Death of a Cupcake Queen (4 page)

“But Nykki, I have to pick up Mason at the rental house because we're going on a sunset cruise with Patty Simcox from high school who married one of the Rockefellers,” Sabrina said frowning.

“I have an idea,” Ivy said. “Sabrina can drop me off at the house when she picks up Mason and you can just take my rental car, Nykki.”

“Works for me,” Sabrina said.

“Perfect. You're a doll, Ivy,” Nykki said. “I think this was all incredibly productive. Let's reconnoiter later tonight and dole out specific tasks.”

As the three of them hustled for the door, Hayley called after them. “Wait. What about Nigel? He's still out walking the dogs.”

“Oh, don't worry about him,” Ivy said, rolling her eyes. “He can walk home.”

“But your rental is like seven miles outside of town.”

That didn't really seem to be an issue with Ivy.

“Okay. Well, don't worry,” Hayley said. “Liddy and I can just wait here and give him a lift back to the rental house when he gets back.”

“Absolutely not,” Ivy said, shaking her head. “Nigel's getting fat around the middle, it's like he's wearing a Michelin tire. He needs the exercise so don't you dare!”

It was clear to Hayley that she was no longer on the receiving end of Ivy's cruel streak like she was in high school.

The new target was her husband.

Chapter 6

“You know, seeing Nykki and Ivy reunited with their queen bee Sabrina after all these years wasn't really what I expected,” Liddy said, gripping the wheel of her Mercedes as she drove Hayley home.

“Not as bad as you thought?”

“No. Worse!”

“Oh, come on, Liddy. I think it's safe to say they've all mellowed just a little bit,” Hayley said, not really believing her own words.

“Were you in the same room as I was?” Liddy asked incredulously as she whipped her head around to look at Hayley.

“Keep your eyes on the road!” Hayley yelled as she watched the Mercedes slowly drift over the yellow center dividing line into the opposite lane.

Liddy jerked the wheel back to the left and shook her head. “Once a nasty bitch always a nasty bitch. If that walking demon seed Nykki thinks she's going to encroach on
my
territory, I will fight her to the death!”

“You have to admit, Sabrina has calmed down a lot since high school. I mean, she's been through two painful divorces, and since leaving her job as county coroner, she's definitely not as manic and career obsessed.”

“Why are you cutting her so much slack?”

“Because it's not healthy to hold a grudge. I'm practicing forgiveness.”

“Well, stop it! It's irritating! Have you forgotten how they treated you in high school? How awful they were to you?”

“Of course not. But it's been twenty years. I think it's time to let all that go and just put it behind me.”

“They despised Mona and me but mostly ignored us. Which was fine by us. But you, they especially had it out for you. At least with us, they didn't pretend to like us. They'd string you along and make you believe you were part of their clique and then without warning they'd just freeze you out and make you feel like nothing!”

“What part of putting this behind me didn't resonate with you?”

“Remember that night the summer after graduation? It was the weekend after Fourth of July and Mona went on a fishing trip with her Dad and I flew to New York with my mother to meet my college roommate in the fall, and you were left to your own devices and once again fell into their trap?”

Hayley did remember.

In fact, it was impossible to forget.

She had already lied to her mother and told her it was an innocent slumber party. They were going to the Criterion Theatre to see that new Alicia Silverstone movie
Clueless
. It was supposed to be a hoot. But that was just the cover story. No boys were interested in seeing a romantic comedy loosely based on a Jane Austen novel.

Her mother was out shopping at the grocery store so it was now or never. She slipped past her younger brother, Randy, who was stretched out on the couch watching
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
(she would later learn he was more interested in star Kevin Sorbo's biceps than the rip-roaring sword fighting action sequences). He never even noticed her leaving.

 

 

Hayley's chirping cell phone snapped her out of the memory.

She checked the caller ID.

“It's Ivy,” Hayley said.

“Don't answer it!” Liddy said, turning onto Hayley's street so fast Hayley nearly banged her head on the passenger side window despite the seat belt restraining her.

Hayley pressed the answer button and held the phone to her ear. “Hello, Ivy.”

“Hi, Hayley. Listen, I called my caterer while Sabrina was driving me home and she tried gouging me with her price. I mean, come on, I like a good stuffed mushroom, but I'm not going to take out a second mortgage just to try one. If we pay her what she wants, we'd have to charge a hundred bucks a head. Now I know that doesn't mean much to you and me . . .”

