“I know.” Shaking her head, she took a couple scones from the case and put them on two plates. “I guess I feel like twenty-four is very young to make a lifelong commitment. You hardly know who you are yet.”
I rolled my eyes. “You were what, twenty-seven when you married Dad?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“Okay, twenty-eight. That’s only a few years’ difference.”
“I know, I know.” She laughed at herself. “Maybe I’m just remembering the panic I felt when I thought you were getting married at twenty-two.”
My smile faded. “That’s different. Merrick was obviously not the right choice for a lifelong commitment, but it doesn’t mean I wasn’t ready to make one.”
“I know.” She held up her hands. “And I remember very well what it was like to be young and want to make my own decisions, whether they were mistakes or not. You have to be free to stumble along the path, which is why I didn’t say anything negative to you about Merrick even though I knew all along he was not the one for you.”
“Next time, you could at least drop a hint,” I said wryly, picking up both saucers.
“Deal.” She took the plates with scones on them and came around the counter, following me to the empty table. “By the way, your new friends were in this morning.”
I sat down and looked up at her in surprise. “My new friends?”
“Dexter Matthews and his girls.”
The butterflies returned. “Oh.”
“They came in to grab breakfast before church.” She laughed as she set down the plates. “The girls were looking for you. They thought you might work here.”
I smiled. “They’re so funny.”
“They are. And Dexter seems nice.”
“Yes.”
“And very handsome. I’d never met him before.”
I shrugged, trying to play it cool. “I guess.”
“His ex-wife Naomi does my hair.”
“Oh really? I didn’t know that.”
She sighed, twisting her fingers together. “I’ve heard her side of things—she definitely isn’t shy about discussing her personal life at work. But her side isn’t the only one.”
“What does she say about him?”
“The usual stuff any ex-wife would say. She doesn’t think he tried hard enough to make the marriage work. She said he was gone a lot when they were first married and that was tough.” My mom shrugged. “She’s called him some names.”
“He’s a good dad,” I said, feeling the need to defend him. “A really good dad. Those girls adore him.”
“I could tell when they were in here. And she never says he’s a bad father, just a shitty husband.” She shrugged. “But like I said, there are two sides to every relationship story.”
I knew she was thinking about my real mom, and how shitty things were for my dad after Carla left. I also remembered very well the things Carla used to say to my sisters and me about our dad, and how upset it used to make me. I’d get terrible stomachaches over it. “I hope Naomi doesn’t say those things in front of the girls.”
“I don’t think she does,” my mom said. “She’s said before that she doesn’t believe in one parent badmouthing the other in front of the kids. I think it’s more like the salon is her safe space to vent.” She thought for a moment. “She’ll often rant for a bit and then apologize and say something like, ‘I’ve known him forever and he’s a good person, but he just turned out to be wrong for me.’ I guess they were high school sweethearts.”
Out of nowhere, a sharp bolt of jealousy zapped me in the gut. “When did they split up?”
“I think maybe a year and a half ago? Two years? I know it’s final though, because she’s already engaged again.”
“Good for her,” I murmured, picking up my coffee for a sip.
“Anyway, it was nice to meet them today. And I’m so glad Luna’s reaction was nothing scary.”
A few customers entered the bakery, and Ellie was right behind them. “I better get back to work.” My mom patted my shoulder. “Thanks for coming in, sweetie.”
Ellie waved to my mom and joined me at the table. As soon as she sat down, she took an elastic from around her wrist and gathered her reddish-brown hair into a ponytail. “Hey. Sorry I’m late. Mia cornered me on the way out to make sure I know the tastings I have to cover for today. I don’t know why she thinks I have no brain. We went over the schedule yesterday. She’s so fucking type A, I don’t know how my dad deals with it.”
“No worries.” I took another sip of coffee.
“What’s wrong?” Her light brown eyes scrutinized my face.
“Nothing.”
“Nice try.” She tightened the ponytail and picked up her coffee. “If you don’t spill the tea, I’ll keep complaining about my mother. Is that what you want?”
I laughed a little. “I was just talking to my mom about Dex.”
“Does she know he saw you naked?” Her eyes gleamed wickedly over the rim of her cup.
“No. Apparently he and the girls were in here this morning looking for me.”
“Oh?” She tilted her head. “That’s interesting.”
“And she told me that Noami—his ex-wife—cuts her hair. So every six weeks she gets an earful about what a shitty husband he was.”
“That’s not cool.”
“No, but I suppose it could be true. I don’t really know him.”
“I guess not.”
“But . . . he seems nice.” I played with the handle on my coffee cup. “He came over last night and sat on the back patio for a bit.”
Ellie’s mouth fell open. “And?”
“And we talked.”
“And?”
“And I got to know him a little better,” I said, reluctant to give her the entire truth right up front. “He’s actually kind of funny and sweet beneath his grumpy exterior.”
One of her eyebrows peaked.
“And he loves those girls so much. He talked a little bit about feeling bad for being away so much when they were babies. He missed a lot of milestones.” I took another sip of coffee. “I think he wants to make up for that.”
“Sounds like a good guy so far,” she said. “How long did he stay?”
“Maybe half an hour? Just long enough to have a beer and share a cupcake.”
“You two shared a cupcake?” Her eyes twinkled again. “How romantic.”
“Not like that—I mean, we didn’t, like, feed each other bites or anything. We just . . . each ate half. And then he said goodnight and went home.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes. Mostly.” I picked up my coffee and looked out the window.
“Winifred.” Ellie set her cup down and leaned onto the table with her elbows. “What happened between sharing the cupcake and saying goodnight?”
“It wasn’t a big deal,” I said quickly.
“What wasn’t?”
“He apologized right away.”
“Apologized for what?”