Champagne and Lemon Drops: A Blueberry Springs Chick Lit Contemporary Romance (11 page)

"Where do I go from here?" Beth asked.

"You wait," Katie said firmly.

"For how long?" Beth said, annoyed that a
whine tinged her voice. She'd felt rejected when Oz asked for a
break, and now she could add unwanted to the list as someone he
didn't seem to miss. Add that to another half-dozen,
self-pity-inducing adjectives that tormented her late at night and
she had a self-esteem that had taken up bungee-jumping.

The air sucked out of Beth's lungs as a
familiar-looking blue bicycle wobbled by on the opposite side of
the street. Her old bike. With what looked like a half-consumed
bottle of rum in the flowery basket.

She watched silently as Oz wove his way down
the street. The three of them turned to follow his progress. As Oz
parked the bike at the end of the block, Katie asked quietly, "What
is he doing?"

Oz lumbered up the steps to town hall—all
two of them—and spread his arms out at his sides. His chest
expanded as he took in a deep breath. Then he bellowed for all the
Monday evening foot traffic to hear, "Bethany Wilkinson is a good
person."

"What the fuck?" stuttered Katie.

Beth turned and bolted up the street,
humiliation dogging her steps. Oz continued his speech and Beth
clasped her hands over her ears. The odd face she passed turned to
her in pity and curiosity before turning back to Oz and his public
proclamation.

Cynthia caught up with Beth and wrenched a
hand off Beth's ear. "Listen."

Beth paused. The streets were quiet, other
than a lone bird singing in the square half a block away. A diesel
muttered its way toward them, oblivious to what precious words it
might be drowning out.

Benny came out of his restaurant and smiled
at Beth, nodding towards Oz. "He's been doing it all afternoon, on
the hour. First here, then over at the church, the library, and
finally to the corner in front of the diner." He gazed thoughtfully
in Oz's direction. "He spends the remaining forty-five minutes at
home cradling that bottle. Wanda went over at four and watered it
down some. Might be too late to make a difference though." He
addressed the girls, "If you're driving, keep an eye out. He's a
tad bit unsteady." Benny, hands clasped behind his back, returned
to his restaurant. The stale, greasy smell of burgers and fries
with a hint of bacon wafted into the street before the door closed
behind him.

Beth watched the closed door, wondering what
she could do to fix Oz and stop him from humiliating them both.
What cord could she pull to stop this awful merry-go-round before
one of them fell off and got hurt?

"Oz still loves you," Cynthia said, a slight
smile tweaking her lips as she gave Beth's arm a hug. "He's
defending you."

Oz climbed back on her bike, the frame
dipping towards the pavement before he managed to pull it upright
at the last second, zigzagging raggedly until he built enough
momentum to straighten out. She watched him until he was out of
sight, then said softly, "If he cares enough to defend me, why
can't he care enough to ask me back?"

Chapter 7

"Beth, honey?" Angelica peered through
Beth's open office door. "Do you have a moment?"

"Sure." Beth hesitated. Oz's mother had
never, in all of Beth's years working here, stopped by. Not even a
quick hello while dropping off baking to help speed a family
member's recovery. But there she was in the doorway, her long
skirt's sequins sparkling under the fluorescent lights. Beth
started to stand, but stopped. She gestured to the chair by the
door. "Come in."

Angelica stepped in and cast a slow glance
around the office. Her eyes lingered on a photo of Beth and Oz
which was still staring out from its spot on top of her
bookshelf.

"Are these for me?" Beth asked, indicating
the plate of brownies Angelica was holding. "Do you want coffee? I
can grab some from the common room."

"I'm fine," Angelica said, easing into the
hard guest chair, looking uncomfortable in Beth's cramped space.
She passed the plate to Beth.

"Still no recipe taped to the bottom?" she
asked, peeking at the plate's underside. "What's a girl gotta
do?"

Angelica clutched the straps of her purse,
her face lined and tense.

