Page 21 of Between the Shady Groves
Maybe the fact that Skyler had sat down beside her, and she didn’t have to face her, made it a little easier, but the invitation, and the desire to vent, won over her more reticent nature of not wanting to air all of her dirty laundry. It was a small town. People were going to know her husband had stopped in, people would probably even know that her husband had caught her laughing with Matteo and had gotten…jealous? Was that what the word was? She thought more that he was upset because she wasn’t home, and he was inconvenienced having to go find her, but maybe that was wrong.
“Well, it’s kind of a long story,” she finally said, figuring that Skyler might not have stopped in for a long time.
“I’m down for a long story. Although, I kept smelling this really good scent, like fresh-baked bread, while I was working in my garden, so I thought I would take a stroll and see if I could find out who was making it. Matteo told me that it was coming from you, but…your door was locked. So, maybe that’s why I ended up coming around. I’ll do pretty much anything for fresh-baked bread.”
It was hard to resist Skyler’s cheerful friendliness.
“How about we go back inside, and I’ll cut you a piece. Then, if you still want to hang around, I’ll feel a little better for dumping on you.”
And maybe, just cutting the bread and chatting with a stranger who was fast becoming a friend would ease her anger and make it so that she was chatting more than venting.
“I am not going to turn down that offer,” she said. “I think Matteo said that it might have been cheese bread, and you know how small towns are. I’ve heard that the cheese bread that comes out of this place is divine.” The way Skyler said “divine” made Lauren laugh again.
“I’m sure it’s not heavenly, exactly. But it is one of the things I dobest.” She stood up from the step and held the door for Skyler to step through. “Just go straight.”
“All right. I’ve never been back here.”
“Yeah, there’s a stairway here, and the steps go upstairs to my apartment, which is small.”
She almost said to her mom’s apartment, but while Skyler probably knew her mom, she wasn’t sure, and she didn’t want to get into that right now. That was something else that was still a little raw and hurt.
“I sure hope you’re going to open this. You know how nice it would be to have a bakery in town?”
“It would be nice having a gas station and restaurant too, and maybe we’re getting a hotel, right?” Lauren said, repeating the gossip she’d heard and raising her eyebrows in question.
“Yeah. All of those would be really nice. But the bakery’s a good start,” she said, staying on that side of the counter as Lauren went in and grabbed the bread that she had just wrapped up. It didn’t take her any time at all to slice a nice thick piece off, and it was still warm enough to melt the butter.
“Thanks. Wow. That smells amazing, and it’s still warm!”
“I think you’ve talked me into another piece,” she said, although… She kind of lost her appetite after dealing with her husband.
“Oh my goodness, it tastes as good as you would think it would,” Skyler said after taking a bite and humming a bit.
It was so nice to watch people enjoy something that she had made. And take such pleasure in it. Whether or not she could run a bakery, she still hadn’t decided, but whether or not she wanted to was less and less of a question. She loved making people happy. Giving them something to smile about.
Even giving them a place to come and talk. To have her neighbors come to her, and exchange some laughter and fun, and become friends. It knitted a community together, and she almost felt like it was a necessity.
“So. You said something about your husband finally wanting to talk. Like, he hasn’t before?”
“All right. But I’m warning you, this could take a while. You might want to sit down on that stool.”
Skyler settled herself obediently, and Lauren moved the knife in her hand, remembering that she was going to spread butter on a piece for herself.
“My husband’s a good man. He didn’t cheat on me or anything like that. He’s faithful and honest, he’s got character. And honestly, he is…perfect.” She paused. “Almost.”
“I guess no one’s perfect. But almost perfect sounds pretty good to me.”
“Yeah. I guess… I guess it started with this business that he started. At first, I was on board, completely. But starting a business means lots of hours, no one else can do it, and you don’t have the money to pay to hire someone to come in, so you do everything yourself. And I didn’t mind. I helped him a lot too. But then, my mom got sick with cancer, and we moved her in with us so I could take care of her. I…got pregnant but then lost several babies in miscarriages. And…Cannon just kept working. When my mom had downturns, he just kept working. When Mom had a good doctor’s appointment, Cannon was working. When I had another miscarriage, just before my mom died, Cannon was working. He…didn’t take the time to give me what I needed. Someone to talk to. Someone to hold me. Someone to share the burden.”
Skyler nodded sympathetically. But didn’t say anything. She munched contentedly on her bread, but it was obvious from the way she looked and reacted that she was listening intently. Lauren told herself that she wanted to be just as good a listener as what Skyler was. She felt seen and heard and valued.
“Anyway. Mom died, and I was rattling around that old apartment by myself. And we have plenty of money, but I have no babies, I have no husband, because he’s working all the time. And I know. I should be happy that he’s working and not out playing somewhere. I suppose he could be at the gym for three hours a day, or he could be trying to be a professional cyclist and biking all the time. Or… I don’t know. Just anything that men do that takes them away from their wives. At least he’s making money with his obsession.”
“Good point. He could be doing something that cost money. And ignoring you at the same time. That would be even worse.”
“Yeah. You’re right. So, what I mean is I wasn’t mad at him exactly, Ijust…didn’t feel married. I didn’t have a partner. I didn’t have someone who wanted to be with me. If he had a choice, he’d choose work over me every time.”
“A woman wants to feel special. She wants to feel like she’s the most important thing after God.”
