Chapter 16
August
Relief flooded me the moment I spotted Gregor’s bushy beard and leather vest moving through the sea of people waiting to have their orders filled. We’d had to set up the mobile register, just to keep things flowing, but one thing had been clear from the moment we opened.
Soda swirl taffy was officially a hit.
For the last week we’d done a countdown to the unveil, including random sample times where we just broke out pieces and distributed them to whoever happened to be in the shop. We’d been fuller than normal, with several small, repeat buys by certain individuals we’d taken to watching for, so we could time one of our reveals when they were present.
The way people had taken to sharing the experience on social media had been wild and affirming. When Aunty Clara and my cousin Stella had balked at the tactics I’d proposed, Aunty Eunice had just nodded and told me they’d see, as she gave me her blessing to run with it.
A pair of teens had written about popping in four times in the same afternoon, and each time they’d discovered a new treat they’d fallen in love with. They’d gotten to sample the tropical creamsicle explosion, woven ropes of mango, pineapple, and tangerine taffy that I’d folded into a batch of vanilla cream taffy we’d twisted with lemon-lime soda pop taffy that really brought out the tropical notes in the other flavors.
Talk about elevating orange soda to a different level, I was truly proud of myself for that one and the way today’s batches were already selling out. I saw Gregor melt toward the side of the room where a bench sat, with magazines for people waiting while their companions were browsing.
When I could no longer see him, I knew he’d taken a seat there to wait for the people to thin out. Just knowing he was there had eased some of the tension that had never fully left my neck and shoulders after he’d had his close call on the ship. I doubted anything would ease it fully until we were alone together tonight, and he could rub them for me.
The fan swirled a hint of his scent my way, wrapped up in leather, sea salt and a whiff of the lobster he’d been handling.
“This is the last for today,”
I declared, forty-five minutes later, after the final morning’s batches had cooled enough that I could cut them.
We’d see how those final two flavors did, and how many people came in throughout the afternoon looking for soda pop taffy only to learn that we’d sold out. While I hated for there to be disappointed faces, I also hoped they’d pick up something to tide them over until tomorrow. Made me wonder how many I’d see drop in earlier in the day, too. We’d made notes of how long it had taken each batch to sell out as well as a count of the people who asked for it after it was gone, and already knew we’d have to make at least two additional batches of pineapple crush and cherry cola tomorrow.
The last two flavors of the day were cosmic grape and electric strawberry. Each was also woven with thin ribbons of lemon soda taffy to give them a hint of subtle tartness when they were bitten into. It was a prelude to the unveiling of the lemonade and sweat tea varieties I had plans to craft this summer, and now I knew exactly which launch strategy to use when it came time to unveil them, too.
I was in the zone and on cloud nine by the time the flow of people slowed to a trickle, who as I’d hoped, still purchased something after being told the candy they’d come for had sold out. One mom with a daughter who loved lollipops discovered our bubble pop collection, in which hollow lollipops had been filled with edible glitter, sprinkles, and tiny candy confetti pieces, to create a unique treat full of different flavored surprises.
We were constantly getting orders for them for birthday parties, and had one group make a special request we’d been pleased to grant. Five friends, celebrating one’s eighth birthday, had come in for a demonstration of how the bubble pops were made, then each designed their perfect pop, that we made for them. Seeing the wide-eyed wonder on their faces as they’d watched me work had reminded me of my favorite movie growing up. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was my favorite book, too. I’d read the whole series and watched the remakes of the original movie several times since they’d come out. While none held the same appeal for me as the original, they’d all affirmed my love for the profession I’d chosen.
“Wow,”
Gregor said, clapping when I reached his side.
“What?”
I asked, trying to figure out what he found so fascinating it deserved to be applauded.
“If I’d had to face that many people at one time, without like, an hour-long break in between dealing with each wave that swarmed in, I’d have been snarling by the end and pissing people off.”
Giggling, I parked myself on my mate’s lap and instantly felt his arms close around me and his nose nuzzle to the spot on my neck where I’d been itching to feel his breath.
“I hope you don’t have to go out like that for a while,”
I murmured, sighing as my eyes fluttered before I gave in to the temptation to close them for a minute.
“I hope not, either,”
was all he said.
No promises or attempts to placate me. He didn’t know when or if he’d be called on, so he didn’t try to concoct an answer. I appreciated that.
I appreciated him coming here instead of getting straight back to work at his shop. I’d have understood if he had, after all he’d been away for four days and was probably behind on things, but a part of me would have been disappointed and a little hurt, too, because of how much I’d missed seeing him.
“I heard there was some commotion yesterday,”
he murmured, holding tighter when I tensed in his arms.
“Did Olly tell you?”
I asked. “I was waiting until you were back on shore to tell you so you wouldn’t go storming around the ship looking for things to claw.”
“Thank you,”
he replied, kissing and nibbling at the base of my neck. “If it puts your mind at ease any, Olly met me at the dock and waited until I was off the ship and away from everyone to tell me about his mom making threats and there being a scene later in the day that involved ants in the nougat.”
“It was much more than that,”
I huffed, trying to puff up but he still held me firm.
“Do you have time to tell me all about it now, or do I need to pick up something when I close up the shop and have it waiting on the table when you get home?”
“Seafood, please?”
I muttered.
I’d been dreaming about seafood all day and now he’d provided me the perfect opportunity to get exactly what I wanted.
“Boiled, fried, in a sauce, or a mix of everything?” he asked.
