“Yes. We’re on track with our rainbow baby.”
“I’m so happy for you two.” He pulled Charlie into a side hug and kissed Trisha’s cheek.
“Thanks, Alaric. We were wondering if you were up for being a godfather this time, instead of an uncle.”
“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away from the dedication.” He glanced over at Matt, who was staring them down. “I think we’ve made Matt wait long enough, don’t you? “
“I think you love that playscape as much as he does,” Charlie called after him as he jogged over to the tiny being who loved him unconditionally. No one loved you like a child. There love was full of pure joy and acceptance. They didn’t care what you’d accomplished or hadn’t as long as you loved them, took care of them, and played with them. Being there as he grew up had shown him an inside view of what it meant to start a family.
SANDING THE SURFACE of the custom ordered, king-sized Maple wood headboard, he went back and forth with his decision. This job was good for giving you time to chew on your thoughts. Sanding was a tedious task that took more patience than attention until you got down to being nearly finished. The raw slab would gloss up nicely after he’d worn away all the roughness and treated it with the proper oils and sealant. It might be one of the best pieces he made this year.
His dinner with the Nelsons had given him a lot of food for thought. He’d never lied to his mother before, and not mentioning he was dating felt a little too much like trying to sneak out of the house in high school and come back unnoticed. He wasn’t about to let anything keep him from showing his woman the affection she deserved. Not that they were touchy-feely, or at that point in their relationship. But when they were, he didn’t want to have reason to hesitate.
Hell, he was proud to have her as his own. As far as he was concerned, he’d lucked up when she returned his affections. Women like her didn’t come around Granville too often. A good portion of the people born here couldn’t wait to get out. Small towns weren’t for everyone. Yet, she had sought out the tranquility a more rural area offered. She understood what he loved about his hometown. If they could get through the next six months and get her settled in, she might come to feel the same way.
The success of For Cake’s Sake was crucial for a lot of reasons. When they met her, people responded warmly enough; maybe they’d shock them both on opening day. His gut told him otherwise, but he’s always been an optimist. Once they thought of her as one of their own instead of an outsider, her work would speak for itself. He shifted his weight. Funny how he’d never considered how selective they could be before now. They didn’t want big companies to come in and change the landscape, or the feel of homey mom and pop owned businesses. They’d seen it happen too many times to other towns who made deals with big corporations and lost creative control.
Their populations boomed, mom and pops closed because they couldn’t keep up with the burn and churn of the bigger places with longer hours of operation and quick order turnarounds. Then came the developers and the population boom. It’d become a precautionary tale. They were paranoid to the point of hurting a good person. Disgruntled, he returned his attention to the back and forth motion and let the familiar movement douse the embers of anger.
Nothing ever happened fast here. Little by little, they’d win the others over. And Mom would be a big help with that.
The thought won the war. He’d tell her tonight at their coffee date. Every couple of weeks they got together to play catch up, just the two of them like they did when he was growing up. For him and his dad, fishing trips were the time to reconnect. Finishing his work for the day, he put aside his tool, and moved to the office he’d built in the back. With a tiny shower and some of the clothes he kept hanging in the closet, it served as a nice transitional space after a long day of sweat-inducing labor. Turning the shower on high, he stripped down and stepped under the hot stream to loosen his stiff muscles and wash away the sawdust and sweat.
Refreshed, he stepped out, dried off, and slipped into a pair of worn jeans and a white T-shirt and soft, gray pullover hoodie. Pulling on socks and a pair of comfortable non-work boots, he slipped out of the back and into the store.
“I’m calling it a day. Hold down the fort for me.” He waved at Josh and Chris who’d been with him from the start. Apprentices in their own right, they worked the shop in exchange for the opportunity to create and display their own work. In his shop, everyone had a chance to shine. The bell rang above the door, and he smiled at the sight of his mother. If it wasn’t for the dye jobs she received religiously her hair would be gray instead of dirty-blonde. The short pixie cut highlighted her oval-shaped face, and let her large, expressive, light blue eyes take center stage. A petite build she wasn’t an inch over five foot seven inches, with a personality that made her appear six feet tall. Apparently just thinking of the devil, is enough to make her appear.
“Hey, Mom.” He grinned as she came into view.
“Hello, my only son. Are you actually ready?”
“Come on. I don’t take that long to get ready.”
“No, but pulling you away from your work has always been like yanking teeth. Call me pleasantly surprised.” She leaned back and took him in. “You look well.”
“I am.” He offered his arm. She hooked her arm through his, and they headed for the door.
“How have you been, Mom?”
“Good. The church board keeps me pretty busy this time of year with all the fall festivities, and you know I have my book club, and the girls’ nights out.”
“I do.” He patted the thin hand tucked into the crook of his elbow. The passage of time had left its mark on his parents, but it’d done so kindly.
They walked the blocks over to River Road. The two-story tan building with a green awning and a screened-in sunroom had been built in an old farmhouse. The shop managed to update while maintaining the original charm. With different setups in the multi-roomed building, it ranged from comfortable with large, oversized chairs to a cozy area outside that seated two at a time. Another room held long, rectangular tables with chairs for bigger groups.
“Where do you want to sit today?” he asked.
“Outside. Let’s enjoy the weather before the chill creeps in.”
“Done. Why don’t you snag a table and I’ll grab our things? Are you getting your usual?”
After ordering two café au laits with apple danishes, he returned to the table. Placing one in front of her, he exhaled. It’d been too long since they did this.
“You seem more relaxed lately,” his mother said.
“Well the business is doing well, and I’m able to delegate more since the boys have proven themselves.”
“Hmm. You sure that’s all it is?”