Sweet Baklava (11 page)

Paula hurried and finished all her errands, only to arrive at the shop and find no one there. Her mind raced with questions, and she was tempted to call Steph to find out where Alexa was. Alexa had given her old cell phone to Charlene and gotten a new one—with a new number.

No matter how angry she was—and she was furious—Paula didn't call Steph. She decided not to get anyone else in the Papadopoulos family involved in whatever was happening.

She punched in the cash register numbers and made sure all the money was there. On top of the stack of twenties lay a handwritten note.

Mama slipped and fell in the bakery, so I left to take her to the emergency room. I asked Socrates next door to keep an eye on your shop. Alexa.

Paula sank against the counter as guilt washed over her. To think she'd thought the worst of Alexa.

The front door opened, and in walked Socrates, the man who owned the cigar shop next door. "Oh, it's just you. I saw someone come in here, but I had a customer. Did you get Alexa's note?"

"Yes," Paula said.

"Are you sticking around, or do I need to keep an eye on the place?"

"Let me call and see if anyone needs me."

Socrates pointed to his shop. "Come let me know, okay?"

She nodded as she punched Steph's number on speed dial. After Steph assured her everything was okay, and that she had plenty of family with her, Paula went next door. "I'm staying."

"Good." Socrates grinned. "I don't know a thing about candles, and if you were to ask my wife, she'd tell you I don't know much about soap either."

Paula laughed. "Thanks, Socrates. I'll let you know when I find out exactly how Alexa's mother is."

After he left, she tried Alexa's old cell phone, but no one, not even Charlene, answered. She thought about calling the bakery, but they were probably slammed, between customers and dealing with the accident. So she called Nick, who answered on the first ring.

"Did you hear about your aunt?"

"Yeah, I'm at the hospital right now."

"So how is she?"

"They just finished running some X-rays, and we'll know soon if anything's broken."

"I'll pray for her."

"Thanks. I better go. Mama needs me."

A
fter Paula hung up, she reflected on how close the Papadopoulos family was. No matter what, when something happened they were there for each other. Like Alexa taking off to be at the hospital for her mother.

Paula's own mother could have used a lesson on family. The only time Paula ever heard from her was when she needed something.

The more she thought about her own lack of family, the more she ached. She swiped at a tear with the back of her hand.

People thought things came easy to Paula, and she let them believe it, when the reality was that everything was difficult for her. What came across as confidence was more of an act of self-preservation. She made good enough grades for a full college scholarship through dogged determination and the desire to be completely different from her mother rather than natural-born brilliance like her friends assumed.

Paula grabbed a tissue, dabbed at her eyes, and blew her nose. No point in shedding tears over something she couldn't control.

A few more customers walked through the door, and she made sales to all of them. However, the two phone-in wholesale orders that afternoon totaled more than her last month's walk-in retail sales combined. She'd need to find at least a couple more salespeople to help her out now that she had such huge orders to fill. She also needed to find more people to hand-make the candles and soaps, which would involve weeks of training since she only used natural ingredients.

Since everyone was rallying around Alexa's mother, Paula assumed her date with Nick was off. He wouldn't leave his aunt's side as long as he thought he was needed. So Paula hung around the shop a few minutes after closing, not having a reason to rush home.

Finally, she locked up and left. As she pulled onto her street, her cell phone rang.

"Hey, I hope you don't mind, but I thought we might make it an earlier night, say around six-thirty?"

Her heart thudded. "You still want to go out?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"Your aunt."

"Oh, she's fine. Just a little bruised. The doc said she needed to stop pushing herself so hard."

"She probably needs Alexa to come back to the bakery too, right?"

Nick laughed. "Actually, no. I think Aunt Phoebe is relieved to have Alexa somewhere besides the bakery."

Guilt mixed with relief washed over Paula. "Is there anything I can do?"

"You're helping out just by letting Alexa work for you and getting her out of the bakery. Don't tell anyone else, but Mama said that having Alexa there made everything twice as hard."

It was Paula's turn to laugh. "I'm happy to have her. She's an excellent salesperson."

"But a lousy baker. They had to dump everything she touched before she left, which was why Mama was so frantic."

"I'm just pulling into my driveway now, so give me a few minutes to change clothes and freshen up."

"Fifteen minutes enough?"

