Expected
Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Genre: Book
Club Fiction/ Modern Contemporary Fiction/ Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Alcove
Press
Weaving
culinary delights with an honest, appraising look at how we deal with
the world when it becomes too much, Closer to Okay is
the comfort food we all need in these, well, crazy times.
Kyle
Davies is doing fine. She has her routine, after all, ingrained in
her from years of working as a baker: wake up, make breakfast, prep
the dough, make lunch, work the dough, make dinner, bake dessert, go
to bed. Wash, rinse, repeat. It’s a good routine. Comforting.
Almost enough to help her forget the scars on her wrist, still
healing from when she slit it a few weeks ago; that she lost her job
at the bakery when she checked herself in as an inpatient at Hope
House; then signed away all decisions about her life, medical care,
and wellbeing to Dr. Booth (who may or may not be a hack). So, yeah,
Kyle’s doing just fine.
Except
that a new item’s been added to her daily to-do list recently:
stare out her window at the coffee shop (named, well…The Coffee
Shop) across the street, and its hot owner, Jackson. It’s healthy
to have eye candy when you’re locked in the psych ward, right?
Something low risk to keep yourself distracted. So when Dr. Booth
allows Kyle to leave the facility–two hours a day to go wherever
she wants–she decides to up the stakes a little more. Why not
visit? Why not see what Jackson’s like in person?
Turns
out that Jackson’s a jerk with a heart of gold, a deadly
combination that Kyle finds herself drawn to more than she should be.
(Aren’t we all?) At a time when Dr. Booth delivers near-constant
warnings about the dangers of romantic entanglements, Kyle is pulled
further and further into Jackson’s orbit. At first, the feeling of
being truly taken care of is bliss, like floating on a wave. But at a
time when Kyle is barely managing her own problems, she finds herself
suddenly thrown into the deep end of someone else’s. Dr. Booth may
have been right after all: falling in love may be the thing that
sends Kyle into a backslide she might never be able to crawl out of.
Is Jackson too much for her to handle? Does love come at the cost of
sanity?
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Excerpt
I’ve
only seen Booth a handful of times so far, but I’ve mostly got him
figured out. Flattery will get you everywhere, and compliance with
his instructions almost as far. What I haven’t worked out, though,
are his intentions. Put in the simplest terms: Is he a good guy or a
bad one?
He
looks at me over his glasses, breathes a sigh, and reaches over to
close my file. “I suppose you’re right. I appreciate that you’re
taking ownership of your place in the house, Kyle. You’ll find that
your recovery will accelerate once you embrace my program. We can
review your progress together at your appointment on Monday.”
Standing
to leave, I smooth my apron back down and hustle toward the door.
“Thanks, Dr. Booth. See you tomorrow.”
The
kitchen is a calamity when I get back. There’s smoke pouring out of
the oven. Bruce did turn off the stove and oven like I’d told him
to but left everything where it was. The residual heat did a number
on the eggs, now a solid brown-on-the-bottom disk that gives off the
smell of burning sulfur. The muffins might be edible but are
overcooked. I’d normally chuck them straight into the trash, but I
have to serve them since Mary and Eddie will be here in five minutes
and need breakfast if they’re going to stay on Booth’s schedule.
I don’t want everyone getting off-program and being forced to sit
through the same talk I just did. We all know how important schedules
are here. I’ll make it up to them at dinner, maybe put some extra
turkey on the lunch sandwiches.
“Oh
my gosh, what is going on in here?” Mary asks, coming into the
kitchen.
“Sorry,
Mary. Booth called me into his office to talk as soon as I got
everything cooking. You know how it goes. His two-minute talk turned
into ten and breakfast burned. Bruce was in here tending the food
when I left. I don’t know where he went. I can salvage the muffins.
I’ll make it up to you guys, I promise.”
“You
don’t have to make anything up to me, sweetie. Eddie was making a
fuss; I’m sure that’s where Bruce went. How can I help? Can I get
the cups and milk?”
“I’ve
got this, Mary. Go sit down and enjoy your horrible muffin. You’ve
got to clean the bathroom, worst chore in the house. I will not have
you doing my work, too.”
She
waves me off. “Nonsense. It’s no bother. I’ve spent a lifetime
cleaning up after my husband. One little chore is nothing. I’m glad
to help. You go get those muffins out of the pan, and I’ll get the
drinks.”
She
hustles around me to the refrigerator and starts humming. I move over
and pop the muffins out onto one of the red plastic trays, stacking
them in tiers so they’ll look good, even if they don’t taste it.
I put two muffins on a separate plate and carry them all into the
dining room.
“What’s
up, Special K?” Eddie yells as I walk into the room. He does this
every morning, and it always makes me flinch.
“It’s
a bad morning, Ed. You get muffins and milk. Sorry. The bacon and
eggs got burnt. I’ll make something extra-good for dinner tonight.”
“Well,
ain’t that a bitch? You better make something really fucking tasty
for dinner, then. I can’t get through my day in this shithole with
an empty stomach.”
“Hush,
Edward,” Mary says as she comes in behind me with the glasses of
milk. “It’s not her fault.”
“How’s
it not her fault, huh? It’s her job to cook my food and keep my
belly full. How are lousy fucking muffins supposed to keep me
satisfied?”
“Eddie,”
Nancy warns as she walks into the dining room, stopping his rant. She
has a slight accent, maybe something Slavic, that gives her voice
more authority, sounds harsher to my ears. Eddie puts on his nice
act; Nancy tells Booth everything. “Good morning, Nancy. Great to
see you. I’m sure looking forward to these muffins Kyle made this
morning.”
Nancy
grunts and turns on her heel. She takes the separate plate I made,
knowing Joey wouldn’t be down to eat with everyone. With her back
to us, she says, “Kyle, Bruce needs the grocery list after
breakfast. Drop it off in the security office as soon as it’s done.
Eddie, you have an appointment with the doctor in an hour. Mary, you
need to do your chores this morning.”
“Sorry
again about breakfast, guys. I’m gonna get started on the grocery
list. I’ll make a dessert for you tonight. Chocolate cake, maybe.”
“It better be fucking good, K. This muffin shit’s for the birds.”
About
the Author
Amy
Watson is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas. A wife, a mother to
two boys, and a full-time office manager. In her spare time, she
enjoys reading, baking, drinking coffee, knitting, and watching
football.
