Chapter 10
ten
Olivia had never considered herself handy in the kitchen.
She could’ve blamed it on her mother, and it wouldn’t be untrue since Mom was always too persnickety in the kitchen to make culinary experimentation any fun.
But in all fairness, she’d been on her own for long enough to have given it a try.
So, really it was a personal choice. She just didn’t really enjoy cooking. But maybe baking would be different.
She pulled out the sugar cookie recipe she’d googled on her phone and then carefully written out on the back of an envelope this morning. It seemed fairly simple and straightforward.
Olivia washed her hands and then stared at the ingredients she’d gotten on her way home from work.
She’d left early with the intent to work at home, although she might have to catch up on that this weekend.
But, all lined up on the small kitchen counter, the various baking items gave the impression that she knew what she was doing.
Relieved that Tracie was still at work and planned to be late due to a holiday party, Olivia got out a mixing bowl.
Fortunately, Tracie loved to cook and had a fully equipped albeit compact kitchen, complete with Christmas cookie cutters.
Which was where Olivia had gotten the idea to make cookies in the first place.
With cheerful Christmas music playing on her phone, Olivia began to sing along as she followed the recipe’s steps.
Creaming the butter, eggs, and vanilla together, she thought about Malcolm.
And, okay, she knew it was probably premature, but she was imagining herself in their kitchen, happily concocting yummy dishes.
Perhaps doing the prep tasks together along with a glass of wine. It was a lovely image.
As she measured flour and other dry ingredients into a separate bowl, she wondered if her pipe dreams were just that—puffs of smoke.
After all, she hadn’t heard from Malcolm in almost a week.
Although he had warned her when dropping her off after their uncomfortably quiet ride home that he’d be working long hours to compensate for the holiday vacation days he planned to take.
So she’d been trying not to obsess over it.
Still, as she stirred the dry and wet ingredients together, she wasn’t so sure.
Despite her high hopes that Malcolm was the one, she knew that something about the past weekend had disturbed him.
And she was pretty sure that something was her mom.
But in the past few days, and after some good conversations with Tracie, who was going to make a terrific therapist when she got her license, Olivia had decided to convince Malcolm that she was not her mom—and that she never would be.
Like Tracie had said, a future husband might assume that a girl would grow up to be her mother.
“It was a popular theory—that is, back in the Dark Ages,” she’d assured Olivia. “And sure, I suppose there could be cases like that, but it’s unfair to think it’s a diehard rule.”
And so Olivia had decided to make a pretty and hopefully tasty platter of Christmas cookies to take to Malcolm while he was at work at the vet clinic.
She would casually say it was to share with coworkers or pet owners or whatever.
But hopefully it would give her an opportunity to (1) show him that she was not her mom, since her mom had never made Christmas cookies like this, claiming they were too messy, (2) show him that she still cared about him, and (3) ask him about sharing a ride home for Christmas.
It seemed a perfect plan. No, no, not perfect!
She hated that word. It was simply an idea that she hoped would remind him she was still around.
And hopefully he hadn’t written her off.
By the time the cookies were done and colorfully frosted and arranged on the platter she’d gotten just for this purpose, she knew they looked a little sloppy.
The Santas were a blur of red and white, which started to resemble pink, the angels looked less than angelic, and the Christmas trees looked more like mossy trolls than trees.
But as she put them in her car, she decided this could work in her favor since they were clearly not perfect. At least they were tasty.
She knew Malcolm had been working the night shift from three to midnight, so she knew he’d be there.
But when she parked in front, she was dismayed not to see his SUV.
It’s probably in the back, she reminded herself, carefully getting out the cookie plate, resecuring the plastic wrap that had started to congeal with the still moist frosting.
Well, whatever, she chuckled to herself. Here’s to imperfection.
A brunette receptionist smiled from the front desk, glancing around behind Olivia. “Do you have a pet? Or are you delivering cookies?” She sounded hopeful.
“I was hoping to leave these with Dr. McEntire,” Olivia said a bit formally.
“Oh?” The young woman stood, looking down at the cookies with a puzzled expression. Maybe she was trying to figure out if they were tainted. “Are you a client here?”
“No.” Olivia laughed. “I don’t have a pet. Just a personal friend. Is Malcolm here?”
Before the receptionist could answer, a woman with short gray hair wearing a pale green smock popped her head into the reception area.
“Cassie, can you call Mrs. Stillman and let her know her cat is going to have to stay for overnight observation?”
“You got it, Dr. Reiner.” The receptionist reached for the phone. “And this woman is here to see Dr. McEntire. Is he back there?”
“No, I gave him the rest of his shift off.”
“Lucky duck.”
“Well, the poor boy’s been working so hard this week. Two double shifts. He looked so tired I gave him the key to my beach cabin and told him to go relax for a couple days. He’ll be pulling all night shifts next week until his holiday vacation time.” The older woman peered curiously at Olivia.
“I, uh, just brought these Christmas cookies,” Olivia said lamely. “For Malcolm. And to share with his coworkers. I guess I’ll just leave them here.” She set the platter on the counter.
“Did Dr. McEntire take Sadie to the beach with him?” the receptionist asked.
The vet grinned. “Are you kidding? Those two have been inseparable all week long. Ever since Sadie’s mama died.”
“Yeah, that was so sad to hear. Poor Sadie.”
Olivia was backing up now but still listening.
“Well, Sadie really needs him,” the receptionist continued.
“Yes. And I’m glad they can get away for some downtime.” The vet glanced at Olivia, who stood frozen by the door, taking this all in. Who was Sadie? “Thank you for the cookies,” the vet said politely. “And we’ll let Malcolm know you brought them when he gets back here.”
“Although they might be gone by then.” The receptionist had already peeled off some of the gooey plastic wrap and picked out a pink Santa. “Well, if they’re any good.”
“Oh, I think they’re okay,” Olivia assured her. “Taste better than they look. I’m not a very experienced baker, but the recipe I used had five stars.”
The receptionist took a bite, then licked a finger and nodded eagerly. “Yum! They are good. Thanks!”
“Merry Christmas!” Olivia’s smile felt stiff as she feigned enthusiasm she did not feel.
By the time she got into her car, she felt like crying. Could it be that in just one week’s time, Malcolm not only had a new romantic prospect but was right now taking her to the coast for the weekend? Clearly, he was not the guy she thought he was.
She felt tears burning as she navigated commuter traffic to drive back to her apartment.
Still, she told herself, it was better to find this out now than to learn of it later.
At least she wouldn’t be spending her holiday vacation wasting time on romantic imaginings.
Yes, it hurt. More than she cared to admit—even to herself.
But at least this gave her time to toughen up before going home next week.
She had no doubts that Dad would ask questions about their relationship.
Thinking of Dad reminded her of the voicemail he’d left her this morning letting her know that Grandma Lulu had arrived a couple days ago and was already making her mother perfectly miserable with her messes.
“The first step in our intervention plan,” he’d said.
And although she agreed it was a necessary step, she couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty.
It was always easier to feel sorry for Mom from a distance, but Olivia knew if she were home right now, she would feel differently.
She’d planned to call and cheer her dad and grandmother on this evening, but, knowing how close she was to breaking down in uncontrollable sobs, she’d have to wait.
Hopefully her skin would thicken up in the next few days.
In the meantime, she would try to forget about Malcolm and his Sadie girlfriend, whoever she was, if that was even possible.