Better Than Anything

Angel looked at the passing cars on the street. She sighed as she looked at her phone again. There had been no messages. She had been waiting since morning, hoping the man would come to Kiandra. Elliot would open the door of the pastry shop with a smile. But he didn’t come. Martha said he had not ordered any cookies or cakes today.

Her fingers fumbled with her cell phone. She typed a message and deleted it. Angel sighed. She was too much of a coward.

“You say chance intertwines fate, and yet we didn’t even meet by chance when I wanted us to,” she murmured.

Angel had been stirring the tea in the glass for fifteen minutes. Elliot hadn’t contacted her since their meeting at the lake yesterday. Maybe it was her fault. She should have said yes immediately when Elliot offered to be the baby’s father, but instead she kept quiet and said she wanted to go home.

A bitter smile played on her lips. Angel wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. Her fingers curled around the phone. She hoped she wouldn’t miss the slightest vibration.

When the doorbell rang loudly, Angel looked up. A man entered. He flashed his usual deadly smile. As if nothing had happened after the rainbow cake incident at the lake.

“How are you?”

“Fine,” Angel stammered, looking down at the floor.

“What’s Kiandra’s specialty this morning?”

“Black forest.”

Angel stared at him anxiously. She still had a million questions running through her head. Where have you been? What have you been doing? Are you all right? Didn’t you miss me?

“Black Forest?”

Her shoulders shot up, shaking her briefly until the lightning-fast reverie in her head dissipated. “Is that what you want to order?” Angel let out an uneasy breath at the end of the sentence.

“Yes. And two glasses of warm chocolate milk.”

“Okay. Have a seat.”

Elliot smiled briefly, nodded once, then walked over to the table at the far end, just off the street. The man stared at the street without saying much.

Angel took in Elliot’s well-built form. His firm chin. His blond hair combed neatly to one side.

She took a hesitant breath. Then she rubbed the watery palms of her hands. Carrying the tray, she walked over to the table where Elliot was sitting. She cleared her throat before placing the tray on the table.

The man looked up. He smiled and stood up. He pushed the chair over so that Angel could sit down.

“Sit here, Angel. I want to talk.”

“But…”

“Just for a minute. It is still early, and I’ve asked Martha’s permission.” Elliot’s voice sounded insistent.

Angel nodded once and sat down. The man moved to the other side of the table. Angel sighed and tapped the table with the tip of her right fingernail. She swallowed several times and wiped her left palm on her apron. Multitasking for a few suffocating seconds.

Elliot sat down. Smiling slightly, he slid her a plate of cookies and a glass of chocolate milk.

“Thanks,” Angel said almost inaudibly.

She looked at the table. Her heart raced. Elliot was probably waiting for an answer or an explanation for her behavior yesterday when she left him in the park without saying anything.

Angel rolled her eyes when the man didn’t speak. She watched as he shoved a spoonful of cake into his mouth.

“I missed you.” The man’s lips curved into a smile.

Angel was silent for a moment. Her eyes searched Elliot’s face for the hint of a joke. No, his blue eyes looked at her seriously, but it still felt strange when he said he missed her.

“Don’t you miss me?” he said again.

“I… I missed you too.” Angel stammered. Her eyes fell back on the man who was now sipping at the warm milk in his glass. She was still trying to figure out what the man was feeling. How could his mood be so cheerful? Wasn’t he angry with her?

“Really?” Elliot winced, then suddenly choked up.

“Are you okay?” Angel panicked.

“I’m okay.” He said as he grabbed the glass of water and drank it. “Don’t worry. I’m still a healthy man. This milk is wonderful.”

“Oh, good to hear that.” Angel covered her mouth. She looked away to hide the smile that was forming on her lips.

“We need to pick up where we left off yesterday, Angel.”

“O—Okay.”

“How far along are you?”

Angel looked down and took a deep breath. Elliot finally opened up the conversation. An inevitable topic.

“About six weeks.”

Elliot looked at her. His blue eyes seemed pensive. “Are you with someone? Is that why you turned me down when I asked?”

Her pupils widened immediately. “I didn’t turn you down, El.”

“But you didn’t say yes. So maybe you have a boyfriend?”

Angel shook her head. Her fingers gripped the apron cloth. She held back the tears that were streaming down her cheeks.

“The fruit of misfortune.”

“What does that mean?” Elliot placed his fingers on the back of Angel’s hand. “What happened?”

Angel still hesitated. She wasn’t sure if Elliot would accept her story. But the man grabbed her hand.

“Tell me. Everything. I’ll listen.”

Angel breathed heavily. She pulled her hand out of his grasp. “Someone harassed me.”

“Harassed you? You mean…raped?”