"Well... thanks, I think," I said to her.
"You're welcome," she said back then, I didn't know why but something moved my eyes from Laura to the front window and at what they saw I got a chill down my back when I discovered I had a superhero power and it wasn't super-cake-baking it was Bitch Radar.
And I discovered this because Olivia was standing in the window, glossy, Cherry Creek North bags dangling from her fingers, eyes staring at a Rex who had clearly taken orders from a gaggle of mermaids because he was heading back to Laura and me. Then her eyes moved from Rex through the shop and locked on me. Then her entire face got tight and she moved toward the door.
"Uh-oh," I muttered, my eyes glued to her closing in on the door, my body experiencing an omen of doom and I knew when Laura clocked her because she muttered, "Oh my freaking God."
Olivia opened the door and took two long strides in, did another scan of the shop, her eyes narrowed on Joel when she caught sight of him and then, if you can believe this, from across the room, she snapped loudly, "Where's Slim?"
I quickly looked between the boys who both were close to me and were now frozen to the spot and staring at their mother.
"I got this," Laura muttered and panic seized me because I was afraid she would "get this"
and how she would get it was not so good considering the fact that the last time she was near Olivia she attacked, nails bared but before I could stop her, she headed toward Olivia.
"You stay away from me," Olivia snapped, again loudly, her hand raised with finger pointed at Laura and all my customers, and I had many, were starting to stare. Then her eyes came to me. "Where's Slim?"
"He's working and you need to go," Laura told her.
"Boys," I said quietly to Joey and Rex, "why don't you go in the back?"
"No!" Olivia flared, getting louder, moving forward, skirting Laura and coming toward Joel, Rex and me. Then, if you can believe this, she announced, "Boys, come with me. We're going home."
I blinked in shock.
Then I asked, "What?"
This was at the same time Laura, who was following her, snapped (loudly), "What?"
Olivia ignored both of us and said to Brock's sons. "Get your coats, let's go."
Damn! What did I do about this?
Both boys stared up at her, Rex with an open mouth, Joel with indecision warring clear as day on his mini-hot-guy face.
Okay, I didn't know what to do about this but I did know I had to do something and whatever it was wasn't going to be in front of the boys or my customers.
"Olivia," I took a step toward her, "how about you come into the back and we can talk?"
She totally ignored me and snapped at her sons, "What'd I say?"
"It's Slim's weekend," Laura told her, sidling close to her side and Olivia's head turned sharply to her ex-sister-in-law.
"It is? Then where is he?"
"Like I said, he's working," Laura answered.
"Well, if he's working then he's working and that's his problem but my sons are not with that..." she jabbed a finger at me, "bitch." And at this there were a number of audible gasps.
Okay, now hang on a minute.
I was not a bitch and I was not about to be called one but definitely not in front of Rex and Joey and my staff and my customers.
"I cannot believe you," Laura hissed, anger turning to fury as the attention around us went from curious to avid.
"That is way uncool," Kalie stated from behind the counter.
"Totally uncool," Nora chimed in.
"Like, off-the-charts uncool," Suni put in her opinion.
"How about we take this to my office," I suggested again, holding tight to my control on my temper, "or, if that doesn't work for you, outside."
Olivia's angry eyes slashed to me and she declared, "You do not exist."
I ignored that idiotic comment and replied, "For Rex and Joel, please, Olivia, let's discuss this elsewhere."
She ignored me again and looked to her sons, "Right now, what did I say? Let's go!" Then she started marching to the door.
"Kalie, go get your phone, call your uncle," Laura ordered. "Rex and Joey, you stay put."
Olivia stopped marching and turned to Laura. "Don't you tell my sons what to do."
"I'll do what I like and stop making a scene," Laura snapped. "This is where Tess works."
"Do I care?" Olivia retorted.
"No, but I do and so does Uncle Slim and everybody else," Kalie entered the fray.
"What's going on?" Kellie asked from behind me, I turned to her, saw her eyes on Olivia, her face scrunched and then she muttered, "Oh, I know what's going on."
"Mommy, what's happening?" Ellie called, her voice shaky, her eyes and all the eyes of her mermaid friends riveted to the activity and not in a good way.
"It's okay, baby," Laura called back, "Mommy's just talking with Olivia."
"Please, please," I cut in, sensing the situation was deteriorating and, getting desperate, my eyes moving to Olivia, "can we talk about this in the back?"
Olivia ignored me yet again, her face going stone cold and her voice dripping with ice when she clipped loudly. "Joel! Rex! Now!"
I moved closer to her (though not that close, she had nails and I was afraid she'd use them) and said softly, "I'll ask again, Olivia, because you're distressing the boys and Ellie and her friends, can we talk about this in the back? When we get back there, I'll call Brock and you can discuss this with him."
"Fuck Brock and fuck you! " she suddenly shouted, my torso jerked back like she hit me, Laura's pissed off energy snapped through the air, I sensed movement behind the counter so I knew Kalie and/or Kellie were on the go and I opened my mouth to speak but someone beat me.
And that someone was Joel.
