Chapter Thirty-Four
Sienna
I rolled over and bumped into something solid and hard next to me. I smiled as I opened my eyes. Even though it was dark, I could picture Parker’s facial features as he slept beside me. I still wasn’t used to having someone else in bed with me. It was a new and welcome difference in my life. Unlike the unwelcome one that led me to not having a job and an unsteady financial future.
I tried not to think of the diner. It was a thorn in my side that twisted even more each time I thought about it.
Parker stirred next to me. I wondered if I woke him with my thoughts. He seemed to sense my discomfort every time I thought about the diner. Which was why we were perfect for each other. With our friendship over the years, we had developed some strange psychic connection.
His arm slipped around my waist. “What time is it?”
“Does it matter?” I asked, turning around so he could spoon me. I loved the feel of him pushed up against me. It was as if I was made to fit next to him.
He chuckled. “Not really.”
Neither of us had to do much on any given day since we were both unemployed. But Parker was by choice. “Must be nice to be retired at such an early age.”
Parker yawned. “It does feel nice not to have to check my phone every two minutes.”
“But you do, anyway,” I said, laughing.
“Force of habit,” he said, chuckling against my ear.
Just then, his phone vibrated on the side table. But he didn’t move.
“Are you going to get that?” I asked.
“I already know what it is,” he said, nibbling on my ear.
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s my weekly transfer of funds. I opted for a weekly payout versus a lump sum. Overall, it gives me the most return for the company. I don’t want to bore you with the details.”
“Good, because I was bored after ‘transfer of funds.’”
He pinched my side and I giggled.
“I do think you need to find a new hobby, though,” I said. “You’re home way too much. It’s not good for your genius brain.”
“I think ‘genius’ is a stretch. I was lucky to come up with a good idea.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, okay, Mr. Modest.”
“Maybe I could open my own paintball place,” he said. “I could make a rule banning all boastful dancing.”
I grinned. “Then I wouldn’t be allowed to come.”
“Exactly.”
In the comfort of Parker’s arms, I managed to drift back to sleep until my alarm went off on my phone.
I woke with a jolt, enough to scare him awake too. “Time to get up,” I said, wriggling out of his arms. “We have an important date this morning.”
“Give me a minute,” he said, stretching his arms over his head.
“Are you showering this morning?”
“Are you?”
“Yes,” I said with a smile.
He hopped out of bed and scooped me into his arms. “Then I am, too.”
We were right on time arriving at Harriet’s house, promptly at eight.
When she answered the door, she had a big smile on her face. “I could set a clock to you two. Come in, come in.”
I gave her a hug and Parker kissed her cheek in greeting. Parker got a better reaction from her than I did.
We’d been coming to her house for several days now so I could make breakfast for her. With Kenneth and the diner gone, we both had huge holes in our hearts and it was the only solution that worked for the moment. I’d missed seeing her each morning, so when I proposed the idea, she was thrilled with it. She did insist that I send her a list of groceries so she could pick them up for me. There was no arguing with her, so I complied as part of the compromise.
I didn’t mind the upgrade in the ingredients. She loved to shop local farmer’s markets and always found the freshest items. When I ordered from the wholesaler, sometimes it was hit or miss. The fresher ingredients made better food. And cooking for only three people gave me the opportunity to really dig deep into my recipes and perfect them. In the back of my mind, I did want to open up another diner, eventually. But at the moment, I’d have to settle with getting a job. Even though I’d been dragging my feet. I didn’t rely on Parker at all for money; I never did that before, and I didn’t plan on starting to just because we were a couple. I had a good grasp on how long I’d be able to go until I had to get a job. Four months, tops, was my deadline.
Parker chatted with Harriet all the way into the kitchen. The two of them sat down at the table and I went to the refrigerator to get the ingredients for my famous french toast with eggs and bacon.
“It’s so nice to have both of you here,” Harriet said. “Granted, it's for a tragic reason.”
My shoulders tensed and I was happy I wasn’t looking at her. Parker always said I wore my heart on my face. I felt the familiar tug at the corners of my lips as I did when anyone mentioned the diner. Harriet was sharp for her age. If she caught a whiff of any heightened emotion, she’d pounce. I loved her to death, but I didn’t want to discuss my life at the moment.
I reached for the stainless steel bowl from the cabinet and moved over to my place by the sink. I tried not to make a mess like I would have in my own kitchen. She had enough to worry about than cleaning up my egg shells.
“Harriet, can I get you some tea?” Parker asked.
He knew he wielded the charm to change the subject.
“I would love a cup,” Harriet said. “Sienna, do you ever plan on opening another place?”
