Page 13 of Love Me Tender, Love Me Brew
“It’s up to you. I should be able to start on it, say, in the next hour.”
“Hour?” Edwin repeats, his face filled with worry.
“I’m only kidding. Give me about fifteen minutes and I’ll have it repaired.”
True to his word, Edwin is back on the road again in no time. Instead of heading home, he swings by the grocery store to grab a bouquet of flowers before heading over to the school. He hasn’t thanked Charlotte nearly enough, and he hopes she will at least appreciate the small gesture. Especially since they’ve hardly had time to do more than chat on the phone these last couple of weeks.
Instead of calling to let her know he’s on his way up, he hurries into her dorm. The RA recognizes him right off the bat and buzzes him through.
Out of breath from taking the stairs, he takes a moment to catch his breath before knocking on her door. He can hardly wait to see the look on her face when she sees the flowers he got her.
After knocking several times with still no answer, he finally gives up and goes back to his car.
Edwin: Where are you?
Several minutes pass and he decides to send her another message. Often times she has the volume turned down on her phone, so it’s possible she doesn’t hear her phone’s incoming message alert.
Edwin: I’m outside. Can you let me in?
It’s possible she’s at the library studying or hanging with her friends, so he finally gives up and leaves. While he’d thought the flowers would be a nice surprise, he’s sure his mom will appreciate them just the same.
The surprise, though, is on him when he walks through the door at home and finds Charlotte in the kitchen baking cookies with his mom.
“Edwin,” she says, dropping the oven mitt onto the counter and rushing over to him. “We’re making your favorite.”
Vivian walks over, a fresh, right-out-of-oven pumpkin cookie with brown butter icing in the palm of her hand. “Careful, it’s still warm,” she says and passes it over to him.
“Oh, my gosh. This is so good,” he exclaims, taking a second bite of the ooey gooey goodness. “Can I have another one?”
Charlotte begins to snicker. “We were beginning to think you weren’t coming back. You’re in luck. This is our second batch.”
Looking down at the flowers, he begins to explain what took him so long, starting with the torn shirt then him stopping by to see her at school. “So, you see, these were originally supposed to be for you. And when you weren’t there, I figured I may as well bring them to my mom.”
Vivian kisses her son on the cheek. “You’re so much like your father, do you know that?”
Chapter
Eleven
“I’m so nervous,” Charlotte leans over in her seat and whispers in Vivian’s ear. “I’ve practically chewed every one of my nails.”
“Don’t feel bad, honey. I’ve done the same.” Vivian unfolds her hand, exposing her short, less-than-perfect set of nails. “I’ve caught myself I don’t know how many times.”
“Shhh.” Ronald Wesley bumps his wife on the knee. “They’re about to announce who advances to the finals.”
While tonight’s show was certainly fun and entertaining, it was obvious to see how tired the contestants were getting. It didn’t matter how many lemon and honey concoctions he drank, Edwin’s voice was nearly gone. If he did advance to the finals, it’d be a miracle. He’d certainly wowed the crowd tonight with his moving performance ofSuspicious Minds, was it enough to convince the judges to award him a spot in next week’s grand finale?
Kevin Conrad takes the stage and the entire room goes silent. “Alrighty folks, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for.”
“I can’t watch,” Vivian wails.
“As you know, tonight, we’re going from ten down to five. Of the five advancing, one will be selected next week to represent Tahoe and move on to compete in Las Vegas.”
The camera spans over each contestant, giving them all a moment in the spotlight. Ten become eight and eventually six. With one remaining elimination, they take each other’s hands and move closer to the front of the stage.
Kevin clears his throat as he prepares to announce the final name. “Edwin Wesley, you’re moving on to next week!”
The crowd goes wild as Edwin looks out into the audience in disbelief.
