The Icing on the Cake (18 page)

Kristine’s mother and sister remained at
the door, waiting impatiently for her to answer.  She considered ignoring the
doorbell.  She could pretend she wasn’t home.  But unfortunately, her car was
parked in the driveway.

Stupid, stupid
,
she muttered.  She should have pulled it into the garage.  Joe wouldn’t have
minded.  It was too late for that, however.

How did her mother and sister know she
was here?  Had they followed her?  But it had been hours since she’d seen them
at the cafe.

Finally, with another deep breath, she
pulled open the door.  She attempted a smile, but couldn’t quite pull it off. 
“Hello,” she said, also trying to refrain from appearing guilty.  She had lied
to them about her whereabouts and she’d been caught in her deception.  She
didn’t like lying.  It didn’t come easily and she felt remorseful for it now. 

“I knew you were lying to us earlier,”
Lori accused, without preamble.  “I went by Minnie’s and she said you weren’t
there.  She tried to tell me you were coming back, but I knew better.”  She
turned to her mother triumphantly.  “I told you she’d be here.  Once again,
she’s an interloper, intent on destroying what Joe and I managed to build
together in a short time.  I … am … so … hurt!” she cried. 

“Oh, really.  You told Mom I’d be here,
huh?” Kristine said, surprising herself with her own audacity.  “And exactly
what have you and Joe managed to
build
in such a short time?  Oh, and by
the way, you have no idea what real pain is,” she cried.  “Having a sister
manipulate you, speak ill of you, turn your own mother against you…  When that
happens to you, I’ll understand your pain.”  She felt tears spring to her
eyes.  “This is all so sad!  We’re sisters, Lori!  It’s wrong to be competitive
with one another, to try to take away from the other’s happiness… ”

“My point exactly,” Lori cut in smugly.

Her mother nodded her head in agreement
with Lori, as if she’d caught her youngest in the act of committing a crime. 
“Kristine,” she scolded, “how could you do this to your sister?”

“How could I do
what
to Lori?”
she demanded.

“Are you living with Joe now?” her
mother asked, and appeared to brace for her answer.  She shuddered and folded
her arms across her chest.  She began tapping her foot impatiently.

“No, I’m not living with Joe.”

“You’re in his house,” Lori cried, her
eyes sending daggers in Kristine’s direction.  “Where is Joe, by the way?  I
need to see him.  Right now.”

“Oh, I thought you knew where Joe was,”
Kristine said, growing bolder by the second.  “You did have breakfast with him,
didn’t you?”

Lori was caught off guard by the
question.  Even her mother glanced her way and watched her curiously.  “Lori…?”
Ruth prompted. 

“Y…yes,” she stammered, her uncertainty
a rare crack in her veneer of confidence.  She recovered quickly, giving
herself a shake and slipping right back into her poised and polished self. 
“Yes, I did,” she insisted.  “I wouldn’t lie to you, Mom.  You know that.”

Kristine had had enough.  It was time
Lori was exposed for the liar, she, in fact, was.  “Mom, Joe is in Norton. 
He’s been there for several days.  His dad is in the hospital.  He asked me to
stay here and take care of his dog.  Since you and Lori apparently hate me,”
she said, with a resigned lift of her shoulders, “I agreed to help him out, and
in turn, help myself out with a place to stay.”

Her mother had the good graces to look
guilty.  She turned to Lori.  “Lori…”  She shook her head.  “Why would you lie
about that?”

“Because lying comes easily to her,”
Kristine said angrily, suddenly remembering all the times over the years that
Lori had created turmoil for others with her lies.  She somehow always seemed
to come out smelling like a rose, but the collateral damage of her deceptive
ways had undone the lives of many who had had the misfortune to cross her.

Kristine remembered Lori’s lies as they
came to her like a movie on a reel.  They played out before her, overwhelming
her as she realized how easily Lori could weave a tale.  Did she have a
conscience? 

Kristine blew out an angry breath.  “You
know what?  I’m done.  Mom, you just go on believing everything Lori tells
you.  You can continue keeping your head in the sand,” she said with a brittle
laugh.  “When she destroys Chad, or cheats on him, or…”

“Shut up!” Lori cried.  “Mom, are you
going to let her talk to me like that?”

