Frost covered the trees on Thursday
morning. Steam from Megan’s
coffee whirled up to warm her face. Another beautiful morning.
Emily’s a.m. reluctance began as soon
as she opened her eyes. “Mom, why do you
wake me up so early? You know I’m not a
morning person!”
“Em, you talk to your principal about
changing the hours of school, and I’ll be happy to let you sleep in! Until then, my Little Lady, you need more
than 20 minutes to get ready for school.
So get up now, Kiddo!!” Megan
gave her a love tap on her butt.
Later, downstairs, Megan heard the bell as she was straightening books in the Philosophy section. She looked up to see Isabelle coming through
the front door carrying a basket. “Hey,
my Friend, good to see you!” Just then
the last customer walked up to the register, and Megan continued, “I’ll be with
you in a minute Isabelle.”
“I got up early and baked this morning so I could bring you some sweet samples.”
“O my goodness!” was all Megan could say
when she saw the pastries. “These
are gorgeous and smell wonderful! They look like works of art! I want to
take pictures of them! You’re going to
have to tell me what they are!”
“I brought samples of Moroccan Almond
pastry, Chorizo and Ricotta Tart and Black Forest Cheesecake. I haven’t made them in such a long time. It was fun!”
“What do I owe you, Isabelle? I’m not sure anyone is Maple Village
has seen anything quite like these!”
“No, I don’t want you to pay for these,
Megan. Let’s see if anyone likes them
first. The next batch I’ll take your
money. Besides, I don’t have my
license yet—I’d get in trouble if I sold them.”
Just then the shop door opened and in
walked Stephen. “Well, seems to me I’ve
seen you two before! What are
those?” he said when he saw Megan filling the trays of the showcase.
“Come on let’s have some coffee and
goodies!” Megan couldn’t wait to bite
into one. They both hmm-ed and ahh-ed as
they sampled the treats.
“So, did Roland get back?” Stephen asked
innocently as he munched on some samples.
Isabelle looked at Megan. “Yes, Stephen.” She still had a difficult time calling her
pastor by his first name. Roland always
insisted on more formality. “He did, and
he left again, but this time without me.
He found a church in a small town in Texas.
I told him Rachael and I would not be going with him.”
Stephen looked up at Isabelle and then over
to Megan, and realized he’d stepped into something. Isabelle spoke up. “It’s OK, I called Megan last night and told
her, and that’s part of the reason I’m here right now.”
“Please forgive me for intruding.”
“Actually, I planned to call you
today. Roland and I talked last night,
and I knew you’d need to know because of his position as Head Elder. I really have nothing to keep from you.”
“Well, more importantly, is there anything
you need right now? I will say that you
have my support. I’ll let you ladies
talk. You can stop by anytime you need to see me.” Stephen was secretly elated that Roland was
gone. He hoped it was where the man
would be happy--though he didn’t think that with his current belief system and
controlling ways, he’d ever be happy.
Isabelle smiled. “Thank you, Stephen, for your support. I do want to talk with you, but give me a few
days. Right now, Megan and Diane are the
friends I need, and I’m hoping to get their help in finding a way to earn a
living.” She chuckled and went on, “I
know there are brains somewhere inside this skull of mine. It’s been awhile since I’ve called upon them
for much of anything.” They all laughed.
Stephen got up to leave and said,
“Actually, I came to see if my book has come in.”
Megan looked up. “I expect it any day. I’ll call you when it arrives.”
As Stephen stood he put his hand on
Isabelle’s shoulder. “I mean it—please
call me if you need anything.”
After he left, Isabelle’s eyes lit up. “O my goodness! I almost forgot to tell you what I got in the
mail this morning!”
“From the look on your face, I'm thinking it's good.” She couldn’t believe the change in this woman who, at nearly 40 years
old, was finally coming of age.
“It’s a letter from an insurance
company. Evidently Mother took out a life
insurance policy after she came to visit Roland and me when he was sick that
time. You know, I told you about
it.” Megan nodded. “She listed me as the beneficiary. Now they have to verify some information
about my identity, and then they will send me a check.”
“How much is it for?” Megan hesitated. “I’m sorry.
That’s none of my business. Whatever
amount, it's probably coming at a good time.”
“I’d be glad to tell you if I knew. I was busy baking so didn’t do much more than
read the notification. I have to get my
birth certificate, drivers’ license, etc. together and mail them notarized
copies, and then they’ll give me all the information.”
Just as they were cleaning up their crumbs,
Diane walked into the shop. While
Isabelle brought her up to date on the happenings in her life, Megan finished
the display of new bakery items.
At last Diane spoke up. “Isabelle, if Rachael can babysit for me
tonight and Laurel
can take care of Emily, how about the three of us going out for dinner? I know it doesn’t sound exactly like a time
to celebrate, but instead of looking at a situation of ‘breaking up’ let’s view
this as a ‘growing up’ of Isabelle, and honor you! What do you say?”
They each agreed to do their part to make
the dinner happen.
That evening, with babysitters in place, the three women
met at P & J Diner—the perfect place for celebration. As they entered, Bill Haley and
the Comets’ were rockin’ around the clock
from a jute box in the corner. Pictures
of Elvis, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez, Frankie Avalon and other stars of that
era adorned the walls. Red booths with
chrome-plated tables covered the room.
Owners Marilyn and Joe Harding, themselves
of the 50s era, had never heard such laughter coming from the small corner
booth. The women ordered a bottle of
wine, and to the astonishment of the waitress, even Mrs. Fisher, the wife of
that horrible religious man, could be seen drinking a small glass.
To be continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment