Chapter 2 #2
“I'll take a chocolate croissant.” Josie pointed. Before Victoria’s Pantry opened, Josie had existed on power bars and electrolyte drinks. The last couple months? Victoria felt proud that her pastries had led Josie astray.
Bryn motioned to her favorite ricotta cheese pastry. “One, please.”
“Make mine cherry,” Emily chimed in.
“Sweet tea all around?” Maisy asked brightly.
Settling around the glass-topped table closest to the window, they nodded.
“Mind if I join you?” Victoria asked. The drama of last night had left her exhausted.
“Oh, come here, you poor thing.” Bryn patted the chair next to her.
“How bad is your eye?” Emily asked as Maisy hustled over with their glasses of sweet tea.
“It should be fine in a couple of days.” Eyes. Derek Darling’s bluish gray eyes lit up when he smiled. And then there was that dimple.
“So what's with the grin?” Josie was never one for subtlety.
“Nothing.” Victoria wanted to keep Dr. Darling under wraps. No way did she want women stampeding through the urgent care center, just to see Dr. Darling smile. He had to be the hottest thing going in Sweetwater Creek.
But Bryn wasn’t going to let it rest. “Doctor Darling made Annabelle feel comfortable right away. Great bedside manner.”
Josie’s eyes snapped. “How about you, Victoria. Did you like his...bedside manner?”
“Enough of that,” Bryn said softly. “Don’t tease, Josie.”
Victoria wasn’t going to admit that she’d been a nervous twit. “I wasn’t at my best.” The words sounded like something her mother might say.
The girls laughed. “So what do you know about Dr. Darling?” Victoria turned to Bryn.
With the sun beaming through the window, Bryn took a sip of her tea. “Not much. I didn’t notice a ring on his finger. He’d be wearing one if he were married, right?”
Emily frowned. “Probably but not always.”
“So when are you going to decorate your tree?” With a glass of sweet tea in hand, Josie wandered back to the tree.
Getting up, Victoria followed. “The garland looks pathetic, right?”
Tossing her paper plate in the trash, Emily glanced around. “Where are your ornaments? We can help you decorate. Won't take long.”
That’s all Maisy needed. She was already trotting off toward the back. “Terrific. I'll just grab the boxes.” Soon she returned, plopping the boxes at the base of the tree.
Victoria’s shoulders slumped. “Okay. I know they're not great. But this is what I have to work with.” No one looked excited.
“Why don't you bring some of your parents’ stuff in here?” Josie asked. “Your mother probably has tons of decorations stored away.”
Oh, does she ever.
“Ornaments from your childhood,” Bryn offered.
But Victoria shook her head. “They wouldn’t fit in Victoria’s Pantry.”
“Why not?” Emily asked. “She has wonderful taste.”
When Victoria frowned, she felt her bandage crinkle. “But she doesn’t like old-fashioned stuff.”
“No gingerbread men?” Bryn’s delicate eyebrows pulled into a frown. “No little animals or angels?”
Victoria shook her head. What was she going to do? Sweetwater Creek was counting on her. This Christmas she had community responsibilities.
Emily turned, swinging that dark black ponytail over her shoulder. “I’ve got a better idea.”
“Please share.” Victoria wanted to hear it because Emily was a whiz at marketing.
“Invite the town to decorate your tree.”
“Details please,” Josie demanded.
“It will be fun.” Emily's eyes shone with Christmas spirit. “We'll put a sign under the tree, inviting customers to be a part of Victoria's Pantry Christmas. If they bring an ornament, they will receive a free Christmas cookie.”
Her friend’s idea settled over Victoria like a warm blanket. “People might love that.” She gave Emily a hug.
Bryn was already walking toward the front door. “I’m going home right now to sort through my boxes. A community tree. What a great idea.” Josie and Emily followed her outside.
“You ladies are the best,” Victoria called after them.
Maisy slipped the covers back on the pathetic boxes from the Five and Dime. “I can't wait to see what people bring in.”
“Darn it. My eye is itching.” Frustrated, Victoria reached for the gauze.
“Don’t touch it.” Maisy dropped the boxes on the nearest table. “What did the doctor say? You know...your Dr. Darling.” She gave the name a saucy trill.
“He’s not my Dr. Darling.” The thought made her lightheaded. “The nurse gave me written instructions. They’re in my bag somewhere. Of course I don’t want this to get any worse. I’d have to go back.”
Another mind-bending thought. One that she liked.
The bell rang above the door and she twirled.
“Hi, Miss Charlotte.” Emily's neighbor swirled inside, wearing one of her lavender outfits, followed by her friends, Genevieve and Melinda Sue.
The three older women had become regulars.
Over sweet tea and croissants, they solved the problems of the world.
Victoria didn't mind a bit. The three widows had their manicured fingers on the pulse of the town.
She learned a lot from them, and they often took home hearty salads for dinner.
Right now they were looking at her in horror. “Oh, my goodness. What happened to you?” Miss Charlotte pressed a tight fist to her lips.
“I look like Captain Hook, right? It’s nothing really. Just got a speck in my eye.”
Questions filled the air as they took their seats. Victoria had to be careful what she told them. Sometimes she wondered why the town bothered having a newspaper. In Sweetwater Creek word of mouth spread a lot faster than the printed word.
“Was that Emily I saw getting into her car?” Miss Charlotte asked. “I've heard wonderful news about her. Sunday dinner with her folks, you know.”
“Just what is that news, Lottie?” Getting up, Melinda Sue wandered over to the bakery case. “Christmas is no time for secrets. Oh, look. Gingerbread men!”
“Back to my news.” Miss Charlotte gave her friends a mischievous smile. “I understand that Emily is going to hear the patter of little feet before next summer's over.”
Excitement circled the room, as invigorating as the smell of fresh pine. “Oh, my word.” “You don’t say.” Genevieve and Melinda Sue talked at once, the gingerbread men forgotten.
“I'd better get going and make her one of my baby sweater sets.” Melinda Sue’s fingers twitched, as if she were already working that yarn. “Do they know if it’s a boy or girl?”
“Haven't got a clue.” Although everyone looked thrilled, Victoria felt a curious sadness curling at the edge of her mind.
Babies. Marriage and babies. Both felt out of reach.
The elation settled in the room. Once the three older women had picked out their pastry and Maisy had served their sweet tea, conversation went back to Victoria’s eye.
But no way was she admitting that she’d chopped off branches from bushes in the square. “I, ah, was hanging a picture. A splinter flew out of the frame.” She’d retreated behind the counter.
The ladies seemed to buy it. After Victoria mentioned the urgent care center, questions buzzed around her like a cloud of Carolina gnats. To Victoria’s horror, Maisy jumped right in with, “And a hot new doctor took care of her.”
“Do tell.” Miss Charlotte's quizzical look told Victoria she wanted to hear more.
How she wished Maisy hadn’t said anything. “Trust me, Miss Charlotte. There's nothing for me to tell.”
Straightening the menu signs that sat atop the counter, she heard Maisy snort. That did it. Victoria shot her a sharp glance. Her itchy eye was making her more than a bit touchy.
A mother with two young children came in. Perfect time to exit. Leaving the room, she bustled into the back as if she had very important things to do. She had to strategize. Somehow she had to run into Dr. Darling again.
More than sugar plums danced in her head when she thought of that man. No way would she face a sad Christmas. This season called for action. Derek Darling had become her Christmas goal.