Close to You

while
it was a nice space, it was a little too undone for our
purposes.”
    “ Eve had some vandalism
recently.” Margaret felt a twinge of guilt. “But the café should be
back in order by the end of the week. Definitely by the
event.”
    Daniela nodded. “And her pastries were
excellent.”
    “ Yes, but—”
    “ I want Grounds for
Thought.” Daniela squared off as if daring the other woman to argue
with her.
    Carmen threw her hands in the air. “I
have reservations about it, but if you want it, fine. I won’t even
say I told you so when things don’t go well there.”
    “ Eve will handle everything
beautifully,” Margaret assured Daniela.
    The chef smiled at her for the first
time. She visibly relaxed, as though a weight had been lifted from
her shoulders. “My gut tells me that too.”
    Margaret extended her hand. “Thank you
for considering me as well.”
    Daniela’s grip was surprisingly firm.
“I’m a little confused why you’d hype Grounds for Thought when you
were in competition with her.”
    “ Eve and I aren’t in
competition,” she said echoing Treat’s words. “And, frankly, Eve is
much better suited for you. It was apparent once I met
you.”
    Daniela nodded. “Thank you for your
honesty.”
    Carmen huffed, as though put out.
“I’ll get in touch with her then. I hope you’re right about
this.”
    Daniela said nothing, but Margaret had
a sense that she was right about most things. She escorted the
women out of her shop, turned the lock, and got out her cell
phone.
    The first call she made was to the
real estate office down the street. She needed to put her house for
sale and lease Crumpet out. The money from the house would be a
nice nest egg, and the rent on the commercial space would give her
monthly income.
    The thought that she wouldn’t have to
see another doilie—ever—was oddly relieving.
    The next call was harder.
    Treat picked up the third ring. “I’m
at work, Mom.”
    She winced at the terseness
in his voice. She did that. She was going to fix it though. “Treat, I’m sorry,
not just for how I’ve behaved lately, which I admit has bordered on
manic, but also for the way I’ve been the past eight
years.”
    There was silence on the other end of
the line. Then he said, “Are you okay, Mom? Because you’re scaring
me.”
    She gave a watery laugh. “For the
first time in a long time, yes, I am.”
    “ You aren’t dying, are
you?”
    “ We’ll all die eventually,
but I plan on being around for a long time.” She swallowed thickly.
“I want to see you happy, Treat. I’m sorry I got in the way of
that.”
    He sighed. “I’m responsible for my
actions. You aren’t the only one to blame.”
    No, but she was the main one, and no
matter how gracious her lovely son was, she wasn’t going to allow
him to absolve her so easily. “I’ll let you go back to work. I love
you, Treat.”
    “ Love you too,
Mom.”
    Hanging up, she walked out of Crumpet
toward Grounds for Thought. As she got near, she automatically
reached for her pearls. Her hand touched bare skin before she
remembered she put them aside.
    Right. She straightened her back. She
didn’t need them.
    Taking a deep breath, she pushed open
the door and walked into the coffeehouse.
    Eve looked up, her hostess’s smile
freezing on her lips.
    Margaret went straight up to her.
“I’ve behaved badly, and I want to apologize. I’ll of course pay
for damages.”
    She shook her head coolly. “That’s not
necessary.”
    “ Yes, it is.” Margaret
lifted her chin. “I’m not going to offer you excuses or
explanations. I’m not going to bare my soul. But I will tell you I
regret how my actions have reflected on Treat. You shouldn’t hold
my son responsible for what I’ve done.”
    The young woman said
nothing.
    Margaret nodded. “I don’t expect you
to welcome me with open arms just because I said I’m sorry, but I
hope one day you’ll be able to forgive me enough that we can get to
know each other. Treat cares about you, and I care about Treat.”
She thought of being excluded from Treat’s life and tears
threatened her eyes. She blinked rapidly to dispel them. “Just
consider it. That’s all I ask.”
    She turned to leave, but paused. Over
her shoulder, she said, “I told Daniela Rossi you were the best
person to host her event. I didn’t do it because I wanted to win
you over or manipulate you. I did it because it’s true. Your café
is lovely and your baked goods are heaven,” she