Chapter Nineteen
Abby’s birthday
February twenty-sixth came and went.
Two days later, Abby was frowning as she wiped off a table at the coffeeshop. She knew she shouldn’t feel sorry for herself. She had a good life. But the only person to wish her a happy birthday was her mother. For the first time ever, her friends had all forgotten.
Her birthday had been on Thursday, and when it came and went, she’d thought it was because her friends were planning to take her out Friday night. But then Friday came and went without anyone mentioning grabbing dinner or going to hear a band at Sonny’s Jukebox.
It was now Saturday evening, and her thirtieth birthday was forgotten. She told herself to let it go. And then she amused herself by wondering if her birthday was forgotten, did that mean she could skip that birthday altogether and remain twenty-nine?
The thought made her smile. If only life were that simple.
“The back is all cleaned up,” Mia said. “Do you need help out here?”
Abby shook her head. “I’m almost done. Go enjoy your evening.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you on Monday.”
Sunday was the only day the coffeeshop was closed.
When she’d originally opened the coffeeshop, she’d been planning to have it open seven days a week.
But then her friends convinced her that everyone needed a break.
She couldn’t afford to close for two days, so she picked Sunday as the one day that she didn’t have to worry about the coffeeshop.
After wiping off the last table, Abby grabbed the mop bucket from where it rested behind the counter. Mia had already mopped the kitchen area and behind the counter. That only left the seating area. With the chairs already resting on the tabletops, it wouldn’t take long to finish up.
She immediately got to work. She had a date at home with a romantic suspense book that had her constantly guessing who the villain was. Every time she settled on one suspect, she would learn a new clue that would change her mind and point her in a new direction.
With one last swish of the mop, she was done. She released a relieved sigh.
“Abby?”
The unexpected voice caused her to jump and slosh some of the mop bucket water. She spun around to find Sadie standing there.
Abby pressed a hand to her pounding chest. “You startled me. I must have been lost in my thoughts and not heard the door open. What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see if you wanted to grab a late dinner.”
Thoughts of reading drifted to the back of her mind. She glanced down at the spilled water. She quickly mopped it up. “That sounds like a good idea.”
“Great.” Sadie smiled. “Are you ready to go?”
“Almost.” She glanced around. “Isn’t Reed joining us?”
“He was busy.” She pulled out her phone and looked at it before returning it to her coat pocket. “He said he’d catch up with us later.”
Abby wondered what had Reed so busy. Usually Sadie and Reed were attached at the hip. But it would be nice to spend some alone time with her friend.
Then she had a thought. “Should we call Carrie and Kate and see if they want to join us?”
Sadie shook her head as she once more pulled out her phone and looked at it. She quickly typed something before looking up. “I already talked to them, and they’re busy. So, it’s just you and me.”
Was it just her or did Sadie’s words seem a little rushed? And what was the deal with her phone? Sadie wasn’t normally so distracted.
Maybe whatever was distracting her was the reason she wanted to go to dinner. Maybe it was something she didn’t want to discuss in front of Reed. Maybe it was about Reed. Was that why he wasn’t with her?
Abby looked directly at her friend. “Is everything all right? You aren’t having wedding jitters again, are you?”
Sadie shook her head. “No. You really helped me the last time. I went home and talked to Reed. He let me know that he didn’t have any reservations about moving to Bayberry. In fact, he said we should start house hunting.”
“House hunting? Wow.” She supposed it made sense, since they were to be married in two and a half months. “That’s exciting.”
Sadie nodded. “We have an appointment on Monday with a real estate agent to view a few places.”
So now Abby understood. Sadie wanted to talk about the next major step in her life—buying her first house. This was exciting.
Abby excused herself to go take care of the mop and bucket. A few minutes later, she emerged from the back with her coat on.
After locking up, Sadie insisted Abby leave her car and ride with her. Abby didn’t understand, since Sadie was going to have to backtrack to drop her off at her car, but she didn’t argue.
After she put on her seatbelt, she said, “We didn’t even discuss where we’re going to eat.”
“Oh, well, I thought we’d eat at Wright’s Eatery. Is that all right with you?”
“Um, sure. Sounds good to me.”
Abby turned the conversation back to her friend’s house hunting. “Are you two planning to live in town? Or on the outskirts?”
“I really want to live in town. I like being able to walk everywhere in the nice weather.”
Abby nodded in understanding. “Does Reed feel the same way?”
