Page 6 of Christmas Kisses
“Okay,” I said. “Thank you, for all your help. I never could have figured this out without you.”
Maple stood and patted my cheek affectionately then shooed us out the door, barely giving us a chance to grab our coats.
“Do you like pizza?” Micha asked as he led me to his truck in the back parking lot.
“Who doesn’t?”
He opened the door for me, and I climbed up into the cab while he ran around the front then slid behind the wheel. He pulled out of the lot and turned onto Lake Main Street.
“Maple is a doll,” I said once the silence in the truck had stretched a little too long for comfort.
“She’s great,” he agreed. “And she’s flat out adopted you already.”
“What do you mean?” My brow furrowed as I glanced over at him.
“I can just tell,” he answered with a shrug. “As far as she’s concerned, you’re as good as one of her own grandkids. Which makes sense. I mean, she and Doris behaved like sisters, so you’re practically a grandniece or something.”
“Doris didn’t even know me,” I argued. “You know what…? I, uh, I don’t really want to talk about this.”
The whole family drama was too much, and I was overwhelmed enough. Explaining it to someone else? No. Just no.
“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to bring up family issues.”
I blew out a sigh, feeling bad.Way to make things uncomfortable, Jess.
“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. It’s been…strange…since the lawyer contacted me about Doris and the shop. Strange since I got here. It’s all so much. I don’t even know what I’m doing here.”
“Well,” Micha said as he turned right then pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant. “Right now, you’re going to eat pizzaatJust Pizza,drink beer and become friends with the nicest guy in town.”
“Oh, is he meeting us here?” I deadpanned.
“So, it’s gonna be like that,” he said as he climbed out of the truck. “Okay. That’s fine. I’ll win you over.”
As I followed him inside the restaurant, I realized that he probably could.
Four
Micha
“Okay…what sort of pizza place is this?” Jessica peered at me over the top of the menu, her dark brown eyes seeming to dance with a mirth I hadn’t seen before. “It’s calledJust Pizza, but they have mac and cheese.”
“Mac and cheesepizza,” I corrected.
“That seems kind of…extra.”
“Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you try it.” I smiled behind my own menu, because it reallywaskind of extra. It was also extra good. Kids, especially, loved it. “Breadsticks?”
“Are they normal? The breadsticks, I mean.”
“Yes.”
“Just checking.” She glanced back at her menu. “Have you actually tried that pizza?”
“Once or twice. I’m more of a pizza purist, though. If I’m getting pizza, I want something more normal.”
“Just cheese then?” She closed her menu and set it to the side. I set mine atop it.
“Not quite that much of a purist. So, what do you want? Breadsticks? What kind of pie?”