The Love of Lies

Enthusiasm

Cori’s POV

My eyes widen at the sight of the line outside of the bakery, and I internally begin to prepare for disappointment.

There's no parking, meaning that Ashton and I would have to walk an undetermined distance, which I highly doubt he would want to do.

Based on how casually he's dressed, he has the day off, so I don't want to deprive him of any rest, likewise, I don't want to be too tired for work tonight.

"Maybe next time," I say, thinking that he would immediately agree, but he stops in front of the bakery.

"You wait in the line, and I'll go find parking." I'm a little nervous to do that, but only because I don’t know if I should use the opportunity to run away or actually stay and get my cookies. “It’ll be faster that way.”

I get out of the car and stand in the line, but after a few minutes, I’ve worked myself into a panic.

“You okay?” I jump, startled by the man’s return. “Hey…”

Ashton cups my face, and in that moment, I decide that this is no longer the situation it started as. He is just as taken aback and caught off guard as I was regarding this pregnancy, but if we are going to co-parent effectively, I need to learn to forgive.

“I’m okay,” I reply, moving the man’s hands away from my face with a smile. “The line is moving fast. I was afraid that you wouldn’t make it before I got inside.”

“I got lucky; someone was moving not too far away.” I don’t know if the man is lying, but I’m glad that I didn’t run like I wanted.

Ashton’s POV

I drove almost two blocks before I found a spot, and after paying the meter, I jogged back to the bakery, stopping only to catch my breath when I see Cori still waiting, but her nervous sidestep has me worried.

I make my way around the line, drawing criticizing looks and whispers until I rest a hand on her back, making the woman jump in fright.

“Hey?” I say as I cup the woman’s face, hoping that she won’t have an embarrassing breakdown that I won’t be able to explain to the people around us.

She claims to be okay, but it’s her smile that convinces me and makes my heart flutter. She’s so beautiful that, even now, while she’s not even trying, she looks stunning to me.

Her hair is braided on either side of her head, a style that suits her for what we’re doing now, but nowhere near as well as when her natural curly hair frames her face.

“I was afraid that you wouldn’t make it before I got inside.”

“I got lucky; someone was leaving not too far away.” Cori moves my hands away from her face, but it’s not aggressive or annoyed, which is relieving to me.

The first time I did that to her I was trying to calm her after Mark nearly drowned her, and her reaction back then confused me, but I later learned from Troy that she thought I was going to faint.

I’m so used to people not caring about me or how I feel that I didn’t recognize it, and instead of telling her that I was okay, the way she did with me, I went straight to being angry with her again.

“I hope these cookies are worth it.” Cori turns to me in excitement, explaining why she believes they are, and I have to admit that I’m convinced.

We get to the head of the line and Cori orders with confidence.

“I’d like a dozen mixed fresh baked cookies, a dozen fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, and a pint of ice-cold milk.” I’m extremely concerned about the woman’s eating habits, but I won’t dare to kill the mood right now.

“It’ll be another ten minutes for the dozen chocolate chip.” Cori nods, and tries to hand the woman her debit card, but I’ve been waving my own card behind her head, so the cashier reaches toward my hand instead.

“Don’t start. You’re supposed to be saving.” I’m starting to figure out Cori’s triggers and weaknesses, so she drops the conversation.

After receiving her mixed dozen, Cori and I find a seat to wait for the other cookies, and it’s then that I notice she has two cups.

She pours one for herself and slides the other toward me, opening the cookie box so that we can both reach into the package without issue.

I watch the woman close her eyes, reach into it, pick up a random cookie, bring it toward her face, and take a deep whiff of it.

“What's that about?”

“I like surprises,” she whispers, taking a bite before looking down at what she chose. “You try.” I roll my eyes, but I still do what Cori asked, and when I bite into the warm morsel, I can understand her enthusiasm.

“What flavor is it?”

“I think it’s key lime pie. What’s yours?”

“Cookies and cream.” Cori breaks the tail end of her cookie off, and hands it to me, prompting me to do the same.

She and I sit there guessing cookies back and forth, but before we've worked through the box, the clerk brings the chocolate chip order to us.

“Cori… Maybe we can eat those at home?”

“They’ll get cold.” The woman is oblivious to my concern, but she doesn’t eat too many of the cookies because she ran out of milk, so I didn't have to stop her. “Ready?”

"Give yourself a second to digest." My words make the woman smile, and somehow, I can tell it's not for me. "Remind you of someone?"

"My mother used to say that to me a lot."

"When did she pass?"

"I was thirteen."

"Was she sick?"

