Read Online Christmas at the Gingerbread Café by Rebecca Raisin - Free Book Online
Authors: Rebecca Raisin
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too much right now, especially with the scent of Damon still on my skin.
Chapter Ten
“Merry Christmas, sugar plum.” CeeCee embraces me, and I will myself not to cry. Way to ruin Christmas, I think glumly to myself. I force a smile on my face as we break apart.
“And where is that fine-looking man?” She looks over my shoulder into the inky night.
“He’s not here.”
She searches my face. “And why not, pray tell?” She ushers me inside. The sound of children’s laughter rolls down the hallway, and I can hear a TV blaring in the distance.
“He’s got other things to do. Where is everyone? I want to say hello.”
“Oh, no, you don’t. Not before you tell me what’s going on.” CeeCee pushes me into her formal sitting room, a chintzy affair with floral lounges, and floral curtains, her fine china on display.
“It’s nothing, Cee. I’ve got gifts for the—”
“Stop right there. Now, how long have I known you? And you think you can waltz in here with that pasty smile of yours, and those puffy red crying eyes, and I won’t know somethin’s wrong?”
Damn my crying eyes. I need to learn to sob silently, to un-puff.
“You gonna tell me or am I gonna have to march over to Damon’s and find out myself?”
And she would. “It’s not Damon. It’s Joel.”
“What you mean ‘Joel’?”
“Joel rang, while Damon was there. He says he made a mistake, he’s not with the redhead any more…”
“And what? He wants to come back to you?”
“I guess.” I pluck at a tassel on the cushion. It’s hard not to compare the two men, and the only thing that keeps me from running back to Damon is the fact that Joel and I have so much history. I hardly know Damon.
CeeCee’s trying really hard not to let loose what’s going on in her head but I can gather she’s none too happy, by the grunting and sighing she’s doing.
“Sugar plum, there ain’t nothing I can say that’s gonna change your mind. You have to decide, but I just want you to know, if you lie down with dogs, you gonna get fleas!”
I cackle along with CeeCee, and the mood lightens. “You certainly have a way with words.”
“So, how you feel?”
“I don’t know. Last night with Damon was magical. But Joel and I were together since we were kids, you know?”
“I know. And you the forgiving type. Sometimes when a man does wrong, you have to make him accountable, Lil. That man don’t see what we see. He looks around this town, disdain on his face, like he better than most folk. I just wonder if he’s really ready to move back here. You and I both know this place hasn’t changed none in two years, and surely won’t any time soon.”
She’s right. Pining for Joel these last two years, I realize I’ve been pining for what we lost, by him breaking my trust. And the fact that Joel always wanted a bigger, better life than what we had.
“You know, it’s funny, Joel sounds exactly like Damon’s ex-wife. They think small towns are full of hicks that don’t know any better.”
“I know all about her. Rosaleen told me everything at church today.”
“She must have sore jaws what with all her yapping.”
“She used to it, what with all the practice. And what about Damon? He has a baby girl?”
I remember Damon’s Christmas gift then. I’d forgotten in the drama of the afternoon. A gingerbread-house kit. Complete with all the trimmings, ready for father and daughter to assemble when they get some time together. “Yes, he’s got a little girl named Charlie. She’s all set to visit after Christmas. And that’s who’s calling him every five minutes. Poor baby, she’s missing him like crazy.”
CeeCee nods, “I can imagine him as a daddy. I bet he’s great with kids.”
“But that’s just it, Cee. What if his ex-wife decides she’s made a mistake, just like Joel’s done? And she wants to come back after a while? They’ve got a little girl — they’d have to try for her sake. And then what? I’m left all
Chapter Ten
“Merry Christmas, sugar plum.” CeeCee embraces me, and I will myself not to cry. Way to ruin Christmas, I think glumly to myself. I force a smile on my face as we break apart.
“And where is that fine-looking man?” She looks over my shoulder into the inky night.
“He’s not here.”
She searches my face. “And why not, pray tell?” She ushers me inside. The sound of children’s laughter rolls down the hallway, and I can hear a TV blaring in the distance.
“He’s got other things to do. Where is everyone? I want to say hello.”
“Oh, no, you don’t. Not before you tell me what’s going on.” CeeCee pushes me into her formal sitting room, a chintzy affair with floral lounges, and floral curtains, her fine china on display.
“It’s nothing, Cee. I’ve got gifts for the—”
“Stop right there. Now, how long have I known you? And you think you can waltz in here with that pasty smile of yours, and those puffy red crying eyes, and I won’t know somethin’s wrong?”
Damn my crying eyes. I need to learn to sob silently, to un-puff.
“You gonna tell me or am I gonna have to march over to Damon’s and find out myself?”
And she would. “It’s not Damon. It’s Joel.”
“What you mean ‘Joel’?”
“Joel rang, while Damon was there. He says he made a mistake, he’s not with the redhead any more…”
“And what? He wants to come back to you?”
“I guess.” I pluck at a tassel on the cushion. It’s hard not to compare the two men, and the only thing that keeps me from running back to Damon is the fact that Joel and I have so much history. I hardly know Damon.
CeeCee’s trying really hard not to let loose what’s going on in her head but I can gather she’s none too happy, by the grunting and sighing she’s doing.
“Sugar plum, there ain’t nothing I can say that’s gonna change your mind. You have to decide, but I just want you to know, if you lie down with dogs, you gonna get fleas!”
I cackle along with CeeCee, and the mood lightens. “You certainly have a way with words.”
“So, how you feel?”
“I don’t know. Last night with Damon was magical. But Joel and I were together since we were kids, you know?”
“I know. And you the forgiving type. Sometimes when a man does wrong, you have to make him accountable, Lil. That man don’t see what we see. He looks around this town, disdain on his face, like he better than most folk. I just wonder if he’s really ready to move back here. You and I both know this place hasn’t changed none in two years, and surely won’t any time soon.”
She’s right. Pining for Joel these last two years, I realize I’ve been pining for what we lost, by him breaking my trust. And the fact that Joel always wanted a bigger, better life than what we had.
“You know, it’s funny, Joel sounds exactly like Damon’s ex-wife. They think small towns are full of hicks that don’t know any better.”
“I know all about her. Rosaleen told me everything at church today.”
“She must have sore jaws what with all her yapping.”
“She used to it, what with all the practice. And what about Damon? He has a baby girl?”
I remember Damon’s Christmas gift then. I’d forgotten in the drama of the afternoon. A gingerbread-house kit. Complete with all the trimmings, ready for father and daughter to assemble when they get some time together. “Yes, he’s got a little girl named Charlie. She’s all set to visit after Christmas. And that’s who’s calling him every five minutes. Poor baby, she’s missing him like crazy.”
CeeCee nods, “I can imagine him as a daddy. I bet he’s great with kids.”
“But that’s just it, Cee. What if his ex-wife decides she’s made a mistake, just like Joel’s done? And she wants to come back after a while? They’ve got a little girl — they’d have to try for her sake. And then what? I’m left all
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