Beth slowly peeled back the plastic wrap.
"Want one?" Beth asked, before sinking her teeth into a gooey
chocolate heaven. "Oh my god, these are even better than usual!"
Her eyes rolled back as she savored the flavor before bolting
upright, her eyes opening wide. "This is Mandy's recipe!"

Son of a bitch!

Angelica shook her head, perched on the edge
of her chair. "Just trying something new. You really think they
taste like Mandy's?" She asked, her eyebrows arched hopefully.

Beth nodded. "Are you going to try and to
de-crown her at the fall bake off?"

Angelica, looking pleased with herself
ignored the question, and said, "You're looking well. Are you
sleeping better?"

"Dr. Leham prescribed sleeping pills."

A line appeared between her brows. "You be
careful with those things."

"I only take them when I can't fall asleep."
Which was fairly regularly since Oz had asked for a break. And
seeing as they had just crept up to end of June and things weren't
looking any better in her love life... it was becoming quite a few
nights.

"Dr. Leham seems like a nice fellow." Pause.
"Katie says he's very... efficient. A real go-getter."

Beth wiped brownie crumbs
from her lips. She wasn't even going to entertain what this
conversation might be code for. A week later, she was still hearing
rumblings from Oz's bike and bottle adventure. "He's very caring. A
good
friend
."

Angelica frowned at her hands.

Beth blurted, "We're not dating."

Angelica looked up slowly and Beth felt her
face heat. Mentally, she slapped herself. Could she act guiltier?
Now Oz's mom was going to think the rumors were true.

"Could I ask a favor?" Angelica asked
quietly.

"Of course." Beth tried to relax. Angelica
was the first to give, the last to take—making the idea of her
actually asking for something a bit of a nerve-wracking
experience.

"I'm not sure..." Angelica's grip tightened
on her handbag.

Oh, crap. It was about Oz. There was no way
she'd be able to help Angelica if it had to do with him. Things
still felt precarious between them and if she did anything more
than leave him messages, which he resolutely refused to
acknowledge, things would get worse. Much, much worse. Assuming
that was possible.

"Oz won't talk to me anymore," Angelica
said, wringing her handbag's plastic straps. "If it was only for a
day or two I could understand... but it's been too long. I'm afraid
I'm not going to get him back. It's not like it used to be between
us."

They could start a freaking club.

Angelica continued, "He's letting the
business go. To see him let it slip through his fingers... Harvey
is so upset I'm afraid he's going to have another episode. He so
desperately wants Oz to settle down and succeed with the business.
Why Oz would do this... I just don't understand."

They could start a club for that, too.

"I know you two are having a rough patch,
but he seems so unhappy. So lost. Maybe you don't see it with how
busy you are with your new job, but it's there."

Beth held back a snort. Busy was almost
funny. After three insane months of getting things in place for her
drop-in outreach one person had shown up: Gran. She said Reggie
would have come too, but his daughter had stopped by at the last
minute. Nash told her this sort of thing always happens and
building an effective outreach takes time. He was full of ideas on
how to recover from the humiliation, from not making it a drop-in
so people would value it more to advertising. Seriously.
Advertising for it like nobody had a clue what she'd been up to for
the past several months. But, he said it provided an air of
legitimacy.

"The light in his eyes is gone, and that
worries me," Angelica said. "A mother can't sit by and watch that
happen. He needs you."

Beth blinked back tears. "I need him too,"
she whispered.

"Maybe you could talk some sense into him.
He's always listened to you."

Beth bit back a laugh and said bitterly, "He
won't return my calls or answer the door. He's probably assuming
the worst right now. I don't think there's much hope,
Angelica."

Angelica leaned forward. "He still loves
you."

Beth flicked a crumb off her chair's
armrest. Everyone kept saying that and it was starting to tick her
off. The Oz who loved her had changed. Her hopes of him taking her
back was waning to the point where she was left with a shred of
flickering hope. One big puff and it was gone.

"I've been researching a really nice
rehabilitation center on Google. Maybe if you and I talked to him,
he would go?"

Beth almost stopped
breathing. "
Rehab
?"

