Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Maggie
T he front bell jingling at Sticky Sweet interrupts my instructions to LaTisha for what to restock and what to package for delivery to Jules’s shop. Automatically, she turns to greet the new customers with a smile.
“Hi, welcome to Sticky Sweet.”
She’s been a great hire, personable and friendly.
She’s like a shot of sunshine, and I don’t mind returning to the task at hand and letting her handle the foot traffic.
Having her on board for the few weeks since the reunion means I’ve been able to expand providing baked goods to some other nearby businesses and have more time off for myself.
Already, I’m dreading her going to college full-time next year, but according to her, she’s going to commute to the nearby campus for at least two years.
If things keep going well, I’m going to start showing her more of the business side of things, give her something to strive for.
There’s a pause after her greeting, and I turn to see who is being so rude to my girl. All the blood drains out of my head, then returns to my cheeks with a vengeance.
“Hello, Magnolia.”
My mother’s tone is short and reserved, just like the woman herself.
She gives my shop, and me, a once-over, and the judgment in her expression makes me feel like I’m the teenager in the room.
Her lips flatten as her gaze skims the new strip of blond color I added to the underside of my hair, which is clearly visible with my hair pulled up.
Then that pinched expression grows as she scans my outfit and the body I’m not bothering to camouflage anymore.
If anything, being with Jackson helped with my body-image issues.
“Mother.” Ugh, why’s my voice got to be all mouselike in front of her? I am a smart, successful businesswoman, but her presence in my shop turns my insides to jelly.
She glances at the nearly empty case and the stack of boxed orders LaTisha and I have been working on for a special order. I have no idea why she’s here. She’s never set foot in my shop before. She’s standing stock-still, just inside the door, so when it opens behind her, I can’t see who comes in.
“Ah, you beat me here,” my sister says, addressing my mother as she steps around her. “Hey, sis.” Savannah heads to the corner of the display case and reaches for me like she’s going to hug me or something.
“Uh, hi?” I stammer as she leans in and presses her cheek to mine. What the hell is even happening right now?
“We had a client meeting nearby, and I thought we’d stop in and say hello. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to try your treats at the reunion a few weeks ago.” She glances over the case, a slight frown marring her face. “It looks like I may have missed out on those special muffins again.”
“Oh, we have a batch coming out of the oven in just a few minutes, if you’d like to wait,” LaTisha says. Bless her for allowing me a split second to gather my composure.
“We really don’t?—”
“That’d be great!” Savannah exclaims over my mother’s dismissal. LaTisha checks in with a look, like she’s asking if I’m okay.
“Um, Tish, why don’t you go check the oven.” I glance at my watch like it’s got the timer on there. It doesn’t, but they don’t know that.
“Sure.” LaTisha dips out quietly, probably relieved to escape the tension in the store.
Savannah ushers Mom to a four-seater table, tossing me a look over her shoulder and giving a jerk of her head like she’s ordering me to join them.
Shit. I don’t want to do this today, but I go through the motions of taking their drink order. I remove my apron and grimace. This was not the day to wear my “Stick It in My Mouth” T-shirt.
Mom sits down gingerly, brushing her hand over the top of the table like she’s looking for dust or dirt.
The rebel inside hopes she actually finds something; the repressed child waits in agony.
But the business owner side of me takes over, and she’s pissed.
I cleaned these tables myself, not that she’s going to notice while sitting there sniffing like she smells something bad.
“So why’d you really stop in?” I ask Savannah as I slide into the seat next to her.
“Honestly? I realized at the reunion that it’d been way too long since we’d seen each other. I didn’t want to waste the opportunity to see you.”
Her reply shocks me. It’s not like we’ve ever truly been close, not like Alice and Jackson were.
If anything, my sister and I are about as close as Jackson and Alice are with their absentee brother.
But I can’t deny that I sort of like the idea of spending time with my sister, maybe even being friends with her.
I’ve always felt like a fish out of water around my family, and it’s touching that Savannah is making this effort.
“We don’t have long, Magnolia.”
I fight a cringe under the weight of my mother’s disapproval. “I’m sure LaTisha will be over in just a moment.”
“Mom, chill,” Savannah warns. It’s probably the first time I’ve ever heard her use that tone of voice with our mother. Mom’s lips thin, but she does in fact chill.
“How are things in the corporate legal world?”
“Boring as ever.”
“Savannah…” Mom chides, the familiar tone one that would have me folding under the weight of it.
My sister waves her hand like the reprimand is a pesky gnat. “Well, it is. Anyway”—she looks back at me—“I saw you’ve been hiking some?”