See, my mate got me. I didn’t even have to ask if getting a mix was an option. He already included it for me.
“Mix, please and thank you,”
I replied as I snuggled against him.
The story was way too long for any break I could take with all the work I needed to do. I appreciated him not asking anymore about it, including if I could just give him highlights. Curiosity I could appreciate, but when it bled over to impatience and became frustrating and demanding, it crossed a line for me. That he’d accepted my answer at face value and immediately turned his attention toward fulfilling his end of the bargain and bringing a meal I’d enjoy was another trait among the many I’d already come to appreciate in my mate. Conversation was just easier when people didn’t look looking for hidden meanings or trying to attribute more to the words than what was said. I get that the ability to trust was all wrapped up in that, too. Second guessing and picking apart conversations was learned behavior; some people had just never been given the opportunity to experience what it was like not to have to do that. I’d have worked with Gregor if he’d been one of those, but I was pleased that he wasn’t, because it would have been a bump in the bonding process.
“I’ve got to turn you loose now, don’t I?”
Gregor’s beard brushing against my skin startled me and I jerked, flailing a little as those strong arms tightened around me again.
“Yup, I do, you were starting to fall asleep,”
he murmured.
“Because it’s been hard to sleep without your big cuddly arm to cling to while I’m drifting off,”
I pouted. “The next time you leave you have to leave your arm behind for me to hold.”
His chuckling bounced me a little, before he finally set me free so I could get off his lap. I didn’t want to, but I had to so I could get home to him sooner tonight. It sucked, not being able to freeze the world around us for a little while, just long enough for a proper reunion before I unfroze everything and got back to work. No one would get anything done if we all had the ability to do that, though, so I guess adulting would have to suffice in this situation.
“I’ll be home by nine,”
I told him as he stood, looming over me before he tugged me into a kiss.
“See you then.”
“Prepare for fishy kisses for the rest of the night,”
I threatened.
“I welcome your fishy kisses and any other type of kisses you want to give me,”
he said, stepping back.
Giggling, I waved at him over my shoulder and headed back to my kitchen to organize my supplies.
Someone had already hung the tallies we made on the clipboard beside my workstation, and Gracie would be in just as soon as her class was done. Now that her final semester was coming to a close, she’d started coming to work in the evenings to help me in the kitchen and learn the layout of things. I was a firm believer in learning through doing, and after she’d informed me that was the way she preferred to learn, we’d been hands on with everything. Having her working beside me would make those additional batches easier. I thought of pushing it and adding one more batch to each count, then thought better of it, since our supply truck wouldn’t arrive until Friday. Best to keep to the calculations we’d made so we didn’t get ahead of ourselves and stall our promotion by having a day when we were simply sold out of everything.
“All right, August, you’ve made your point,”
Everett said, startling me when he waved a twenty-dollar bill in front of my face.
What the hell?
“Ohh yeah, our bet,”
I muttered as I accepted it and slipped it into my pocket.
“Yeah, our bet, which I was tempted to double down on last night,”
Ever replied. “Now I’m glad I didn’t.”
“I told you it would be a hit,”
I said, pointing a spatula at him. “People love being the first to do anything, especially when it comes to sampling food. That’s major bragging rights right there, especially in a small community, so I knew they’d rush to social media to post and get a timestamp on that shit. That’s creds to some people. Hell, it’s like you and Walt with those damned Pokémon cards when we were kids.”
He nodded at that. “Yeah, okay, I can see the logic. Challenge accepted. Now I need to think of a unique way of setting up my next launch.”
“I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’ve got free time on my hands to do some brainstorming,”
he said. “You, on the other hand, will not have to worry about free time once your mate’s ship comes in. Do you know when they are planning to dock?”
“They’re back already,”
I explained. “You just missed him. He stopped by on the way to his shop and promised to pick up supper so I could head straight home when I got done here.”
I almost told him about the other message my mate had for me this morning, the one he’d sent by text message while he’d been waiting for the crowd in my shop to thin out. The moment I read it I knew exactly why we hadn’t had that conversation while I was sitting on his lap. Like the discussion we needed to have about what had taken place in Everett’s shop, it wasn’t one we could have in a public space, not with the amount of time we didn’t have to devote to it.
“Nice. It’s cool that he came to see you even when he knew you wouldn’t have any time to spend together.”
“He even waited almost an hour until I could give him the bit of time I could spare,”
I told him. “He didn’t try to press me about what happened, either, though he already knows a little bit of it. He just asked what I was in the mood for, now I get to go home to a seafood feast.”
“Lucky.”
“He doesn’t have to try to be thoughtful, he just is, and I love it,”
I admitted. “I don’t feel guilty about the hours I work. I don’t feel rushed or like I’m disappointing him by not being home because he just comes here and hangs out like that chair is just as comfortable as the easy chairs in the den. It’s not. I need to get thicker cushions for them ‘cause my tush hurts after about thirty minutes the rare times I get to sit that long.”
“Like I said. Lucky.”
“Have you spoken to Olly since, well, you know?”
“There’s nothing we have to say to one another right now,”
he declared. “Not until he’s willing to stand up to her where everyone can hear him tell her to back the fuck off.”
“He’s got to be ready to do that without anyone pushing him.”
“And until he is, there is nothing more to say.”
My brother’s voice, firm and filled with fury, was a rare one to hear from him. He wouldn’t be moved from that position, so I hoped Olly stepped up to the plate soon before they both wound up miserable.