Says who?

“But we really should think about our classmates who aren't doing as well as we are. They can't pay that and it would be unfair to shut them out of the reunion, don't you agree?”

“Of course, Ivy. That's sweet of you to consider them,” Hayley said, pretending to gag herself with her finger.

“I don't even want to know what she's saying,” Liddy growled. “What's she saying?”

Hayley shushed her.

“So after talking it over with Sabrina, we've decided to downsize. At least when it comes to the food.”

“I think downsizing is an excellent idea, Ivy.”

“Like we already suggested?” Liddy screamed, craning her neck closer to the phone so Ivy could hear her.

If she did, Ivy chose to ignore it. “I'm going to make my world famous cupcakes. I think they'll put everyone in a festive mood. And don't worry. I'll pay for the ingredients myself and not charge for my time.”

“That's very generous. And if there's anything I can do . . .”

“Well, since you volunteered . . .”

Why?

Why did she say anything?

She knew what was coming.

“I've read your column. You are apparently the Queen of Party Treats. So if you wouldn't mind whipping up a few appetizers. Keep in mind we have a hundred and fifty in our class, most with spouses, so I wouldn't prepare anything for less than three hundred. Thanks, Hayley. You're a peach!”

Before Hayley could protest, the line went dead.

So much for sitting on the sidelines and letting the mean girls do the heavy lifting.

Chapter 7

Hayley thought recruiting Liddy and Mona to help her prepare appetizers for the reunion would lighten the workload if they adopted an assembly line system in her kitchen, but after two bottles of BV red wine were quickly consumed within the first hour of their gal pal cooking night, the responsibility of preparing the jalapeno mozzarella sticks and the salami and cream cheese roll-ups was pretty much left to Hayley.

But Hayley wasn't complaining. At the very least, she was grateful for the moral support after being strong-armed into single-handedly catering the reunion with the exception of Ivy's self-proclaimed world famous cupcakes.

Mona teetered on top of a stool next to the small kitchen high table as she struggled to open a third bottle of wine while Liddy was still railing against Nykki Temple threatening her livelihood.

“I swear if she tries to steal one client away from me, just one, I will take her down,” Liddy slurred, waving her wine glass around and coming dangerously close to dousing Mona with the little bit of Cabernet swishing around in the bottom that she had yet to slurp down.

“Should I make those delicious parmesan garlic chicken wings I served at last summer's Fourth of July barbecue?” Hayley asked, opening her fridge to inspect its contents for the right ingredients. “I think I have some frozen wings in the freezer out in the garage.”

“Are you even listening to me?” Liddy wailed.

“Never. So why start now?” Mona chuckled as she finally popped the cork on a fresh bottle, nearly toppling off the stool in the process.

“Liddy, you have plenty of competition and you've still done incredibly well for yourself. I don't think Nykki moving back here is going to affect your business one bit,” Hayley said, stacking the roll-ups in rows between wax paper and sliding the platter on the top shelf in her fridge.

Mona jumped down from her stool and reached for one before Hayley had a chance to close the refrigerator door. Hayley gently slapped Mona on the wrist and blocked her with her body before she had the chance to grab one. “Oh no you don't. You only get to try them if you promise to come to the reunion.”

“Not happening,” Mona said defiantly before turning back to the bottle of wine on the counter she had just opened and pouring some into her glass.

“Don't you have one fond memory of high school, Mona?”

“Yeah. Graduating,” Mona barked.

“Just barely, as I recall,” Liddy said before grabbing the bottle away from Mona and filling her own glass.

The back door swung open and Gemma breezed in, as if walking on air. She had a dopey grin on her face, but before Hayley could ask why she looked so euphoric, she noticed a tall boy around Gemma's age following behind her. He was strikingly handsome. Hollywood handsome. Like one of those pin up boys from a CW show about sexy teen vampires or hot young ghost hunters. Blond. Built. And a megawatt smile that took your breath away.

“Mom, this is Nate. Nate Forte. We're going to prom together,” Gemma cooed before catching herself and trying to strike a cooler, less overly excited girlish pose.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Powell,” Nate said, extending a massive hand and squeezing Hayley's so tight it almost hurt.

“It's a pleasure, Nate.”

“And these are my honorary aunts, Liddy and Mona,” Gemma said, staring at the empty wine bottles and silently imploring them not to embarrass her.

