Everywhere: Book 3 of the Nowhere Trilogy

40. Baby Mine

If they knew sweet little you, they'd end up loving you too. - Alison Krauss

1:42 PM, Sunday, March 13, 2022

"This is sooooo cool, Aunt Chele!" Patrick comments, observing the catering café backstage as a variety of crew members mingle over their lunch. Or breakfast, depending on their shift. "Does she bake homemade breads too?"

"Of course I do!" Sarah, owner of Sarah's Kitchen brags. "Do you wanna try today's bread? I hear you're a baker like your aunt. She's helped me out a time or two with some new recipes. Typically, though, I don't bake bread unless we're having a special menu."

"What's today's menu?" the young baker asks.

"In addition to several main dishes, I'm planning a broccoli cheese soup."

"OH! Can I maybe bake a few bread bowls for serving?" Patrick rubs his hands together, excited by the possibility.

Chele interrupts. "Patrick! I'm confident that Sarah has everything all planned out. Besides, you're supposed to be on vacation."

"Pish posh, Chele," Sarah chimes in. "If the young man wants to bake for our crew, I'm more than happy for his assistance." With that, she ushers Patrick behind the cooking counter where she points him in the direction of the sink to wash his hands.

Shaking her head, Chele wanders away from her nephew. He's doing what he loves, and that's all that matters. Phee sidles up to her while Chele walks down the hallway towards Harry's dressing room.

"Aunt Chele!" she whisper-screams. "That guy! With the guitars! He's so cute."

A quick turn of her head reveals that they've just walked past Barnaby as he carries a guitar in each hand.

"Barnaby?" Chele wonders, the question evident in her voice. He's a nice guy, but cute? "Him?"

The teenager blows air from her lungs in a huff. "Yes. He's swoon-worthy, Aunt Chele. Duh."

"What would Willow say if she knew you were drooling over a guy the moment you left Nowhere?"

"Aunt Chele. Ugh." Chele watches as the eyeballs roll nearly all the way around, and aunt wants to giggle at her niece. "She knows I'm bi, which means I can totally find guys hot. Besides..." Her voice grows quieter. "Willow and I...are no longer together."

Horrified at her faux pas, Chele grasps her niece's arm. "What? I'm so sorry! I didn't know. What happened? Oh, holy negative narratives! Did she break your heart? Do you need ice cream and chat time with your favorite aunt?"

Phoenix laughs warmly, giving Chele a hug. "I'm the one who broke it off, Aunt Chele. Turns out she wasn't the person I thought she was. After all that time, I assumed I knew her, but then I found out that she had been cheating on me."

Chele gasps, covering her mouth with her hand. "When did this happen? How did you find out?"

The teenager shrugs, "At a basketball game in Cushing. When I got to the game, I didn't see her with the other cheerleaders. But then she came out of the locker room, touching her lips and looking behind her with the biggest grin on her face. And that's when I saw that bitch Brigit -- you remember her? The one who was so ugly about me being bi? Turns out she was being ugly because she's into girls exclusively. Anyway, Brigit was coming out of the dressing room making heart eyes at Willow, and I thought I was going to die right there on the spot. But luckily I was there with Aly, and she got me out of there."

"Still, it completely sucks, Phee. I'm sorry."

A downward glance, followed by a grin at her aunt. "You didn't call me out for my language! Hahaha!" She lets loose a guffaw, and Chele realizes that Phoenix said bitch without rancor despite the pain from a first break-up. "It was hard at first. I mean, we had been dating a couple for months. But ultimately it helps that she doesn't live in Nowhere, and that I've got the best friends in the whole world."