Tender Hearts

Chapter 6-1

Thanks to my mom, I was able to get caught up on a lot of homework. It also helped that Lily wasn’t at the apartment when I came home, so I knocked out a bunch of assignments. I was all caught up and ready for the weekend, unless my teachers decided to throw something else at me in the next two days, which I prayed they didn’t.

Lily walked through the front door around ten o’clock, while I was sprawled on the couch, watching Netflix.

“Where have you been?” I asked, genuinely curious. Miss Social Butterfly always had to be hanging around someone doing something.

“Just at Kylee and Susie’s. They actually decided to help me through some math problems and then we had a few other friends over and we played games,” she told me and tried to walk quickly past.

“Wait, friends as in boys?” I called after her and she froze in place.

boys“Maybe,” she squeaked and turned to face me.

“Are these the boys Kylee and Susie are interested in, or you?” I inquired and realized I was smiling drolly.

“Both? I guess. I don’t know. We met them yesterday at the yogurt place, and they seemed like really nice guys and they went to our school… and they invited us to a party this Friday. Then Kylee, being Kylee, invited these boys over to kinda get to know them better before we actually decided to go to this party.” Lily’s voice had gotten smaller and smaller, to the point where I had to strain to hear the last word.

“Wait, wait, wait. Kylee invited complete strangers to her apartment? Is she crazy?” I shrieked and turned off the TV.

“Yes she did and yes she is,” Lily confirmed and stared at her feet.

“You know how dangerous that is? Anything could have happened to you girls tonight. I cannot believe you went over there. You"re lucky nothing happened!” I pointed my finger at her and took a deep breath to try and control my anger.

“Rose, will you chill? They seemed like really nice guys and we asked around with some of the other girls in our classes and found out they were indeed nice guys. It’s all good. And, while I got you all heated, we did in fact decide to go to the party.” She made a smug face at me and turned around and walked into her room.

“You"re insane,” I retorted and put a pillow on my face.

“I’m doing what you and Mom told me to do, remember? Move on! Find my happiness! Have fun!” She slammed shut the door, as if doing this for dramatic effect.

“You could have a least been a little more careful, and maybe used that big head of yours! Are you sure going to this party is such a good idea? Are a lot of other people you know going to this party? Do you know where it is?”

I waited for her to reappear from her room.

She swung open the door and marched into the living room, stopped by the couch I was sitting on. “Yes, it’s a good idea. I told you, I’m ready to move on… and I’m tired of staring at these same walls everyday. I want to have fun. And yes, there’s a few people I know going to this party, and you do too. Most of the people I know are students from your class: Brittany, Jessica, Marvin and Brody. They’re all going to be there. Even Troy is going to be there. When’s the last time you got out and did something fun, Rose? Are you going to become a hermit and never have a social life? Forgive me if I choose not to do that,” she ranted, crossing her arms. “I’m going to this party. I already know Mom asked you to come and keep an eye on me. And I bet I already know what the answer to that was!”

“I’m sorry if I don’t feel like babysitting my dramatic, emotional, bratty sister at a party I wasn’t invited to and have no desire going to,” I shot at her and watched her face turn a few shades redder.

“Suit yourself! Have fun being here all alone this weekend. Mom is catering some event a couple hours outside of town and is taking Monique and Veronica. So, you’ll have no one. Just the empty silence of this apartment,” she snapped. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight!”

She banged the door behind her. I didn’t bother saying goodnight; I was too upset.

She had been completely out of line. Granted, I hadn’t been much better and had called her a couple things that weren’t necessary, but she’d pushed me. My sister and I didn’t argue a whole lot. Sure we bickered and teased each other often we were sisters but fighting didn’t usually happen. However, when it did, we usually moved past it pretty quickly. We’d see how long it took us this time.

Thursday finally came and I watched the clock all day. Troy messaged me during my history lecture, wondering if I was mentally prepared to see “Mr. Handsome” tonight. When I read the text, I inadvertently snorted and received a couple of unimpressed glances from fellow classmates.

I responded that there was no need to worry about my mental state and that I was going to be fine. Right after I finished my classes and did some last-minute studying on things I wasn’t too confident on, I walked to the bakery. Which was only a few blocks away from the university. It was about four in the afternoon by the time I arrived.

I found my mom scrambling around like a chicken with her head cut off. “Mom, are you okay?”

