Folded Corners

  Folded Corners

  Idabelle Aylor

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Idabelle Aylor

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review. For more information, address: idabelleaylor@gmail.com

  First paperback edition April 2020

  Book cover design by JJ Liniger

  www.idabelleaylor.com

  Acknowledgments

  To say the completion of this book is a lifelong dream finally fulfilled, would be an understatement. It’s a flat-out miracle, I tell you! And it wouldn’t have happened without the help of some amazing people giving their love, support, tears (maybe those were just mine), time, and wisdom.

  First and foremost, thank you, God for giving me the ability to complete this story.

  Thank you to the awesome man I am lucky enough to call “Babe, Honey, Lover, Best Friend, Soulmate, and @#$%” whose love, support, and encouragement I need every day. He’s also the reason you are reading this now because he’s my agent. (Oh, my word! I have an agent!)

  Thank you to my rugrats. Our five healthy, silly, cray-cray kids are so much fun and such great stress relievers. Plus, they’re pretty darn cool and I’m pretty darn proud of them.

  Thank you to my mom and dad for encouraging me my whole life. Thank you for being supportive of all my crazy dreams. And thank you for being stupendous friends.

  Thank you to my parents-in-laws for being encouraging and supportive of our crazy dreams and so willing to read my unfinished work. And thank you for being phenomenal friends.

  Thank you to my ‘sister’, Teresa Bass, for my logo design and for being supportive and encouraging throughout our lives, from second grade to always.

  Many thanks to my readers for their time, patience, and willingness to read the rough stuff. And, Debbie White, Jen Crawford, and Summer France, thank you for giving your ‘two cents’ which is worth a whole heck of a lot more than you know.

  Lots of thanks to my patient book cover designer who did, not one, but two sets of covers for this series. Not to mention spent a lot of time browsing photos to find just the right couples for the books. JJ Liniger, I appreciate your help and artistic skill.

  Annnndddd, thank you to my editor, Raelynn Gosse, who is probably cringing at my horrible comma usage. I am really thankful for your content suggestions and for your time correcting my grammar and punctuation. I appreciate you.

  And, please don’t think I could ever forget, you, the reader. I am truly honored that you have chosen to spend your precious time with me and the characters in this book. I hope we have entertained you. Thank you.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  About the Author

  Also by Idabelle Aylor

  Chapter 1

  “Well, it’s about time.” Edith’s frail voice cracked as she slowly opened the door, just enough to let Skipper, her wiry, grey-haired dog run through to nip at Sofey’s ankles. “Do you want me to starve to death? I mean, you kids in this generation think us old people never eat. But I do!” She scooted her walker, which Sofey still wasn’t convinced she needed, across the floor to her gray power lift recliner.

  “Sorry, Edith.” Sofey set a container of hot food on Edith’s yellow vinyl table and put the other five in her refrigerator. “Well, these should get you through until Wednesday when I see you again. I put the mashed potatoes, buttery green beans, and Southern fried chicken on your table. Beau really out did himself this time.” She shooed Skipper away with her foot as she walked back to the living room where Edith was waiting. “How was your weekend?”

  Edith clicked her dentures in thoughtful reflection,“Well, I went to bingo with some of the old gals in my knitting club.” Edith tapped her foot on the floor and scowled at Sofey, “Aren’t you even gonna ask how I did?”

  Sofey jumped with a start, “Oh, of course. How did you do? I bet you wo-”

  “I won! I won $20 and a free trip through the all-you-can-eat buffet down at Beefy’s.” Edith smiled proudly up at Sofey.

  “That’s great, Edith! I’ve heard tha-”

  “It’s the best food around.” Edith grabbed her walker, pulled herself up, and scooted over to the table where Sofey had left the food.

  “What’s your favorite dish from Beefy’s?” Sofey watched as Edith inspected the meal that was left on the kitchen table.

  Ignoring Sofey’s question, Edith grumbled, “What, no gravy with those smashed ‘tatoes,” she demanded, pointing with a boney finger at the plastic container covered with a see-through lid.

  “Uh,” Sofey kicked at the dog a little harder as he pulled on the hem of her jeans. “Yeah, I think you did get gravy, country gravy even.”

  “What else is there?” Edith demanded.

  Sofey took a deep, calming breath and read off all of the containers’ contents in five seconds, still fighting off Skipper with her foot. “OK, Edith, sorry again for being late. See you Wednesday,” she yelled as she bolted out the door, slamming it quickly behind her. She heard a sharp yap as the door latched. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed the Cordon Bleu magnet from the side of her car, plopped down on the seat, and slammed the door shut.

  Why is she sooooo rude? Why can’t she just talk nicely to me...have a nice conversation for once? And put away that darn dog!

  Sofey turned up her radio and threw the car in reverse, not looking to see if Edith was trying to flag her down for shutting the poor scraggly dog in the door.

