Page 48 of Born to Make You Smile

I am nothing more

A delicate friend

The girl next door

SIXTEEN

The following morning, Istared at the jar of pickled turnips on my kitchen counter with a smile. So much that my cheeks began to burn. I still had no idea how the turnips ended up mixed up with my groceries. Gavin must have snuck them in there while I wasn’t looking. A fluttery rush came over me when I thought of us shopping together yesterday, then singing and dancing in his car. I thought the feelings I’d experienced about him lately were merely a silly crush or some displaced sexual tension, but I had a sneaking suspicion they were becoming something more.

I hid the jarred turnips in my pantry, hoping I’d forget all about them. Then I grabbed the condensed and powdered milk to start the tre leches cake since it had to soak in the milk overnight. I went into the dining room to get my stand-up mixer in the hutch but quickly realized the disastrous state around me.Since the workers started the living room ceiling demolition and mold removal, I had transferred my mother’s collectibles into the dining room, carefully laying them out on a blanket over the table and hutch. Weaving my way around the mess, I got to the hutch and opened the door, but in the process, I accidentally knocked off something sitting on top.

My heart caught in my throat as I heard the piece fall with a crash. I almost didn’t want to look to see the damage.

With a deep breath, I peeked.

No, no, no.I swallowed a lump. My mom’s horse and carriage hand-painted collectible she’d purchased in France. I gathered the broken pieces so I could attempt to glue it back together. But the way the ceramic was broken and chipped, it was irreparable.

I fell to my knees on the dining room floor in defeat, taking in the nightmare around me. My life was falling apart before my eyes. My mom would be so heartbroken to see what had become of her beautiful home.

“Mom,” I mumbled, my lips trembling. “I need you. I can’t do this without you anymore.”

With my head in my hands, a fierce outpour of tears stormed over me. They kept falling and falling without control. And just when I thought they stopped, it all started up again.

I lost track of time. My head throbbed, and my chest ached so badly I thought for sure my heart would stop beating.

My doorbell startled me. I blinked and realized I’d fallen asleep, huddled on the floor. I glanced at my reflection. My face was blotchy and red, my eyes swollen. I fixed my hair and composed myself before opening the door.

Gavin.

“Grace, I’m so glad you’re home,” he said, holding up an iPad. He looked so posh and put together. The complete opposite of me. “Charlotte’s iPad keeps crashing. I thought perhaps you could have a look if you don’t mind.”

I invited him in, then took his black wool coat.

“What’s wrong? What happened, love?” he said, clearly noticing my reddened face.

I rubbed my eyes. “I just woke up from a nap.”

“Oh well, sorry to disturb you.” He walked farther into the house and gasped when he went by the living room. “Good Lord. What happened in here?”

“I had a leak, so they have to repair the ceiling.”

“It looks like quite the disaster,” he stated. “A very expensive disaster.”

I shrugged dismissively. “I know some people, so I got a good deal.”

He nodded. “Good. Well, anyhow, the apps on here have been crashing, and we just can’t seem to figure it out. It’s driving me mad.”

Gavin and I sat on the couch in the family room, and I attempted to fix the iPad. I went into settings and fiddled with the updates. I did a restart, and all the apps seemed to work.

“You have to make sure Charlotte does all the updates. Also, she’s got a lot of files and unused apps that take up space. Maybe it's time to do a factory reset. But make sure you back it up first. You don’t want to lose anything. Any important documents. Lost memories. Forever.”

Placing the iPad down, I pressed my eyes together.

“Grace, are you all right?”

I glanced up at him with a frown.

“I accidentally broke one of my mother’s horse collectibles,” I said, my voice wavering. “It was one of her favorites. She got it in Chantilly, France, at the Musée du Cheval. But now it’s broken. Gone. Mom would be so disappointed.”

---