Kristine shook her head, so disappointed
in her sister.  “Lori,” she said evenly, “I’ve always looked up to you, and
I’ve always, always loved you despite your…  Well, let’s just say it—despite
your wicked ways.  I always, always gave you the benefit of the doubt.  I always
stood by you, even when my conscience told me that I was making a mistake.” 
She shook her head again and sought her sister’s eyes. 
“No more.”

Her mother looked from Kristine to
Lori.  “Lori…” she said, and to Kristine’s surprise asked, “did you, or did you
not
, have breakfast with Joe this morning?”

“Kristine, you, you…” Lori sputtered. 

“Lori,” her mother said sharply.  “Tell
me the truth.”

“I had breakfast with Chad, okay?”  She
smiled winningly and took a hold of her mother’s arm.  She gave it a gentle
squeeze.  “I should have told you, Mom.”

“Yes, you should have,” she said,
pulling her arm away and watching her daughter as if seeing her through eyes
that had suddenly been opened wide.  “If you saw Chad this morning, why did you
need Kristine to watch Devon this afternoon?  Did you really have a meeting
with Chad in the afternoon too?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“So, this morning, you didn’t bother
telling him about Joe, but decided rather to tell him later.”

“Exactly.”  Lori smiled at her mother
and cocked her head, maintaining practiced eye contact and an earnest
expression on her face.  “You do understand.”

“I don’t believe you,” her mother
announced, sounding surprised by her own admission.  “What did you do this
afternoon, Lori?  Or should I ask,
who
did you see this afternoon?”

“Chad.”

“No, no you didn’t,” she said, emitting
a beleaguered breath.  “No, you didn’t.  Who did you see?”

Lori finally relented.  “Mom, okay,
you’re right.  I didn’t see Chad.  I met this new guy…”

“A new guy!  I thought ‘Joe’ was your
new guy.”  She watched her, mouth agape.  “I watched Devon for you,” she cried
finally.  “I canceled an appointment to help you out.”

“Isn’t that what a mother does?” Lori
said softly, in a soothing tone.

“No, Lori,” she exclaimed, “it’s what a
grandmother does when her daughter has a legitimate reason for leaving her
child at home.  But you didn’t.  You chose some guy over time with your child,
which you routinely do, and without any regard for the fact that you put me
out.  I had a doctor’s appointment, Lori, as you well know.” 

“Oh, Mom.  Don’t be dramatic.  It was a
routine checkup,” she said, without apology.

“Heaven help me,” Ruth said, watching
her daughter as if she were seeing her for the first time.  “It’s my fault,”
she said, as if to herself.  “I’ve indulged her.  I’ve spoiled her.”

“I’m right here, Mom,” Lori said
crossly, sounding like a belligerent teenager, rather than a woman of
thirty-two.  “Stop talking about me as if I’m not here.”

She shook her head.  She felt utterly
betrayed.  She now understood how Kristine felt.  She turned to her. 
“Kristine, I’m…”

“Oh, stop it,” Lori interrupted,
sounding furious.  “Kristine stole Joe from me.  None of this changes that.”

Ruth began shaking her head.  Finally,
she said, “Kristine, I’m sorry.”  She spun on her heel and hurried to the car.

Lori watched after her, but turned to
Kristine.  Her eyes regarded her angrily, but she suddenly perked up.  “I’ll
work my magic on Mom,” she declared with absolute confidence.  “I’ll have her
eating out of my hand by dusk.”  She smiled triumphantly.  “You’ll see.”

Kristine watched after her mother and
sister, as Lori backed her car down Joe’s driveway.  Even from a distance, she
could see her mother’s posture was rigid and that she had her arms folded
across her chest, a tell-tale sign that she was furious.

Kristine couldn’t deny feeling mild
relief her mother’s anger was directed at Lori rather than her.  Having her
mother suddenly gain some clarity about her oldest child while standing on
Joe’s front stoop now felt surreal to her. 

And where was Gracie when the
confrontation happened?  She hadn’t even ventured to the doorway.  Was that
normal behavior for a dog?  Most dogs were yappy, regardless of size, when
someone came to the door.

Kristine was suddenly overcome with a
cautious alarm.  “Gracie,” she called softly, and hurried to the family room. 
She gasped when she saw the dog, leaning against the sectional and gnawing on
the arm rest.  She had eaten away the fabric and the foam beneath, and had
reached wood.

“Oh, no!  Oh, no!” she cried.  “Gracie,
how could you?”  She glared at the dog, who continued chewing.  “Gracie! 
Stop!”

Gracie had the good graces to step back,
but was watching her as if to say, “What did I do?”