I’m flabbergasted. First a visit, then she downplays Mom, and now this? “What the heck is going on, Savannah? Are you stalking my social media?”
One of her shoulders lifts as she grabs her tea. “I may have been stalking you a bit to see what you’ve been up to lately. Plus, I was intrigued when one of my associates mentioned how much she liked your baked goods.”
“Yes, well,” my mother pinches out. “That’s the reason we’re here. We have some pretty important meetings on the horizon, and we’d like for you to cater them.”
It’s literally the first time in the history of ever that she’s even mentioned ordering from my shop. What’s the catch? Surely, there’s some other reason she’s deigning to involve herself in my business now.
“It would be a lucrative order,” she entices when I remain silent .
“What kind of numbers are we talking?”
“We’d want a fresh delivery of a dozen assorted items delivered daily to our downtown branch.”
For a fleeting moment, I wonder if she’s wanting this because she wants to brag.
“Downtown Newman?” As the only employee here in the morning, I couldn’t manage that, but maybe I could talk to some of my neighboring shop owners and see if there is a courier service or something.
“No.” She sniffs haughtily. “The Atlanta location.”
A bark of laughter shoots out before I can contain it. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen unless you use a food delivery app.”
“Well, this is a huge client. Surely, you can make some type of concession. They specifically mentioned having your miniature pecan pies.”
Screw her. Acting all haughty, like she’s doing me a favor.
“Well, a standing daily order of a dozen pastries isn’t worth my time.
Not when I have multiple standing orders for double, even triple that.
So, unfortunately, it’s not as big a deal for me as it is for you.
” I smile sweetly as her back goes rigid.
“But you’re the best, and we only want the best for this client.”
Validation should ring through me. To hear my mother say anything I’m involved with is the best. Somehow, the statement she’s making feels… anticlimactic.
“I’m flattered. Thank you.”
“Fine, make it three dozen, and we will have someone stop in to pick it up.”
Savannah’s expression shifts into one of respect, and I want to savor this feeling for a while.
We work out the rest of the details. And if my mother acts all pinched again when I don’t cut them a deal on the purchase price, it doesn’t bother me too much.
This is my business, my livelihood. I deserve to be paid what I’m worth, not be cutting family deals that will end up costing me money.
LaTisha comes back bearing a full tray of fresh muffins, and I smile as I acknowledge that I don’t need their business.
That entire tray will be gone soon, and the one that’s due out after it will be too. Already paid for and claimed by the time Mom and Savannah make it back to their posh uptown office.
The front bell jingles, and two young moms with toddlers come in. The kids run excitedly over to the display case, and LaTisha makes a big deal out of letting them pick their cookies. The moms are all smiles as they settle their bill and hustle back out the door on their way to the park.
This. This is why I do what I do.
“You’ve got a great thing going here, sis,” Savannah says, bringing me back to the here and now.
“Thanks, Sav. That means a lot.” And it does. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, and I appreciate that they also recognize my success.
My mother pushes to her feet, brushing her hands like the table is still unclean and those invisible crumbs are all over her.
“You’ve done well, Magnolia.”
And with that, Savannah ushers her to the door. She shoots me a wink behind our mother’s rigid back. “Maybe we can meet up for a drink soon.”
A warm tingle skitters through me. It’s a shame we’ve never been closer.
Now that Jackson is gone, I’ve opened my eyes to how isolated I’ve kept myself.
Until him, I’d holed away, focusing on work, on making something of my store.
It was my dream, sure, but the more I reflect, the more I come to understand that I wanted a way to prove that I didn’t need this family that never acted like they really appreciated me.
Alice might have been my saving grace throughout my school years. But was I using her as a crutch? To avoid the reality of my family? Could we be something different?
Based on my sister showing up with my mother in tow, maybe it’s time to take the olive branch she’s extended and see if things can be different moving forward.
I offer Savannah a smile. “I’d like that.”
“Wow,” LaTisha says, wide-eyed and slack-jawed as the mess that is my family marches out to a swanky luxury vehicle. “That’s your family? Are you, like, loaded?”
“Me? No. Them? Probably.”
She begins boxing up the rest of the orders. “You seem a whole lot happier than them.”
“I’m getting there.” Aside from the giant, gaping hole Jackson left, it’s not a lie.
I help her finish the packaging and prep them for delivery.
Maybe someday I’ll find true joy again. Until then, I’ll have my little shop, my friends, Jules, Kate, and Alice, and now hopefully I can add my sister to that list. Maybe I’ll be okay after all.