"That's not nice," he whispered, his voice trembling and I stepped aside and turned to see his face pale and his hands clenched in fists at his sides. "You shouldn't talk to Tess that way.
She's a nice lady, she's nice to everyone and that's not nice."
Taking him in and hearing his words my hatred for his mother achieved new heights.
"Joey, honey, get your brother and go into the back," I ordered quietly.
But as I was speaking, Olivia moved quickly, closing in on Joel, she wrapped her fingers around his shoulder and gave it a yank, snapping, "When I tell you to do something, you do it!"
More gasps filled the air, including my own, both Laura and I moved in on her and Rex shrunk back but Joel ripped his shoulder from his mother's hold and stepped back but at the same time stood firm so I stopped and so did Laura.
"It's Dad's weekend," he declared.
"If it's your father's weekend, where is he?" Olivia returned.
"He has to work, Mom. He's got a job. Somethin' bad happened to someone and he's gotta find out who did it. With Dad comes Tess and if Dad has to work then we get to be with Tess.
We're havin' fun here, we like it here. We'll see you tomorrow."
"You'll see me now and I'll talk to your father later about who he allows to spend time with his children," Olivia retorted.
Joel stared at her and I saw him battling, my heart went out to him but I was completely at a loss of what to do. He needed his father but his father was working, my phone was in the back and I didn't want to leave the boys with Olivia to go get it and call him. And if I did and he knew this was happening, he'd lose his mind.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Laura's phone was in her purse and she started digging into it.
Joel spoke again, quiet, soft, scared but determined. "We don't wanna see you now."
Oh man.
"Well I don't care, I'm your mother and you mind me," Olivia shot back.
"We're havin' fun," Joel told her.
"I don't care about that either," Olivia returned.
"I know," Joel whispered, my heart clenched and I'd had enough.
But even so, I couldn't do what I wanted to do which was, I was ashamed to admit, get in a bitch-slapping fight with her. I didn't think that would be good although it would feel good.
So instead, I had to try and play it cool, for Joey, for Rex and for Brock.
"Please," I said softly, "can we talk about this in the back?"
Joel ignored me and told his mother, "You need to go."
She blinked, her shock apparent, then she asked, "What?"
He didn't answer his mother. He turned to his brother and ordered, "Go to the back with Kalie and Kellie."
I noticed then that Rex was watching this with wide eyes and he wasn't about to move but he wasn't given a choice. Kalie rushed forward, bent to grab his hand and gently pulled him through the swinging doors, Kellie following them.
Okay, one down, one to go.
"Joel, honey, why don't you go with them?" I suggested.
Joel turned to me, shook his head then his eyes went back to his tight-lipped mother and he repeated, "You need to go."
"I'll say it one more time, Joel, go get your brother, get your coats and come with me."
"No," Joel replied instantly.
"Slim?" Laura said and all eyes moved to her. "I'm sorry, I know you're busy but I have to tell you that Olivia is at Tess's bakery, she's making a scene and she put her hands on Joey."
Oh no.
That was the wrong thing to say. Not that it wasn't true or that there were any right things to say but that was the wrong thing to say.
Laura kept talking. "He rightly refuses to go, they're in a showdown and all five hundred of Tess's customers are bystanders. She won't leave even though Joey has asked her to and she won't go to the back to discuss the situation even though Tess has asked her to repeatedly. I'm sorry, Slim, but I think you're gonna have to deal with this."
To my shock, Olivia haughtily held out her hand to Laura and demanded, "Let me talk to him."
But Laura snapped shut her phone and informed Olivia, "Too late, he's angry, he's hung up and I'm guessing he's on his way."
Oh no!
Time for emergency maneuvering. I didn't need Brock to show being pissed off and filling my magical, happy bakery with his pissed off vibes or him entering the showdown with Olivia considering he didn't shy away from the f-word either, or the c-word, m-word, b-word, a-word and a variety of other words. Things were crazy busy but I didn't need my customers avoiding Tessa's Cakes for fear of witnessing a tense, combative, foul-mouthed domestic scene. Or, as the case was, a worse one.
"I think," I said quietly, "it might be a good idea if you aren't here when Brock shows."
"And I think it might be a good idea for you not to tell me what to do," Olivia retorted.
I studied her, my heart beating hard.
Then I realized she was going to have her scene no matter what, she wanted it and she was going to have it especially considering now that scene earned her Brock's attention which was what she wanted most of all.
So I shrugged.
My customers were just going to have to deal and I'd barricade myself, the boys, Ellie and her little mermaids and my staff in my office if it was going to be a blowout.
Then I said, "Suit yourself."
Then I turned to Joel and ordered gently, "Sort out Ellie and her friends, yeah? Then go in the back with your brother and wait for your Dad. You cool with that?"
He looked up at me, nodded, his eyes moved through his mother then he dashed into the back to get the orders from Rex.
I looked to Laura, ignoring Olivia who had dropped her bags at her feet, crossed her arms on her chest, hitched her hip with a foot out and had a face like thunder.
I was right. She was in for the long haul.
Whatever. Her funeral.
So I told Laura, "I'll get you a coffee. How do you take it and do you want a cake?"