Angelica smiled. "Yes! Exactly."

"Uh... what?" Rehab was for druggies,
alcoholics, and starlets who needed a break from their crazy
realities. Not Oz, who was feeling lost and possibly angry. And
would likely be even angrier if his mother pulled a stunt like
trying to send him to rehab—unless, of course, she was missing
something and he really actually needed that kind of help on top of
finding himself. Oh God. This really wasn't going to end well.

Angelica sat primly, her face bright. "I
think we need to get together and talk to him. It's what's
best."

"Wait... like... an
intervention
?" What the
hell? "Have you been watching Oprah reruns, Angelica?" She tried to
say it kindly, but she knew how some shows could influence Angelica
and make her see her own world in a way that simply wasn't
accurate.

"Yes! Exactly! An intervention." Angelica
grinned at Beth. She pulled a folded sheet of paper from her purse.
"Here are some tips I found online."

Beth cautiously accepted the paper. How
could she explain that an intervention could cause Oz to clam up
like he'd chugged Crazy Glue? An intervention spelled trouble with
a capital T. Beth slid the plate of Bribe Beth Brownies and info
sheet onto the filing cabinet beside her desk and stated
matter-of-factly, "I can't do this."

"It will be a surprise."

Beth carefully added, "This seems a tad...
premature." Misguided. Ill-informed. Wrong.

Whatever she needed to get him to come back
to her, this wasn't it. "I don't think getting up in his grill is a
good idea. We need to give him time to get over last week."

Angelica stated kindly, "It will be a calm
conversation about his reckless behavior and how he is damaging his
relationships," she paused to let that point hit home, "and that we
know he is hurting and that there is help. He's starting to hurt
himself."

Beth's pulse sped up. "What do you mean
hurting himself?" she whispered.

"He's in a self-destructive cycle. He
believes he is protecting you, but his all-about-town rant and
boozing isn't good for him and it isn't cute or harmless." She gave
Beth a hard look that made her want to crawl under her desk for
protection.

"Action needs to be
taken
now
."
Angelica stood banging her fist in the air like she was shaking a
maraca. "An intervention is the answer. It will open him up. Start
the conversation. Ease his troubles."

"He needs to do this on his own." Beth
studied her hands. "As hard as it is for the rest of us."

"We have to help."

"I can't," Beth said in a quiet voice. "I
can't do this to him." Beth shook her head, pushing back in her
chair like Angelica was going to forcibly remove her and make her
confront Oz.

"How would it look if you
weren't there?" Angelica asked softly. "It would look as though you
don't care." She watched Beth, challenging her. In a low, even
voice she said, "After
that
weekend, I think it is especially important that
his fiancée be present."

Beth gazed at Angelica—a small, quiet, but
very determined mother bear. She thought of Oz and all the hurt
piling up between them. If she stepped in what would happen? How
would he react? Her voice shook as she said, "I don't think this is
a good idea."

"I'll arrange everything for tonight. All
you have to do is show up and be present." Angelica placed a warm
hand firmly over Beth's and gave her a long look that made Beth
lower her eyes in shame. If that was what it was like to have a
mother pissed off and disappointed in you, then she was kind of
glad she'd been raised by her gran and sister for most of her
teenage years.

Angelica gave Beth one last look before
opening the door. Softly she said, "Timing is everything,
Beth."

"But what about Katie and Will? They're out
of town for Will's conference. They won't be home until tomorrow
and they should be there." Plus, Katie would totally talk sense
into her mother. She'd tell her exactly how this was a very bad
idea and that Oz would most definitely take it the wrong way. And
even if Katie did agree to go along with it, she would make sure
things went right because nobody messed with Katie. Not even a big
brother with a boatload of problems.

Angelica shook her head. "Timing is
everything." She stepped through the doorway and turned. "I'll pick
you up at seven. By eight we'll have you back in Oz's arms like
nothing ever happened."

She closed the door behind her and Beth sat
in the silence of her office, afraid to move, afraid to think what
the consequences might be rather than what Angelica believed them
to be.