I change into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and then walk to the shared bathroom across the hall to brush my teeth. Once that’s done, I lie down on the bed, surprised by the comfort of the mattress. Sure, I’ll know by morning if it’s a good one and not just my tired bones ready for a change, but so far, I’m impressed.
I’m used to checking my phone for at least an hour before going to bed, but since I don’t have my email or any of the apps I usually check, I close my eyes, allowing myself to sink deeper into the mattress. It’s like my body has been in survival mode and is now finally able to decompress.
This is probably a sign that I need to change a few things when I go back to New York.
4
AVERY
Iglance around the Honey & Harbor coffee shop the next morning and am still in awe that this is my life.
Eight months ago, opening a shop was just a small dream in the pile of dreams I hadn’t accomplished yet. Then again, it was more like a delusional goal, since I was in a well-established career as a lawyer.
I lived over a thousand miles away and was still trying to figure out what to do with my life at twenty-seven, when everything imploded in my work and personal life. I got the call a few weeks later from my older sister, Cora, asking if I could come help her in Penrose Beach. I didn’t realize how much I needed the change until a few weeks later, when I settled in.
“Hey, Earl,” I say, grinning at the elderly man who just walked into the shop. “What can I get you today?”
He’s been a loyal customer ever since we opened the shop. It helps that he lives in one of the upstairs apartments next door. Unlike the building I live in, all the apartments there are fully finished and rented out.
Our apartment is the only one completely finished in our building. The one across the hall from us has the wiring andthe heating done, but everything is exposed. It’s like someone started the project, went to lunch one day, and never came back. The number of cobwebs in there is creepy. How do I know? They took down the front door and never put it back up.
Above us are just two more floors, but nothing built out. Maybe the guy renovating the place ran out of money? It wasn’t like they did much for my coffee shop space downstairs. I brought in the building crew on my own to get things done quickly. Making sure the electrical was perfect was my biggest issue, especially since we needed to make sure the coffee machines worked well.
The one nice thing that was already here is the industrial stove and oven. I’d love to expand my menu offerings to give people more options in this town, but that will have to wait until we get things moving for the business in general. Extra choices mean stocking extra ingredients.
Earl gives me a toothy grin. “I would love one of those special coffees I’ve seen people with.”
“What do you mean by special coffee?” I ask, giving him a reassuring smile. This is the second week since I opened the shop, and while I would love to say the townspeople have embraced my business, I have about three regular customers, all of whom live within a twenty-yard radius.
“You know…the ones that have the light-colored milk and stuff like that.”
“Like an iced coffee?” I ask.
He bobs his head, and I hesitate for a second. “Earl, are you sure? You’ve only ordered black since we opened.”
He hesitates for a moment, then says, “Well, sometimes a guy needs to try new things.”
I laugh and go to pull out a large cup like he usually gets. “Do you want me to do a small for you today, just to make sure you like it?”
He’s about to say no, but then he changes his mind and nods. “I think that’s a great idea.”
I put the large cup away and grab the smaller one, scooping some ice into it.
“How’s your day been?” I ask, working to get all the contents right while chatting with him.
This was the original appeal of owning a coffee shop. I love people, and hearing their stories is one of my favorite things. It would be nice to get a few more bodies in here daily, but if what the locals say about the booming summer season is true, hopefully I’ll be able to keep things afloat here.
I hired Sarah, who hasn’t worked a ton yet. When she’s come in, I had to cut her early so I don’t go deeper into the red than I already am after purchasing machines and all the renovations to this space. Obviously my business plan needs some work.
The building is at the south end of town, just before the marina and the hardware store. There isn’t much farther south as far as businesses go, and I’m wondering if I should’ve found a spot closer to the heart of Penrose. But I couldn’t turn down the lower building costs here.
Some parts of Penrose are being rebuilt and refreshed, thanks to the Beautification Initiative the mayor has started. My favorite are the beautiful murals painted on the sides of a few buildings throughout town. Maybe I need one on my building—then again, we’re kind of landlocked, so the painting would have to be on the front of the building. I’ve never met my landlord, and I don’t know if that would be breaching my contract, meaning I’d have to pay that much more if I ever leave.
Am I going to have the same problem every offseason, where I’m begging for customers?
I’ll have to scrimp and hope I have enough business to continue to pay rent and get me through to the summer season.
The only things saving me right now are the debt repaymentprogram at my old firm and my having worked through law school—with a lot of my wages going toward student loans—keeping the debt lower than it would be by now. It was the reason I was able to get a small business loan for the café.
