Chapter Fourteen
Charlotte
Evangeline gave Charlotte a leer that would put the Cheshire cat to shame. “Tell me…does he look as good under those thick sweatshirts as my imagination thinks?”
Charlotte blushed, but she couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “Um, yeah, he does.”
“Girl!” Evangeline hustled her to the little nook behind the counter. “How about his ‘skills?’” She made air quotes. “Do they pass the test?”
Charlotte shook her head, and Evangeline groaned. “He’s bad? Ugh, I did not see that coming.”
“Wait, that wasn’t what I meant.” The smile fell off her face. “His brother called at an, um, interesting moment. Luke’s dad was in the ER. He rushed off, leaving me holding my bra on with one hand. I felt terrible.”
“Why? I mean, his dad being in the hospital is the terrible thing—being interrupted due to a family emergency is hardly your fault.” Evangeline grabbed a full coffeepot. “You should check in with him, see if he’s up for a do-over.”
Charlotte fiddled with her apron, not meeting her friend’s eye. “I will later. I don’t want to bug him right now.”
“Yeah, but a friendly voice is never a bad thing.”
Evangeline hurried out to the dining room. They were slammed this morning. Making up for the snow day yesterday, probably. With the holiday almost here, more people showed up in Aspen daily.
“And most of them decided to eat here,” Charlotte muttered under her breath as she went out to seat a new table. The wait was nearly an hour, and they were running like crazy, but they couldn’t seem to catch up. As soon as they closed, she was going to soak in the tub, then try texting Luke. If everything was okay, she assumed he’d have already texted her, which left her thinking it wasn’t, so she shouldn’t bug him.
Evangeline wasn’t taking no for an answer. “Just text him,” she said an hour later as she blazed by with a tray of food. “He won’t answer if he’s busy.”
She had a point, but Charlotte didn’t have a chance to even glance at her phone until after noon. The wait had cleared, and they were only about two-thirds full with brunchers.
“Take a break,” Mrs. Bzdyl said when she caught Charlotte stretching her back. “It’ll be five minutes before any of your orders come up.”
Charlotte nodded and sank into a chair they kept at the back of the kitchen. She fished her phone out of her apron—there was a text from Luke: Dad’s had a heart attack. He’s in surgery. Catch you later?
A pang caught Charlotte in the chest. She read the message again, her forehead wrinkling. God, how awful. Are you ok?
L: I am. Long story. I need to be here a few days. Wish I could see you. Can I call when I’m freed up?
C: Yeah, definitely. Hope your dad’s surgery goes well.
“You okay?” Mr. Bzdyl came from the walk-in fridge with a crate of eggs in his hands. “You look worried. Your mom, she’s bad?”
She smiled sadly up at him. “It’s not Mom. Luke had to leave our date suddenly. His dad’s in surgery. Heart bypass.”
“I wondered where the boy was today. I wanted to feed him.” Mr. Bzdyl frowned. “Come see me after we close.”
Not sure what he was up to, Charlotte nodded and rose. “I better get back out there.”
“Yes, because table fifteen’s tuna melt is almost done.” He winked at her before disappearing into the kitchen.
Charlotte felt like she was wading through mud for the rest of her shift, unable to quit worrying about Luke. She knew what it was like to have a critically ill parent, and it was scary. Sure, Luke was strong and he’d probably bear up okay, but still. She wished there was something she could do for him.
“Hey, I’m headed up to watch the SBX action on the mountain,” Evangeline told her as they wiped down tables after close. “Kit’s supposed to be there. I need a fix.”
“I probably should study.” Charlotte paused to sniff the air. “What’s that heavenly smell?”
Cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar…that’s what heaven smelled like, she was sure. She took another appreciative breath. “This isn’t something normally on the menu, is it?”
Evangeline sniffed the air. “No… Oh my God, Papa’s making a cake.” They scurried toward the kitchen like starving puppies. “Papa, whatcha cooking there?”
Mr. Bzdyl smiled. “Two cakes.”
“T-two?” Evangeline leaned close to the oven, her eyes falling shut. “God, that’s practically orgasmic.”
“Evangeline!” Her mother’s mouth puckered. “More talk like that, I’m finding you a husband so you can settle down.”
“Or we send her to St. Margaret’s as a novice,” Mr. Bzdyl said, his mustache shaking from a suppressed smile. “In answer to the first question, strudel coffee cake. One for us, one for Charlotte’s Luke.”
Charlotte stared at him. “For Luke?”
Mr. Bzdyl nodded. “His family is at the hospital, yes? They need good coffee and comfort food. You’ll take it to him.”
“I will?” Charlotte waved her hands. “No, Mr. Bzdyl, no. I can’t intrude like that.”
“You can leave it at the desk?” He frowned and mock-whispered to his wife, “She can do that, yes?”
Mrs. Bzdyl laughed. “Yes, misiaczku.”
Charlotte glanced at Evangeline, who was grinning at her. “Oh, come on. What’s a little humiliation when your heart’s in the right place?”
Okay, I’m not getting out of this. And it is a sweet gesture. Maybe she could say it was from Mr. Bzdyl and she was just delivering it. No, that would be a little rude. Besides, she wanted to do something nice for Luke. It sucked waiting at the hospital, worried about your parent.
She nodded. “Thank you for doing this. I’m sure they’ll love it. Um, can I have a piece of the second cake, though?”
Mr. Bzdyl threw up his hands like he was tossing confetti. “Cake for everyone!”
Charlotte turned in to the hospital parking lot around four. Mr. Madison had come out of surgery a few hours earlier and was doing fine, according to Luke’s texts. The family was hanging out in the ICU waiting room, taking turns going back to sit with him. It was hard not to feel like she was intruding by showing up like this, but Mr. Bzdyl had boxed the cake with a card that read: Get well soon, Luke’s dad. Love, Pinewood Café.
She grinned. Luke’s dad. That was cute—and hilarious—enough to spur her into driving down the mountain.
The parking lot was slick with snowmelt that was quickly freezing over. Charlotte, even in her good boots, slipped and slid a few times before making it to the hospital’s entrance, hanging on to the cake box for dear life. The automatic door whooshed open, letting out a gust of bleach-scented air. Most people hated that scent—eau de hospital—but Charlotte found it reassuring. Another reason she knew med school was the place for her. Hospitals didn’t scare her—they made her feel at ease.
She walked carefully across the damp floor to the “welcome” desk, where a man with snow-white hair and wire-rim glasses peered up at her. “Help you, dear?”
“Um, yes. Where’s the ICU waiting room?”
“Third floor.” He stood, pointing a gnarled finger to the right. “Elevator’s that way.”
She nodded and took a deep breath. She’d come too far to back out now. Hopefully Luke wasn’t back with his dad—that would be awkward. “Hi everyone, I’m Luke’s…whatever I am. Here’s a cake!”
At the third floor, a helpful sign pointed left to the ICU waiting room. Hands trembling a little against the cake box, she followed it and rounded the corner into a large room full of couches.
And there was Luke, hugging a gorgeous blonde like his life depended on it.
Charlotte’s heart jerked in uneven beats. She gaped for a moment before backing away. Who was that girl? There wasn’t anyone else in the waiting room—just the two of them. Luke didn’t have a sister, and she didn’t resemble him anyway.
No, she resembled every stunning movie-star type Charlotte had ever seen.
Too confused to decide if she was angry or hurt, Charlotte backtracked to the nurses’ station closest to the elevator. “Delivery for the Madison family? I believe they’re in the ICU.”
The nurse checked the card on the box and smiled. “How sweet. I can deliver it to them.”
Swallowing hard, Charlotte nodded and walked briskly back to the elevator.