“I don’t want the bills to hold you back from doing what’s right for you,” Bernie insisted.
“Maybe I should start looking for another job,” Petra said reluctantly. “I have a friend who said he would help.”
At the mention of a male friend, my ears pricked up. I didn’t want to imagine her in the arms of any other man. Who was this friend? Was he interested in her? Was there more to the friendship than she was letting on?
I found myself feeling jealous, and I wished it away. It wasn’t my place to be so possessive. I didn’t even really know her. We’d shared a single hug, and that was just five minutes ago. I glanced over at Patrick to see if he had noticed, but he didn’t seem to care.
“The bakery isn’t doing that well,” Petra went on. “It’s busy in the mornings when you come in.” She indicated me. “But as you can see, we’re dead in the afternoons.”
“Maybe you could spruce up the place a bit,” Patrick suggested. “If you fixed the sign outside and got some new furniture, it would go a long way.”
“I’ve told Chad that millions of times,” Petra complained. “He just doesn’t listen. He’s too focused on other, stupid stuff.”
“I’d hate to see you go,” I offered my opinion, “but you can’t keep working fourteen-hour days.”
“I know,” she agreed.
“We’ll find something for you,” Bernie said.
Petra gave her mother a long-suffering glance. “I’m old enough to handle it myself.”
“Right,” Bernie retracted her last statement. “Tell us about your friend.”
“Who, Damien?” Petra sounded surprised. “He’s one of Meara’s boyfriends.”
“One of?” Patrick asked, intrigued.
“She’s the friend who has three boyfriends,” Petra explained.
“Interesting lifestyle,” Bernie mused.
“Very interesting,” I agreed. “How does that work, exactly?”
Petra shrugged. “They all have their own homes, but they spend a lot of time together.”
“So the guys know about each other?” Patrick asked.
“Oh yeah,” Petra said. “They’re all friends.”
“Hmm.” I looked at Patrick to get his take on the odd arrangement. He shrugged, thinking no more about it.
I wondered what it would be like to share a woman and thought that if it was Petra in the middle, I wouldn’t have any problem with that. As long as she didn’t like either of the other guys better, I could be content with just part of her attention. It was only the thought that she might choose someone over me that got my hackles up.