“Hey, Stella,” a friendly, familiar voice called out.
I looked up and smiled at my customer. “Hey, Anna. How are you?”
“I’m alive and well-caffeinated, so I can’t complain,” she joked, and I chuckled.
“Glad to hear it. What can I get you today?”
“I’ll just get my usual, but I also stopped by to see how you were holding up,” she said. “I heard Axel and Jack were by to help out with Braden and his letters.”
I sighed. I knew she was asking because she cared, but I still hated talking about it because it always brought the mood down.
“Yeah, Axel actually just left not that long ago.” I filled her in on what he had told me.
“That’s good. I’m glad they’re on it. Look, can I give you my cell phone number? You know, just in case there’s something you aren’t sure about, but don’t necessarily want to bother the guys with. Maybe I can help.”
I appreciated her doing that. And I noticed how she worded that offer too—using my own words of not wanting to bother “the guys” with the letters in the first place.
“Thanks, Anna,” I told her, giving her my number so she could program it into her phone.
“Okay, I just texted you, so you have mine, too,” she noted. “Now, on second thought, let’s get a few more goodies that I can take to Ruthie while I’m at it.”
She smiled at me, and I got her a bunch of stuff to take over to her husband’s office and then proceeded to tell her that her money was no good here until the situation with Braden was taken care of.
Unlike Axel and Jack, Anna knew when to just let it go, so she didn’t fight me on it, but simply thanked me and headed out. As much as I didn’t mind giving her free treats as payment, I hoped I didn’t have to for long, simply because it would mean my problem had not been solved.
