Chapter One #2
Kit balanced the cardboard drink holder in the palm of one hand while she checked her phone. She chuckled at Annalise’s all-capped rant berating her for not waiting ten lousy minutes for her to drag her sorry ass to the coffee shop to begin her shift.
Not my fault ur late 4 wrk, Kit tapped out with her thumb. Ahead of her, the walk sign illuminated and she stepped out onto the crosswalk with the small crowd headed for the park. Seconds later, a clown horn alerted her to Annalise’s retort.
Not mine, either. Can’t help that Barb has a wicked good tongue.
“Barb?” What happened to Cory, that sexy, flawless boi who warmed Annalise’s sheets at night?
Kit shook her head. She loved her friend, but damn if Annalise’s aversion to long-term relationships didn’t annoy her.
Kit thought of her own desert of a love life and envied Annalise’s sexual appetite… and the attention she received.
Don’t shame her, Kit, her conscience nagged. Enough that people judged LGBTQ folks for existing; she refused to pile on.
To look at it another way, though, Cory was single again. Kit rather liked them. Could the two keep it on the down-low, if Kit managed to hook up with them? Kit was comfortable in her sexuality but didn’t consider it a topic for town conversation.
Another honk jolted Kit from her thoughts, and she steadied her coffee hand, careful not to spill the sugar packets lodged in the divots.
She read the invitation from Annalise to join her tonight for a drink, but Kit pocketed her phone.
She’d wait to see how Saturday in the Park panned out before agreeing to a long evening of revelry.
She watched the crowd grow within the park’s boundaries and sighed, thinking she should have doubled her coffee order to get through the day.
Six people clustered at the Tish’s Riches booth, and Kit hastened her steps. Vinnie Petrocelli stood close to the chocolatier as they chatted with another couple. Cal Briscoe and his wife Sue both appeared radiant and cute in matching event T-shirts that identified them as volunteers.
“Kit, come see the pictures.” Sue waved her closer and handed her a few snapshots of a tropical landscape. Kit had to smile at the quaintness of using film paper in a digital age, then remembered Sue was a professional photographer.
Tish flipped through a stack of photos, holding up one of a concert scene. “I am so jealous. I would love to go to St. Bart’s, especially for the jazz festival,” she said, then cast a sly glance at Vinnie. “Maybe if we save up over the summer, we could spend Christmas there.”
“Tell me when. In my mind, I’m already packed.” Vinnie then thanked Kit for his drink with a nod.
Kit passed the photos she held to Sue. “Is your band performing today?” she asked Cal. Locals could usually count on the musician’s combo to liven up any public event.
Cal grinned and shook his head. “Not this time. We’re actually headed over to the beach after this. The band’s booked for a wedding reception.” He held up his phone to show them a picture on his social feed of two ladies arm in arm, beaming with their marriage license.
Kit’s heart expanded. How lovely. Ten years after the ruling, it still blew Kit’s mind that these two women, any two women, could legally marry and enjoy each other’s company in public.
Yeah, some bigoted asshole might give them the stink eye as he walked past, and people existed in this world who hated seeing races and religions mix, but this couple had the law of the land on their side.
May they forever keep it. As for the haters… don’t like gay marriage? Don’t get gay married.
I should talk, heh. She admired the boldness of that couple, proudly holding up their license for all to see.
Meanwhile she got hives just thinking about holding another person’s hand in public, especially someone like herself.
So easy for other people to be out. Why not her?
Some days she wanted to climb the roof of Tish’s Riches and explode into a rainbow, but an echo of niggling doubt deep in her gut kept her silent.
It baffled her, since she was always surrounded by liberal-minded people.
It’s my business alone. She kept telling herself this; she controlled her actions. Tish and Vinnie did not invite her into their private lives, the walk-in incident notwithstanding. Aside from Annalise and whoever saw her at The Woolf’s Den, nobody knew she was gay.
Well, if anybody knew, they didn’t hear it from her.
Kit thanked the couple for sharing their pictures. “You know, I would love for us to make a wedding cake for a couple like that,” she told Tish.
“I have, many times before the ruling.”
“Not since I came to work for you, though.”
“It’ll happen, don’t worry. Who knows, your first same-sex wedding cake could be for your friend Annalise.” Tish nudged her and laughed.
