Chapter 28
Lucy
Iopen my eyes.
Then close them.
I take my fists and try to clear my vision because there is no way that Jeremy, Bennett, and Cierra are standing at the bottom of the stairs behind a brand-new installed chair lift.
I look into each of their smiling faces and can’t seem to find any words to express how grateful I am.
Tears are streaming down my face and my mouth continues to open and close as my brain short-circuits.
The arms wrapping around me from behind are the only things keeping me from sinking fully to the floor.
“It’s okay, Princess,” sweet Cherry’s voice murmurs into my ear, “they understand. I hope you do too. You’re not in this alone. Family takes care of each other.”
My breath hitches as a fresh wave of tears escapes my eyes.
Family.
It’s been a while since I have had one of those.
***
Thankfully, Jeremy ushers everyone away and leaves me to my mini breakdown alone with Aria. She doesn’t do anything except hold me and murmur sweet, supportive words into my ear.
Eventually I pull myself together long enough to pull back and meet Aria’s gray eyes.
“Thank you,” I whisper, not bothering to wipe the remnants of tears from my face. She shakes her head at me, though.
“This was all them, love,” she says, fondness shining in her expression. “They love you and they love her. All they did was put out a special tip jar and your customers, the community you have built here, decided to take care of you and Mama Betty just like you have been taking care of them.”
This brings on a fresh round of tears and she goes back to holding me until they run dry.
***
Once I calmed down, I took myself downstairs and hugged the living daylights out of the three absolute sweethearts…although, Bennett still can’t look me in the eye and the flush on his face hasn’t gone down.
The five of us are currently sitting on a few of the comfier couches in the bookstore area of Karma celebrating with a round of flavored hot chocolates. I ignore the flask of unknown liquid Jeremy is currently adding to his because he is technically not on the schedule for today.
“So,” the man in question interrupts my thoughts, pinning me and Aria in place with a mock serious glare paired with a mischievous grin, “how long has this been official? Because we had a betting pool going—”
“Which we said we weren’t going to mention!” Cierra interjects.
“—and I need to know who won,” he finishes, ignoring her. I glance over at Aria and, sure enough, her face is bright red. I can’t help myself; I let out a delighted laugh and place a kiss on her cheek.
“Official? Since yesterday.” I let out another loud laugh as the boys pass over some money to Cierra and shake my head fondly. “My question is when this betting pool was established?”
“Oh, as soon as Aria walked in that first time,” Cierra replies, warming up to the subject now, “Jeremy told us that you practically eye-fucked her before she even sat down. He swore it would be less than a month. Bennett over there thought it would take six months.” The man in question flushes a bit more and studies his hot chocolate with a slight smile.
“I, however, predicted it would be just about three months. So, thank you for pulling your heads out of your asses because I was about to be disqualified.”
“I—” I start. Then stop, looking around at all of them. Finally, my bewildered gaze lands on Aria and it appears that it is too much for her. Her full, loud laughs ring through the space. Soon enough, the sounds of everyone’s shared joy fill the space and my heart swells in response.
With joy like this, the grief of the coming months doesn’t stand a chance.
***
As the hours roll by, the mood settles into something quieter and more reflective. Jeremy pours a round of drinks for everyone since Karma has been closed for the night and hands them out.
I swear, where the hell is keeping this alcohol? I think, then take a sip. Never mind, that’s a problem for another day.
He raises a glass. “To Mama Betty,” he says. We all repeat the toast and drink. His face settles into something more serious than his usual playful demeanor. “She has given so much to this place—to all of us—and if she needs anything, Lucy, you know we are only a text or a shout away, yeah?”
I nod, my throat too tight to express anything more than that.
“I—” Aria starts, her cheeks flushed from the alcohol, “I would love to know all of your stories, how you met Mama Betty and ended up here as this—” She gestures to the group of them sprawled casually across each other with obvious familiarity and ease.
“—but only if you’re willing to share?” She takes another sip and I watch her flush reach the tips of her ears.
Goddess, she’s adorable.
