A Convenient Proposal(29)
“I’ll try to catch up this year. Hey, Pam, let me introduce you….” He gestured toward Arden. “This is Arden Burke. Arden, Pam Pierson.”
They nodded to each other. “Glad to meet you,” Pam said. “What can I get for you this morning? We just pulled some pumpkin bread out of the oven and glazed it with cream cheese icing.”
“That sounds terrific.” Griff looked at Arden. “What would you like?”
They ordered coffee, tea and two servings of the pumpkin bread, which appeared almost as soon as Pam had left the table, carried by Patty, herself.
“Griff Campbell, stand up and give me a proper greeting.” She was very tall, big-boned and full-bodied, with a braid of blond hair wrapped around her head and the signature pansy apron. “You don’t take off again without saying goodbye, you hear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he mumbled from somewhere deep within her embrace.
In the next moment, Peg—also aproned—and a man as tall and big as Patty—Pete, of course—joined them at the table. Introductions and catch-up took several minutes, until Patty shooed her family back to the kitchen.
“Ten pound cakes,” she said, pulling a chair over and sitting down between Griff and Arden. “For the dinner dance at the club this weekend kicking off parties for Al and…” Her voice trailed off. “Sorry, Griff.”
“No problem, Miss Patty.” He took a sip of coffee. “We just ran into Zelda on the street, as a matter of fact, and no tragic gestures ensued. We’ll all be polite and get through this thing just fine. Besides…” He reached across and took Arden’s hand. “I’ve got myself a winner right here. You won’t hear any sour grapes from me.”
Patty’s plain face broke into a smile. “I’m so glad. The town was really torn apart when you left. Zelda had her supporters, of course—mostly her mother’s friends and their daughters—but lots of folks were mad as anything that she’d treated a good man like you so wrong. Some folks gave her a really hard time about it.”
Griff frowned down at his plate. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“The bitterness faded,” Patty assured him. “Folks are back to normal, more or less.” She looked at Arden. “Dr. Griff is a favorite around here. As is Doc Campbell, who has saved the life of a pet for just about everybody in town. We were all pleased to have his son come back to work with him, after watching him grow up and all. He was here most afternoons after school for twelve years, always asking for a peanut butter cookie and a glass of milk. Got so I’d just run a tab, and his dad would pay it at the end of the week. ’Course, my Queenie got sick then—heartworms, the nasty things—and Doc treated her and kept her for me for six weeks until she could come home and be herself again. After that, the Campbell kids got their cookies for free.”
She slapped the pansy-covered apron across her thighs and surged to her feet. “They probably forgot about those cakes and I’m gonna have to start all over again. Good to see you, Griff.” Her hand fell heavily on his shoulder. “And I’m so glad to meet you, Miss Arden. Come back as often as you can.”
Patty made her way across the room, speaking to other customers as she went, before vanishing behind the tall display cases of pastries and baked goods at the back. Arden sipped her tea and enjoyed every last crumb of the delicious pumpkin bread, but Griff, she noticed, simply played with his.
“You’re not eating,” she said. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m not sure. This last hour was…” He shrugged without finishing the sentence.
His reaction confirmed for Arden the extent to which he still cared about Zelda.
“You handled yourself well, especially since you didn’t have any warning.” She could only imagine how she would react if she ran into Andre, her ex, on the street. “I would probably have run screaming in the opposite direction.”
“Well, I didn’t scream, anyway.” A rueful smile curved his mouth briefly. “I could have been more—what’s a good word?—nonchalant.”
“She was upset, too. I doubt Zelda or her mother noticed your tension.”
He sat for quite a while without speaking, turning the handle of his coffee mug from one side to the other. Finally, he stirred. “I hate to hear that folks gave her a hard time.”
“You would expect your friends and family to be upset on your behalf, wouldn’t you?”