Page 46 of One Sweet Day is Never Enough

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Sunday Funday it was not.But nothing like a hearty meal to improve a lousy Sunday morning mood. Seth came in from the orchard and sat down at the breakfast table. His mother had scrambled some eggs for him. She was still frying up some bacon, and it smelled heavenly. His father had been served only egg whites and turkey sausages and had already headed out for a look at the vineyard.

“So how was the bonfire last night?” she asked pleasantly.

He shrugged. “It was good, for a while. Lots of nice people.”

“That’s good. But why only for a while?”

“Because the whole thing went downhill quickly after...” He frowned. “Ugh, you don’t want to hear about it, Mom.”

But he knew better than that. His mother loved to hear about the women he dated. She always brought up the fact that his father and she needed grandchildren in order to keep the farm in the family, and if he didn’t get his act together, the family legacy might end with him since his younger brother and sister had turned their noses up at the agricultural lifestyle. He chuckled when she brought up exactly that line of debate, but still, she didn’t need to hear about the mess he’d made of his friendship with Gia.

“After what? Try me.” If there was one thing his mother was, it was persistent.

Oh, well, at least she was always there to listen. Maybe she could help him make sense of Gia’s odd behavior.

“Okay, so this friend of Gia’s thought I was playing with Gia’s head. Thought I was trying to date her while I was still seeing Stacey. It’s a long story—but he knew about Stacey because of the apartment she almost rented.”

His mother looked concerned. “You’re not getting back together with Stacey, are you?”

She’d only met Stacey once over a video chat, not long after he’d moved home to Wisconsin. She hadn’t been very impressed with her, either.

“Nope—no chance of that. Don’t worry.”

She and his father had been quite pleased when Seth told them he’d broken it off with her. Her face relaxed. “Well, that’s a relief.”

Seth finished his eggs and toast then walked over and leaned against the counter so he could hear his mother better over the crackling of the bacon grease.

“Sowereyou trying to date Gia while you were still involved with Stacey?”

“Come on, Mom. Of course not. She’s just a friend.”

His mother eyed him.

“I mean, I’d like to date Gia now, but I wasn’t up to anything like that. You raised me better than that.”

She smiled. “Darned right I did. Well, you certainly could do worse. Gia’s a genuine, hardworking Midwestern girl with good values, and she’s right here, Seth—not off in another state that might as well be a lifetime away. Why don’t you ask her out? I could see the sparks flying between you two last weekend.”

“What are you talking about? You only met her for a few minutes. How could you have seen any sparks flying?”

“Believe me, young man, I know sparks when I see them. She likes you.” Clara turned off the burner, took the bacon from the stove, and placed it on a paper-towel-lined plate to soak up the grease.

Seth took a piece and laughed. “Thanks. But I don’t think she does.”

“You’re welcome.” She turned to look her son in the eye. “My dear boy, are you blind? That girl stayed all evening out of the goodness of her heart for no other reason than to help you sell cherry pies. What attractive, young, single woman volunteers to spend her Saturday night doing that if she doesn’t have some ulterior motive, however innocent it might be?”

Seth put more bacon on his plate and set it on the table again, then sat down.

“What are you saying? What kind of motive?”

“A crush—on you!” She threw her hands in the air then swatted his shoulder affectionately.

“You think so?” Apparently, Tom saw it and his mother saw it, but he—blind as a bat—still hadn’t been sure he’d seen any signs that she was interested in him in that way.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Mom. I tried to tell her last night, and she took off.”

“What do you mean—took off? What did you try to tell her, exactly?”

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