“Hell yeah, story time!” Cierra swings her legs down from where they were perched on Bennett’s lap, her loose black hair spilling over her shoulders as she leans forward, showcasing the new teal streaks she had added recently.
“So, I grew up in a super religious, conservative family. My dad was an elder in the local Baptist church.”
Aria snorts. Her eyes grow wide in mortification. “I am so sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“You’re all good,” Cierra cuts her off with a grin.
“I do, in fact, dress this way intentionally so that no one assumes that.” Her grin fades ever so slightly.
“But, story first. I was about twelve when I met a girl that I developed a crush on.
Of course, I had heard the pastor preaching from the pulpit about the sin of homosexuality so I went to my mom in tears, so worried about being damned to hell.
“She told me that it was not me. That it was a temptation sent from the devil to lead me astray. She prayed with me that God might help me overcome this battle and hugged me, telling me that I could come pray with her any time I needed extra spiritual armor.” She rolls her eyes at this, but I can see the tiny shift in the tension of her shoulders; this is not a story she tells often, though I have heard it before.
At 2am. With a lot more crying involved.
“It did make me feel better for a while. I got a crush on a boy and went to my mother who praised me for being such a spiritual warrior. But then the cycle continued. Up and down, up and down. When I was fifteen, I met Eden.” A wistful smile crosses her face.
“She was the rebellious kid. When she came to youth group, my youth pastor pulled me aside and asked if I could get to know her and maybe minster to her a little. I agreed, of course.
“But her spirit,” the smile becomes fonder, “her spirit was fire incarnate.
The closer I got to her, the more I wanted to know.
That was the first time I truly fell in love.
Instead of molding her the way the church wanted me to, I watched and listened and internalized the way she seemed so at ease with herself.
With who she was. She was the first person who gave me a word for what I felt: bisexual.
It was like everything clicked into place for me.
Slowly, I started asking her questions, confessing in whispers about my own feelings.
She was the first person besides my mom that I ever told.
We ended up dating, in secret of course, for about a year.
“My mother walked in on us making out in my room when we were supposed to be preparing for bible study.” Aria gasps loudly before covering her mouth, eyes wide.
“She asked Eden to leave and then sat me down with the most disappointed look on her face.
She tried to get me to pray with her like I used to, to be free from this ‘temptation.’ That was the first time I stood up to her.
“I told her that I am bisexual. That is a part of who I am and I wasn’t going to feel ashamed of it anymore.
My relationship with my mom never really recovered.
But things didn’t really come to a head until I was eighteen.
I told my parents I was going to come out publicly because I was sick of feeling like I was hiding something shameful.
They said that I was ruining my own reputation, that I could still settle down with a nice man and it wouldn’t matter anyway.
I left that day and told them that they could reach out when they were ready to accept me.
All of me.” When Aria lets out a sad noise of sympathy, Cierra finishes her drink, finally makes eye contact with me, and smiles.
The sharp, bitter smile that I remember from back when she first came to Karma.
“I went and got my cosmetology license and started doing hair. But I needed some extra income and I walked into Karma to use the wifi to apply to some jobs. Mama Betty was wandering around talking to people. She stopped by my table and just put her hand on my shoulder and said ‘My girl, you’re one of mine, aren’t you?
’” She laughs. “I was so confused. But then she told me that they were hiring here at Karma and the rest, as they say, is history.” She finishes the drink, newly refilled courtesy of Jeremy, and leans back as we all lean over and pat her.
“Wait,” Aria interjects, eyes trained on Cierra’s face. “What happened to Eden?”
“No clue.” She tucks her hair behind her ears.
“My parents kept me away from her after my mom caught us. I…” She hesitates, a sliver of vulnerability peeking through her armor of nonchalance.
“I hope she’s happy out there somewhere; I hope she got away from it all.
” She trails off at that, a faraway look in her eye.
Jeremy slings an arm around her neck and presses a kiss to the top of her head as she shakes herself back into focus and shoves him lightly with a smile.
