“That’s great.”Jordana rang through the last chocolate bar.“I know she was really struggling for a while there.I’m so happy she’s doing well.”
She gave me my total, and I paid.Then we promised to see each other soon at a yoga class—she was a devout attendee; I went about once or twice a month—and I let her carry on with her day.
It was amazing how quickly the day flew by, and when I finally returned home after running a few more errands, Gabrielle was waiting for me in the tasting room.
“Where the hell did you take off to?”she asked, finishing typing something on her phone before glancing up at me.
“Bakery to talk to Kari, grocery store, apiary, Booch and Bagels for lunch, Leaf of Life for some more of my moisturizer.Before I knew it, it was one o’clock.”I set my grocery bags on the counter of the tasting room.“You hear from Maverick?”
“He’s in the ferry line.They should be home in a couple of hours.Two sailing wait.”She glanced at her watch.“What did Kari Cousins say?”
“She’s all for it.”
“Of course she is.It’s a win-win for everybody.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon going through inventory and selecting wines we thought might pair well with the various confections and pastries from the bakery.We were in the back room counting flight boards when the delightful chime of the tasting room door opening interrupted our counting.“Mom?”came the familiar sound of my eleven-year-old son’s voice.
“In here,” I said, leaving Gabrielle to start counting again and heading out to the front.
“Saw the light was on,” my rosy-cheeked lad said, his green eyes bright.
“How was the first day with the new principal?”I asked, coming out from behind the counter and brushing his brown hair with the natural highlights off his forehead.The kid was in desperate need of a haircut, but refused.He said he was growing it out so he could get dreadlocks.
“Principal Ox, you mean?”
“Is that what you guys are calling him?”
He shrugged a pointy shoulder.Any day now, the kid was going to be taller than me.At the moment, we were the same height, but give him a little of that potent summer sunshine and by September, he’d be looking down at his mother and patting me on the head.“That’s what we’re calling him.”
“Okay, well, how was your day with Principal Ox?”
His eyes widened, then he got distracted by the tasting room door opening again when Sam, Honor, and Laurel walked in.“The guy is an amazing Hacky Sack player,” Austin said, turning back to face me.“Like the best I’ve ever seen—besides the guys on YouTube.”
Gabrielle came out from the back room as well.“And what do you ladies think of the principal?”
“Anybody is better than the old one,” Laurel said dryly.“But he seems really nice.”
“He knew my name before I even told him,” Honor said in amazement.“He said I look a lot like my mom and that he met you last night.”
“He said anybody who beats him in a free throw contest gets straight A’s for the rest of the year,” Sam added.“A couple of the guys in the older grades are talking about challenging him.”
Gabrielle and I smirked.
“He did play college basketball and was slated to go to the NBA before an injury,” my cousin pointed out.“Those guys might be in for more than they bargained for.”
“He held an assembly for the whole school, and any student could raise their hand and ask him a question,” my daughter said.“I asked him what his favorite animal was.”
“And?”I asked.
“He said black panther.”
“And his favorite color is blue, his favorite food is pizza, his favorite dessert is cookie dough ice cream, and if he could have any superpower in the world, it would be the power of invisibility,” Laurel finished.“He also has a daughter named Mabel.She’s thirteen and homeschooled.”
Gabrielle and I exchanged quick glances with each other before steeling our expressions until the kids were not in the room.
“Something he and I have in common,” my cousin said.“I also have a child who is homeschooled.”
“Damon in his room being a hobbit?”Laurel asked, throwing in an eye roll for good measure.
