“I’m doing good,” Earl says as if I’d already asked several questions.
“That’s great,” I say. “Every day we get up and do what we love is the best kind of day.”
He grins at me, and I work the lid onto his coffee before handing it to him. “Have a great day, Earl.”
“You too, Ms. Avery,” he says, lifting the cup toward me for a second before walking out of the shop.
I watch as he steps onto the sidewalk and takes a sip. His lips pinch together, and I can’t help but laugh.
I glance at the clock and make a mental note of everything I need to get done before Lila gets out of school for the day. She may be fifteen and mostly independent, but there’s a lot that still goes into caring for her. She’s a total people person, and sometimes that’s good, while other times I feel like I’m dragging her away from things.
I clean out some coffee filters and wipe down any messes that might have gotten overlooked during today’s rush of two people, then untie my apron and call out to Sarah that I’m heading to work on the books.
Might as well get those done early so I don’t have them worrying my brain as much in the evening. I’ll pay her a couple of hours to watch things so I can work on the business some more.
“Sounds good. I’ll keep it running,” she says, stepping back from taking a picture of one of our unsold pastries. I’ve put her in charge of our social media for the shop since she does a lot for her balloon business. I’m excited to see what she comes up with.
I head upstairs, where I won’t be distracted, and slip intothe zone, getting things organized and tracking down numbers. Things aren’t great, and I want to have the hope that we’ll be able to continue, but we need customers. Coffee is a popular drink worldwide, and with all the major chains being miles away, I figured this would be a hot spot—next to the beach and not competing with any other business aside from the diner.
Blowing out a breath, I have the urge to do something now that’s tangible and will make me feel like I’m making progress. That was probably the best part of practicing law—I was able to do a lot of research that could make or break a case.
My brain is spinning with ideas.
What would it cost to get one of those sign-spinner guys on the corner? Maybe Sarah could do it as part of her plan? At this point, maybe that should be my job.
Would staying open later help us?
So many decisions to make, and there are a lot of them I don’t have a ton of knowledge in.
My phone rings, and I see my sister’s picture pop up. “Hey, sis, how was your flight?”
“It was delayed a bit, but I finally made it to Oklahoma. I don’t have much time because I had to step out of a staff meeting. The school called about Lila. I guess there was a scuffle she was involved in? Will you go down and check on her?”
“Yeah, I wonder what it was about.” Lila has been having problems for a few weeks, mostly with a boy who teases her about being too tall for her age, having freckles, or the worst, not having a dad. I hope it doesn’t have to do with him, because I might add to the chaos.
“I’m not sure. Thanks, Avie. You’re a life saver. Update me later, will you?”
“Did you figure out how long you’re supposed to be gone for?” Ever since she took this new job, it feels like she’s been gone way more than she’s ever been in Penrose.
“Next week. They lost a couple of nurses to maternity leave, so I’m helping fill in.”
“Got it. We’ll keep things running here, even though I’m a better aunt than guardian.”
She laughs. “Yeah, I don’t know about that. I don’t have much to send for bills yet, but I will once I can.”
“We’ll figure it out, Cora. Parkers always land on their feet. How else would you have gotten me to move here?” There’s a long beat of silence on the line, and I pull the phone away to see if we got cut off.
“They’re calling me back in, Ave. Thanks again.”
I can’t help but feel like something is off with my sister, but maybe it’s a combination of new responsibilities in her job and the constant travel. It’s taking a toll on all of us.
How am I supposed to keep Lila out of trouble when my own life feels like it’s starting to tilt?
5
AVERY
Iwalk out the front door and down the street, breathing in the fresh scent of the spring weather. It’ll get hot soon, but probably not as bad as Arizona since it’s always tempered by the ocean breeze, making it the perfect place to be. Cora and I spent a few summers with our grandmother in Phoenix, and I can still recall the feeling of wishing I could live in a bathing suit by a pool during those hot, dry days. After my parents died when I was a teenager, she was my motherly figure until she passed a few years ago.
