helping her learn to cook even more meals when she returned home. When Babette asked about Rowdy, Granny had said that things hadn’t worked out as planned, and that she would explain later. That would’ve concerned Babette, but Granny had sounded so happy, ecstatic even, that she didn’t question it. If things hadn’t worked out, it sure hadn’t seemed to bother her, and as she said, she’d explain everything to Babette when she returned home to Birmingham.
She swallowed. Returning home meant leaving all of her friends at Sunny Beaches, and it meant leaving Jeff. Fortunately, all of her time spent with the seniors today had kept her mind off him and off all the feelings he’d brought to the surface during their walk on the beach yesterday. But then he’d shown up at the party, and they’d all come crashing back over her, a tidal wave of emotion. She thought she’d held it all together pretty well, even keeping an upbeat tone when she talked to Kitty. But then Jeff had stormed out, and she’d known that she’d evidently messed up, again.
Her cell phone rang, and she glanced at the caller ID. Amazingly, it wasn’t Kitty. She grinned at the name on display and answered. “Hey, Granny. You’re up late, aren’t you?”
“Ten o’clock,” Granny said. “And I couldn’t sleep. I had you on my mind, so I decided to call.”
“I’m fine,” Babette lied.
“No, you’re not. I heard it this afternoon when I called, and I hear it even more now. And I’m afraid I was so wrapped up in everything here that I didn’t pick up on it until I wound down for the night and started pondering my day. Honey, what happened?”
Babette should’ve known Granny would be able to tell she was upset. And unfortunately, hearing Granny Gert ask brought it to the surface. Tears leaked free, and all the thoughts and feelings she’d been fighting all day pushed forward. “Oh, Granny, I finally found out why Jeff never called me back last year, and why he got so hooked on Kitty so fast, and why he doesn’t trust any women to commit now,” she blurted. “He wanted more from me back then, and I was too stupid to realize it. And then he wanted more with Kitty, and she was even more stupid, knowing he wanted her and leaving him. Now he’s not willing to give anyone another chance.”
Granny was quiet for a moment, then she said, “You’re not talking about him giving Kitty another chance, are you? You want him for yourself.”
Babette swiped at her tears. “I don’t know. I mean, yes, I do know. I want him, but not the way we were back then. I want more, I want what he wanted when we ended things. But he doesn’t think I can commit to anything, and he doesn’t want a woman who can’t commit.”
“Oh, honey, then you just need to prove to him that you can,” Granny soothed.
“But that’s just it. The one thing he says that he can tell I’m committed to is my job. He’s been impressed with that,” she said, sniffing through her words. “But if I’m truly committed to my job, then I have to try and get him and Kitty back together. And if I tell him I still want him, then he’ll have proof that I can’t commit.”
“Babette, a job isn’t anywhere near the same as love,” Granny said, as a loud knock echoed on Babette’s door.
“I’ve got to let you go,” Babette said, quickly drying her tears. That knock sounded very masculine, very Jeff.
She said goodbye to Granny Gert, snapped the phone closed and dropped it on the table. Then she wiped her face again and checked it in the mirror before finally heading toward the door. She opened it, but unfortunately couldn’t control the disappointment when she found Otis and Rose on the other side. More tears dripped free.
“Have mercy, what happened after we left?” Rose asked, peering past her as though she’d find the source of Babette’s splotchy, wet face.
“Rose forgot her shawl, and I didn’t want her to walk back this late by herself,” Otis said, moving past the two women to search for the shawl, and probably just wanting to put some distance between himself and the weepy female.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Babette said. “The party went great, and I should be very happy.”
“Your man left in the middle of it,” Rose said. “Why should you be happy about that?”
“He’s not