“Don’t hold your breath, as much as Annalise likes cake.”
Tish studied her, tilting her head. “Well, I will bake for any couple celebrating their love. When you meet yours, I got the perfect design for your cake.”
She’d be hanging onto it for a while. “Thanks.” Kit let out a nervous laugh.
Something, or someone, distracted Cal and he wandered away from the booth. Sue moved to follow him but winked at Kit and said, “If it’s any consolation, we have an anniversary later this year and Cal loves your red velvet rolls.”
“Come by anytime, hon. Don’t wait that long to see us,” Tish called back with a laugh. The banter stopped abruptly as the first wave of customers intervened with questions, forcing them to take orders and money.
Within the first two hours, Kit and Tish saw half their inventory sold.
People carried away truffles by the dozen and fawned over the new French macarons Tish was testing for the shop.
Kit worried they’d run out of boxes first, then realized Tish might use that as an excuse to bolt.
All nightmares of negative reviews faded as Kit warmed up to the idea of an early day.
If she took a nap after this event, she might be refreshed enough to keep up with Annalise tonight.
“How many macarons are left?” Vinnie asked, bringing Kit back to the moment. “If we have an uneven number, you think we should set aside so many as singles and box up the rest by six. Will they move quicker, you think?”
Tish pointed to a couple walking past, each holding an ice cream. “I wouldn’t mind selling by the pack, but I imagine somebody will want to eat one here and now,” she said. “I’d hate to say no, so we’ll break up a set only if somebody asks for singles.”
“I was thinking if there were extras, I could have one.” Vinnie smiled, sheepish. “I’m starving.”
“Cost you two bucks.” Kit held out her hand, which Vinnie tapped with his palm.
“I’m thinking about a plate of those pancit noodles over there.
” Tish nodded toward the food truck owned by Turo Turo.
Kit saw them around town often, after Dareville passed an ordinance to allow food trucks to operate along select streets during the week, and had tried their Filipino cuisine.
As far as she knew, they didn’t have a restaurant as a base of operations.
Other trucks doing business today, though, were attached to some kind of brick and mortar eatery in Dareville or Virginia Beach. Kit decided earlier if she bought lunch here today, she’d try the fish taco truck…which had the longest line at present.
She was about to offer to make a food run when a voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Excuse me, which one of you is Tish Richmond?”
Kit looked up and her breath hitched at first sight of the vision standing before the booth.
Long dark hair fluttered around her shoulders in a brief gust of wind.
She wore dark-framed sunglasses with small, rectangular lenses.
Matched with her pert nose, Pac-Man t-shirt, and form-fitting jeans, this new customer well rocked the geek-girl look.
“At your service.” Tish held up a hand, but retracted it. “Unless you’re with the IRS, in which case you just missed her. Don’t let that stop you from buying any macarons, though.”
Like Tish, Kit spotted the manila envelope in their new friend’s hand and worried. Forget about the nightmares of customers angry about a treat shortage. “What’s that?” she demanded. “Is Tish being served?
“You’re being served?” Vinnie shifted into protective husband mode, blocking Tish from the woman’s line of sight.
The girl blinked at them, and widened her eyes as she paled.
“Oh, gosh, no. I love you guys,” she said. “My name is Sidney Campbell, and I saw the ad on RecruitZipper that you were hiring and I’d love to apply.”
Tish pressed her hand on her heart. “Oh, okay.” She eased around Vinnie, who backed off but maintained his watchful stare. “Well, I’m glad you’re interested in working for us, but that has to be an old ad. You see…”
“We do need somebody full-time at the sales counter, yes,” Kit broke in, and ignored Tish’s slack-jawed stare.
She respected how Tish ran her business, but if she stood by her point that Gloria should have reported to duty today.
Nothing against Gloria, but Sidney caught Kit’s interest, not just for her perceived enthusiasm.
“Oh, you’re not looking for a baker, then?
” Sidney’s smile fell, along with Kit’s hopes.
“I recently graduated from Hancock Culinary Institute with a degree in Baking and Pastry Arts. I took classes at their Dareville campus.” She held up the envelope.
“I saw that you were running a booth here today, so I took a chance and brought references and a resume.”