First Edition Romance

Chapter 5

A week after her meeting with Lauren, Ainslon wasn’t any closer to finding the book than on the first day. Justin had tried to be encouraging but failed in his usual epic way. She forbade him from helping and exiled him to the back room sorting through the several boxes of action figures delivered the previous day.

Even keeping her nose to the grindstone, she’d still exhausted almost all her resources. It didn’t help that her mind always wandered toward Lauren with her perfect hair, amazing smile, and her killer sense of style.

Out of curiosity, she had googled Lauren, with her cat, Shady, curled up next to her. She didn’t want to be a creeper but couldn’t bring herself to care when looking through all the pictures of the striking and dynamic businesswoman. As closely as the Garriety Gossip website followed Lauren’s life, no mention of a significant other ever appeared or was even hinted about. Most of the photos revolved around Lauren at business functions or with her family.

Ainslon had refrained from telling Easton, her sister, about everything that happened the previous week. Easton owned Brew and Bake, a bakery, located only a block away from her store. She loved Easton dearly but knew she would hound her if she found out about her crush. Easton was having trouble in the love department and liked to live through Ainslon’s dating life, but lately, Ainslon’s was as non-existent as her sister’s. They had made plans to have dinner together the following night.

Easton wasn’t her sister by blood. When Ainslon was fifteen, her parents caught her making out with her best friend Deirdre. She confessed to her parents she was gay, and they refused to accept her. A few months later, her grandmother, Edna, had flown across the world to pick her up from Ireland.

Edna was born in Ireland but had immigrated to the United States when she was twenty, where she met, fell in love with, and married Clive, another Irish immigrant. Greg, Ainslon’s dad, and mom, Eileen, were born in the United States, but when Ainslon was almost two, her parents decided to move to Ireland to learn and live the culture.

It wasn’t until Ainslon and Edna were back in the states that Ainslon found out Edna had also taken in another girl. Easton was a year younger than her, and both of her parents had died in a car crash. Edna had known Easton’s parents and when CPS couldn’t find a placement for her, because of Easton’s age, Edna was granted custody. They’d grown up together and their bond was unshakeable. Ainslon didn’t know what she would do without Easton by her side and hoped to never find out.

They were opposites in looks with Ainslon’s black hair and green eyes compared to Easton’s blond hair and brown eyes. For some reason, no one ever had a problem seeing them as sisters. It didn’t matter that Ainslon had an accent and Easton didn’t.

She scooped up a handful of sunflower seeds, mini chocolate chips, and peanuts to eat. While chewing, she searched her mind for any other leads for the book but drew a blank. When her cellphone rang a familiar tune, a grin split her face and she hopped off the couch, grabbed her phone, and swiped it before her nana could hang up. If it wasn’t an emergency, Edna would only call once and would refuse any calls after the fact.

“Hi, Nana.”

“Ainslon, would you like to have dinner with me tonight? I’m making your favorite.”

Ainslon leaned back against the counter and counted to ten quietly in Irish. When she’d moved in, Edna had made sure Ainslon never lost sight of her heritage and one of those things was keeping up with her Irish. They only used the language from time to time, but Ainslon was thankful Edna had kept up with it.

“Ainslon, I can hear your breathing over the phone. You know, I’m an old woman. No telling how much time I have left on this earth. You could at least pretend to want to talk to me.”

Ainslon groaned. “Nana, don’t be silly. I always enjoy talking to you and I would love to have dinner with you.”

It always amazed her how such a sweet, frail looking, eighty-eight-year-old woman could be so manipulative. Her Irish stew was the stuff of legends. Ainslon may have left Ireland behind but Edna made sure she always had a piece of it with her. Either in the language or the family dinners. Ainslon’s favorite meal was bacon with cabbage and turnips and mash. No matter how many times Ainslon made it, she never could match Edna’s.

“That’s the spirit, dear. Dinner’s at seven sharp. Grá gheal mo chroí thú.”

Ainslon let the words wash over her, ‘you are the bright love of my heart,’ then she came back to reality. Edna only spoke Irish when she felt sentimental. “I love you too.”

If dinner was at seven that meant she would have to be there by six thirty at the latest. When Justin came back with lunch, she filled him in on her conversation and he agreed to lock up for the night.

