Page 75 of Choosing Forever
“Has your dad been watching fashion shows on TV again, Abbie?” Bryce asks.
“Mmm, sometimes. But it’s supposed to be a secret.”
Bryce’s snort travels loudly across the café. “Not anymore.”
“Here you are! If you need anything else, just flag me over, or come up and ring the bell. It’s pretty slow in here today,” the barista says.
I nod clunkily and take the bag. “Oh, thanks.”
“Have a good day!”
My responding smile must look wonky because the barista scrunches her face in confusion before slowly disappearing into the back room. I consider never showing my face in this place again and head back to the table. It’s unfortunately not possible to do that. Not when it’s the only coffee place within an hour’s drive, and coffee made at home never tastes the same, regardless of how many fancy pods I buy for my machine.
“Della! You’re back with the goodies,” Poppy says once I get close.
Bryce lifts her eyes and flashes me a half-smile. It’s as close to a full one as anyone but Daisy will ever get. “Hey.”
“Hi, Ms. Delaney. What are you doing here?” Abbie asks, her manners as perfect outside of a classroom as they are inside.
“I was having coffee with your aunt. She’s been pretty great company.”
“Yeah, you hear that? Make sure you tell your dad exactly that the next time he tries to get out of family dinner,” Poppy pokes.
I set the brown bag onto the table and reach inside for the stack of napkins I watched the barista slip inside before taking my seat. Abbie’s excited stare follows my movements while I hand out the napkins and finally reach in to pull out the sprinkled donut.
Abbie doesn’t reply to Poppy and instead asks, “Is that donut for me?”
“That depends. Do you like sprinkle donuts?”
“Yes! They’re my favourite. I get one every Sunday morning with my dad,” she explains quickly, the words almost running away from her.
My chest pangs. I relax my grip on the donut in question when I feel my nail dig into it.
“Well, then, this is for you. I love them too.”
Did he know he was continuing our tradition with his daughter, or was it subconscious?
It doesn’t matter either way. He still did it. Still had me on his mind enough to affect his actions. It’s another truth in the claims he’s made repeatedly since deciding to seek out contact with me again.
Abbie nearly rips the donut out of my hands and brings it to her mouth. Before her teeth can sink into it, she smiles sheepishly over the rim and says, “Thank you, Ms. Delaney.”
“Just Delaney. You don’t have to call me Miss unless we’re in the classroom.”
“Okay! Cool.”
“It looks like you cleared them out of pastries,” Bryce says, eyeing the larger-than-normal bag.
Poppy takes the bag and looks inside. “I knew it. Della’s too sweet to keep you starving, even when you deserve it. Here. Take this and say thank you like a good girl.”
“Thank you, Delaney,” Bryce sasses.
Poppy hands her best friend the extra turnover before dishing the remaining two out. I ignore mine and watch Abbie set her donut down on the table with one bite missing and start picking the yellow sprinkles off. She sets them into a pile on her napkin, not stopping until they’re all off. Then, she pushes aside the napkin and starts eating her donut again.
“She always saves the yellow sprinkles for last,” Poppy whispers, following my line of sight.
I blink away from Abbie. “Why?”
“I’m not sure. I imagine it’s the same reason we always saved the red Smarties or Skittles for last. Yellow is Abbie’s version of that. It’s the same for most candy too.”
