I took a bite that was a bit more dainty than his. People often complimented my baked goods, but they didn’t often tell me I was talented. It seemed that baking can go overlooked in the talent department. It wasn’t easy; in fact, baking was a precise science. Edison squeezed my hand under the table as he forked another greedy wedge into his mouth.
He put the slice away in what seemed like a matter of seconds, guzzled the milk, and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“Did your mother bake while you were growing up?” I asked him. The cake melted in my mouth. It really was divine, and I was happy it was the first treat he’d tried of mine since I’d almost killed him with a cookie.
“Every Sunday. Yours?”
“No, I’m self-taught, as with most things. You’ll meet my mom tonight, and you’ll see right away that she isn’t the baking type.”
“Speaking of the gala… Should we get going?”
I nodded, took a deep breath, and cleared our cake plates. I rinsed them in the sink and worried about this whole date. I thought I really liked Eddie. Like, I would never want to do anything to hurt him, despite his customer-eating shop, his famous bachelor status, or his bags of money and Tesla. He was a good person, a sweet man, who loved to eat my cake. I enjoyed his company, I liked the way he teased me, but also how kind and thoughtful he could be. It was hard to admit to myself that tonight might just really be a date—plain and simple. I saw no malice in this man, nor did I have any reason to believe he would intentionally destroy my livelihood.
The car was smooth, I had to admit. I was fascinated by the touchscreen, although I couldn’t imagine myself not getting into an accident.
“Laney, tell me, did you always like cars?”
“Oh yeah, I asked for matchbox cars as soon as I could talk. At first my dad was really into it, but eventually it freaked him out. My playmates would come over to play dolls, and I’d be in my own corner building a garage. My dad worked a lot, and he sure as shit didn’t do his own repairs. It was my neighbor Jed who let me watch him tinker on his Chevy. Then in high school I took my first shop class, which eventually led to automotive shop, and it was a done deal.”
“Unlike you, I grew up in a garage. We were working-class, or maybe just poor. As soon as we learned our way around under a hood, we were cheap labor and could contribute to the family business.”
“Did you ever regret it?”
“Never knew anything different. Are your parents on board with what you do?”
“Let’s just say it took them a long time to get to where they are now.”
Edison looked away from the road and made eye contact with me. He didn’t say anything, but I could see the acceptance in his expression. He was telling me that he accepted me. He moved a hand off the wheel and took the one in my lap. It was simple and yet profound, and suddenly sitting next to Edison in his fancy car felt just like home.
13
Edison
I might have grown up in a garage, but I got a business degree. I knew my way around a boardroom, as well as how to deal with the kind of people who were made of money. Laney’s parents, for example, were all about appearance. They both sized me up like predators hungry for lunch as Laney did introductions. Her father’s disapproval was apparent. Her mother knew who I was and approved of my status, at least. She seemed eager to see her daughter settled. Laney looked like her mother, and I couldn’t help but soften toward her a bit. But when she dropped a line about closing The Lace Garage within the first ten minutes, I felt Laney tense underneath the protective arm I had on the small of her back.
“Unfortunately we aren’t seated together, thanks to my daughter’s tardiness in replying,” her father apologized to me.
“We’re happy to sit anywhere for a good cause,” I told him. We were both more than happy to take our leave and find our table.
“Sorry,” Laney said. She took me hand as we filed through the crowd to a table in the back. “They aren’t so stuffy at home, I promise.” She squeezed my hand, and it made me feel like we were a couple, in this together, like it was the two of us against the world. The feeling was intoxicating.
“That was nothing. I can mingle the hell out of a party like this. Your parents are happy dolphins compared to some of the sharks I’ve had to swim with.”