The Sea Star Bakery - Nicole Ellis Page 0,3

arrived, probably due to the after-church crowd. When she got inside, she scanned the packed restaurant for her family and smiled when she saw them. Kyle had managed to snag a prime table near the arcade.

“Mom’s here,” Kyle announced when she got close.

“Hey, Mom.” Amanda jumped up from the table. “Dad said we could go to the arcade once you got here.”

“Can I get a hug first? I haven’t seen you guys in two days.” Cassie held her arms out, and her daughter leaned in, allowing her mother to hug her. While they were embracing, Jace slid out of the booth. Cassie released Amanda and wrapped her arm around her son, giving him a quick squeeze. “Okay, okay. You can go play now. Did Dad give you money?” She glanced at Kyle, who nodded.

“I ordered pizzas already, too, because they’re slammed here today.” He turned to the kids, “Have fun, but come back in about twenty minutes. The pizzas should be here by then.” Jace and Amanda were off to the arcade before he’d even finished his words. Kyle turned back to Cassie. “Man, I wish it were this easy to entertain them in my little apartment.” He frowned. “It’s fine when it’s just me, but they’re bouncing off the walls when three of us are in it.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry, they’re like that at home too.”

“Really?” He eyed her with disbelief. “I don’t remember it being like that.”

“That’s because you were never home.” Her words came out sharper than she’d intended. He winced visibly and took a long drink from his soda. She gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” After two years of divorce and mild animosity toward each other, they’d reached a truce a few months ago. She’d promised herself she’d try to be kinder to him in the future and not hold old grudges against him.

“You did mean it like that.” His eyes were sad. “But you’re right, I wasn’t home enough when the kids were younger.” He picked up his napkin, nervously rubbing his hand against the rough edges. “I’m trying to do better now.”

She took a deep breath. “I know you are. It’s okay.” There had never been any major issue that had led to their divorce, like financial or marital infidelities – it had been death by a thousand little cuts. They’d been high school sweethearts and married right after college. Maybe they’d married too young. All she knew was that as Kyle moved up the ranks at his accounting firm and she stayed home to take care of the kids, his late nights at the office had come between them, and they’d grown apart.

The waitress came by with two steaming pans of pizza and set them on metal stands already at the table.

“Thanks,” Kyle said, before the waitress scurried away. He slid a slice of the combination pizza onto his plate. “Should we go get the kids?”

Cassie took a piece of the same pie, reaching to sever the string of cheese connecting her plate to the pizza pan. The aroma of warm mozzarella, spicy pepperoni, and herbed marinara sauce permeated the air, but she knew she’d burn her mouth if she tried to bite into it immediately. “Nah, let them play for a while longer. The pizza needs to cool a bit anyway.”

“Remember when we were first married and could barely afford a cheese pizza from here?” Kyle’s eyes clouded over. “We’d splurge on a small pizza, take it home, then throw the couch cushions on the floor and watch movies together all night.

A wave of nostalgia washed over her. They’d had a lot of good times together. “I remember.” She swallowed a lump in her throat. What she wouldn’t give to go back in time and fix everything that had gone wrong between them. But all of that was water under the bridge now.

Kyle sensed her discomfort. “So, what’s new with you? How did that meeting with the Small Business Administration go? I haven’t talked with you since then.”

She hunched her shoulders and stared off toward the kids. “It wasn’t great. Basically, they said they’d help me figure out how to start a business, but when it got down to it, I chickened out. I can’t risk the house on a lark like this.”

Kyle sighed. “It’s not a lark. You’re an amazing baker.”

“Thanks. But, unfortunately, that’s not enough. I’m just going to have to keep looking for a cheap space to rent where I can