“He does. After all, he’s used to living in a big city.”
The car slowed as Sadie looked for a parking spot. Cars lined both sides of the street. There were certainly a lot of people in town that evening. There wasn’t a parking spot to be had in that block, so Sadie drove to the next one.
“Did you hear what’s going on?” Abby asked.
“What?” At last Sadie pulled into a parking spot.
“There must be something big going on in town for there to be that many cars. Is there a band at the Eatery?”
“You know, I’m not sure. I’ve just been so busy between plans for the new newspaper office, the wedding, and now house hunting. It’s been a lot.”
Abby nodded again as she got out of the car. “I can’t even imagine. But with all of these cars, I doubt we’re going to get a table.” She met up with Sadie on the sidewalk. “Maybe we should go somewhere else.”
Sadie stuck out her bottom lip and pouted. “Can’t we at least try? I have a craving for a blooming onion with their delicious dip.”
They did have some really good food. “We can try. I just hope you aren’t too disappointed when they don’t have room for us.”
“We’ll see...”
As they back tracked, they approached Totally Chocolate. Even though the blinds were drawn, there was still light glowing around the edges. That was strange. The shop was normally closed by now.
“Why do you think the lights are on?” Abby pointed toward the chocolate shop.
“I don’t know. Carrie didn’t say anything to me.”
“Should we stop in and just make sure everything is all right?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she’s having some sort of date night with Jackson.” Sadie paused on the sidewalk in front of the chocolate shop. “What do you think?”
Abby stopped next to her. “Maybe we should check in. If it’s a date, we’ll make a hasty exit. But maybe she’s dealing with some sort of emergency or something and could use some help.”
Sadie nodded. “Sounds like a good plan. And maybe she’ll change her mind about grabbing food with us.”
Abby headed to the door. She knew all about the challenges of running her own business. And her friends were always there for her. She would gladly return the favor.
As Abby reached for the door handle, Sadie said, “Maybe you should knock so we don’t startle her, like I did to you.”
Abby nodded. “Good idea.”
Knock-knock-knock.
They paused and waited.
“I don’t hear anything,” Sadie said. “Maybe you should see if the door’s unlocked.”
Abby didn’t hear anything either. She reached out and grasped the door handle. It wasn’t locked.
She cracked the door open and called out, “Carrie? Are you here?”
Maybe she was in the kitchen and forgot to lock the door. Sometimes, when Carrie got busy with a new chocolate creation, she lost track of time. Abby opened the door wider and stepped inside.
“Surprise!”
The loud greeting and her friends jumping into the center of the shop had Abby’s heart leaping into her throat. Wow!
She turned a questioning gaze to Sadie, wondering what this was about.
Sadie smiled. “You surely didn’t think we’d actually forget your big three-O, do you?”
“This is all for me?” She smiled at about twenty of her friends that had gathered to wish her a happy birthday.
After numerous people called out happy birthday wishes, Abby said, “Aw... Thank you, everyone.” She saw her mother, Carrie, and Kate.
Happy tears rushed to her eyes. She blinked repeatedly. “I can’t believe you all did this.”
“It was Sadie’s idea,” Kate called out.
Abby turned to Sadie, who was standing a few feet away, and hugged her. “Thank you. No one has ever thrown me a surprise party before.”
“I just wanted to thank you for being a wonderful friend.” Sadie pulled back. “Go enjoy your party.”
When Abby turned around, she was immediately met by a pair of blue eyes. They were intense, and she could imagine getting lost in them. Brad.
What was he doing here? As the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile, her heart remembered to beat. In fact, it started to pound in her chest.
As he approached her, the rest of the guests faded into the background. She told herself he wasn’t in Bayberry just to see her. She told herself he must be in town to see Reed, but her heart wasn’t listening to what her mind was saying.
When he came to a stop in front of her, he said, “I hear it’s your birthday.”
She nodded. “Well, it was on, um... Thursday.”
“I’m glad I could be here for your party.”
“You are?” When she accidentally vocalized her thoughts, heat rushed to her face.
“I am.” He smiled, and she noticed his dimples. Her heart fluttered in her chest. He was so cute when he wasn’t frowning.
“Abby, come here,” her mother called to her.
She was torn between staying with Brad and going to speak to her guests. She was afraid if she moved away from him, he’d disappear. And she didn’t want that to happen. Because if she were brutally honest with herself, she’d missed him.