Page 40 of Fire and Icing

Chapter 9

Emberleigh

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.

~ W. H. Auden

“Now now,where were you last night, out all hours after dark?” Gran asks me before she passes me a cup of coffee.

“All hours? Gran. I was home by ten.”

I settle back, resting against the edge of a kitchen counter. Nothing about this room has changed since my childhood.

“Were you out with someone?” Gran’s head tilts just the slightest in anticipation.

“Yes. I was.”

I take a sip of my coffee and smile at my grandmother. It’s Thursday. The one morning each week when I actually sleep in. It’s generally the bakery’s slowest morning for whatever reason, so Syd and our part-timer cover the shop for me and I try to relax and do something besides think about recipes and inventory and overhead.

“Out with a young gentleman?” Gran’s voice is filled with hope and excitement.

“I was at Carli’s. She invited a bunch of us over.”

“Hmph.”

“I thought you liked Carli,” I tease.

“I love her. But none of you girls have the sense God gave a goose. You’re young and smart and beautiful. You’re in your prime for attracting a mate.”

“A mate? I guess we’re geese if we’re in mating season.”

“Hush now. You know perfectly well what I mean. There’s a certain window of time when you’re in your prime. That’s when you find a husband, settle down, have some children, build your life. This is the time, Emberleigh. Of course, you can do it later. Some do. I’m not here to pass judgment on them. I’m happy as a lamb when anyone finds love. But it’s a lot harder to find a man when you’re starting to sag in all the wrong places.”

“Gran!”

“I’m just speakin’ the plain truth.”

“Maybe put a dash of sugar in the mix before you serve it up next time? If a man only wants me when I’m not sagging, he’s not the man for me. You can’t put a window on when love finds people.”

“Okay. Point taken. And, bless your gramps. He loved me when I was young and perky and he loved me when I could sling a boob up over each of my shoulders.”

“Oh my goodness!” I screech and then burst into laughter.

“Well, he did.” Gran smiles fondly.

I lift my cup for another sip.

She points a finger in my direction. “Just don’t spend all your free time out on a ranch with all your girlfriends or tucked away in that shop of yours. I’m prouder than a rooster at dawn at what you’ve accomplished. I just don’t want you to grow up lonely.”

“I’m not lonely,” I assure her.

“Having a husband is different, Emberleigh. When you find a man who loves you with his whole heart, well, that’s your person.And then everything changes. Of course you’ll always have your girlfriends. And they fill a spot no man on earth could. But finding a partner for life …”

Her eyes drift off toward the back door.

“You miss Gramps, don’t you?”

“Every single day. What we had was something I want for you, Sunshine. Not just any man. I want you to find one who loves you the way your gramps loved me.”

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