Parker’s charm didn’t get us far today, I supposed.
I cracked a few eggs into the bowl and started to whisk. “It would be nice in the future. But honestly, I don’t think it’s in the cards for me right now.”
“I’m sure Parker can help,” Harriet said. “You do know that he has a lot of money.”
I swallowed. “I like to do things on my own.”
Parker smiled at me while filling up the kettle. “And I’d never get in the way of that. This girl can be a real beast when she’s upset.”
I pointed my whisk at him. “Watch it.”
Parker put the tea kettle on the stovetop and held his hands up in surrender.
“Besides,” I said, getting back to beating the eggs. “I like coming over to make breakfast for you.”
“And while I appreciate that, I think you should get back on the horse. I need to leave the house sometimes and the trip over to the diner was the highlight of my day.”
“Seeing you is the highlight of mine,” I said. “I suppose I’ll have to consider it.” I didn’t like lying to Harriet, but at least giving her a better answer would keep her questions about the diner at bay.
“Good,” she said, clasping her hands in front of her.
Parker turned on the stovetop then kissed me on the cheek while reaching into the cabinet above me to get three mugs.
“You two remind me so much of Kenneth and me,” Harriet said.
Parker plucked three tea bags from the container next to the refrigerator. “How so?”
“You’re so happy with each other, now that you were able to come to grips with your feelings.”
“Is that what happened with you two?” I asked. I started to remove the slices of bacon from the package and laid them out on a sheet pan. I preferred to bake the bacon in Harriet’s house since the process tended to be messy on the stovetop. I’d had the luxury of commercial equipment at the diner with big fans and plenty of space to spread out. Yet another thing on the long list of things I missed about the place.
“Oh, yes,” Harriet said. “The roles were slightly reversed, but when Ken started to pursue me, I was with another man at the time. I’d waited a long time for Ken to show interest in me. I always thought we were just friends.”
“Hm, does that sound familiar?” Parker asked me.
I smirked. “So, what happened after that?”
“I apologized deeply to John, the man I was dating, and went right over to Ken’s house and asked him out.”
“Really?” Parker asked.
A sly smile danced across her lips. “At that point, I was so excited that he wanted me back that didn’t care much for social customs. We got married later that year.”
“And that wasn’t too fast?” Parker asked.
“We already knew everything about each other. There was no point in waiting.”
I glanced at Parker, who was grinning. I didn’t expect him to ask me to marry him anytime soon. But I did sometimes wonder what he’d do. Would he make it flashy like he did for Rachel? Or something that was more personalized for us? I never thought of what I’d want it to be like. I supposed if someone knew me well enough, he’d make it memorable for me.
“Where did you get married?” Parker asked.
“It was a big church wedding with a reception at a local Knights of Columbus. We didn’t have a lot of money at the time, but our parents helped. They got along so well together; it was a happy day for everyone.”
I turned on the other burner and placed a pad of butter on the pan before heating it up. “That sounds really nice.”
The kettle whistled and Parker started to fill the cups with water. “Tell us another story.”
Harriet jumped at the chance to talk about Kenneth. I loved the way her eyes lit up when she did.
I looked over at Parker, who was enamored by her next story. I hoped that we would grow old together like Harriet and Kenneth did. It was all I ever wanted.
Later that morning, after we ate and Parker and I cleaned up Harriet’s kitchen, we headed down to the pier. There was a little festival going on and the day was perfect with a cloudless blue sky above us. I liked checking out the local vendors.
“Are you okay?” Parker asked me after I wandered out of one of the tents.
“I’m fine, why?”
“You seemed a little…annoyed when Harriet asked about the diner.”
Not this again.
“I wasn’t annoyed. I don’t like talking about it, is all,” I said.
Parker nodded. “I understand. But you have to realize that people are concerned—”
“Concerned about me?” I asked. “There’s no reason for people to be in my business like that.”
“Sienna,” he said in a calming voice.
I looked around and a few people were looking at me with wide-eyes. I didn’t realize I’d raised my voice.
“Not concerned about you. We all know you can handle yourself,” he said with a quick smile. “We all love you. We just want to make sure that you’re still you, even without the diner. And if you aren’t, that’s okay too.”
“I’m still me,” I said. “Just without a part of me. And at this point in time, I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
“I understand.”
“Harriet can talk all she wants, but I would prefer that you and Tony back off.”
“Okay, but can I ask one more question?”
“Sure.” If he brought it up again, I’d remind him that he said ‘one more.’
“If you had all the money in the world to have Sunny’s again, would you want it?”
“If I had the resources and money, yes, I would want the diner back.”
Parker took my hand in his. “Good, that’s all I wanted to hear.”