“I’m just trying to make sure everything is perfect for this cake tasting. I decided to make cute four-inch cakes and decorate them in different ways to give the bride an idea of how I can decorate the wedding cake,” she said, grabbing more piping bags.

“So, basically, you’ve created way more work for yourself than you needed to do,” I remarked and put my stuff away in the back.

“Yep, pretty much. But, I really want to nail this tasting. Those wedding cakes bring in a good chunk of change and I have a feeling this could be a big order.” She panted softly from running around and started piping on what looked to be the chocolate-strawberry cake.

“Do you need any help, Mom?” I asked tentatively while staring at eight stacked cakes, waiting to be decorated.

“Yes, could you please start piping roses? Some white and blush pink ones, in different sizes. Do some big open ones and a couple buds, and then put them in the blast chiller, so when I’m ready to place them, they’re nice and frozen.”

“I can do that. When is Troy-” I got cut off by the sound of the bell ringing up front and walked up to see Troy entering. “Speak of the devil.”

“Are you talking about me, trouble?” He smiled and gave me a big hug.

“Who are you calling trouble?” I questioned. “If anyone is in trouble, that would be you. You"re up to no good!”

you“You"re probably right, but I, at least, am not the one who’s totally crushing on the groom,” he muttered in my ear and I smacked his arm.

“Shut up, man. My mom is back there.” I whispered. “And I am not crushing on the groom. I simply thought that he was cute, and filled out his suit quite nicely, that’s all!”

Troy began laughing and shook his head. “You are totally smitten. Too bad he’s taken and is about to get married in three months.”

“Troy, is that you?” my mom called from the back.

“Yes, Karen. The one and only!” Troy spread his arms out as he walked into the back.

“Thank heaven,” I said quietly and Troy waved at me playfully as I entered the back.

“Has it been busy today up front?” he asked, holding an apron to put on.

“No, not really. I mean, it’s been okay, but Thursdays aren’t usually busy days, which I’ve been grateful for, because I’ve needed to focus on these cakes,” my mom said, walking up besides me.

“Wait, did you take off work today?” I asked.

“Kinda, not really. I woke up early to work on things, and then I came into open and start on the cakes… and, then, once I had all the cakes stacked and smoothed out, I put them in the fridge and worked a little more. That way I didn’t have to necessarily take a personal day. Will you please start working on those flowers? They’re going to be here in less than two hours.” She was clearly starting to panic.

“You know,” I said, picking up a piping bag, “you’ve cut it close before, but not like this.” I began busting out roses and putting them on a sheet tray.

“I know, I know. I even had you get all the fillings and cakes done. I should have stacked sooner,” she groaned while piping.

“It’s going to be fine, Mom. We’re going to get it done and they’re all going to look beautiful. And Nick and Alisha are going to love them, okay?” I said encouragingly.

She took a deep breath and walked away from the cakes to wipe her forehead with the back of her hand. “I know… you’re right. I need to relax and keep working, and not complain.”

“And lucky for you, you’ve had years of experience and a steady hand. You can pipe all this out in no time and we all know it"s going to look amazing, Karen,” Troy said in a more serious tone than his usual playful, happy one as put a hand on her back. “You got this!”

You got this“Aw, thanks Troy!” She gave him a one-armed hug, careful not to touch him with her hand.

“Suck up,” I coughed and Troy flapped an arm at me, as if he were trying to smack me from a distance.

“Well, I think you"re very sweet,” my mom said. “At least, someone around here is,” she joked and turned her head to look at me.

Troy started busting up, thinking it was the most hilarious joke he had ever heard.

“Y’all are hilarious, really,” I said sarcastically and put a full tray of roses into the blast chiller.

Luckily, the sound of the bell summoned Troy to the front and my mother and I were left alone work on the cakes. We worked in silence, anxiously watching the clock tick by. Within the hour, I finished three pans of buttercream roses, and put them in the blast chiller just as she finished doing buttercream lace and piped lattice work on the cakes.

She put the cakes in the fridge for a few minutes to allow the frosting to set and then inspected the roses I’d piped. “You"re getting better and better each time, Rosie,” she complimented me. “Pretty soon, I won’t even need to come into work and you can just do everything.”

“Would you really let me do that though? I think you’re a little too much of a control freak to do that,” I teased and she chuckled in response.