Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Kerri wasn't able to come by the bookstore after all, so Emma and Granny went to the bakery after the bookstore closed. Zora had to get home for a special date night with Reid, but she rattled off a list of her favorites just in case the bakery hadn’t sold out.
The evening air cooled and Emma tugged at her cardigan. Granny looped her arm in Emma’s as they strolled down the street.
“Do you know what she likes?” Granny asked.
“I really don't, actually,” Emma poked her lips out as she thought. “Well, I know she likes cheese and honey…”
Granny raised an eyebrow. “That's not a whole lot to go on, my love. We don't know if she has any allergies or–”
“Oh my god, she might have allergies! What if I kill her?” Emma exclaimed. In her mind’s eye, she pictured Sadie being carted away in an ambulance after feeding her baked goods. “Should I text her and ask her if she has any food restrictions?”
“If you asked her, would she discourage you from doing this?”
Emma’s mind raced. “Probably… but–”
Granny could always sense when Emma was about to teeter into panic. She placed a gentle hand on Emma’s arm. “Okay, let’s calm down first… you can get a sampling of things and if she can't eat something, she'll tell you, right?”
Emma took a beat. “Yeah, true. Well, what should we get?”
Once they stepped inside, they eyed the cases of confections and baked goods, scents of butter and chocolate wafting in the air and mixing with dark roast coffee. Stacy, one of the baristas greeted them as they walked in, a smudge of flour dusting her cheek. “Hey, Emma, Ms. Marion. What brings you by?”
“Hey, Stace, I want to get a box of goodies for someone as a thank you gift. I’m not sure what she likes though, so let’s do a small assortment.”
“Okay. What size box are we looking to fill?” Stacy pointed to different sized boxes arranged on top of one of the glass cases and grabbed a pair of tongs.
“Maybe this medium one?” Emma pointed to a square pink box.
“Any thoughts on what you might want to include?”
“Definitely a handful of the madeleines.” Kerri’s madeleine cookies were otherworldly–Emma and Zora feasted on the lemon butter ones every afternoon. “The lemon ones. And let's do the matcha too. Do one of the guava and cream cheese tarts. And maybe do the ham and gruyere croissant for something savory.”
Stacy began opening different cases to gather treats, carefully placing the madeleines around the tart and setting the croissant on its side. “Okay, you’ve got space for one more thing.”
Emma tapped her chin thoughtfully and turned to Ms. Marion. “I feel like we should do one thing that has chocolate.”
Granny nodded. “Good call.”
Stacy directed them to a different pastry case. “So we have English toffee covered in chocolate and then sprinkled with crushed pistachios, our special walnut and fudge brownies. We have chocolate croissants and a flourless chocolate cake with a little bit of a raspberry drizzle on it. If she likes coconut, Kerri is currently frosting a German chocolate cake in the back…”
“Oh, well that sounds good. Why don't we do the flourless one? I think that makes sense just in case she's got a gluten allergy.”
Stacy nodded. “I'll finish packaging that up for you, and since it’s a gift, I’ll add a little special razzle dazzle. Either one of you want a coffee?”
“I'll take a decaf cappuccino made with oat milk and a dash of cinnamon please,” Granny spoke up.
Emma smiled. “You know what? I'll have the same. I don't really need any caffeine this late.”
“Perfect. I'll meet you at the register.”
“Do you think those were good choices?” Emma wrinkled her nose as she turned to Granny Marion.
“I think they're great. Most of those things are some of your favorites, so hopefully you have something in common.”
“True.”
After they paid, Emma dropped Granny off at home before heading to her apartment.
“Oh my god, I shouldn't have had that cappuccino,” she whispered to herself as she parked her car, her thighs squeezing together. I have to pee so bad. She locked up her car and quickly made her way to the front door, unlocking it before running up the stairs, pastry box in hand. Ugh, this wasn't how I wanted this to happen, I just wanted to drop this off. She hurried to put the key in the deadbolt lock, and as she turned it, there was a loud snap of metal between her fingers. “Oh, no,” Emma whined. “This is not happening.” I should have bought a bigger box.
She lifted her hand and the rounded bow of the key was cut off at the shoulder. Staring into the keyhole, the entire blade was lodged inside. She tried shoving the jagged piece in her hand into the lock to see if she could still get it to turn, but she had no such luck.
“This woman is gonna to kill me,” she muttered. Trudging down the stairs with urgency, Emma knocked twice on Sadie's door, standing with a wary smile as the deadbolt unlocked.
“Yes.” Sadie had a wry smile on her lips as she leaned against the edge of the door. Per usual, she was fresh-faced, her dark eyes giving Emma a once-over as she casually hooked a thumb into the pocket of her jeans. The slowness of her gaze gave Emma butterflies. If she’d been sitting, the look was squirm-inducing.
Emma reminded herself to breathe and held out a hand. “Listen, I'm so sorry to bother you…”
“Don't tell me you forgot your keys again!” Sadie groaned.
“No, no, I didn't. I swear!” She held up the round part of her key. “It broke in the lock, so I can't get in, and I really have to go to the bathroom. I'm so sorry, but do you mind if I use yours? There isn’t a secret one for residents in the lobby right?”
Sadie's eyebrows shot up. “Uh.” She looked into her apartment really quickly, as if guarding her safe haven. “No, there isn’t a restroom in the lobby.”
“I promise I won't touch anything. I just… two minutes.” Emma swore as she wiggled from side to side.
“Yeah. All right. Give me your key so I can take a look.”
“Okay, thank you. Um, is this the same configuration as my apartment–bathroom’s in the same place?”
“Slightly different, but there’s one right down the hall there,” Sadie nodded in the right direction.
“Okay.” Emma rushed in the door too quickly to notice much of the apartment decor. She set the baker's box on the kitchen counter before running to the bathroom. “Oh, it's so cute in here,” she observed as she shut the door and did her business, blowing out a huge breath of relief. After flushing, she washed her hands and stared at herself in the mirror, her nerves making her heart beat faster. Not exactly what we’d planned, but here we are. “You have got to pull yourself together,” she whispered.
Inspecting her reflection, she pressed her lips together to redistribute her lip gloss and smoothed a hand over her braids. She cleared her throat and shook away the nerves as she moved to the door.