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“Oh. Oh, I see.”
She sank into a chair, and it was as though her entire body had collapsed from the weight of the world.
“I can make you a latte, a cappuccino, espresso—”
“A cappuccino would be great. Thanks.”
“I would offer you a baked good to go with your coffee, but the bakery is currently closed to the public.”
“Does it have something to do with yourGrade Pendingsign in the window?”
“It’s one of the reasons.” I took a deep breath, unsure if I wanted to get so personal with a stranger, but I didn’t feel right about prying into her situation without at least letting her know about mine. “My business partner and I have sort of changed gears until that’s sorted. We’re getting into catering.”
I steamed her milk and poured it over the espresso shot. I brought it to her, along with brown sugar lumps, and took the seat across from her.
“I’m sorry about your business,” I said quietly. “Were you there long?”
“Only a couple of years. I was just starting to do well, too. And then…” She shrugged, reaching for the bowl of sugar lumps. “It all kind of came out of nowhere.”
“What do you mean?”
“I had to take some time off to deal with some family stuff, but I left the store in good hands. Then I started having supplier issues—I make tea tinctures, homemade soaps, and lotions. I’ve had long-standing business relationships with my suppliers since the day I opened, so I didn’t understand what was going on. Then they tore up the street, and all the traffic stopped. Between not being able to resupply and no one coming into the store to buy what I was selling…”
I nodded. “Something similar happened to me. Things were great, business was booming and then…”
“It was like a dead zone. Then the insurance on the building went up since the values in this area keep rising, and I was just too squeezed financially. I didn’t have a choice. I had to close.”
“Do you own the building?”
She shook her head. “Leased. I had contracted for five years, and had three years left on the lease, but I had to execute my early termination clause and leave once I decided to close the business. I’ve noticed a lot of shops in this area closing and staying closed. It happened to the Waltons. They owned the flower store that was open for twenty years, and then about a year ago, they had a going-out-of-business sign on their window front. The indie bookstore closed too. I just don’t understand because it seemed like this area was due for a renaissance, and it’s like…I don’t know—it was quashed.”
“Does the name Kurt Antol ring a bell?”
She shook her headnoand took a sip of her coffee. “This is good.”
“Thanks.”
“I hope you don’t go out of business.”
“Same, girl. Same.”
* * *
My phone chimed with a text as I was locking up the bakery.
It was Jazz.Van’s ready.
I waited until I was in my car before calling her.
“Hey,” I said. “I don’t want the van sitting at the bakery. I don’t want to take any chances that someone else is going to come along and do the same thing.”
“Or take our battery or something,” Jazz added. “Good thought. Where are we going to keep it though? It’s going to be a pain in the ass having to drive it over to the bakery when we have to load up.”
“I know.” I rubbed my third eye.
“You okay? You sound tired.”
“I didn’t sleep much.”
