Page 8 of The Charming Checklist
Ava handed the French press to Susannah and bent to pet Doodle. “Who’s a good boy? Huh? Who’s a good boy?”
“Smells divine,” Susannah said, leading the way into the kitchen. “No one makes coffee like you do.”
“That’s what I’m hoping.”
Ava helped Susannah with cups and saucers. Susannah took her coffee with a little milk and sugar because nobody was perfect. Ava preferred hers black so that she could experience every bold and rich texture and flavor. Susannah set down a Danish kringle, and they began their Saturday ritual. Coffee, sweets and gossip. Susannah was a contributing member of the Almost Dead Poet Society senior citizen’s group and made it her business to keep up on all the latest Charming news through those connections. She kept inviting Ava to attend one of their meetings but so far Ava hadn’t been able to make it.
“So...the official news is that Valerie and Cole nixed having their wedding as a Mr. and Mrs. Charming town event. Sorry, sugar. It appears to be their final answer.”
“I know.”
Ava didn’t want to break it to Susannah, but being Valerie’s best friend had perks, and she’d had that news for a while. “And they’re entitled to make their wedding private and intimate.”
“I didn’t think you’d take this so well.” Susannah patted Ava’s hand. “I know how much you’d hoped to make this wedding pretty much a town-sponsored event.”
“Well, it would have been nice, but I understand Valerie’s position.” She took her first sip of coffee and nearly had a religious experience. “Oh, this batch came out amazing.”
“They all do.” She stirred sugar in her coffee cup, leaned forward and smiled. “And also, Max Del Toro is dating!”
Ava didn’t have the heart to pretend she didn’t also already have this gossip. “Oh. Really.”
“Valerie told us at the last poetry meeting. Imagine this—he’s signed up for all the dating services. One does question the wisdom of this decision.”
One does.“Well, he’s joining millions of single people who can’t all be wrong.”
Susannah cut through the Danish and served Ava. “In my day, we went to the sock hop and the roller-skating rink.”
“Well, I don’t think this is going to work, and then Max will probably just give up. Unless he lets me fix him up.”
“You could find someone for him?”
“I probably could throw a rock in my senior graduating class and find him the perfect woman.”
“Why not you, sugar?” Susannah winked.
“Other than the fact that Max scares me a little bit? He wants to get married. I’m definitely not interested in marriage.”
She’d made a choice to be more like Nanny Lucia.
There’s a time for everything and now is the time to raise children and roast coffee beans,she’d said in her accented English.When I was a younger woman I used to dance on tabletops and drink tequila. And date handsome men.
Ava would be twenty-nine next week, still relatively young, so she’d be a career woman until it was time to marry and have children. After that, she’d put all her focus on raising her children. She did want children. One or two, tops. No need to get crazy. But like everything else she did in life, Ava would do it with gusto. Her children would finger paint and mold with clay. They’d go to the park and swing until they were dizzy. She wouldn’t insist on color-coordinated outfits. They could dress themselves in unmatching outfits. She wouldn’t sign them up for SAT prep courses in fifth grade. In fact, she wouldn’t even insist on college—gasp!—unless they wanted to go.
After coffee, Ava went home to get ready for her plans today. Although this was part of her position as the president—and full staff—of the Chamber of Commerce, Ava would have done it anyway. Today, the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the grand opening of Hot Threads, a yarn specialty store on Main Street, would take place. She’d be in attendance with her trusty phone camera, ready to take photos, upload them and splash them all over the town’s website to get the word out for a new business owner in town. Community support was vital to success.
Someday, that would be her.
Max spent the first part of his Saturday on the water. He kayaked in the early morning before the sun rose. Cole had failed to join him on the waves this morning—something about picking out a wedding cake. He did, however, drop off Sub so that at least he could have a go at the waves.
Sub ran and chased at the edge of the surf while Max kayaked several feet out, keeping a close watch on him. Not that he had to. Sub was as loyal as they came, the best kind of dog. Later, he took Sub back to his condo near the beach where they would watch football and wait for Cole.
Max set a bowl of water down. “Have at it.”
Sub slurped and splashed all over the wood floor, then lay on the floor like a rug.
Max dried up the water Sub had spilled, then showered and shaved. He considered what he should wear tonight for his date with Daphne Montgomery. Ava would probably tell him to come in his board shorts and a tee. He spent enough time on the water to consider it. But Max figured a graduate of MIT, and a woman registered with the MENSA society, would much prefer the suit. Surely Daphne would not get them a hotel room for the night. Just to be safe he’d made reservations at the Crow’s Nest. No hotel attached or even nearby.
It wasn’t that he didn’t love sex because he did. Maybe a littletoomuch. The wordssex addicthad been bandied about by a few ex-girlfriends. Completely untrue. He’d never cheated, and Max didn’t believe in so-called sex addiction. He figured that was just another label invented by men to excuse their bad behavior. Another term for “playboy” or “commitment-phobe.” That certainly had never been him, much as he’d enjoyed sex. It just had always seemed that there could be someone better out there and he hadn’t been ready to settle down.
