Page 2 of Where There's Smoke…
“Uh, i-it’s okay. Thank you,” she quickly says before turning back to Maddox. “Madd, I’m going to head out now. I have to be at the docks early. I am not looking forward to another year at sea. I’m tired of this cruise ship shit.”
“Okay, drive safely, love,” he nods before pulling her into a hug. “I’ll be sure to keep you updated about your family while you’re gone.”
“I appreciate it,” she smiles. She turns to me and opens her mouth as if to say something, but she quickly shuts it. She flashes me a small, shy smile before walking away. I can do nothing but watch as she leaves.
“Well, that was smooth,” Maddox laughs as I sigh. “You always fumble hard like that?”
“Who was that?”
“Angel Savoie,” he nods, and my head snaps toward him. He smirks. “Yep, that’s the granddaughter who made the dessert that had you about to experience the true meaning of nirvana.”
“Damn, I should’ve at least introduced myself,” I groaned. I wanted to kick myself because I’d never had a problem flirting before, but there was just something about Angel that had me tongue-tied.
Angel Savoie.
What a beautiful name for such a beautiful woman. It fits her.
“Well, hey, look at it this way,” he says as he pats me on the shoulder. “Now you have one more reason to stay. She’s bound to come back since her family lives here. I mean, it’s gonna be a while, but she’ll be back!”
“Thanks, Madd,” I nod, feeling slightly defeated. I sigh deeply and shake the thought out of my head.
Whatever.
If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.
Maddox and I talk a bit more before my sister finally arrives. We sit down at one of the booths and catch up a bit since we hadn’t seen each other in a few months. She told me all about her kids and husband before asking me if I’d settled in alright. It’s only been two days since I arrived back in town, so I told her that I was still adjusting. She nodded, telling me to tell her if things got too hard, and I assured her I would.
I spent a couple more hours hanging out with her and even went to dinner with her family. By the time I made it home, I was tired and quickly showered before climbing under the covers. My Maltipom, Nori, cuddled up at the foot of my bed, and I switched off the light. It wasn’t long until I began to drift off to sleep with visions of the beautiful woman from before playing on repeat.
Ihadto see her again.
Whenever that may be...
1
Where There’s NewBeginnings...
AngelSavoie-April7th, 2025
I stare up at the sky as tears slowly slip down my cheeks. I couldn’t tell you how long I’d been lying in this flower field, but I knew that it had to be at least two hours. It’s been about a month since I got the news of my grandma’s passing. I’ve just been coasting through the world, completely numb to any emotions. I planned a funeral with the help of my brothers, and we were able to lay her to rest. I didn’t shed any tears then, even though I wanted to.
But when I woke up this morning, it was as if all those emotions came crashing down at once. I sent my brothers a text in the group chat to tell them that I was going for a drive and then left before the sun rose. I wasn’t sure where I was going at first, but when my aunt and uncle’s vineyard came into view, my car seemed to gain a mind of its own.
I hopped out of my car and ran to the large field of wildflowers a couple of feet away. I kept running until I came to the middle of the field and dropped to my knees. I sobbed until I couldn’t anymore, and the only thing I could do was lie on my back and be one with the flowers around me. I didn’t care that there might be bugs or that the flowers might irritate my skin and trigger my allergies.
I couldn’t believe that my grandma was gone. She’d been the light of my life ever since I was young and the glue of our family. I always looked up to her and even trained to be a professional chef because of how much I enjoyed cooking with her when I was growing up. She taught me everything I know, if I’m being honest. I only went to culinary school to shape up the skills I learned from her.
When she moved to Tucker about two years ago to open her bakery, I was beyond excited for her. It was a lifelong dream of hers, and even though it took her sixty-seven years to achieve it, I would always be proud of her and how hard she always worked. She was truly my inspiration…and now she was gone.
I could feel my throat getting tight as I choked back another wave of tears. I knew that I was probably dehydrated from the amount of water I’d expelled from my eyes. My heart was heavy, and my head was pounding, but I wasn’t ready to go back to Tucker just yet. Everything there reminded me that my grandma was no longer with us.
Mygrandma was practically a mom to me and my brothers ever since that night our parents were taken from us when I was four. I don’t remember much about the night because I’ve spent years blocking it out, but I did know that a drunk driver was responsible for causing a wreck that took the lives of about eight people, including my parents. After that, my grandma moved us to New South, and we never looked back.
I hated everything about small towns for years, but when my grandma decided she wanted to move to Tucker to open her bakery, I decided to give it a chance. I knew it wasn’t the same one where my parents were taken from me, but it was still hard to be there at times. However, the town grew on me even though I never stayed long when I visited.
But that was about to change, seeing as I'd inherited her bakery.
After learning of her passing, I didn’t hesitate to pack up everything I owned and move to Tucker to be near my older brothers Chris and Orion, and Orion’s daughter Kennedy. They’d all relocated here along with my grandma, but I was the only one too scared to fully move until now. I spent most of the last two years being a pastry chef on a cruise ship because I hated living in the city alone, but I wasn't ready to commit to Tucker.
