Page 59 of A Second Chance

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Midday came in a blink, and Gwen hadn’t talked to Avery before she left the house. She’d had three new orders that morning at the gallery, and her spirits buoyed to have her largest number of custom orders for Christmas ever. The November day was overcast and gray, with a sporadic drizzle.

“Gwen,” Lu opened the door from the gallery floor. “Someone’s here to see you.”

Would she have a fourth custom order before lunch? That would be a record. Gwen pushed through the door to the store front and stopped cold. Autumn McMillan Madera stood there, dark overcoat cinched tight around her narrow waist, a large brown leather handbag hooked on one elbow, and a damp purple umbrella clutched in hand. Her hair in a messy bun that made her look effortless and chic, unlike when Gwen tried it, she looked deranged. “Autumn…”

“Hi,” she smiled. “I know its short notice, but I was in town and wanted to see if you could get lunch?”

“Lunch?” Gwen asked as if this were a foreign concept. She shook it off. “Yes, that sounds good… let me grab my things.”

They ended up down the street at the Ellis Diner. Rebecca used to cook there for a few years before the guys hired her as their chef at Huntington Farms. She was a classically-trained chef and it made no sense why she was at Ellis to begin with, but Gwen never pried.

At a two-person booth across from each other, they ordered beverages and stared at the menu. “How’s Danny?” she asked.

“Keeping us on our toes,” she laughed. “Ever since he became mobile, he doesn’t stop. We had to put him in a toddler bed, since he started climbing out of the crib. So, from the time his feet hit the ground in the morning until he collapses at night, he is an object in perpetual motion. It is past time to put him in a daycare or preschool, but that’s hard too.”

Gwen smiled.

“I’ve been lucky,” she continued. “Dan was home with him for over a year, and between bringing him to work with me, or Rebecca or Hannah taking him, we made it work. But he needs to be around kids his age and it's hard to talk to clients about their dream wedding with a toddler having a tantrum in the background.”

“I guess that would take all of the romance out of it.”

Autumn laughed. “Exactly. I asked Brandon to open a Huntington Farms daycare on the property and he said that it didn’t mesh with the business plan.” She shrugged. “Can’t say I didn’t try.”

The waiter came over with their drinks and they ordered lunch. Autumn made small talk with him; like most long-time residents, she knew his family. After he left, Gwen took charge again. “How’s Rebecca? I’ve been meaning to call or text her. The days are getting away from me.” She got the impression that Autumn was there for a reason, and she didn’t want to talk about Jason.

“She’s good. They got her blood pressure under control,” she paused. “With the way her mom was acting, who can blame her? She gave me high blood pressure and she’s not even my mother.”

“So awful. What happened with all of that? Is her mom gonna stop with all her negativity?”

“Well, while you and my brother were off doing god-knows-what,” she gave an exaggerated shrug and smile. If it were possible to blush from head-to-toe, that’s what Gwen imagined was happening as she remembered what they were doing and she became hot. “Ellen tried to make nice, but I don’t think Rebecca was in the mood. They left town and Rebecca said she’s called twice apologizing.”

“I hope they work it out. I’m so close to my mom and sister that I can’t imagine either of them acting like that.”

“It is sad,” Autumn took a drink, then continued. “I know we’ve never really hung out just the two of us before, but you’re dating my brother, and I thought I’d be nice to get to know each other.”

Gwen’s mouth dropped and she fought to close it. “That’s so nice of you. I’d like to get to know you better too. But… I haven’t spoken to Jason in two weeks.”

“What?”

“We had a…disagreement Halloween night, and he left, and I haven’t seen or heard from him since.”

Autumn looked perplexed. “Well, Mom told him to invite you to dinner on Sunday and he didn’t say a word. He hadn’t said anything to me either, and he talked about you all the time.” She stopped like she’d just said something she shouldn’t.

“Like in the last two weeks?”

“No, he’s been too busy with work to talk.” The waiter returned with their sandwiches and sat the plates in front of them. After they told him the food looked good and they needed nothing, he moved to the next table. “I just assumed he was also busy with you.”

Gwen pushed the pickle spear to the edge of the plate, not wanting the pickle to touch the sandwich.

“What did you two fight about?” Autumn put down her food and stared.

Gwen shook her head. “It’s stupid.” The diner had filled around them, the noise levels reaching peaks as those around them engaged in lively conversations.

“Then call him… He will need you on Sunday.” Autumn looked at her plate when Gwen’s gaze jumped up.

“Why?”

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