How Sweet It Is (23 page)

He walked up to her and gave her a long hug,
silently communicating comfort in a way she wasn’t used to. She
closed her eyes and squeezed him back.

Finally, Delphine withdrew from his arms and
went into the small cramped bathroom next to her office. She
frowned at her sleepy expression. Ugh. After washing her face and
brushing her teeth, she dragged a comb through her hair.

She also noticed that Brad had made himself
comfortable while he worked through the night. She shook her head
at the new toothbrush in the holder, pilfered from the small stash
of toiletries she kept under the sink.

Smoothing down her blouse, Delphine took a
deep breath and exited the bathroom.

Brad smiled at her. “Ready?”

She nodded and followed him out the back of
the shop. Locking it up behind her, she turned and smiled up at
him, amazed that a mere twenty-four hours before, her life seemed
mired in despair.

Brad placed his hands against the door on
either side of her head. “You look adorable in the morning.”

Delphine wrinkled up her nose. “That can’t be
possible. I know what I look like in the morning.”

“You look extremely kissable, too,” he went
on, unhindered.

Before she could stop him, Brad lowered his
head and caught her lips in a kiss. Her last coherent thought
before succumbing to a wave of love was that her neighbors were
probably getting quite an eyeful.

****

Stephan pulled into the parking space and
turned off the ignition of Minnie's car. At the same time, he heard
her gasp.

“It worked, Stephan! They’re back
together!”

It took a moment for Stephan to realize who
she was referring to. Since going home after helping Minnie the
previous night, he’d only thought about her.

He focused his attention on a couple near the
back door of the shop. His jaw slowly unhinged when he saw his boss
being thoroughly kissed by the has-been surfer dude from the
Internet site.

Stephan quickly gathered his wits and put his
hand over Minnie’s eyes. She was too young and tender to witness
such a spectacle.

“Stop it!” she screamed and dragged his hand
away. “Oh, it’s so romantic!”

Apparently unaware they were being watched,
Delphine and her boyfriend walked off down the alley, arm in arm,
until they rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.

“Well!” Stephan sniffed. “Seems our boss has
found more important things than work! Good thing I have a key to
the shop!”

Minnie launched from the car, she marched
around to the driver’s side and stood staring at him with a martial
glint in her eye. “How can you say that? Didn’t you learn anything
last night?”

Alarmed by her sudden behavior, Stephan
racked his brain for what she might mean. The only thing he could
remember was how nice it was to be kissed by her. Had there been
anything else?

His silence apparently wasn’t what Minnie
wanted to hear. She strode to the back door and yelled over her
shoulder, “Oh, hurry up and whatever you do, don’t forget your
precious key!”

Seventeen

Brad dropped Delphine off at her apartment,
then headed home after agreeing to meet back up at the shop. Tired
but happy, she stopped at the mailbox before going upstairs to her
place.

Inside her door, she once again felt saddened
by the tomb-like silence of the place. The sunlight from the
kitchen window couldn’t quite penetrate the gloomy shadows
shrouding the room. It even smelled lonely, cold, and sterile.
Coming home to a place that used to be inhabited by her noisy,
jovial parents made it difficult to be here when it was so empty.
She walked over and turned on the floor lamp.

Blowing out a sigh, she sorted through the
mail, and smiled at a postcard sent by her mom picturing the
crumbling ruins of a French chateau amid rolling hills. The
postcard didn’t say anything on the back, but she knew her mom had
meant well by getting it in the mail to her.

Aside from several bills, Delphine found an
envelope from the insurance company she’d contacted at her mother’s
request. She stared at the envelope that, in a way, represented her
father’s death. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she wondered if it
was the policy payout. When she’d notified them, she hadn’t asked
about the amount, as it seemed a greedy thing to do. Besides, she
knew it would be worth very little.

Delphine opened the envelope and took out a
check. After staring at the dollar figure, she staggered to the
couch and collapsed.