Paula swallowed hard. "Sure, that's fine."

Nick arrived ten minutes later.

"You're early," she said as she opened the door.

"But you're ready." He walked in. "I knew you wouldn't take long."

"I'm not doing a very good job of being the mysterious woman, am I?" She smiled and let out a nervous giggle.

"Oh, you're plenty mysterious. I always have to guess what's on your mind."

If he only knew.
"So let's go."

He drove south on Alternate U. S. 19. As they left Palm Harbor and wound their way through the streets of Dunedin, Paula noticed Nick looking around like he'd never seen the place before.

"I forget how beautiful it is here." He pointed toward the St. Joseph's Sound past the stop sign near Bon Appetit.

"Remember when we went to your cousin Olivia's wedding reception there?"

He laughed. "How can I forget? It felt like we were walking through heaven."

"It was rather ethereal to have all white decorations and being suspended over the water with a three-way view of St. Joseph's Sound." Paula closed her eyes at the memory of her first kiss with Nick when they thought no one was looking.

They rode the rest of the way to Clearwater Beach in silence. After negotiating the roundabout, Nick found a parking spot not far from the beach.

"I feel like a teenager again," he said as he took Paula's hand. "Remember when we used to come here as kids?"

Oh yeah, she remembered. In fact, she and Drew had a date to walk on this same beach, but the memories of Nick were so intense she wound up with a headache and asked to go home early.

They took off their sandals and carried them as they strolled up the beach, dodging Frisbees and Nerf footballs. Nick tugged her over toward a volleyball game, and they stood to watch until finally he turned her to face him.

"The sun is about to set."

She smiled. Without another word, they turned to face the water and walked toward it, hand-in-hand. As the sun melted into the Gulf of Mexico, Paula felt that familiar twinge she always got when she and Nick watched the sunset together. It was like God had put on a show especially for them.

After the sun dipped beneath the water's edge, Nick let go of Paula's hand, inhaled deeply, and lifted his arms over his head. When they came down, one hand found its way to Paula's shoulder. Just like old times.

"Hungry?" he asked as he leaned over and dropped a kiss on top of her head.

"Sort of."

"Crabby Bill's or Frenchy's?"

"Crabby Bill's."

He grinned and tweaked her nose. "That's what I thought you'd say. Let's go."

Paula loved the rustic little restaurant where the service was good and the food delicious.

"So how does everything look?"

He turned and gazed into her eyes. "It's almost like time stood still. The strangest thing is I feel like this is where I belong."

"I'm sure your family would agree."

"I know." He reached over and fidgeted with the salt and pepper shakers before shoving them to the side and folding his hands. "But that doesn't take away from the fact that I love what I do now."

"That's important."

"I just might come back for good."

"Are you seriously thinking about it?"

He glanced down at the table then raised his gaze to hers as he nodded. "Yes. But I'll need to find some way to earn a living."

"You won't have to look far," she reminded him, her heart hammering at the thought of him coming home for good. "Your family owns a good portion of Dodecanese Boulevard."

"That's just it. You know I don't want to be a sponger or a baker."

She cleared her throat. "You could always sell or make soap and candles."

Nick tilted his head forward, looked at her from beneath his eyebrows, and grinned. "Don't tempt me."

"There's a poster about the Clearwater Jazz Festival," she said, pointing to the window. "They're still having it at Coachman Park."

"Wanna go?"

Paula stared at the poster for a few seconds then turned back to Nick. "Why are you doing this?"

His forehead crinkled as he frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's like you want me to do all this stuff with you, and you're talking about living here again, but then you're leaving because you have to report back to work, and if the past is any indication, I won't hear from you again until you take another vacation."

He nodded then looked down at his hands before looking back into her eyes. "It's not fair to you, is it?"

"I didn't say that. I can handle myself. I just don't understand what you're doing or where you think this whole thing is going."

Nick opened his mouth, but his voice stuck in his throat. How could he explain the turmoil he felt? Sticking around Tarpon Springs would make his family happy, and he'd love being with Paula, but one thing still bugged him. Would Paula feel obligated to go along with him simply because he'd made the career sacrifice? Some questions couldn't be answered in a simple conversation.

"I don't know." He couldn't get more honest than that.

