Chapter 27
Vivian
From the moment I look up from the cash register and see Ernie tiptoeing into the bakery, I smell trouble. Oh crap…
When he sees me, a nervous, tentative smile spreads across his lips. “Vivian...” My gaze moves over his shoulder, searching for his wife. She’s nowhere in sight. That’s bewildering. She never lets him off his leash.
“Hi, Ernie.” I focus on his face. He’s as pale as a ghost and there’s this wild look in his eyes that makes me unsettled. I try on a smile. I’m not sure that it fits. “Are you okay?”
He glances out through the front window then he yanks up the collar of his felt jacket to cover half of his face. The Becker for Mayor pin on his lapel disappears from sight. “Yeah—I’m okay.” He wipes sweat off the top of his lip with the back of his trembling hand.
Okay, I’m officially spooked out. What’s going on with him?
Then it dawns on me. Oh my god. I look for traces of blood. “Ernie, did you commit a crime? Did you kill your wife?” My voice comes out a little too loud. Sadie looks over at me from the other end of the counter where she’s boxing up some cakepops for an older lady. She gives me the do-you-need-to-borrow-my-pepper-spray? look. I shake my head, silently telling her to stand down. For now.
Meanwhile, Ernie glances around surreptitiously, paranoid as hell. “What? No? Keep your voice down.”
“Sure,” I say as I take a cautionary step back from the counter. “C-can I help you with something?”
His eyes flit over the cupcake display. “Can I get a chocolate cupcake? And a lemon and a peanut butter, too. Maybe throw some sprinkles on them. And I also want an extra-large cappuccino with chocolate and caramel. Extra whipped cream. And if you could spike that with some whiskey—”
“Ernie, where’s Mandy?” This is becoming a bit troubling.
He glances at the window from over the top of his stiff collar. He shoves on a huge pair of aviator sunglasses. “Can we sit over there for a minute?” He jams his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the tables at the back.
I hesitate, not sure I want to get tangled up in whatever it is Ernie has going on. But he has this puppy dog look on his face that makes me feel bad for him. “Sadie, you’ve got it covered back here?”
She looks Ernie up and down before giving me a skeptical nod. I lead the guy to a table and he sits opposite me.
“Okay, am I gonna need to get a lawyer before talking to you?” I demand. I’m not even joking.
Without warning, he reaches across the table and grabs my hands. “I’m leaving Mandy!”
The hinges in my jaw give out and my mouth falls open. “What?!”
He lurches across the table and cups my cheek in his hand. “Vivvy, you’re the only woman I’ve ever loved.”
“Ernie! What the hell are you talking about?” I drag my chair away from the table and his hand falls away.
“The bitch is crazy! She snoops through my emails, she checks my phone, she goes through my pockets. She’s convinced that I’m cheating on her. Plus, she has me on this crazy, no-calorie diet that has my blood sugar in a ditch. I’m losing my mind!” His eyes are bulging and deranged. “I need you back, Vivian!”
I have never rolled my eyes so hard in my life. “She thinks you’re cheating because when she stole you from me, you were a cheater. As for the diet, that might be a good idea because if I remember correctly, you have a real talent for clogging a toilet after you eat Italian.”
He scowls. “Vivian, now is not the time for jokes. You wanna be with me or not?”
My eyes move to the parking lot and I see Mandy’s minivan stalking by in slow motion. She’s leaning through the open window, squinting into the cupcake shop.
Ernie mutters under his breath. “I swear to god she put a tracking device in my underwear.”
I stand up from the table. “Okay, Cowardly Lion. I think that you and your marital drama need to exit stage left. I have work to do and you need to not get your butt kicked by your wife inside of my place of business.”
“Vivian, please…” His eyes beg for mercy.
I round the counter and glare at him. “You made your bed, Ernie. Now go lie in it with your controlling, psycho-stalker wife.” I don’t wait for any more of his begging. I disappear down the hallway, into the office.
My bizarre conversation with Ernie is quickly forgotten. I finish up the day ordering stock and handling some bookkeeping tasks. Sadie and I say our goodbyes and I lock up the shop around 7:00. As I climb into my car, I’ve got Clinton on my brain for sure. I cut a quick right at the intersection where I should have turned left and a few miles down the road, I’m swerving onto a now-familiar street.
There’s no use fighting against the smile on my lips when Clinton throws open the door to his basement apartment. He leans his arm on the doorframe above his head and looks down at me with a half-smirk, his inked chest spread out before me like a canvas. He runs his thumb across the frown on my forehead. “Hey, Sunflower. You look like you could use a good fuck.”
I sigh. “You know me so well.” He reaches out and grabs my hand. Giggling, I stumble inside. Before he can even kick the door shut with his foot, he’s got me pressed up against it as he rains kisses down on my neck.