  Gee, thanks Beau. Edith was so happy I was late. Next time you decide to take an extra 30 minutes to get all the food cooked, YOU get to deliver it to the cranky customers. What? What’s that you’re saying? The clients are so sweet? Oh, all they want is some company? Well, well, mister, maybe we should trade jobs for a day and see if you don’t change your mind about that one!

  Sofey frowned at the radio and started punching buttons, “Come on, come on, one of you guys play something GOOD.” Looking up, she saw the stop sign just in time to come to a screeching stop. An elderly man shook his cane violently at her as he crossed in front of her car. Sofey slunk down in her seat, slowly reaching over, she turned the music up so she could drown out the mean things he was hollering at her.

  When she finally pulled up in her driveway, she parked her 1975 AMC Gremlin and leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes. “Why Sofey, why do you put yourself through this? Why don’t you go get a normal job? Maybe a nice secr-”

  A tap on her window made her jump up, wide eyed. Clutching her chest, she let out a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.

  “Sofey! What in Hades are you doing sleeping in your car? Did something happen to you?” June was peering through the window with her face almost touching the glass.

  “I’m not sleeping, June.” Sofey said exasperated. She tried to open the
door but her lovably nosy neighbor was leaning on it, trying to see exactly what Sofey’s problem was.

  “Then what’s wrong with you?” June continued yelling through the window.

  “June, I’ll get out and we’ll talk, k? I just need you to step back for me real quick, please.”

  June huffed but took a small step backward.

  Sofey opened the car door, gently bumping June with it. Her surprised look caught Sofey off guard, “I’m sorry, June, I really am. I would never purposely bump you with the car door. It’s been a long day. Every single client was upset about something with their food, or that I was late, or- ”

  June waved her aging hand in the air as if shooing a fly from her face, “Ah, don’t worry yer pretty curly head about it, it’s fine.” June stepped closer to Sofey and peered in her large, dark brown eyes, “Are you sure you’re OK? I haven’t seen you sleeping in your car before.”

  Sofey rolled her eyes, her naked lashes touching her brows, and started walking to her door. “I wasn’t sleeping. I was thinking, that’s all, just thinking. Just taking a few minutes-” Sofey stopped and scowled at June, “just taking a few SECONDS to be alone and think.”

  “What’s so wrong with you that you gotta think by yourself,” June asked, pushing a couple dozen fallen silver hairs from her face.

  “Nothing is wrong with me, June.” Sofey turned to walk away again. “I was just thinking a little about life, that’s all.”

  “Oh, you mean your single, workaholic, recluse life? Yeah, you should be thinking about that. Maybe get yourself a good beau. I mean, it’s been thirteen months since that last no good guy you had hanging on you. Ever think about that?”

  No, June, I have never, ever thought about that. But- hey, thanks for the suggestion. Maybe I’ll start thinking about how my life has always been so empty. Maybe I’ll remind myself that I have never had a guy show interest in me. Well, except that loser, Matt. Maybe I’ll remind myself how every boy during my high school years made fun of my braces and acne! I’ll think about how I’ve never met a man who gives me fireflies. Maybe I’ll think about it while I’m sitting there watching your dumb favorite show . . . Jury of Romance? What’s that show about anyway? Maybe I’ll eat a gallon of ice cream and I’ll think about how to start liking people more than my books. My books! That’s it, I’ll go curl up and…

  “What in cripes are you lookin’ at girl?”

  “Yes, June,” Sofey huffed, “I’ve thought about that a lot actually. But I actually kinda like my life alone.” Sofey unlocked her front door and slowly opened it, squeezing herself into her house. “I like not having anyone to answer to. I like being able to read my books whenever I want to. I like that if I want to sit and eat a gallon of ice cream in one sitting, I CAN!” Sofey was speaking through the crack she had left open, trying to close the door on June, but she already had her foot in the crack.

  “Well, that sounds like a load of fun, Dolly.” June’s voice turned tender as she used the nickname she had given Sofey, when Barney, June’s husband of 60 years, had passed away. Dolly had originally been Barney’s nickname for June because he said she reminded him of “a sweet, perfect doll, so lovely and fragile.” The pair used to laugh until they cried because they both knew June wasn’t exactly sweet or fragile. Lovely, yes, but a far cry from the rest. June didn’t budge her foot from the door, just kept inching it in farther and farther.

  Exasperated, Sofey gave in and opened the door, walking into her kitchen where Rob Roy, her obnoxious bobtail cat, was stretched out on the floor by his bowl, waiting for his kitty nibbles. Getting up, he took a minute to stretch then he walked to June to allow her pet him. June scooted him away with her foot and sat down at the table for two just as Rob Roy was returning to wind himself around her legs.

  “So, you got a cold lime pop in there?”

  A smile escaped Sofey’s thin lips as she opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of pop. Opening it, she threw the cap in the trash and handed it to June.

  “Well, you’re not going to let me drink alone are ya?”

