AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She wanted to be a part of Archer Heights—that odd woman with Asian features and a Polish last name defying everyone’s sense of what should be—and have a marriage with Karl based on love and trust rather than dependency and suspicion. She wanted to have her kolaczki and eat them, too.
Turning the monitor of the computer off, Vivian giggled at her own joke. Maybe she could embrace what made her different from the neighborhood and use it to pull off what she had in mind. Maybe the idea wasn’t that crazy, after all.
* * *
TILLY CAME OUT from Babka’s kitchen, sweaty and energized. The sweaty Karl understood. After he noticed the twinkle in her eyes and she opened her mouth, he understood the energized bit, as well. “I heard you did the Electric Slide at Phil’s wedding.”
He’d known someone would tell his sisters, but he’d hoped they were mature enough to ignore the gossip.
“And that you bumped into Mrs. Biadala twice because you didn’t know the steps.”
He’d been wrong. Baby sisters grow taller. They find life partners and they become successful owners of popular restaurants. They even get a dish on the cover of Bon Appétit. But they stay baby sisters, confident that their role in life is to keep their older brother humble even though he’d outgrown being able to give them a noogie.
“Maybe Dan and I will get married just so I can see you do the Electric Slide in person, instead of having to hear about it.”
“I didn’t dance at Renia’s wedding. What makes you think I would dance at yours?”
Even the bartender was barely able to contain her amusement as she reached around Tilly to hand him his glass of wine. He’d come to Babka for dinner because he didn’t want to be alone in his apartment anymore, didn’t want to go to Healthy Food and see Vivian and had mistakenly thought family would help his mood. Instead, Tilly’s entire restaurant seemed to be determined to make him regret doing the Electric Slide.
Then the image of Vivian’s smile and her swirling hair as she pranced about and clapped flashed in his head, and he knew he would never regret doing anything that made Vivian smile so brightly.
“Ah, but Renia didn’t know you would dance. I know, and knowledge is power.” She tapped her skull and he rolled his eyes. “The best part about that story was hearing how you nearly caveman-dragged Vivian off the dance floor and into the parking lot. I do so love it when your feathers get ruffled.”
“Get out of the way of my wine and get back to work. I can’t believe how intrusive the service is here.”
His sister laughed. “That’s what you get for walking in the door just before closing.” Then she waggled her eyebrows at him and said, “Have you told Vivian that you love her yet?”
Karl might have needed many things to go differently during his last exchange with Vivian, but he didn’t need to relive their conversation with Tilly. That’s not good enough for me.
He wasn’t good enough for her? His apartment wasn’t good enough for her? She’d prefaced the pronoun with a reference to a roof over her head, but that didn’t make sense. He wasn’t just offering her a place to live. He was offering her himself.
That’s not good enough for me.
“It’s really none of your business.” No matter how much Vivian’s words thrashed about in his head, he wasn’t going to share the conversation with his baby sister.
She smiled, not worried about his sour mood. “You’ve never let your family near your business before. One taste and we can’t get enough.”
His fights with Jessica had sent him to his office, not to a family member for company. You think it’s enough that we’re married and you come home every night. Everyone look at Karl Pawel Milek, such a dedicated husband. But I want to be more than a duty. And he’d tried. For their marriage’s sake, he’d tried. He had bought her flowers, chocolates and jewelry. He had asked what her favorite flowers were because apparently it wasn’t roses. Good husbands bring home flowers, so you’re bringing home flowers. It’s like you’re a robot husband.
Tilly—his whole family—would’ve been fascinated by those fights.
