Tender Hearts

Chapter 6-2

“You"re probably right, but I’m serious.” She put the buttercream roses back in the freezer and sat down in a chair. “You’ve done amazing. I think the couple is going to be very impressed.”

“Thanks, Mom. I hope so,” I breathed deeply and pulled up a chair next to her. “That lady seems like a real treat,” I muttered.

I had no desire to see her walk through those doors again. Luckily, my mom was going to be doing most of the talking and I merely had to bring out the cakes and put the fakest smile on my face as possible.

“Oh, honey, don’t let her get to you. Plus, you should know that women become crazier when it comes to their weddings. They want everything to be absolutely perfect. Trust me, you’ll be the same exact way. Just do me a favor, and don’t pick me to do your wedding cake.” She laughed merrily and put a hand on my leg. “I’m kidding, sweetheart. You ask someone else and I’ll hunt you down. You know how badly I’ve wanted to make your wedding cake, if you’ll ever get married.”

“Here it comes,” I groaned and leaned back.

“When is the last time you’ve been on a date? I thought your sister was going to get married before you with Jake, but now that that’s over…” She trailed off to gather her thoughts. “No, she’ll probably still get married before you.”

“What’s the big deal, Mom? So, I haven’t been on a date for a while and I don’t have marriage on the radar, but who cares? I’ve just been focusing on finishing school and the bakery. Plus, I have enough going on with Lily’s drama. I couldn’t imagine if I was dating someone too and dealing with that drama.” I rolled my eyes, thinking about the previous day when we were fighting. She’d truly been quite the handful.

“Yes, but I feel like you"re lonely. I mean, I know you’re not depressed or anything, but I just want to know that someday you"re going to be loved and taken care of and have a family.” My mom leaned forward and looked at me earnestly. “You do a lot for me and your sister, but I worry that you’re not putting yourself first enough, if at all. I want you to be happy. I want you to date and fall in love, and focus on yourself for once. But there are times when I seriously worry you"re going to end up alone.” She stood back up to get out the cakes and roses.

“Mom, I hate having this conversation,” I admitted. “I just haven’t dated a lot. There hasn’t been anyone that has really caught my eye and I guess I haven’t really been looking. Lily has dated enough for the both of us.”

“Be nice to your sister,” she warned. “I know you"re focused on other things right now, but could you start opening your eyes a little bit?” She almost sounded as if she were pleading as she began placing roses on the cakes.

I shook my head in disbelief. She had no idea. If she knew I was dreading seeing Nick, because I thought he was Mr. Scrumptious, she would flip and think I was completely insane. I really hadn’t dated in years. I had a short-lived boyfriend my junior year, who I caught cheating on me under the bleachers after a soccer game with one of Lily’s friends, and went on a couple random dates my freshman year of college. But other than that, it really hadn’t been on my mind. I’d been perfectly content going to school, working, and watching romantic movies on Netflix.

“Sure, Mom, I’ll keep eyes peeled,” I promised as I gazed around the room through half-closed eyes.

She began laughing and shook her head. “Your sarcasm kills me sometimes.”

“Yes, but it"s who I am.” I gave a cheesy smile and stood up to look at the clock. “It’s 5:45, Mom. You almost done?”

“Yes, I just need to pipe a couple leaves. You can’t make pipe roses and not have leaves,” she scoffed.

“That’s just not realistic,” we said together and Mom made a face at me.

After five minutes of her adding more leaves to the cakes and examining them over and over again, she finally relaxed and smiled. “Alright right, they’re done.”

“They’re beautiful, Mom. They’re going to love it,” I gushed.

“Thanks, sweetheart. I hope they do.”

“Well, we’ll find out soon enough, because they’re walking in right now,” Troy announced and straightened his apron.

I felt my heart immediately start to beat faster, my palms start to sweat and my face flush. I was a mess. “Snap out of it,” I told myself. “He’s just another customer, so relax.”

relax“What’s that, honey?” my mom asked as she put the cakes in the fridge to let the buttercream set one last time.

“Nothing.” I waved it off. “I’m just talking to myself.”

Troy ambled over to me and whispered in my ear, “More like a pep-talk, Rose?”

I hit his chest playfully and he returned to the front, getting ready to greet the happily engaged couple. I decided to go to the bathroom and inspect my appearance.

I quickly brushed my wavy blonde hair and inspected the makeup I had put on from this morning. I usually didn’t wear a lot of makeup because I figured I had no one to impress, and I only ever went to three different places, occasionally four: the college, bakery, my apartment, and the grocery store. I didn’t see the point of wearing it. Today though, I’d decided it was best to put a little on.

Within seconds of finishing my self-inspection, the bell rang, and I heard Troy’s muffled voice say, “Hello! Welcome back to Karen’s Kreations!”