Twenty-five thousand dollars!

Tears sprang to her eyes.
She felt mean and grubby and guilty at the relief surging like a
tsunami through her. The amount could easily pay off the loan, the
funeral, and even her airline ticket. But at what a cost! Her
poor
Papa
.

“I hate money!” she yelled into the silent
room. She breathed hard, clenching the check in her clammy hands,
hating the turmoil of anguish and relief. Money held too much sway
over people, over her. Delphine closed her eyes and cried.

Several minutes later, she wiped the tears
from her face, reminding herself the money was not hers, but her
mother’s. After checking the time, she made the call to France.
Once Clarice heard the details, her mother firmly told Delphine she
must use the money to settle her debts.

“But you are the
beneficiary,
Maman
,” Delphine said, gripping the phone. “
Papa
meant this for you.”

“I have no needs
here,
ma chèrie
.
Josephine takes great care of me. Let me know what it will take for
you to cash the check and then do what you will with it. Perhaps
for your business,
non?
”

Delphine stifled a sob.
“
Oui
,
Maman
,” she whispered.
“
Oui
.”

After finishing her conversation, she hung up
the phone, still in shock. As she distractedly sifted through the
remaining mail, she saw a letter from Delta. Inside was a refund
check and an abject apology for her inconvenience.

What
timing
.

Delphine showered and dressed, all the while
in a kind of daze, hardly able to believe her financial burden was
about to be lifted. She wanted to call Brad and tell him the news,
but at the same time, decided if he knew about the money, he
wouldn’t let her pay off her debts the way she wanted.

The phone rang. Brad! She missed him already.
Delphine tripped in her haste to answer it. She yanked the receiver
off the base. “Hello?”

“Delphine, how are you doing?”

She silently released a pent-up breath.
“Fine, Mrs. Larsen. And you?”

“I’m doing good. I called to say thank you
for the lovely card you sent.”

She tucked a damp curl behind her ear.
“You’re welcome. Your family has been such a blessing to me, I wish
I could do more than just send a card.”

They talked for several
minutes about the shop. Delphine tried to wind up the conversation
so she could get to
Chez Chocolates
and see Brad.

“We sure miss you. I want to invite you over
to dinner soon. I know you’re getting ready to open the store, so
check your calendar and let me know when a good time would be.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Larsen. I’d like that.”

“Oh! Brad’s right here and wants to talk to
you.”

When he got on the phone, his voice warmed
her to her toes.

“Hey, sweetie.”

“Hi.”

“Change of plans. I won’t be able to make it
to the shop.”

“Oh.”

“I forgot about plans my dad had for me
today. There’s a business owner he wants me to meet.” He lowered
his voice. “If I get a job with this guy, I’ll still be able to
help you out, okay?”

“Of course.” She tried hard to keep the
disappointment out of her voice. Naturally, she couldn’t expect
Brad to work for free, no matter his intentions.

“Believe me, I’d rather work for you.”

She laughed softly. “I understand, and you’ve
already helped so much—”

“Delphine, don’t you dare write me off. I’ll
be there—just a little less than before.”

“Okay, okay.” She smiled, imagining his
determined expression. “You better not let me down. You are my best
taste-tester.”

He chuckled. “The other part is that I’ll
have some loose ends to take care of, so I might not get to come by
for a few days.”

She gripped the phone. “No problem. I
understand.”

He sighed. “I love you, Delphine.”

“I love you, too.”

After a few more minutes of chitchat,
Delphine said goodbye and hung up the phone.

As she made her way out the
door and to the bus stop, she attempted to rein in her churning
emotions. Brad was
not
getting cold feet. She had nothing to worry about. She could
be confident of his love and affection. He’d be back soon and
everything would be okay.

Vraiment!

****

As Delphine knocked on the Larsen’s front
door the day after cashing the check, she reflected that it was
probably better that Brad was busy and away from home. He might
interfere with her repayment plan and try to convince her that
there was doubtless some tax advantage for his father if she
defaulted on the loan.

