Lilacs and Liability by London Lovett

Author:London Lovett [Lovett, London]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wild Fox Press

Chapter 19

When it came up that we had a few local deliveries, Ryder was happy to go. Mostly, he was anxious to leave me. No matter how often I assured him that I'd be fine while he was away, guilt rolled off of him in waves. A temporary parting helped both of us come to terms with it all. Unfortunately, I wasn't alone with my thoughts for too long. Elsie walked in, her steps far heavier and more plodding than usual. She knew.

"You heard the news?" I asked.

"Lola told me this morning, early. I'd only just opened up, and she crept inside looking like the kid who had to confess they'd broken the cookie jar."

"Really? This morning?" I tried to push back the new round of hurt, but it was getting harder. Lola had gone out of her way to tell Elsie before she told me. In fact, she'd asked Ryder to tell me and then blurted it out, casually, as if she was telling me the weather. Earlier, I'd convinced myself I was being too sensitive, but this put a whole new spin on everything. I wasn't being sensitive. Lola just didn't consider me or my feelings important.

"Yep," Elsie said. "She came in teary-eyed. I thought something had happened between her and Ryder. I was surprised she came to me but then I found out her true motive."

"And what was that?" I asked, curtly. Now I was stupidly taking my hurt feelings out on Elsie. She didn't seem to notice. She walked to one of the stools and hopped up on it.

"It feels good to be off my feet. Lola came in to ask advice on how to tell you the news. She said she'd been putting it off, but time was running out. I gave her terrible advice, I think. I told her sometimes you have to be direct and just pull off the bandage. I also mentioned the news might be easier coming from Ryder. That straightened her right out of her sad slump. 'You're right, El, I'll let Ryder break the news. This is all his fault, after all'. That's what she said as she marched out of the bakery. I apologize if it all unfolded awkwardly this morning."

"That's all right." I was feeling huge relief. Lola was struggling with telling me the news. However, that didn't explain why she'd walked out so callously this morning. I'd been so steeped in my own emotions, I hadn't, at first, noticed the sadness on Elsie's face.

I walked around to where she was sitting, sat down next to her and put my hand on her arm. "I guess it'll just be me and you then."

Elsie's face dropped. It was rare to see an emotional Elsie, my chest tightened. "First, my separation from Hank. Now this." Elsie and her husband had recently separated. They'd led very independent lives as a married couple with Hank mostly traveling while Elsie stayed in Port Danby to run her business. They never had children.

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