Page 40 of Wicked Player
Chapter Fourteen
It’s Wednesday night when Christian and I find ourselves at Judy’s again. She just bought a new tea she wants me to try. “Roobias Red Velvet Cupcake,” she tells me.
“Sounds delicious,” I say. “I’ll have to bake you some red velvet cupcakes to go with that… or would that be too much?”
She smiles. “No… never.”
I laugh, knowing Judy has got quite the sweet tooth. The woman practically lives on sweets, which is the reason I keep bringing her goodies. I’ve come baring banana bread today, but I have an ulterior motive, to hear the rest of her story.
Judy is an eighty-six-year-old chatty woman with a habit of digressing. A lot. This story’s going to take a while. But I don’t mind. I enjoy hanging with Judy. She reminds me of my grandmother. In fact, they were good friends back in the day, and she will occasionally tell me stories about my Nana, stories I never knew. Her point of view is quite different than my mother’s. She speaks of her from the standpoint of a good friend, not a resentful daughter. When I listen to her stories, I love Nana a bit more every time.
But today isn’t about Nana, it’s about Judy. And Caleb and Everett.
I don’t waste any time as she hands me my cup of tea. “So where were we, Judy?”
She smiles, and I study her for a beat. What a knockout she must have been in her day. I can tell she was beautiful, as evidenced in her delicate features, her still full lips, and those ice blue eyes, a little brighter then, I imagine.
She settles down slowly into her seat, in the way folks her age tend to. “Oh… you’re looking for the juicy details, aren’t you?”
I smile. “Guilty as charged.”
I glance over at Christian, who is sitting on Judy’s kitchen floor, organizing her Tupperware cabinet. That’s a funny thing about Christian I didn’t mention… he loves to organize stuff. He’s already sorted everything at our place, from the kitchen and washroom cupboards to his entire bedroom, even my underwear and socks drawer. Now he’s working on Judy’s place. She was kind enough to let him organize her basket of magazines a while back. He diligently arranged the magazines by category and date. All theGood Housekeepingtogether, theRedbooksand theCountry Homes, sorted chronologically by date of course. “Smart boy,” she’d said. “You want to organize more things?” He’s been as happy as a dog with a bone. And now he’s working on the rest of her house. Mila is sitting by his side as usual, quietly observing, completely riveted.
“To be completely honest,” Judy goes on. “It concerns me a little that a pretty young woman such as yourself seems to be living vicariously through me.”
“No argument here, Judy,” I agree. “I know I should be getting out more, but when you get knocked up at twenty, life has other plans for you.”
“Just because you have Christian is no excuse, Clara,” she scolds. “I told you I’d look after Christian any time you want. And you also have your friends, Cassie and Miriam. A young woman like you should have a social life. Tell me,” she goes on, seemingly on a mission. “When was the last time you got your biscuit buttered?”
Oh, she did not.
My jaw is hanging on the floor, and I’m speechless.
“When?” she asks. She’s obviously not letting this go.
“Um…” I hesitate to tell her the sad truth. “Not since Christian’s father.”
She almost spills her tea. “What in the heavens, sweet girl! We need to get you out there.”
I sit farther back into my armchair. “You’re starting to sound like Cassie now, Judy.”
“Well, she’s right,” she scoffs. “You need to get yourself a nice man. Preferably one who knows what he’s doing in the bedroom.” She winks. “If you know what I mean.”
“Oh yeah, I know what you mean.” An image of Colton pops into my mind, uninvited. I’m positive he knows what he’s doing in the bedroom. I shake my head in an attempt to jostle him out of my head.
“Enough about me,” I snap. “I’m here to hear about you. You need to finish your story… for the love of God.”
She sets down her cup of tea. “Well, it certainly looks like you're in dire need of a little romance in your life, so I’ll get right to it.”
I lean back on her comfy sofa. “Yes, please do.”
She cocks a brow, seemingly confused. “Where was I anyway?”
I finally dig into the slice of banana bread on my plate. “You were at the part where Everett enters your life, and he has an agenda and he’s pursuing you hard.”
“Oh yes…” she says, lost in her memories for a beat. “Yes, well he came by the general store often. It came to be it was almost every day. Now I wasn’t completely naive. I knew he fancied me, and I made sure to remind him I was married, but he just didn’t care.”
I shake my head. “I know the type… bad, bad boy.”
