“You’ll be ready. You’ll jump into the car and fly down the mountain, and knowing the way you drive, you’ll be there before she even gets to the hospital. And they just live a mile away.”
“I don’t drive that fast.”
“You drive really fast. I’ve had to follow you before, remember?” She patted the chair next to her. “Now come, sit. Tell me about the café. You’ve made a lot of changes lately. How’s it going? Are you getting the results you wanted?”
“Is this a ploy to distract me, or do you really want to know?”
“Both. But I am interested in what you’re doing. I think it’s intriguing.”
“Intriguing?”
“And brave.” Candy was still smiling but her expression had grown more guarded. “Sinking so much of your own money into someone else’s business.”
Lauren leaned against the porch’s wooden railing. “Lisa told you.”
“She misses you at the bakery and café.”
“I didn’t want to move. I liked Grandma’s house. I liked being on First Street.”
“You’d outgrown your location.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“The new location seems to be making quite a bit more money for you.”
Lauren’s shoulders lifted, fell. “It is beautiful. I spent some time there this afternoon and I was impressed. Lisa is doing a great job, but I’ve got to be honest, Mom. It doesn’t feel like our place. It’s not me. It in no way reflects me. It feels like Lisa and Matthieu.”
Her mother folded her hands in her lap. “You’re jealous of their relationship.”
“What?”
“You’ve never approved of him.”
“That’s not true. I like him. I was just skeptical in the beginning. You have to admit he’s excessively charming.”
“He’s a sweetheart.”
“Oui, oui, madame,” she said, imitating her brother-in-law, but it wasn’t meant to sound mean-spirited. She liked Matthieu a lot. In fact, she had a huge soft spot for him, but he was French and affluent and sophisticated and she wasn’t any of those things. Nor did she want to be any of those things. She was really a beef-brisket-and-apple-pie kind of girl. And she was proud of it. “But no, seriously, Mom, I’m not jealous. I’m thrilled Lisa is happy. She deserves to be happy, and she and Matthieu have done a fantastic job with the restaurant. But I don’t belong there. The restaurant has become Lisa and Matthieu’s.”
“Because you left Lisa with it.”
Lauren shot her mom a quick look. “Because you know why.”
“So what are you going to do? Dump the restaurant on Lisa, even though she’s going to be home with a new baby?”
“Maybe it’s time we sold, then.”
“Maybe,” her mom agreed calmly. “So when are you going to tell her?”
“I don’t know.”
“It’d be kinder if you told her sooner rather than later.”
“What if I don’t know what I want, though? What if I have no idea what’s right? What if I haven’t a clue what I need?” Lauren shook her head, angry and frustrated. It wasn’t as if she’d asked for all this change. It wasn’t as if she’d wanted it either. Change had been forced upon her and she was just doing her best to survive. “Blake hasn’t even been gone for a year. It’s just eleven months since he died. And yet everyone wants me to act like nothing’s happened—”
“That’s not true, Lauren. We understand you’re grieving. We’re grieving. Your dad and I miss him every single day.”
“Then you understand why I can’t make a decision about the restaurant. I can’t make a decision to save my life—”
“You said it, honey, I didn’t.”
Lauren glared at her. “What does that mean?”
“You just admitted that you can’t make a decision to save your life, and yet here you are, investing your own money into this other woman’s restaurant. I don’t think it’s wise, and your dad’s gotten himself worked up over it. He says this Mimi woman is taking advantage of you.”
“No one is taking advantage of me.”
“Does this Mimi know you just lost your son? Does she understand you’re not yourself?”
“Mom!”
“We’re worried about you, Lauren.”
“Well, don’t be. I’m sad, not crazy.”
“You’d be less sad here, with us—”
“That’s not true. Alameda’s good for me. I’m enjoying doing new things, meeting new people.”