Kristine felt like crying.  Seeing that
Gracie had torn apart Joe’s beautiful and very expensive couch was the icing on
the cake, and certainly not in a good way.  Overcome by the emotion of what had
transpired between her and her mother and sister, coupled with the destruction
of Joe’s sectional … Kristine began to cry.  She reached for one of the pillows
on the couch and to her horror, found it was soaking wet. 

She grasped it between two fingers and
searched it for damage.  It too was ruined.  Not only was it soaking wet, the
stuffing was protruding from the torn seams.

“Gracie, why?” she cried.  “Why would
you do this?”

She glanced around, searching for
additional damage.  Thankfully, there was none.  She did, however, spot Joe’s
slipper on Gracie’s doggie bed.  She had managed to retrieve it from the
mantle. 

Wasn’t that slipper enough?  Couldn’t
Gracie have simply chewed it up?  Kristine could afford to replace a slipper,
but Joe’s gorgeous couch?

With a shuddering breath, she began to
cry.  The tears flowed, drenching her face and dropping onto her top and onto
her pant legs.  She allowed them to flow, as she grieved for all the loss and
pain in her life of late.  She glanced heavenward, wondering, was her Dad
watching her?  Was he aware of the rift in the family?  If only her father were
here…

The thought brought a renewed flood of
tears.  She cried until she was cried out.  She tipped to her side and lay on
the couch.  She stared ahead, unseeing, until Gracie whimpered and began
kissing her face. 

“Gracie, no,” she said sadly.  “There’s
no undoing this mess.”

Kristine suddenly wondered, could things
get any worse?

Unfortunately, she learned a moment
later, they certainly could.

Kristine lay on Joe’s tattered couch,
wishing she could go back in time.  If only she had put Gracie in her dog run
when her family had paid their unexpected visit, or brought her to the door
with her.  If only…

When her cell phone trilled, she
contemplated ignoring it.  But fearing it might be Joe, she checked the
screen.  It was the fire marshal calling.

Kristine abruptly sat up and attempted
to pull herself together.  “Hello,” she said, sounding nasally, and hoping he
wouldn’t notice.

“Is this Kristine Branton?” he asked. 
“One of the owners of Branton’s Bakery?”

“Yes,” she said, wiping her eyes with
her hands.  “Have you determined the cause of the fire?”

“Er, yes.  One thing, you weren’t at the
bakery that day, were you?  If memory serves…”

“No, I didn’t work that day.  Why do you
ask?”

He paused, and then breathed out. 
“Listen, we determined that your bakery had a grease fire that originated in
your deep fryer.”

“I see.”  She wasn’t sure what else to
say.  A freak accident had caused the destruction of her beloved bakery.  It
was hard to fathom the extent of the loss, but there was no turning back the
clock.  She had to deal with it.  “Thank you so much for letting me know.”

“Er, it seems a couple factors
contributed to starting the fire…”

She waited for him to continue and he
took her silence as cue to continue.

“I understand you use your deep fryer on
a daily basis,” he said.

“Yes.  We’re known for our apple and
cherry fritters.  We try to have them on hand every morning.”

“Mmmm.  So you all have a good deal of
experience with the appliance.” 

It was a statement, not a question.  She
answered anyway. “Yes.”

“You are always cognizant of keeping the
temperature within a safe range and assuring water is never introduced into the
oil.”

“Of course,” she said, and suddenly felt
the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.  She sensed he knew something impactful
to the situation and she stiffened fearfully.

“Listen, we’ve discerned the grease in
your fryer heated to a temperature far above the point of combustion.  As you
know, as oil heats up, it begins to smoke…”

“Which is why the fryer should never be left
unattended,” she said.

“Mmmm.  It’s also a good policy to
assure that the area around the fryer is clear and that nothing can potentially
fall into the heated oil.”

“Yes. I would never put anything on a
shelf above it that could fall in—nor would any of my employees.”

“Mmmm,” he said again, as if taking
notes.  “I’m afraid we determined a water bottle—probably nearly empty but
containing a small amount of water—fell into the hot oil.  The introduction of
the plastic and the water into the already too-hot oil, and the subsequent
steam from the water—well, it created an explosion of hot grease onto the
surrounding area… ”

Kristine gasped.  “How could that have
happened?  No one would have left a water bottle where it could potentially
fall into the deep fryer.”

“But I’m afraid, someone did.”  He was
silent for the moment that followed, and she heard him rifling through
paperwork. 

