her daughters, looking as surprised to see them as they were to see her.
“Benefits of living in a small town,” Julia said, laughing and standing up to hug Vivian. “Hey, Mom!”
“Hey!” Vivian smiled as she hugged Alexis next. “Are you girls working on the Christmas party?”
“We sure are.” Alexis nodded. “You want to sit down for a minute and join us?”
“I’d love to. Let me just go ahead and get myself some coffee first.”
“I’ll get it for you,” Julia said, kissing Vivian on the cheek. “Black with a splash of cream, right? And how about a cheese Danish? It’s a crime to not buy bakery while you’re here.”
“All right.” Vivian laughed. “Thank you, sweetheart. That’s very nice of you.”
“Hey, I owe you.” Julia smiled. “I live in your house and you keep feeding me for free.”
Julia made her way over to the ordering counter and Vivian sat down next to Alexis.
“How are you doing, honey?” Vivian asked, gently placing her hand on Alexis’s forehead. “You look tired. Are you getting enough rest?”
Alexis chuckled, feeling grateful for her mother’s kindness. “I can’t escape the Mom radar. I’m feeling okay. Just a little more tired than usual.” She decided not to mention the nausea, since she knew it was often a symptom of fatigue and she didn’t want her mother to worry.
Julia returned a few moments later, and the three of them spent some time looking over Alexis’s poster.
“I love it,” Vivian said. “It’s so cheerful, and it looks professional. All the text lines up nicely. The whole thing is very spatially pleasing.”
Encouraged by her mother’s praise, Alexis volunteered to show them her final designs for the redecorating of the pub.
“Yes please!” Julia leaned in as she took a bite of her gingerbread cookie. “I’m excited to see what you’ve come up with.”
Alexis showed them the images she’d made, and Vivian teared up a little bit.
“It looks just wonderful, sweetheart,” she said, squeezing Alexis’s shoulder. “I know your father would love it as much as I do.”
Alexis felt tears spring into her own eyes when she heard her mother’s words. “Thanks, Mom. I’m really glad you like it. I’m excited to see pictures of you and Dad up on the walls.”
“People in Rosewood Beach are going to love that.” Julia smiled. “We have customers that have been coming to the pub for decades. They’re going to get such a kick out of seeing the old pictures.”
“Speaking of things being old,” Vivian said, her cheerful expression suddenly becoming clouded, “I do have some not-so-great news.”
“Oh no.” Alexis suddenly felt nervous. “What’s wrong, Mom? You look frustrated.”
“I am frustrated, but it’s nothing to worry about, not really. It’s just annoying.”
“Did Judd McCormick come by?” Julia looked feisty. “If he did, I’m going to march right over to the brewery and have a few choice words with that man.”
“No, no, nothing like that.” Vivian sighed. “The health inspector came by. Terrence Rawlins. He inspected the pub and said that we need the air vents replaced.”
“The air vents?” Julia echoed doubtfully. “They look perfectly fine—but I guess that’s what health inspectors are for. We haven’t been opening them up and checking the insides. I’m sure it’ll be okay, that’s not too big of a deal.”
“Well, we have to replace them all before the Christmas party.”
“Before the Christmas party?” Julia and Alexis echoed in dismay.
“I know.” Vivian shook her head. “At first I thought it wouldn’t be possible, but he insisted, so we’ll just have to take on the extra chaos.”
Alexis sighed, suddenly feeling even more tired than she had before. Even though she knew she wouldn’t be doing the actual work of replacing the vents herself, the idea felt overwhelming to her. There were so many things happening at once!
“Oh, I don’t think that’ll be too much trouble.” Julia seemed fairly unfazed by the news. “We’ll have to rearrange our plan of action a little bit, but I know we can get everything done in time.”
Alexis had to smile despite how flustered she felt. It was clear that Julia was thriving on having something important to focus on, and she seemed almost eager for the challenge of having to get the vents replaced before the Christmas party.
“I hope you’re right.” Vivian smiled, although she still looked a little nervous. “I trust your opinion, Julia. You’ve engineered plenty of events like this before now. And at least it’s not something that we have to do ourselves. I’m on my way to talk to Jacob Dorsey about taking on the project.”
Alexis and Julia immediately glanced at each other. Alexis knew they were both thinking about Hazel, and how much of a crush their sister had recently had on Jacob. She’d been handling things well ever since she’d learned that Jacob was dating someone else, but it had been difficult for her. Hazel had had a crush on Jacob ever since high school, and they’d all hoped that she could get together with him before those hopes had been dashed.