"She was severely anemic, and it eventually affected her internal organs." I'm not an expert, but I'm fairly sure that Anemia is treatable, so I know that there's something else the girl isn't telling me. "I don't think that's what killed her though."

"What do you mean?"

"She had two heart attacks, and toward the end, she was very weak. She needed time to heal, but my father…" I reach over the table and hold Cori's hand, shaking my head because I don't need or want her to continue speaking.

"Let's head back." The woman dabs at her eyes and stands, clearing the table before putting a few dollars in a tip jar.

"Old habits?" I say as a question, referring to the woman's cleaning of the table, but she admits that anytime she goes into any sort of establishment that accepts tips, she feels obligated to leave one.

I know that Cori's worked for most of her life, but when I did a background check on her, I didn't exactly look at what sort of places she worked.

I'm not surprised when she tells me that she worked at a fast-food restaurant before she graduated from high school, but I am surprised to find out that she kept the same job from fourteen to seventeen.

She must have been an exceptionally sympathetic or good employee, because most fast-food chains go through teen hires like water.

"It must have been hard juggling school and work," I reply, feeling as though Cori has been through more than the average teenager.

"Yes and no," she says. "Work gave me a reason to be out of the house, and they had Wi-Fi, I didn't."

The thought of not being able to connect to the internet in the comfort of my own home is mind-boggling to me. I then feel guilty because that's exactly what I'm doing to Cori right now.

I wondered why she hadn't brought it up, but it's likely because she's used to it.

"Did you have Wi-Fi in your apartment?" I stupidly question, already knowing that she probably did not.

"I wasn't home enough to need it, but I did have a data plan on my phone."

"Do you want it back?” Cori tilts her head, not understanding my meaning, so I clarify for her. “Your phone. Do you want it back?”

“That would be nice,” she adds. “But the service is month-to-month, so I’ll need to reactivate it.”

“How much is it?”

“Thirty dollars a month, but I don’t know what the reconnection fee is.”

“Can I put you on my plan?” Cori shakes her head, but I wasn’t actually asking for her permission.

“I thought that you said you got a close spot?” I actually forgot about that lie, so I ignore the woman completely.

We get to my car, and I open the door for Cori who gets inside without side eyeing me the way that she typically does.

“Do you work tonight?”

“Yup, but as long as I’m in bed by 10AM, I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t you think that you work too much?”

“I’m used to it.” I know what Cori means, but at the end of the day, I don’t really care. She’s carrying my baby, and I want it to be healthy.

“When is your appointment again?”

“Wednesday at 11AM.”

“In two days?” Cori nods, but because her eyes are beginning to close, I don’t want to disturb her.

Cori’s POV

I woke to gentle shaking that I thought was by Troy, but it was Ashton, telling me that we’re back.

I’m much more tired than I thought I’d be, so when I got back to my room, I went straight to sleep, knowing that tonight is going to be one of those nights.

“Cori…” My eyes shoot open, and Ashton is standing in front of me with a plate of food. “I know that it’s a little earlier than you typically wake, but I really want to see you eat something that isn’t made from sugar.”

“What is it?”

“Beef stew and mash.” I was annoyed, but now, not so much.

“Want to eat at the table?” I indicate that I do, so Ashton leaves allowing me to use the restroom and rinse out my mouth before joining him.

I don’t know if Ashton can cook, but based on the fact that he and his brother have several catering menus, I’m assuming that he can’t.

“Did your mom make this?”

“She did.” It makes me feel better that Ashton didn’t make the stew himself, so I dig into the mash, nodding in silence because it’s that good.

While I eat, the man keeps looking at me like he has something to say, but he doesn’t speak, so I ignore it. We finish up our meal without words, but now that I’m full, I’m tired again.

“Can’t you call out?”

“No. I already switched shifts with someone.” The man blows air through pursed lips and rubs his head, making me think that I don’t have a ride to work tonight.”

“I can take a taxi if it's too much trouble.”

“Huh?” It seems like Aston wasn’t even paying attention to me, so I repeat myself, understanding that he seems a little off.

“I’m taking you to work, it's just that… I have something to tell you.”

“Okay…”

“Vanessa, my ex, she told someone something about me that isn’t true, and I don’t want it to get back to you and without me explaining first.”

“What is it?”

“She says that I made her get rid of our baby, but Cori, I really didn’t.” I don’t know why, but I believe Ashton.

If he’s willing to allow a woman he barely knows to carry a pregnancy to term, then I can’t see him doing the opposite with someone he actually dated.

“Why would she make that up though?”

“We haven’t figured it out, but… I just wanted to forewarn you.”

“I have to get ready for work, but thank you for telling me. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”

Thanks,” he replies.