Lauren pushed the flatbed shopping cart through the aisles of Sadlers, Garriety’s one big box store, as Patricia, her mother, kept piling items on it. Lauren eyed the cart, overflowing with supplies, to make sure nothing fell off. Once a month, Lauren accompanied Patricia on her grocery shopping to load up on necessities. One, because Lauren didn’t want her mother loading and lifting so many heavy items, and two, because she loved spending time with her. Though, she never understood why her mother bought so much. It was only her, Callie, Jeffrey, her brother-in-law, and nephew, Charlie. Lauren had a feeling her mother bought so much so she could make meals for her neighbors that didn’t get around as well as they used to.

Patricia still lived in the small three-bedroom home Lauren had grown up in. The house, located in a modest neighborhood on the outskirts of the city, didn’t have any of the hustle or bustle of the city. It was a wonderful place to grow up and Lauren wouldn’t trade her memories of it for anything. She loved vacationing around the world, but Garriety was and would always be her home. Not every child grew up in a loving family, and Lauren knew how lucky she was. It still pained her to walk into the home and not see her papa sitting in his recliner in the living room.

Eleven years ago, he’d died unexpectedly, and the hole he’d left in their lives still ached from time to time. Her parents had almost reached their fiftieth wedding anniversary. After her mother’s grieving process, she’d started living again, like her papa would have wanted. Between cooking and gardening, Patricia liked to visit with her neighbors and had a weekly appointment for bridge and chess at the community center. Just like her mother, Lauren liked to keep busy. Where she learned love and patience from her papa, she learned passion and drive from her mother.

Lauren nodded at a few people she knew but kept pushing the cart per Patricia’s instructions. They stopped at the produce section, where Lauren would be picking up some items for herself. She had a visit to the farmers market with her sister planned for Saturday, but, as much as she liked the farmers market, the prices on the produce here were too good to pass up.

“Grab a box of the plantains and a bag of mangoes,” Patricia said, as she surveyed the berries. “And a container of strawberries and a bag of grapes.” At her last check up, Patricia’s cholesterol readings were a little high, so she added more fruits and vegetables and less meat into her diet.

Patricia deposited her picks on top of the largest box. “How have you been, little duck? We haven’t talked much this week.” She eyed the cart, even though Lauren had carefully packed as they went along.

Lauren smiled at the term of endearment her mother had always used for her. She laid her bounty beside her mother’s as they made their way to the vegetables. “Good. Revenue was up three percent last quarter and we’re almost done with the planning for the food festival. I’m still looking into purchasing the empty building beside ours, but the owner is being stubborn.” She plucked a package of zucchini and a bag of green beans up but stopped when Patricia placed a hand on her arm. “Momma?”

“I’m happy your business is doing so well, but how are you doing?”

“Fine. You know I’m a creature of habit.” Lauren turned away from her mother’s penetrating gaze.

“I know. There isn’t anything else?”

“Why? Is there something specific you want to know?” Patricia had a sixth sense for this stuff.

“Well, Ollie and I talked, and a certain name came up in the conversation. Ainslon.” Patricia lifted her eyebrows in question.

Lauren should have known Ollie would say something. Before answering, she surveyed around to make sure no one lurked nearby to overhear. “There is nothing to tell, Momma.” Lauren grasped her mother’s hand. “Honestly, there is nothing to tell. If, and that’s a big if, she finds the book I’m looking for, I might, I might consider asking her out.”

“Good.” They went about their shopping. “I want you to be happy. That’s all. You’ll never make it the fifty years your father and I did, but I’m sure there is someone out there for you.”

Lauren stopped in the middle of the aisle, her tone dry and a bit hurt. “Thanks, Momma, for putting everything into perspective for me. Way to make your daughter feel good.”

“Oh, stop. You’ve had love and that’s more than a lot of people can say. I want to see that smile on your face again.”

“Momma, I smile all the time.”

“True, but you know what I mean.”

“I do.” She knew arguing with her mother would be a wasted endeavor, so kept quiet as they finished their shopping.

Back at Patricia’s house, they worked in tandem to put the groceries away. When Patricia refused her help with lunch, Lauren relaxed at the table with a cup of coffee. They would always have lunch together on their shopping days and Patricia always insisted on cooking. Today, lunch was a simple, but delicious tomato soup with some of their newly acquired purchases.

As she sat across from her mother, Lauren intended to always make the most of their time together. One never knew when life would be cut short and it was never guaranteed that she would outlive her mother. “So, Momma, tell me about your week?”