Page 60 of Vodka and Chocolate Drops

So after her poor behavior at Mandy’s café, Amber had felt the need to make it up to her mother. To prove to her and Delia that she really was okay with this new relationship despite her insecurities, but also to show her mom that she could handle tough situations. If she pulled that off, then maybe her mother would confirm whether John was her father or not.

And now, instead of watching a matinee in the local theater, Amber was serving tables at Benny’s while her mother and Delia went on a hike through Blueberry Springs’s beautiful meadows, laughing and bonding. Which kind of made Amber feel like a forgotten stepchild.

“Amber?” called Elsie Nagorski, a resident of the local nursing home who came to Benny’s for the Tuesday night special more often than not. She was seated by the window so she could “see the gossip go by” with her visiting sister. “Come over and meet my sister, Wilma Star. She lives--”

“In Windermere, Ontario, right? Muskoka? I remember. Nice to see you again.”

“Are you still playing soccer?” asked Mrs. Star. The last time she’d come to visit, Amber had been about twelve and had been practicing for a tournament. She was impressed the woman still remembered her, let alone that she’d played soccer.

“No, no.” Amber held her order pad and pen poised, hoping that they wouldn’t get into where her life had taken her since their last meeting.

“She was in a book,” Elsie said.

And there it was.

“That’s terribly exciting.” Mrs. Star smiled. “Did you hear about the excitement in my neck of the woods?”

Amber shook her head, realizing it would be some time before the women were ready to order. The sisters were always making bets and trying to outdo each other, and she had a feeling this conversation would only serve to highlight that.

She hoped she and Delia never got to that point. Although not having grown up together might help the competition aspect--that was, if Amber got over her jealousy.

“Hailey Summer, my friend’s daughter?you remember her? She came out here a few summers ago.”

Elsie and Amber nodded.

“Well, she’s dating--”

“Finian Alexander, the movie star,” Elsie said, fidgeting with her cutlery, obviously feeling outdone. “I lost that bet, but you lost the one over who started the Blueberry Springs forest fires.”

“I was thousands of miles away! How was I to know it wasn’t Jen? All I had to go on were the things you told me, as well as the newspapers.”

“And I was thousands of miles away when you started in about Finian Alexander checking out your garden gnomes.”

“Ladies,” Amber interrupted.

“Oh, it’s okay.” Elsie patted her gray bun, adjusting a wisp of hair that was out of place. “Just a little sibling rivalry. You’ll get used to it.” To her sister, she added, “Amber just found her long-lost sister last week.”

Mrs. Star looked up, her eyes alight. “Oh, that is terribly exciting.”

“It is. So, today’s specials are--”

“We already know what we want,” Elsie said, ordering for both of them.

“You can’t go wrong with our burgers,” Amber said.

“Unless you have dentures,” Elsie laughed, popping hers out and waving them around before putting them back into place.

Amber shuddered at the unexpected reveal. “I’ll make sure to bring you a knife and fork.”

Scrawling in her notepad as she walked between tables, she spotted John entering the restaurant.

Dad?

She was going to have a heck of a time acting natural around him. She didn’t know for certain, but as their eyes connected, she knew that John believed he was her father, too.

He quickly took a table by the door, and Amber couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been hoping to see Gloria.

Amber took extra time placing the sisters’ order, then collecting cutlery and a menu for John.

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