To Liddy and Mona's credit, they simply waved at Nate and offered perfunctory smiles.

“Thanks for walking me home,” Gemma said. “I'll e-mail you the history notes later so we can study together tomorrow before the final.”

“Great. I'm going to need all the help I can get,” Nate said, smiling again so brightly, Hayley half expected a power outage from him sucking up so much electricity in one facial expression. “Nice meeting you all.”

Hayley noticed him start to lean in to kiss Gemma, but then think better of it with her mother watching.

Instead, he patted her gently on the cheek and was out the door in a flash.

“Too bad you couldn't have scrounged up a better looking prom date, Gemma,” Liddy said, watching him dash up the street from the kitchen window.

“I totally scored. Every girl in my class was vying to go with him. I have no idea why he chose me!”

“Because you're beautiful, smart, kind, funny, and my daughter,” Hayley said. “There was no way he could do better.”

“I hated prom,” Mona said, climbing back up on the stool she was using as a perch.

“That's because you hated wearing a dress,” Hayley said, laughing.

“Yeah, there was that. My mother forced me to buy one at JC Penney. Remember? It was bright yellow. I looked like Big Bird,” Mona said, shaking her head.

“You went with Norman Langford, right? I remember he loved your dress. He kept complimenting it all night,” Liddy said. “Frankly I think he wished he had been the one wearing it.”

“Whatever happened to Norman?” Hayley asked.

“He runs a dance company in Rhode Island,” Mona said.

“That sounds about right,” Liddy said, nodding.

“Speaking of dresses . . .” Hayley said, turning to Gemma. “How about a sneak preview for Liddy and Mona?”

Liddy clapped her hands together, excited over the prospect of an impromptu fashion show.

Gemma demurred but it was mostly for show. It didn't take a lot of convincing before she raced up the stairs to her room to pull the dress off the hanger.

“I know she's going to have a night to remember,” Hayley said. “And it has to be better than my own prom night.”

“Didn't you go with Ruben Fitch?”

“Yeah, I was going through my bad boy period and Ruben fit the bill. He was just back from a three-week suspension for joyriding in his father's truck on school property and tearing up the football field. At the time, I thought his rebellious spirit was cool. But I paid the price for it. After the prom, he was arrested for public intoxication and left me to walk home in my prom dress in the rain. Then I spent the rest of the night hearing ‘I told you so' from my mother. Not the happiest of memories.”

Gemma descended the stairs in a Princess Sweetheart beaded sleeveless floor-length tulle dress. Even with no make-up and her hair pulled back in a lifeless pony tail, she looked absolutely stunning. Just the sight of her looking so regal and gorgeous, filling out the dress so perfectly, brought tears to Hayley's eyes.

“You look so grown up. It's killing me,” Hayley said, grabbing a napkin to dab her tear-streaked face.

Liddy focused on Gemma's bare feet. “What kind of shoes are you going to wear?”

“I have some white sandals I can strap on. Mom already spent enough on the dress,” Gemma said.

“We're going shoe shopping when you get off school tomorrow. Consider it your graduation present. I will not have you wearing some ordinary sandals with that dress,” Liddy said, slapping her hand on the counter to make her point. “There. It's settled.”

“Wait. I totally forgot about getting you a graduation gift,” Mona said.

“You don't need to get me anything, Aunt Mona,” Gemma said. “Seriously.”

“No, I do. I'm not going to let Liddy have all the glory. What do you want? Tell me. As long as it doesn't send my credit card over the limit. Again.”

“Well, there is one thing . . .” Gemma said, giving her mother a playful wink.

“Just name it. You want a necklace? We can drive up to Zales and get a nice birthstone or something to go with the dress.”

“Actually, what I really want is . . .” Gemma said, reaching out and taking Mona's hand. “Is for you to go to your high school reunion with Mom and Liddy.”

Mona wrenched her hand free. “Did your nasty mother put you up to this?”

“You said
anything
,” Gemma said. “And that's what I want.”

“You people are pure evil,” Mona said, gulping down the remainder of her wine.

“Then it's settled,” Liddy said. “And don't worry, no matter what those overly made up clucking hens say or do, we will have a good time!”

Mona sat there scowling.

But Hayley sensed there might be a tiny part of her that might be looking forward to attending the reunion. She just had to keep up her dour exterior so as not to jeopardize her prickly reputation.

Hayley felt in her bones that it was going to be a memorable night.

She just had no idea how memorable.