Chapter Eleven
Sunny
The service counter is draped in a traditional bright red and crisp white checkered tablecloth that reminds me of childhood picnics and romantic movie dates set in Central Park.
Above, bunches of artificial purple grapes hang in artfully arranged clusters from twisting, green plastic vines.
They decorate the rendered brick-and-mortar wall behind the register, bringing life and culture to the small space.
Among the cascading foliage, an array of wall-mounted wooden culinary implements feature and adds the finishing touches to the cute, clearly family-owned business.
But it’s what’s behind the fingerprint-covered glass display cases that interests me most. Namely, the most beautiful and traditional homemade-style pastries I’ve ever seen!
My mouth waters and I can almost taste the sweetness that lingers in the air. “Mmm.”
From fat cinnamon and sugar donuts, tall, frosted cupcakes, and authentic powdered sugar laden crostoli, to an abundance of cannoli—all with different and delicious, colorful fillings—to fresh trays of espresso-soaked tiramisu and creamy panna cotta. I think I’ve died and gone to Heaven!
“Like what you see?” asks Bones, her hand comfortingly encircling my hip as I drink it all in with hungry eyes.
“Oh, my god. Bones, this is adorable!” I answer. “I want to try every last sweet on offer!” Maybe a different treat every day? I catch myself thinking of the future just as Bones snags Sandra’s attention.
“Nonna!” she calls out. “I’ve got someone I want you to meet!”
My nostrils flare as I suck in a deep breath and tremble with anticipation.
Something about the way Bones spoke of Sandra earlier makes me feel like this is a special meeting and I feel the burden of an unexpected measure of pressure.
Whether it’s real or imagined, I don’t know.
But I fall back on the character I’ve created, the Sunny everyone knows and loves, and plaster a smile on my face.
“Maria,” says the older woman, her long black and silver peppered hair tied up neatly in a bun, a white apron protecting a simple pale blue dress. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Nonna,” Bones answers with a smile. “This is Sunny. She’s going to be staying with me for a while.” Then she addresses me. “Sunny, meet Sandra, or Nonna as most people in Jacksonville Beach call her.”
I step forward and offer my hand over the glass display in greeting.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Nonna,” I say.
“You have such a beautiful bakery. Honestly, it’s like Heaven in here!
” My nerves buzz within me, but I shove them down, using their energy to fuel my courage.
“If you ever need anyone to help out or cover some shifts, I’d love it if you thought of me.
I’ve just moved to Jacksonville, so I could use the money.
It’d be a wonderful opportunity to meet the locals, too,” I add.
Bones smiles at me encouragingly. “Sunny’s the sweetest,” she assures Nonna.
Sandra’s smile is as radiant as it is genuine, and it fills me with happiness. She takes my hand and shakes it warmly. “Thank you, amore. This is our little slice of Heaven, too. It’s why I haven’t retired just yet.”
Raising my sunglasses so that I can peer more closely into the display case, I grin.
“How do you stop yourself from eating them all day?” I ask, my belly grumbling silently with hunger as we’re assaulted on all fronts by the sweetest aromas in the world.
I lean too far forward and my big red glasses clatter to the tiles in the tiny store.
“Oh, shoot!” I move to bob down, but Bones beats me to them.
She squats in an instant and retrieves my glasses, passing them to me with a smile. “You okay, Daisy Girl?” she asks.
I nod and apologize to Nonna, feeling humbled by my own clumsiness. “Sorry,” I say. “It’s been a long morning, and I can be a bit of a butterfingers sometimes.” What a way to make a first impression... I sigh internally and my heart drops. Damn it.
Sandra’s gaze flits from my face to Bones’s, then she clears her throat with a warm laugh. “It’s a bakery,” she says with a wink. “We’re all butterfingers here, amore.”
Pushing my glasses up my nose, I catch sight of my reflection in the smudgy glass.
A big black and purple bruise stares back at me.
Shit. I’ve been having such fun with Maria that I actually managed to forget about my pain for a little while.
With my glasses back on, I smile in return.
It’s fine, I tell myself. Don’t let the darkness out.
Everyone has silly moments in life they look back on later and laugh about. Stay sunny, Sunny.
“Amore,” Sandra continues, “if you’re looking for work, I would love to have you cover some of my afternoon shifts? I adore this place, and God knows I’ll miss it, but I need to start spending a little more time at home. I could spend it babysitting my darling nipoti.”
Bones squeezes me into her side. “They grow up so fast,” she agrees. “You blink and the next minute they’re terrorizing the streets and eating you out of house and home.”
I can feel the frown crinkling my brow before it shows on my face. “Your shifts?” I ask. “I couldn’t. No, you said this is your Heaven. I can’t take that from you.”
“No, no,” says Sandra, emphatically gesturing for us to follow her to the end of the counter.
“You would be doing me a favor. This is my Heaven, but it’s something that’s been weighing heavily on my old heart.
I never thought the opportunity to take time away would arise.
..” She smiles broadly at me, lifting the hinged section of the counter before she steps out.
A moment later she pulls me into a big, warm hug that squashes the air from my lungs.
“And yet here you are, Sunny, just like an answered prayer.”
“But you don’t even know me,” I say as I allow myself to be swept up in the moment.
“Amore, if Maria trusts you, then so do I. And knowing that someone good and sweet—who loves the bakery just as much as I do—is filling in for me would be a great relief. I will know my Heaven is in good hands.”
Excitement bubbles up inside me and I swallow hard to contain it. “Well, if you mean it...” I venture, grinning as if all my Christmases have come at once.
“I mean it, amore! This is good news for me, truly.”
Bones grins from ear to ear, her deep plum lipstick the perfect complement to her Latin American skin tone. “Serendipity,” she says, embracing Nonna when I step back.
“I’ll message you tomorrow, Maria,” Sandra tells her as she pats her back affectionately.
“That would be great, Nonna,” Bones says.
“Thank you so much, Nonna,” I add. “I don’t know what to say.
” And for the first time in a long time, it’s true.
I’m a regular Chatty Kathy normally, but the kindness I’ve been shown today piles up until something gives and my eyes prickle with hot tears.
I try to will them back in, but they fall and I laugh awkwardly, feeling overly emotional.
I’m like a lightning rod for good fortune today!
The darkness that has haunted me all my life and felt so deeply comfortable slithers back in warning, but I force myself to smile through the tears.
“Sorry, do you have a tissue?” I ask with a sniffle.
Ten minutes later we’re leaving Sugar & Spice with a full takeout box of our favorite treats—on the house.
My whole body vibrates with glee, and my heart overflows with hope.
“I can’t believe I’ve got a job, a place to stay, and have also been fucked by the hottest babe in town .
.. and all in one day!” I say, unable to wipe the smile from my face.
“It’s almost too good to be true. I feel like I’m on a rollercoaster with no brake! ”
“I thought we weren’t putting labels on things?” says Bones as we head down toward the beach together. The white, sandy shore glitters with seafoam and sea spray, and the air is heavy with the invigorating scent of salt.
“I’m not,” I answer, twirling on the spot before falling back in step beside Maria once more. “What I meant to say was... I’ve had an amazing time with you, Bones. And I’m just really excited to see how life unfolds from here.”
Bones reaches for my hand, her fingers interlocking with mine, our delicious pre-meal desserts cradled safely in the crook of her other arm. “Me too, sunshine. Me too.”