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Roni made her the frozen concoction and added an extra dollop of cream and two maraschino cherries.
“I wished for a puppy,” Pippi announced as she took the drink from Roni. “Dad says I can’t have one because he’s too busy to take care of it, so I hope Spooky will bring me some Christmas magic because I’m old enough now to take care of it myself.”
“You certainly are,” Roni said as a tall man rushed in the door with a phone pressed to his ear.
“How much?” he asked, barely looking at her as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket.
Pippi looked up at him and rolled her eyes.
Roni grinned and a winked at Pippi. “It’s on the house.”
He glanced at her long enough to register confusion before refocusing on his call.
Roni leaned down to the girl. “Merry Christmas, Pippi. I hope you get your wish.”
“Thanks,” her dad said absently, then quickly turned and ushered Pippi out the door, still talking on his phone.
That poor child. Here her dad was surrounded by Christmas and family and he couldn’’t see any of it. Boy, did she know how Pippi felt. Hopefully, Pippi’s grandma was as wonderful as Roni’s was. She looked around the room, seeing her grams everywhere.
She had started this coffee shop years ago, and that more than anything else was why Roni put her heart and soul into the place. She wanted Grandma’s legacy to thrive in this place. Roni smiled as snow started to fall outside the window. She loved a white Christmas.
The bells above the door jingled as three teens walked in wearing Santa hats and LED blinking necklaces. “Can we get three gingerbread lattes?” one of the teens asked, standing between her two friends.
“Absolutely.” Roni filled their orders, spraying an extra dollop of whipped cream and sprinkling a dash of cinnamon on the gingerbread lattes, then smiled wide as she pushed them toward the girls. She was about to compliment their outfits as she took their payments, until the teen turned to her friends and gushed about the new coffee shop down at the Riverwalk—Frankie’s.
Roni’s lips twisted in a grimace. What kind of name was Frankie’s for a coffee shop?
Her friend took a sip of the latte. “Yeah, but their coffee isn’t nearly as good as this place.”
At least there was that, Roni thought, as she tried not to let the girl’s words get to her. Usually she wouldn’t, but ever since Frankie’s opened, her business had cut in half. People liked walking around the Riverwalk shopping and dining area.
She didn’t blame them. She liked walking around the new park along the river. In the past few years, they’d really built up the place and made it beautiful. She should go for herself and check out this new competition that was killing her business.
“Don’t they have live music?” one of the teens asked. “Why didn’t we go there?”
“Not tonight,” her friend said as they moved out of hearing range into the adjoining room and took a seat at a small table by the fireplace.
She could do live music, Roni thought. Though she didn’t have a lot of outdoor space like they did at the Riverwalk. But maybe a guitarist would fit in the corner of the back room.
“What do you think, Spooky? Should we add a musician? Maybe an open mic night?” The cat stared at her from her perch in front of the window and gifted her with a bored yawn. She couldn’t even get her kitty excited. “Well, we’re going to have to think of something or there is not going to be any more tuna for you.”
She could swear Spooky’s eyes widened, and she smiled. “You know what, Spooky? It’s almost our one-year anniversary. How do you want to celebrate?”
The cat yawned again.
“TV time?” Yep, that sounded boring even to her.
Though it was their normal Saturday night activity. Cuddle on the sofa and watch TV. Sometimes with popcorn. Sometimes she’d go all out with ice cream and candy. And while that did sound really nice, she wished she had a special someone to cuddle with at night. Someone human.
Someone like Jimmy.
Or even Jimmy.
She should stop being a coward and just call him and ask if he was coming.
Last Christmas, he called her out of the blue. They started talking regularly, catching up and reminiscing. She started to think maybe there was a chance they could reconnect. If he ever came home. He was still living in Denver, where they were supposed to go together all those years ago.
He told her he was coming home last Christmas, but his mom bought the family tickets on a Christmas cruise so he didn’t make it. Roni had been so disappointed, and already a year had gone by and she still hadn’t seen him.
