She approached both of them as they worked behind the counter, stacking bread onto a cart. “Mom, would you come and sit down for a minute? You, too, Gram.”
Her grandmother shot her a look of startled concern. Tessa could usually count on her for moral support and to put in a good word to her mom, but Gram’s expression told her she was expecting the worst.
“I’ll make us a coffee.” Gram wiped her hands matter-of-factly on her apron. “Give me five minutes.”
A coffee. That was her family’s solution to any difficulty. The French kind, strong and bitter, capable of making you shake in ten seconds or less.
Tessa’s mom turned to her. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”
That was the first conclusion she’d jumped to? “From what? Immaculate conception?”
Her mom blew out a relieved breath. “Sorry, it’s just that you never ask to talk. My mind just went there.”
At that moment the bell tinkled, and Beatrice Hawkins, a senior who lived in the same apartment building as Arthur, walked through the door. “Hi, Bea,” Tessa said in her usual friendly manner. “How are you?” She hated to ask because the answer was usually ten minutes long. And today, every second she put off talking to her family was another second of anxiety-fueled torture.
“I heard that Castorini boy has got some wicked plans up his sleeve,” the elderly woman said.
Tessa took a quick look around, making sure her mom and grandmother had gone into the back. “Leo?”
“Yes, Leo,” she said, adjusting the beads around her neck. “Since he’s been back in town, he’s been dating my friend Marie’s daughter from Bloomington. A beautiful girl. The size of a model and a lawyer to boot.”
“Is her name Svana?” slipped out of Tessa’s mouth.
“How did you know?” Bea exclaimed. “She’s a sweet girl. But apparently Leo is only interested in one thing.”
“One thing?” Tessa asked
“You know.” She waggled her brows so hard that her cat-eyed glasses nearly fell off. “Also, I heard he’s evicting tenants from our complex.”
Tessa didn’t care about Leo’s love life. But evicting tenants? It was hard to believe he was that cold-blooded, but who knew? “I’m not sure he’d—”
Bea wagged her finger, which held several large jeweled rings. “He’s a ruthless one, just like the rest of the Castorinis. I’m entirely on your mother’s side. You can’t trust that family as far as you can throw them.”
“All right.” Tessa sighed but kept her smile in place. She was not going to ask. But then curiosity got the better of her, and she caved. “Why is he evicting tenants from your facility?”
“Well, he took over the management, and people are saying he’s remodeling, but he’s really getting rid of old people so he can rent out their units to younger people with more money.”
“That’s terrible.” She grabbed a baking tissue and handed her a croissant. A buttery, flaky croissant always helped any kind of distress, right? “These are fresh from the oven.”
“Somebody told me he was over here last night,” she said as she took the offering.
Tessa sucked in a breath so hard, it made a squeaking sound, just as her mom walked out from the back.
“Tessa hasn’t seen Leo in a long time, Bea,” Tessa’s mom said. “And I’m sure that if something’s going on with the tenants, your board will sort it out, so don’t worry. Want some bread?”
Her mom somehow managed to assuage Bea, get her to buy bread, and see her out the door in under a minute.
“Mom, how do you do that?”
“I’m not as kind as you.” Her mom gave her a squeeze and looked her over in her usual assessing way.
The door opened again, bringing Sam in. Oh, they were never going to get to that talk.
“Hey, Tessa,” Sam said, “can I have some of that delicious country loaf? I think Marcy and I are going to drizzle oil and cheese on it and call it a meal.” He suddenly seemed to notice Tessa’s mother standing there. The fact that she wasn’t smiling didn’t stop him. “Oh, hey, Mrs. M. How are you?”
Her mom glanced at Tessa and cut right to business. “I think I have one in the back. Give me a minute and I’ll bring it out.”
Sam leaned on the glass case. “We’re house hunting,” he said to Tessa. “Would you go for cute and charming, or sleek and modern?”
House hunting. So he and Marcy were moving in together. Nice. Before she could even think of a way to answer, he went on. “We saw this one place that’s got a lot of charm. It’s a few houses down from Lilac’s.” He chuckled. “That should tell you everything.”
Okay, if he was going to insult her best friend, she was going to sprinkle arsenic on his rustic loaf. Lilac was one of a kind, and she wasn’t afraid to show it. And it was what Tessa loved the best about her. “I don’t understand.”
“Oh, you know, those house are unique. But they come with hefty price tags. Not to mention needing tons of renovation work. They’re all around a hundred years old.”
Yes, the Blossom District was unique. Tessa loved it. Sometimes Tessa rode her bike up and down the streets just to admire all the cute houses.
“We found a place that’s got arched doorways and crown molding and built-in bookshelves in the living room. And a brick patio. But Marcy said the houses in that neighborhood are too close together. She doesn’t like having neighbors. And she’d like to blow all the walls out and make the whole first floor open concept. That sounds costly. What do you think of that?”
“About buying an old house? Well, I think first of all that you should like old houses. Maybe Marcy would prefer a more modern one.” If she was going to essentially gut it, wouldn’t that be easier?
“Well, she likes the convenience to downtown.” Marcy worked in marketing at the candle factory, where Sam worked in accounting. While Tessa was slaving away in the bakery, he was apparently trying to have his cake and eat it, too. Or burning his candle at both ends, if she stuck with the candle-factory analogy. Ugh. Where was that rustic loaf?
“Well, good luck with that,” she said.
“Here you go, Sam.” Her mom walked out of the back, handing over the loaf, as polite as ever.
“Thanks, Mrs. M.,” Sam said with a little salute. “You ladies have a good day.”
As soon as the door closed, Tessa’s grandmother appeared. “He’s got some nerve, coming in here like that,” she said. “If he had any insight at all, he’d be ashamed to show his face.”