Had Kristine detected a reproving tone
in his voice?  Did he suspect foul play?

Oh, dear God
,
Kristine thought.  Was Lori so hard up for cash, she tried to burn down the
bakery in order to receive a settlement?

“Miss Branton,” the fire marshal said. 
“I’ll be sending my findings to your insurance adjustor.”

“Okay.  What happens after that?”

“You’ll have to ask them.”

She had a sinking feeling she knew
exactly what would happen after that.  The insurance company would fight their
claim, and would try to prove that her sister or mother had deliberately caused
the blaze. 

Her eyes widened fearfully as a thought
too horrible to contemplate came to mind.  What if the Fire Marshal sent his
report to the local law enforcement?  What if they did suspect foul play and
referred the incident to the prosecutor’s office for prosecution?

After the fire marshal hung up, Kristine
sank back into the couch.  Her eyes lit on the damaged arm rest, and then the
pillow, and then Joe’s slippers…  She suddenly saw her horribly burned and
smoke-damaged bakery in her mind’s eyes.  She remembered that her relationship
with her mother and sister was in tatters…  And then she imagined Joe, at the
hospital, terrified he might lose his father.

It was all too much.  She began to cry
again.  She was still crying when her cell phone rang yet again.  This time, it
was her mother.

As much as she hated to answer, her mother
needed to know what was happening with the bakery.  She needed to know that
thanks to the actions of either her or Lori, they would likely have to defend
themselves against some terribly serious accusations.

She sat up once again and wiped the
tears from her eyes.  “Mom,” she said, swallowing her sobs and answering the
call.

“Kristine, I just wanted to say…”

“Mom,” she interrupted, “the fire
marshal called.”

“Oh.  Okay.  I’d like to hear what he
had to say, of course, but may we talk about that in a moment?  First, I’d like
to…”

“No, Mom.  We need to talk right now,”
she said firmly.

Her mother detected the seriousness to
her tone.  “What is it, Kristine?”

“Mom, on the day of the fire, did you
fry fritters?”

“Of course…  Well, I mean, Lori did,
while I worked the front counter.  Why?”

“According to the fire marshal, the fire
ignited because the oil became too hot.”  She sighed wearily.  “The fire
marshal said that a water bottle fell into the fryer.  I guess the overheated
oil exploded, thanks to both the plastic water bottle and the introduction of
water into the hot oil.”

Her mother gasped.  “That’s …
impossible.  How could a water bottle have…?”  Ruth drew silent on the end of
the phone line, apparently processing. “Wait a minute.  It was an accident.  I
mean, surely it was…  Oh, Lord.  They’re going to think Lori did it on
purpose,” she said, as the seriousness of the situation gripped her.  “Oh,
heaven help us.  We’re not going to get an insurance settlement.  We’re going
to lose everything,” she said, near hysterical with fear.

“It could happen,” Kristine said with a
sigh.

“But, Lori wouldn’t…”  Her words trailed
off. 

Lori wouldn’t? 

Kristine wasn’t so sure and she was
certain her mother had some serious reservations about Lori’s innocence, as well.

Kristine signed off, too weary to talk
anymore.  She craved sleep and after tending to Gracie’s needs, headed
upstairs.  Gracie trotted alongside her as she headed to the master bedroom. 
Desperate for a good’s night sleep, and since she had an early morning, she got
ready for bed and then dropped onto the mattress.

It had to be the most comfortable she’d
ever lain on.  She pressed her hand into the softness, noting it was a luxury
latex model.  When Gracie leapt onto the bed and lay down beside her, she
smiled ruefully.  “You are one spoiled dog,” she said with a yawn, as she
quickly drifted off to sleep.

She woke early, her internal alarm clock
alerting her that it was time to start her day.  She remembered she had a long
drive ahead of her.  She dashed into the bathroom for a moment, and then
hurried to let Gracie outside.  She stood in the open doorway, to assure the
dog didn’t leap over the fence again. 

Gracie did her business and walked
around the lawn, seemingly enthralled by the dewy grass.  She approached every
plant, pressing her nose against as many as she could manage before Kristine
called her inside.

Hesitant to leave her yard, Gracie
walked slowly toward her and watched her expectantly.  “Hurry along,” Kristine
said, “and we’ll get you fed.”

