Death of a Cupcake Queen by Lee Hollis Page B

me?” the man asked, his high pitched voice cracking as if he were still struggling through puberty after all these years.
    He was heavy set with a healthy gut.
    His drab brown sports jacket seemed three sizes too small for him and the buttons on his shirt strained against his girth, threatening to pop off.
    â€œCharles? It’s so nice to see you. You haven’t changed much either,” Hayley lied, peering over his shoulder to make sure Sabrina didn’t run out of the reunion in tears before she had a chance to relate her side of the story.
    Charles McNally was the former student council president in high school.
    Back then, he was quite a catch.
    State champion cross-country runner.
    Politically active successfully battling the school administration for a soda machine to be installed in the cafeteria.
    A weekend volunteer with Habitat for Humanity going around the state building homes for the needy.
    And with wavy blond hair, most of which was gone now, and fresh-faced good looks, he was the topic of many discussions in the back row of study hall between Sabrina and her posse, all of whom had massive crushes on him and were determined to find themselves on his radar.
    In the end, it was Ivy who emerged the lucky victor after winning the vice president spot on the student council, though Hayley and her pals were convinced there was some underhanded ballot box stuffing to insure she won. Working on a number of projects after school and well into the night, it was only a matter of time before their hormones got the best of them and they began dating.
    They lasted through all of senior year. She dumped him during the summer after graduation. Charles was devasted and never really recovered. It even affected his studies at Wesleyan that fall.
    Charles got a scholarship to Wesleyan in Connecticut and Ivy went off to Sarah Lawrence in New York because her mother was a treasured alumnus. He let the pressures of continuing to be the best at everything get the better of him and he found himself smack dab in the middle of a cheating scandal after hiring a brainy kid to take his final exams for him. He was instantly expelled and life for Charles went downhill fast. He never recovered. Once a shining star, he was now an academic washout and Hayley heard a rumor he was pumping gas at a Chevron station just outside of Hartford through most of his twenties. Which was good honest work, but not what the ambitious Charles McNally had in mind for himself. After that, she lost track of him until he joined the Mount Desert Island High School reunion group on Facebook and posted he was planning to attend.
    â€œWhat have you been up to?” Hayley asked, her eyes still locked on Sabrina, who was now downing a drink she had just grabbed off the bar as Nykki continued to talk her ear off.
    â€œWell, not many people know this but I created an app called Designated Driver where people at bars can sign up and with one click a driver will find you through your phone’s GPS and get you home safely. I’ve done very well with it. Very well,” he said, making sure his point was made.
    â€œLike Uber, but for heavy drinkers,” Hayley said.
    â€œSomething like that. I’m in a much better place than I was ten years ago, which was why I skipped our first reunion. How have you been, Hayley?”
    â€œWell, I have two kids, Gemma and Dustin—”
    â€œIs Ivy here?”
    So much for his interest in her life since high school.
    â€œI haven’t seen her. But she will be here. She’s bringing cupcakes.”
    â€œI read about her successful business. Very impressive. I always knew Ivy would be a major player in the world of business.”
    Major player?
    Okay, her cupcakes were tasty.
    But she wasn’t exactly running General Motors.
    â€œListen, I was wondering,” Charles said, leaning in to Hayley to shout in her ear above the music, which was now cranked up even louder as everybody rocked