“My turn!” Jeremy says, then pastes a dramatic expression on his face. “It was a dark and stormy night—” We all groan and Cierra flicks him. “No, seriously! One night when I was sixteen my parents found the texts I was sending to my boyfriend at the time. My dad is…conservative, to put it lightly.”
“He’s a dick!” Cierra pipes in.
“Not wrong,” Jeremy chuckles wryly. “Anyway, he called me all sorts of slurs and then kicked me out that night. No money, just my phone and the bag that my mom begged him to let me pack. I stood there in the rain calling people until I found a friend that would let me stay over for the night. One of my friends’ moms picked me up and took me back to her house.
I ended up staying with them for the rest of my senior year—skipped a grade when I was younger because I am a genius.
Obviously.” He preens and we all groan again.
“I got enough in scholarships to go to the community college with minimal loans. I came in here to study one day and,” He takes a deep breath.
“It felt like home. Mama Betty was sitting in the corner knitting something. I sat down at a table near her and she looked up and smiled at me. She started asking me questions about what I was studying and it was so easy to talk to her. I mentioned that I was looking for a part-time job and she mentioned she was hiring. I didn’t realize until then that I was talking to the owner, or—” He glances at me apologetically.
“—one of the owners. I stammered through accepting the offer and I have worked here since.” He stretches out, arms behind his head and legs out in front of him, dimples on full display.
“Wow,” Aria breathes, and I finally look over to her. She has tears in those beautiful gray eyes. I walk over and park myself on her lap, wrapping my arms around her. I let her bury her face in my neck and get herself together.
“You okay?” I murmur in her ear.
She takes a deep breath and nods, pulling her head back up and looking at me. Up close, I can see the pain in her eyes. The pain she feels for these people, my chosen family, and I can’t help the way my heart stutters in my chest.
My sweet, sweet Cherry.
I press a soft kiss to her lips and her eyes slide closed. No matter how much I want to deepen the kiss here and now, I pull back. Our audience coos in unison, even getting a soft ‘aww’ from Bennett. Aria’s face reddens and I turn back to face the rest of them.
“Well, that’s the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever seen,” Cierra remarks. I can tell she’s getting a bit tipsy because she doesn’t swear too much most of the time. When she’s drinking, however, she could go toe to toe with any sailor.
Aria’s blush deepens as she turns to Bennett. “How about you? If you don’t mind sharing, that is.”
Bennett shrugs and smiles at her. “Not too much to tell. I grew up a little, ah, spoiled.” He rubs the back of his neck and his cheeks darken a little. “I wanted to be an artist, my dad wanted me to go into the family business. But being the heir to Morris Holdings was…not me.”
I feel Aria perk up at the name and I wonder if her firm ever handled anything for Bennett’s father’s company.
“When I graduated high school, my parents wouldn’t pay for art school, insisting it was a waste of time.
I disagreed. They didn’t cut me off or disown me, but I did need a little extra income coming in while I paid my own way through school.
I actually met Lucy first,” he nods at me, “and she recommended I come in and submit an application. When I did, Mrs.—I mean, Mama Betty was here. She took my hand and looked into my eyes for a long moment before nodding and saying—” He looks away and takes a breath before continuing.
“She said, ‘You have a spark, young man. Let’s see you shine.’ She had me do the murals in here and design the front window.
She was really the first person to believe in me.
” His eyes are just a bit shiny as he finishes.
“She is such an amazing woman,” I say, smiling at him. He nods in agreement and Cierra and Jeremy both toast to that with a ‘hear, hear!’ Checking the time, I make a decision.
“How about you three finish closing up in here and Aria and I will find us a bar to continue celebrating. Drinks on me!” A round of cheers goes up around the group and I climb off of Aria’s lap and offer her a hand.
She grips it with a shy smile and stands slowly.
Once she’s on her feet, I pull her down into a slightly more passionate kiss, which I am pleased to feel her return, her hands gripping my waist to steady us.
Ignoring the catcalls behind us, I say softly, “I know just the bar.” Aria looks suddenly wary at the wicked smirk that crosses my face.