Chapter 3

Once Jolly moved on from me with the girl, and I decided to leave Willowbrook for Hollywood, we never bothered to keep in touch. I hadn’t thought of him in years, really. Not until Mom mentioned him a little bit ago.

So, yeah, I was curious.

It was a mixture of relief and disappointment when the person behind the counter who greeted us was a young woman in her twenties.

“Oh, Mrs. Holly.” She smiled. Her name tag read Mary. “You’re here for the coconut snowball cake.”

Mom smiled. “I sure am. And this is my son, Nick. He’s just arrived home.”

“You’re the one who lived in California?” Mary asked.

I nodded. “Yep.”

“Welcome back to Vermont. Bet you missed it.”

I hadn’t. Not really. I mean, I loved Vermont, it was home. But I loved California, too. And it was not anymore.

“It’s nice to be back,” I replied.

“Let me go get that cake for you.”

“Jolly here?” Mom called after her as she went into the back.

“You just missed him,” Mary yelled. “Went home about thirty minutes ago.”