Page 60 of Beauty and the Beard

Leaf doesn’t hide his fondness for Monty. He squeezes his hand back with a smile.

“I am happier, Monty. Time to get back to living. That’s what Connor would want. Just took me a longer time to accept it, I guess.”

“I know what you mean. When I lost my Lucy, I never thought the sun would shine again. It was a dark time. But I finally started seeing someone. Her name is Darla, and she’s one of the prettiest ladies I’ve ever met. Cooks a mean lemon pie, too.”

Monty smiles tenderly at Leaf. It’s obvious they’re close. Monty’s eyes shine with unshed tears and I quietly excuse myself from their moment.

Dropping my plate in the collection bin, I spy Millie and give her a wave. She immediately pulls me into the kitchen with her.

“I missed you this afternoon. I thought you wanted to make bread?”

“Ah, crap. It slipped my mind. I’m sorry, Millie.”

“Oh, not to worry. An old lady sometimes gets her hopes up is all. I saw you talking with Monty. He’s a sweet man. His wife used to come with him and she’d just sit near the docks with knitting on the sunny days. If it was raining, she’d sometimes ask to help in the kitchen since she loved to cook and she didn’t want to watch TV all day.”

“What happened to her?”

Millie squeezes my hand and the sadness in her voice breaks my heart.

“Cancer. It was quick at least, but we sure were shocked when Monty called to tell us. I’m happy he started coming back with his old crew, though.”

“He and Leaf are close, aren’t they?”

She nods, the sadness clearing from her voice.

“Oh yes. He was here a few weeks after Connor died. He was just as crushed about it as the rest of us. Monty insisted on getting Leaf out of his suite and took him on the boat. It was the first time Leaf had even left the building after the funeral. So, yeah, Monty is a special, special man.”

She motions for me to come closer to the giant fridge.

“I made something for you to take home tomorrow.” She presents me with a small box.

“Oh, thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know, but I wanted to.”

Flipping open the lid, my mouth waters when I smell maple syrup.

“You made me maple cookies? Oh my god! This is amazing! Thank you!”

Launching myself at her, I hug her hard and feel the lump building in my throat.

“Of course I did.”

A throat clears behind us and Leaf leans against the doorway with a small smile.

“Ah, she made you maple crème cookies. You must be high in Millie’s books. She doesn’t make those for just anyone. Including me.”

“Oh shush. You can have them whenever you want, Leaf.”

“I’ll hold you to it, Millie.” He nods to the doorway hidden off in the corner. “Do you still want to come up?”

“Of course.” I hug Millie once more and she whispers in my ear.

“I hope we see you back, love. Keep in touch.”

“I will. Bye, Millie.”

Leaf holds the door open for me and, clutching the box of cookies to my chest like a sugary shield, I climb the dark staircase to the top where the other door to Leaf’s place awaits.

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