“What is it?” Vivian asked, noticing the look that the sisters shared.
“It’s just… well, we’re worried about Hazel,” Alexis said delicately. “You remember she was getting ready to ask Jacob out not that long ago. I know she’s been handling it well, but she’d also been trying to avoid him, I think. I think it might be hard for her if he was at the pub all the time working on the vents.”
Vivian shook her head. “I think she’ll be fine. Surely she’s over that by now—look at how she’s thriving in her life. Besides, who else is there to do the job besides Jacob?”
“True.” Julia sighed. “You’re right, Mom. She does seem to be over him by now.”
The three of them continued to sit and plan for the Christmas event. Alexis was enjoying working with her mother and sister, and her feelings of fatigue and queasiness were beginning to subside, especially as she became more engrossed in the work.
“I think I’ll get each of us a cup of hot chocolate,” Vivian said after a while. “We’ve all run out of coffee.”
“Sure.” Julia smiled. “Thanks, Mom.”
Vivian stood up and went to order three cups of hot cocoa. She came back right away, saying that the barista had offered to deliver the beverages to their table. The three of them got back to work, all of them beginning to remark that they felt they were nearly done with all the planning and feeling great about all of their shared ideas.
A few moments later, the barista carried over three steaming mugs of hot cocoa.
“Enjoy,” she said, smiling as she set them down on the table.
As soon as Alexis inhaled the sweet smell of the cocoa, her queasiness returned with a vengeance. She stood up hurriedly, knowing at once that she wasn’t going to be able to hold her nausea in this time.
She hurried into the bathroom and spent a few moments in a stall, losing the contents of her stomach. Still feeling nauseous but significantly better, she left the stall and went over to the sink, where she washed her mouth and her hands.
As she was washing her hands, Vivian came inside the bathroom.
“Hey.” Her mother smiled gently at her. “Are you okay?”
Alexis nodded. “I—well, I got really nauseous just now. I’ve been feeling tired and queasy all day, and then as soon as I smelled that hot cocoa, it did me in. I don’t know why I keep reacting to hot cocoa this way. The other night Grayson made me some hot cocoa and I couldn’t finish it because it made me so nauseous.”
Vivian leaned against the counter, pressing her lips together. “Sometimes that can happen.” She spoke slowly, as if she was choosing her words carefully. “Sometimes the smell of coffee, which is my favorite drink in the whole world, made me sick.”
“Yeah?” Alexis started to dry her hands, confused. “I don’t remember you ever getting sick when you smelled coffee.”
“Well, you must have been too little to remember when it happened while you were around. It only happened during three periods in my life.”
Alexis blinked at her mother, beginning to understand what she was saying. Vivian had been pregnant three times in her life—once with Julia, once with her, and once with Dean and Hazel, who were twins.
“Are—” Alexis stared at Vivian, wide-eyed. “Are you implying what I think you’re implying?”
She can’t be, Alexis thought, her mind racing. She felt as though she was suddenly on a rollercoaster, and she could hardly catch her breath. I can’t be pregnant. Can I?
Vivian reached out and gave Alexis a big hug. “I think you might be pregnant, sweetheart. These things can happen, you know.” She chuckled.
“I know, but—” Alexis shook her head. “I mean, I was just thinking about how I absolutely don’t have time to have a baby right now. I think it’s just my fatigue making me queasy. Fatigue can make you nauseous sometimes.”
Vivian smiled at her daughter. “I think you should take a pregnancy test. This seems to be more than just some fatigue nausea.”
Alexis leaned against the counter next to her mother, her mind spinning. What if she really was pregnant? How on earth was she going to add a baby into the mix? She barely had enough time to get everything on her plate done as it was. She found herself staring into space, feeling torn between excitement over the prospect of being pregnant and being completely overwhelmed by the idea.
“Is everything all right, sweetheart?” Vivian asked gently.
Alexis covered up her concerns with a laugh. “If I am pregnant, do you think I’ll like hot cocoa again after my pregnancy?”
Vivian chuckled. “My love for coffee certainly came back, so I wouldn’t worry about that. But even if your love for cocoa doesn’t come back, a baby is a worthwhile exchange for just about anything.”
Vivian hugged Alexis again, and together they left the bathroom. As they walked back out into the cozy, warm seating area of the bakery, Alexis wondered if what her mother had said was really true.