She smiled to
herself.
I can easily imagine him saying
just that
.

The front door swung open. Brad’s mom smiled
in welcome.

“Delphine! What a surprise! Please come
in.”

“Hello, Mrs. Larsen,” she said, stepping
into the foyer. A rush of fragrant smells—Mrs. Larsen’s floral
perfume, the scent of fresh bread, and something lemony mingled in
her nose.

Delphine shook the thought away. “Mrs.
Larsen, I know your husband is out of town, but I have some
business with him, and I was hoping I could do it through you.”

Brad’s mom touched the pearl pendant at her
throat. “Business, dear? Are you sure it can’t wait? Bradley and
Donald will be back tonight.”

“It’s very pressing, I’m afraid.”

She waved her hands in a way that reminded
Delphine of her own mother. “Well, all right. What can I help you
with?”

“I’m here to pay off the loan.”

Mrs. Larsen stared at her, her eyes wide. “I
don’t understand. Is it due?”

Delphine shook her head, uncomfortably aware
of the cashier’s check in her purse. “It’s not due, but I have the
money to pay it back now and would like to do so.”

At the older woman’s continued puzzlement,
she added, “I re-read the contract and there’s no pre-payment
penalty. It would be very simple to figure up the per diem payoff
amount.”

Mrs. Larsen took a deep breath. “You seem
very determined.”

“I am.”

“Well, let me see what I can do. I’m not
privy to Donald’s business arrangements anymore, but I can look in
your file. Let’s go to his office.”

She followed Brad’s mother down the hall to a
small room next to the den. French doors opened to a room
containing a leather chair, heavy wooden desk, and wooden file
cabinet. Potted plants and an upholstered side chair completed the
space.

Mrs. Larsen reached for the phone. “Let me
just call my husband. That way I can know just where to look.”

“Of course.” Delphine turned away. She
spotted a picture on the opposite wall. She approached it and
peered closely at the image of Brad with his family members. He
wasn’t going to be happy when he found out what she’d done.

“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Larsen said. “Either his
phone is off or he doesn’t have reception where he is.”

She turned back and smiled. “That’s okay. All
I need is the total pay-off amount.”

Brad’s mom looked at the filing cabinet and
pulled open the top drawer. “Let’s see what we can find.”

Delphine closed her
eyes.
Come on!
She
longed to have the task done, longed for the freedom from the
crushing burden of debt, longed to be free from it for once and for
all.

“Ah! Here it is!”

She opened her eyes to see Brad’s mom slide a
file from the cabinet. She put it on the desk and opened it up.
“Maybe you can peek at this and show me what to look for.”

Stepping over to the desk, Delphine skimmed
the copy of the contract she’d signed. “If you have a calculator, I
can figure the final amount.”

Mrs. Larsen opened the desk drawer and found
a small calculator. She slid it across the desk.

Delphine punched in the numbers, figuring in
the date and interest and arrived at the same number she’d come up
with at home. “Do you want to double check this, Mrs. Larsen?” she
asked, turning the calculator around for her inspection.

“Of course not, dear, I trust you
completely. But I do have to ask why you’re doing this? Is anything
wrong?” Her French manicured fingernails toyed with the pendant
while her blue gaze, so like her son’s, begged for an
explanation.

She smiled, hoping to reassure her. She
needed to keep her impatience hidden or Brad’s mother might suspect
something untoward.

“No, nothing like that. My father had a life
insurance policy in force when he died—”

“You don’t need to say anymore, dear. Bless
your heart.”

Delphine blinked away a sudden rush of tears.
Keeping her eyes averted, she opened her purse and pulled out the
check. “This is for the amount I figured.”

Brad’s mom took the check and put it in the
file folder without looking at it.

“If you could please write me a receipt to
show that the loan has been discharged.”