Opening her eyes, Dosia quickly wiped the wetness that had pooled there. It wasn’thim, per se. She didn’t remember enough abouthim to think that, but it was definitely the idea of a partner. To have someone to rely on, to not have to face this world alone.
One thing she was absolutely sure of, though: she couldn’t risk him trying to take her daughter away. Her Uncle Fennel had dealt with an awful custody battle with his in-laws for years involving Dosia’s cousins. Neither Fennel nor his wife Tanya had wanted, then and now, anything to do with her parents, even before his in-laws had tried to take them to court to claim they were unfit. All because Fennel wasn’t Christian and their daughter had denounced her faith upon marrying him. For years, Fennel and Tanya had lived in fear thatthiswould be the day a judge would side with her parents and their kids would be removed from their home.
Dosia couldn’t risk that with JJ. Her daughter was her world. She didn’t need Vodka’s money nor his involvement in her daughter’s life. The memory of seeing him through the bar’s window with the two women on his lap was a testament to her decision. She certainly didn’t want his whoremongering ways around her daughter.
She needed to get JJ out of this town. She’d been stupid, foolish, to return.
Heading back towards the bookstore, Dosia went in search of Calliope. Despite having only been back for two days, Dosia had picked up on the fact that every day, like clockwork, Calliope headed to the local bakery three different times. Like she was following a schedule. Dosia hadn’t figured out what she was doing or why she was going, because she never came back with a drink or a treat. Dosia figured it had something to do with a vision or a feeling Calliope was getting. Sometimes she did things subconsciously that would later be revealed had a profound effect on an outcome.
But it wasn’t four-thirty yet, so hopefully Dosia could catch her aunt before she left for the bakery. Then she needed to get packing. Thankfully, because it had only been two days, she and JJ weren’t fully moved into their rooms at her grandparents’ yet. She was in her old childhood bedroom while JJ had moved into Ambrose’s.
Unfortunately, though, Dosia didn’t find Calliope at either the bookstore or the building that would become the New Age store. Shewas about to text her when she saw Calliope sitting down the street on the park bench across from the bakery. She had her legs crossed in front of her on the bench, a large shawl pulled around her shoulders, and a bump on her upper chest that Dosia could only assume to be Oolong. She took that bearded dragon everywhere with her, much to the town kids’ joy and adults’ annoyance.
Dosia didn’t like sitting out in the open like this, but Vodka, his wife and kid, and the other two men who had been in the SUV with them had already driven away. The chances that they came back and he spotted her were low. And it really didn’t matter if he spotted her, because JJ was still with Grandma Solstice.
Calliope was staring so intensely at the bakery that Dosia questioned for a moment if she even realized that she’d sat down next to her.
Then she said, “You’re not leaving,” as if Dosia had spoken.
Dosia’s head snapped to her right. Years of experience kept her from asking what Calliope had just said or questioning how she knew what was on Dosia’s mind. “I have to.”
“No, you don’t.” Calliope still hadn’t looked away from the bakery. Like she was watching someone, but Dosia couldn’t see anyone who stood out.
“Look, you’re the only person who knows the circumstances of my pregnancy. Surely you can understand why?—”
“Only thing I understand is that if you keep running, you’ll miss out on a chance for great happiness.”
Dosia paused. “I’m not running. I’m…” She considered her words. “I’m protecting my daughter.”
“You’re running,” Calliope repeated. She lifted her hand to the bump under her shawl that Dosia assumed to be Oolong and started rubbing her palm against it. “You’ve been running. Long before you got pregnant.”
Dosia stiffened. “You know how I feel about small-town life. It’s not for me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. It wasn’t for your mother. It could very much be for you.”
“You saw what happened with Fennel and Tanya. I won’t put myself or JJ through that.”
The engine of a motorcycle approached. Dosia’s head turned, fear crawling up her spine. In the brisk fall air, who would be crazy enough to be driving a motorcycle right now?
Was it Vodka? Had he seen her? Was he coming back?
But the lone rider continued past them, made a U-turn, and then parked in front of the bakery. Dosia remembered the bakery from when she’d grown up here, but it had certainly expanded in recent years. Going from just baked goods to specialty coffee drinks and pastries. Like a miniStarbucks.It was still the best place to get bread in town. The grocery stores in town didn’t supply a large variety of bread because most of the locals had standing orders with Mabel, the bakery’s owner.
The lone biker dismounted, removing his helmet to reveal dark hair and a clean shaven face. From across the street, Dosia placed him a little older than them, early to mid-thirties.
The sight of his black, leather cut sent heat flaring through Dosia’s body in memory of the night she’d conceived her daughter. But even at a distance, she knew that this wasn’t her daughter’s father.
A large pickup truck with ridiculously high tires pulled up in front of Calliope and Dosia’s bench just as the man turned as if to check his surroundings. By the time the truck moved, the man was already heading inside the bakery.
Calliope let out a long sigh before standing. When she turned, the best description for the expression on her face was forlorn. Dosia’s eyes flicked between her young aunt and the bakery door the man had just disappeared through.
She was about to ask who he was and if he was the reason Calliope went to the bakery multiple times a day, but then Calliope spoke.
“He doesn’t remember you. You’re but a flash of a dream to him. Beyond that, you of all people should know better than to judge a book by its cover. You’re so busy running from whatmight bethat you’re too blind to see whatcan be. All I can tell you, if you go, you’re giving up your chance at happiness. More than that, your chance atpeace. I want to see you happy, Dosia. More thanyourlife depends on it.”
Dosia watched Calliope as she headed back towards her new store, gripping the edges of her shawl tightly in front of her. Calliope’s attitude seemed off, more serious than her usually bubbly self. Dosia wondered if it had to do with that man and the longing she sensed from Calliope. Who was he? Obviously he was part of the motorcycle club, but who was he and why did he interest her aunt so much?
As far as Dosia knew, Calliope had never been in a relationship. She wasn’t even sure she’d ever kissed a boy. Back in high school, many had tried. Some saw it as a challenge or a game to try to bag the school’s resident witch, while others Dosia thought genuinely liked Calliope. Yet Calliope had declined them all. When Dosia had asked as teens why, Calliope just shrugged and said, “He’s not the one.”
