Page 25 of Home Changes
The phone rang three times before she picked up. “Hey,” she said, her voice warm. “How are you doing?”
He could hear a television murmuring in the background. “Did I interrupt anything?”
“No,” Allison said. “Just watching an old movie. I usually head to bed early, so this is my wind-down time.”
“I figured you’d be up at the crack of dawn to start baking.”
“Well, I’m lucky I live above the bakery,” she replied with a soft chuckle. “So, my commute isn’t exactly long. I’m usually at work by four thirty.”
Seth let out a mock groan. “Now I feel lazy. I’m not up until five thirty or six.”
“Yes, I would absolutely call you a slacker,” Allison teased. “But you’ve got a lot more stress than I do. My business kind of runs on autopilot these days. I’ve got regulars with regular orders, and I’ve figured out what sells and what doesn’t. It’s a rhythm now.”
“I’m impressed by your business acumen,” Seth said. “I don’t think I could run a business. I hate paperwork, which is why I retired after twenty-two instead of staying longer. And it’s a good thing I did, with Dad’s decline and all.”
“Have you gotten the results yet?” He knew exactly what results she was referring to. They’d talked about it a couple of times, how the wait for the results was hard on both him and Chester. “I got the call this afternoon. We go to Belle Fourchetomorrow,” he said. “The doctor’s got the final assessments in.”
“That’s going to be a stressful day for both of you,” Allison said, her voice quieter. “I wish I could do something to make it easier for you.”
“There’s nothing to do,” Seth replied. “Just talking to you helps. Sometimes I have the same conversation with Dad all day.”
“Well,” she said, her voice brightening, “I promise our conversations will always be varied.”
The corner of his mouth ticked up. “And I thank you for that.” He paused for a moment, then added, “I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind having dinner with me one day next week. It would have to be here, and I’d cook.”
“Or,” she offered, “I can bring dinner out to you and your dad. And, of course, something for Gomer.”
Seth laughed softly. “But that would beyouproviding the date, notme. And I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
Allison’s voice lowered, almost angry, “You’re not one of those macho men who has to be in charge of the date, are you?”
He blinked, then shook his head. “I never really thought of it that way, but yeah, I guess thatwaswhat I was thinking. Is that outdated?”
Allison laughed, a warm, easy sound. “No, I was just yanking your leg. Honestly, it’d be easier for me to cook and bring it out. Maybe one day, we’ll get to goouton a real date, and you can buy me some fancy food in a sit-down restaurant. But for now, let’s take the easy route. I know how to bake a thing or two, and I’ve been told my cooking’s not bad either.”
“If your cooking is as good as your baking, I have no doubt I’ll enjoy every morsel. You sure you don’t mind?”
“Not at all. What do you say about next Saturday?”
“That’s perfect,” Seth said. “I’ve started cleaning the house, but it’s a lot of work. Chester’s not exactly a hoarder, but he’s kept alotof stuff over the years that probably should’ve been thrown out a long time ago. I’ve been working through it slowly. As long as he doesn’t get too agitated, I move the stuff to the back porch. From there, it goes into the fire pit or the dump.”
“He’s been alone for a while,” Allison said. “I couldn’t see your mom letting him collect all that stuff.”
“Oh, heck no,” Seth replied with a quiet laugh. “My mom was hell on wheels and kept Chester in line. She took care of him, and in return, he workedhis butt off to give her the things he thought she wanted. They had a good relationship. She understood him in a way I never could. Although,” he added with a dry chuckle, “Mom used to say Chester and I were hit over the head with the same stick. Both stubborn. Both prideful. Both thinking we knew too much for our own good.”
Allison went quiet for a moment. “I don’t know what I’ll do when my parents pass,” she said softly. “Not that they have any health issues, thank God, but I think it’s going to carve out a hole in my soul.”
Seth made a low sound of agreement. “You never really stop thinking about them,” he murmured. “Mom’s been gone for a long time now, and still, there are days when I think, I should show her this,orI wish I could talk to her about that.” He exhaled. “But this is turning into a depressing talk, and I didn’t mean to do that.”
“I’m so sorry,” Allison said quickly. “I didn’t mean to lead you down that path.”
“You didn’t lead me anywhere,” Seth said, surprised by her apology. “It’s not your fault. That’s just where the conversation went.” He paused for a moment. “You do that a lot, you know.”
Allison was quiet for a moment before asking, “Do what a lot?”
“You take the blame. Or put yourself down.” Seth’s voice was low but sure. “You don’t seem to realize that you’re beautiful. That I’m attracted to you. I saw the disbelief on your face when I told you I thought you were the cutest girl in school. But you were. To me. You were also too young for me to approach back then, and oh, by the way, Ken was always hanging around.”
Allison snorted softly. “Yeah, well, that relationship went down in Hollister history as the worst one ever.”
