Sweet Love (NG5)

16 - Maine

Kat sat watching cartoons when an email came in from The Landing Investment Group with a job offer. The salary was less than she expected until she realized it included the apartment. If she lost the job, she'd be on the street. Been there and done that. There was a better chance she would move on.

She tossed and turned, unable to decide if it was a smart decision or worse than trusting Bryce. She needed an income and no one else had offered her a job. Surprisingly, no one at the investment group thought to check into her background.

Being in Maine made her feel closer to Pops. Before she left, she drove to the beach and stood looking at the sea. A long time ago, her grandmother summered at the same beach, and she brought her husband to see it. Kat knew it must have meant something to Nana.

At dinner the following night. She pushed around her food. "If you don't like it, you should cook. I heard you know how."

"Ramona, go easy on her." The spouses exchanged an unhappy look.

The last thing she wanted was to cause friction between her parents.

"I'm moving out."

"What?"

"How?"

"I got a job. Before you get too excited, it's not a chef job, but I'll be baking." Hopefully.

"You love baking."

"Where's this bakery?"

She gulped air. "It's more of a coffee and sandwich shop. I'll be the manager and I plan to use my skills to expand the menu."

Her father forced a smile. "You'll work your way up again."

"Why are you moving?"

She looked at her mother. "The job comes with an apartment and it's too far to commute."

"Too far?" Her father frowned.

She nodded. "It's at the beach where Pop and Nana went on their honeymoon."

"In Maine? Kat, why?"

She shrugged. "I can stay and be a dishwasher, but I feel a connection there."

"That's silly. You aren't a romantic."

She scoffed, "I was."

No one had a fork in their hand. Seth drew in a breath. "I know you've been through a difficult time, but..."

"Difficult. A math test is difficult. Try dejected. Impossible. Disheartened. Hopeless. Desperate." Depressing. Only a depressed adult watched Scooby-Doo all day.

"You are talented." Ramona reminded her.

"I have an associate's degree from a community college. It's not like I'm a culinary school graduate."

"You could go to culinary school," her father suggested.

Once she had considered it, but the on-the-job experience was enough. Then she chose the wrong path. "My money is gone. I'm broke."

"But a coffee shop." Ramona pressed her lips together.

"Maybe it is a huge mistake. I feel like Pop is leading me there. The people are nice."

"They live at the beach in the winter?"

She shrugged. "There were a lot of two-story homes mixed with the cottages. I met a retired professor and watched the bus let off kids."

Seth sighed. "Sounds like your mind's made up."

"Yes, and no. There is no other option. I couldn't get an interview in Portsmouth, because my restaurant failed. No one cares about the reason. They offered me a job washing dishes." Humiliation. Shame.

"What about your old boss?"

She let out a long sigh. "He warned me not to go out on my own, but I didn't listen. I can't go back to him."

"Sometimes you have to tuck your pride away."

She let out a sarcastic laugh like a villain the meddling kids caught. "Pride! That's long gone. If he wanted me back, he would contact me." Instead, she had radio silence. A friend would call to be sympathetic, but no one was calling, not even George. He was busy working.

Alone. Lonely. Isolated. Desolate. She had felt the camaraderie in Maine. After half a day, she felt like people would care if she fell down. In Boston, people just walked over her and went on with their business.

"How will you afford to live?" Her father was usually less practical than her mother.

"Live?" She laughed like a villain backed in a corner before the unmasking. "I'm not living now. Apparently, I wasn't before since my life was one big lie."

"Your heart will heal, but it will take time." Ramona put her hand over her tight fist. "I feel your pain. You are my daughter."

"I know. I know you both love me, but I have to climb out of the dark pit."

Her parents looked at each other. They were a team. Each with their own strengths. Her father frowned. "Don't make a rash decision."

"I need to do something. Do you have any idea how many jobs I applied to?" They nodded. "No one will hire me. This decision can't be worse than going into business with my boyfriend." The guy who said he loved me and wanted a future together.

Bryce had pursued her. Kat was going to school and working in the kitchen thirty hours a week. She plated the meals and put them under the lights for the servers to take out. Bryce often hung around waiting for his tables' orders. He joked trying to bump the line.

It was the highlight of her busy, hot nights. Occasionally, he brought her a glass of cold water. At twenty-one, he was mature to her eighteen or so she thought. When he asked her to grab a drink one night, she laughed at him.

"What's so funny?" He frowned.

"I can't sit at the bar. I'm not legal."

"How old are you?"

The head chef yelled, "She's eighteen. Leave her alone."

The strange thing was he didn't leave her alone. They became friends, and instead of going to the bar at the end of service, he walked her to her car and kissed her. It was hard not to fall for the older guy, but Bryce was sweet. As the years passed, she advanced in the kitchen and their relationship grew stronger. By the time she turned twenty-one, she spent more time with him than at home. The next step was for her to move into his apartment.

Ramona sighed. "None of us expected him to change. We thought of him like a son. We thought he was taking care of you."

Kat took some blame for being blind. Her focus was on her kitchen and it left very little couple-time. The routine was set with Kat leaving after the last plate went out and Bryce staying to lock up after last call. She knew he sat and had a few drinks. It was the pills she never suspected. They had become roommates on separate schedules who met up on a day off to watch TV together and have sex.

"I thought we'd get married, so we were all fooled." The anger came in waves and it had surfaced. "I hate him." The feeling was as strong as love had once been. "I need a change of scenery. I'm taking the job. It doesn't have to be permanent. But honestly, if I don't make a change I'm going to end up worse than depressed." Was she depressed or just sad? An online quiz could answer for her, but she didn't want to know. If she felt the same in Maine, she would seek an answer.

Ramona stood from the table. Seth looked defeated. "We'll always support you, but we'll miss you."

"I know. You can come to the beach this summer." Maybe walking on the beach would heal her.

Not wanting to change her mind, she went to her room and replied to the email accepting the job.

With her meager belongings packed in a Pod storage unit, she drove north to start her new life. Rick was staying on to train her. She smiled, with her invisible boss it would be like working for herself.

Welcome to Maine. "Pops, I hope I don't regret it."

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