 She turned and entered the kitchen,
Gracie at her heels.  She scooped up a serving of food and carried it outside
and to Gracie’s dog run.  She dropped it into an empty bowl within the run. 
Gracie seemed hesitant to enter, but couldn’t resist a meal.  She trotted
inside and began eating.

Before going into the house to get ready
to leave, Kristine located a hose and pulled it toward Gracie’s run.  She
cleaned out and refilled a large bowl with fresh water, assured the door was
secured, and bid the dog goodbye.  Gracie whined and pressed her nose through
an opening in the cyclone fencing.  “I’ll see you this evening,” Kristine
promised.

She went back into the house and after
showering, got dressed, applied her minimal makeup, and went out to her car. 
She started it up and turned it around, so she could drive nose first down the
long driveway.

After traffic abated on the main
roadway, she pulled out and drove to the interstate.  She turned in the
direction of Norton.  Some three hours later, she arrived in the town and found
the hospital, per directions she found on her smart phone.  Joe had texted her
he would be waiting for her in the waiting room on the south side of the
hospital and on the fourth floor.

She easily located the waiting room and
he was there, as promised.  When he spotted her, he rose from his seat with a
smile.  She crossed the distance to him, and to her surprise, he pulled her
into his arms and held her close.  “I’m so glad you’re here,” he said.  “It’s
good of you to come.”

“It’s no problem,” she assured him. 
“I’m happy to be here.”

He released her with a sigh and ran a
hand through his hair.  “Dad is being prepped for surgery now.  One of the
nurses said I’ll be allowed to see him before he’s taken to the operating
room.”

Joe took her hand and led her to a
chair.  He sat down and she took the seat beside him.  He turned toward her and
searched her face.  “Did you get any sleep?”

She nodded.  “I did.  How ‘bout you?”

He shook his head.  “Not much.  I guess
you can’t help but worry when your dad is having heart surgery.”

“No, I imagine not,” she said, giving his
hand a squeeze.  “Try not to worry.  I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“So the doctors tell me,” he said,
smiling hopefully.  “I just want him through this surgery and well on the way
to recovery.”

“I understand.”

The two remained silent for a moment,
lost to their respective thoughts.  “Hey, any word from the fire marshal?” he
asked.

“I’m afraid so,” she answered with a
sigh.

He sensed the news wasn’t good by the
look on her face.  “Oh, boy.  What’s going on?”

She quickly explained the fire marshal
had relayed the reasons for the bakery blaze.  She expressed her fears that the
insurance company might not pay out if they believed Lori had deliberately set
the fire.

“Surely Lori didn’t do it on purpose,”
he said, though he didn’t sound entirely convinced himself.  He sat silently,
apparently processing.  “Regardless, Krissy, they can’t prove anything,” he
said finally.  “Besides, accidents happen.”

Kristine gasped with surprise.  Though
it was hardly comforting, Joe he was right.  How could they prove malice on
Lori’s part?  The fire might have resulted from human error, but there was
really no reason to believe it was intentional.  She desperately wanted to
believe Lori had simply made a mistake.

She hadn’t worked in the bakery for so
long, it wasn’t unreasonable to think she’d forgotten much of what she knew
about the day-to-day operation of Branton’s.  When she’d worked in the past,
she hadn’t been especially conscientious.

Kristine shrugged away the worry for
now.  She wanted to be present for Joe.

A nurse entered the waiting room and
spotted her and Joe.  “Mr. Lancaster…”

He rose.  “Yes?”

“You can see your father now,” she said
smiling.

He turned to Kristine.  “Will you come
with me?  I’d like for you to meet him.”

“Sure.”

She followed him down the hallway and
into a room.  Though there were two beds, his father was alone in the room, his
bed next to the window.  He turned when Joe said hello.

“Son,” he said, watching Joe
expectantly.

“Dad, I’d like you to meet Krissy. 
She’s a…”  His words dwindled and he smiled awkwardly.

Kristine came to the rescue.  She
understood his uncertainty as to how to classify their relationship.  “Hello,
Mr. Lancaster.  I’m a friend of Joe’s.  It’s a pleasure to meet you.”  

 He held out his hand and she was quick
to step closer and grasp it.  She was surprised at the strength in his grip. 
“I’m pleased to meet you,” he said, smiling.  “I wish it could have been in a
different setting and under different circumstances.”

She gave him a reassuring smile in
response. 

“Thank you for keeping my son company
today,” he said.  “He’s very worried, but I’ve assured him, my number isn’t up
yet.”