Tori Rae Davis had dreams of being a great writer like her mother Helena or a fabulous baker like her sister Mauve. She even wished she could be a great speaker and servant like her brother Marcus or her favorite deacon, Liam Walsh. It was easy to see all their talents and successes. But even though her life had not been a blown up Easy Bake Oven (yes, she still had nightmares about that) she rarely saw her own strengths or even applauded her simple wins in life.
She had recently gotten off of the phone with Ramsey Redcliffe, her mother's literary agent. Her mother's legacy of writing spanned decades and she was an internationally known author. But few people in Willow Creek knew of her mother's celebrity status. Ramsey had revealed that yet another ghostwriter had up and quit. Tori didn't have the heart to tell Mauve or Marcus about the development. The author who had bailed was focusing on their mother's Nottingham-era Regency book series. She was tempted to ask Huck Henderson, the man her mom used to embody many of her Regency gentlemen if he had a writing genie inside of him. That would definitely solve a slew of her problems.
The teen series was still going strong and the young gal who wrote them was such a fun and creative spirit. The Davis clan had decided to add her name on the books along with their mother's. Marcus lived close to Blair Carmichael and Tori had a feeling there was a little more between them than her or Mauve knew.
Ramsey was not her biggest fan, he liked reminding her of her failures in life over the past few years as if it was his job to be her "lifestyles of the grief stricken and miserable" corrispondant. She had a hard time putting Jace Quinn in the past because Ramsey wouldn't stop bringing up his latest exploits, as if she really wanted to know. And truly a secret part of her would always yearn for what might have been.
She sat across from her sister Mauve while on her break at the uber popular Bakewell's Bakery owned by her good friend Hannah. Mauve looked as vibrant and perky as ever with her day glow pink bandana holding back her course curly dark hair. She always reminded Tori of Rosie the Riviter. Mauve might have been a bit on the chunky side, like Tori herself, but Mauve had this inner glow and vibrant smile that just set her apart from the lesser beings around her. She could definitely be a model.
Mauve was almost giddy was she pushed a new chocolate muffin creation across the table. It practically sparkled. Tori could tell it was going to be amazing.
"I made this for you," she said. "Sugar free and chocolate. I know work at the Rec Center has been pulling you down lately." Her boss Judd Hill and his second in command Joanie Wright hadn't been the Wonder Twins after the Foundation decided to hammer them with a bunch of restrictions and crazy requests. It had been a bit of a mad house there as of late.
"Thanks, sis." Tori accepted the muffin with a smile. She was truly blessed and she wished she was able to give back as much as she received from her beautiful family and friends. One of her prayers was to have the ability to smile again and not make it feel like she was such a big phoney attempting to be grateful.
She nibbled at the edge of the muffin. She was feeling queazy about a new program they were starting at the Rec Center making her hours a lot later than she had hoped for. "With this new schedule I'm worried about my blood sugar readings and remembering to take my medication at night. I've already decided to buy one of those pill containers to track my usage. God, that makes me feel old. My Rec job has my mind so chaotic. I've barely set foot in the AKA Art Cafe lately. I think Flo and Hannah sent out a missing person's report on me." She took a big bite of the muffin and chewed thoughtfully as Mauve just listened. She was good at that too.
"And my own personal sketchbook? Forget about it. My creativity is fine but my mind is half in panic mode and half in exhausted mode. I think I was less stressed when my job was a constant deadline. At least I knew what to expect. I almost feel like half the panic isn't even mine and am just picking it up from everyone else."
"I saw on social media you designed a July calendar," Mauve said.
Tori Rae laughed. "And a June one, but I didn't post it. I guess I needed to pretend I had some sort of control over my schedule. Church hasn't been comforting my soul like it used to. After mom and dad died, and all that nonsense with Jace." Tori sighed. "I felt like my life didn't want to deal with what I wanted *in* my life. And the most ironic thing was, Jace alienated me from church, but it was his sermons that got me to see God in a whole new way. And for that, I will be forever grateful to him, even if we never speak to one another again."
"We've all felt it," Mauve said. "Even Junie made this card for you." She passed the colorful creation her daughter had made to Tori Rae who wiped the last muffin crumb from her lips. It was a drawing of a slug on a mushroom saying, "It's okay to slow down."
The wisdom of a child.
Tori smiled. "Thank her for me. It's advice I definitely need to take."