She gave him one of her studious looks—like when she knew he was up to something and she wouldn't let him get away with trying to cover it. Yes, he was up to something, but he had no idea what to do about it.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"I'm thinking you're trying to play some kind of game, which isn't necessarily bad. I'd just like to know the rules so I don't lose miserably."

The one thing he loved most about Paula was her direct approach. But this time she was mistaken.

"No, I'm not playing a game, Paula." He wasn't sure if this was the time to tell her, or if he'd run her off. But he decided to go for it. "I'd like to see how things are between us now because I miss you like crazy, and I've been thinking about a more . . . permanent situation between us."

He heard her sudden intake of air. She put both hands in her lap and looked down at them for what seemed like eternity. When she looked back up at him, he saw the anguish in her eyes.

"Nick, I'm here to stay. You know about my past and how unstable everything was for me. I've never pretended to be anything I'm not."

"I know."

"And you know how Mom always threatened to move me."

"But she didn't," he reminded her.

"True, but that threat was always there. I need to know where I'm going to be. You, on the other hand, need some time away."

"Maybe that's changed." He cleared his throat. "Maybe I've changed."

She shook her head. "I don't think so."

He still couldn't read her well enough to make a decision. "It's hard to figure everything out, isn't it? Who knows where we'll wind up? I mean, besides God."

Silence fell between them until she reached across the table for his hand. "I guess in a way we all know where we're ultimately going to be, right?"

He nodded. "Yes, but I understand how you feel. It's interesting how I have the opposite problem from you—I crave adventure and the unknown. I get excited when I think about where my next assignment might be."

"I understand," she said. "You want what you've never had."

"Both of us do," he reminded her.

"Looks like we've found a way to get what we want, though, right?" She still clung to his hand as she gave him one of those crooked smiles he remembered being her reaction to irony.

"All except one thing." He turned her hand over and traced the back of her ring finger. "Do you think . . . I mean, if I didn't have to go back to the base . . . well, um . . ."

"What's going on, Nick? Why can't you just say what's on your mind?"

He interlocked their fingers and looked directly in her eyes. "Can you ever see us being together forever?"

Her gasp tugged at him, but she'd asked for it. "Isn't that a moot point?"

"No, Paula, it's not. I'm not saying you have to commit right this minute, but if everything fell into place, am I the man you'd want to spend the rest of your life with?"

His heart hammered as her eyelids fluttered. When she looked up and nodded, he felt like jumping right out of his skin.

"Yes, Nick, as difficult as this is to say, knowing you're heading back to your base soon, you are the only man I've ever even considered being with for the rest of my life."

Nick's mind raced with possibilities. "That's what I needed to know." He grinned at her and winked.

She continued smiling at him, but neither of them said a word. The waitress arrived a few minutes later with their food.

"That looks good," he said, pointing to her fish fillets.

"Want some?" Her voice was a little scratchy as she stabbed a piece and held it over his plate.

"Only if you'll take some of my shrimp."

"Deal."

In some ways nothing had changed, but everything was completely upside down now. Nick didn't want to ruin the magic of the earlier moment, so he didn't bring it up again. After they ate, they went straight to Nick's uncle's car. "I know you have a long day tomorrow, so I'll take you home. Alexa told me you've been pulling in some huge orders."

"I never expected what's happening."

"What did you expect?" He started the car and turned toward Palm Harbor.

"I dunno. I guess I saw myself selling soaps and candles to tourists and maybe some locals."

"That would be a hard way to make a living."

"I know that now. In fact, if some of these wholesale orders hadn't happened, I'd probably be looking for a job by now."

"God is amazing, isn't He?"

Paula nodded. "He sure is. After my first wholesale order, I thought it might be a fluke. Then I got a call from someone else who asked if I could send a catalog." She laughed. "You should have seen what Steph and I came up with."

"Steph helped you?" He lifted one eyebrow.

"Yes. If she hadn't, I have no idea what I would have done. That girl has a great eye for graphics. I can describe my candles and soaps all day long, but she knows how to make it look good on the page."

"That's an inherited talent," Nick said. "Her mother is the one who drew the menu for Apollo's. She saw Aunt Phoebe struggling with it, and Aunt Ophelia offered a hand."

"You have the best family, Nick. That's another blessing from God. He brought Steph and me together."