  “No,” Sofey laughed, “I’m certainly not.” She grabbed herself a drink and sat across from June, watching the cat reach his front legs up to stretch against the leg of the table. “Come here Rob Roy, I’ll feed you.”

  He was grateful and left the two women alone.

  “Where’s Chip and Maggie, anyway? I haven’t seen them outside in a while.”

  June put down her bottle, “Oh, those two are a handful. I have them in their backyard condo. They’re driving me batty!”

  Sofey smiled, the backyard condo for June’s pet squirrel and magpie had been quite the project. “I remember when we built that condo. That was fun.” Sofey wiped the condensation from her bottle, “I miss Barney.”

  “Me too, Dolly.” June finished her drink and stood up. “Hey, why don’t you come over tonight and watch the finale of Jury of Love with me. I didn’t even know the dadgum show had started a season!” June pursed her lips and took a sip of her pop. “They say there’s a local guy on there this season. Well, local like a Caraway.”

  “Caraway? Really? Huh, that’s only like 15 miles away.”

  “I know, I’m sure he’s a celebrity now around these parts but I doubt I’d know a celebrity from Adam, if I ran into one.” June set her empty pop bottle on the table and stood up. “Well, I’m ordering pizza. You bring the refreshments.” She was already at the front door when she added, “See you in an hour!”

  Sofey sighed and shook her head, “See you in an hour.” She raised her bottle to the air and finished the brew. “Well, I guess I’d better go shower, Rob Roy.”

  Rob Roy didn’t care if she showered or not, he was too busy eating.

  Sofey cleaned up, putting her shoulder-length curly brown hair in a bun at the top of her head and dressed in her favorite faded blue sweatpants, which were almost too short for her long legs, and an old, thick gray college sweatshirt. Flopping back onto the pillows that were piled on her bed, she wrapped her long arms behind her head and looked at the ceiling.

  Maybe I’m too picky for a boyfriend. Maybe I need to chill a little. No, maybe I’m OK, I mean, Matt was into me and everything was great until… She rolled her eyes and flipped over to grab a folded piece of paper from a small planner she kept on her nightstand.

  Sofey’s Demands of Her Future Man

  (In no particular order)

  1)Friendly

  2)Smiles - A LOT

  3)MUST like cats! (Rob Roy must approve)

  4)Have a great job - I don’t need to raise a kid

  5)Loves to read

  6)CANNOT be popular (That’s WAY too self -centered)

  7)Christmas must be favorite holiday

  8)MUST make me laugh

  9)Has a big family (Great for holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas)

  10)Is NOT married and NEVER has been married. (TOO much DRAMA)

  She smiled at the list, still very pleased with herself and her ideal man. Rob Roy jumped up on her bed and went up to snuggle her face. He was so, soft and she loved feeling his fur tickle her nose. “Rob Roy, you are going to have to approve of Mr. Right … got it?” Rob Roy purred louder. “Alright, I’ve gotta go, kitty. We’re watching Jury of Love at Juney’s,” Sofey rolled her eyes, “and I can’t wait.” She scratched her cat’s head one last time and headed to the kitchen to grab the drinks June had requested she bring.

  Sofey knocked once and opened June’s front door. “Hello, I brought the refreshments!” She walked through the overly warm living room where the theme song of Jury of Love had just started playing on the TV. Maggie, the magpie, was sitting on her perch watching Chip, the squirrel sleep soundly, stretched out in front of the woodstove.

  “Oh good!” June clapped her hands and grabbed the six-pack from Sofey. “Here, take one for now and let’s go get comfy on the davenport.” She checked her watch, “The pizza should be here any minute. I ordered it as soon as I got home, cheese with
extra cheese and pineapple.” She smiled a big smile at Sofey and sat on the couch. She looked like a teenager waiting to watch her favorite YouTuber. “I wish we could be there in the audience tonight to see how everything ends up!”

  “June, you know they film this show like way before it goes on the TV and this is the finale, right? Filming has been done for a while now. Oh,” Sofey pulled the window curtains back, “looks like the pizza is here. I’ll get it.”

  “Thanks, Dolly, the money is on the table by the door.” June said waving her hands in the general direction of the table. She just couldn’t take her eyes from the TV.

  The pizza delivery guy was just reaching for the doorbell when Sofey opened the door. “Perfect timing.” He smiled at Sofey.

  Sofey blushed a little when she noticed how blue his eyes were. “Yes, perfect. Well, I saw you pull into the driveway.” Sofey’s face got redder, “I mean I wasn’t watching for you, I just happened to look when you pulled up.” She looked away from his gaze. Can I just shutup?

  “Oh, well OK.” He took the money and started making change. “Having a party?” He handed her the money and peered into the house behind her.

  “No change, thanks.” Sofey glanced at his name tag, Wilson. Should I use his name? No, awkward! “And, Wilson, uh, no, my friend and I are just watching the finale of that new reality show, Jury of Love.”

  He put the change in his pocket. “Thanks. Yeah, I heard about that show, there’s supposed to be some local guy on there this season.”