Chapter Thirty-Five
Lola
Die, bitch!
- Words scratched onto a photo of Lola found in Rob Carson’s car
“I’m going to be sick.”
Skyler’s eyes bug out. “Not in the apple fries!”
Nausea prevents me from glowering at her as I push the door behind the counter open, only just making it outside before throwing up. Skyler redeems herself by gathering my hair out of the way as I dry heave a couple more times.
I brace my hand against the brick wall of the shop next door and catch my breath. Note to self, don’t eat ice cream on an empty stomach the day of your shop opening.
Skyler ducks back inside and comes out with a glass of water.
I rinse my mouth then sag against the dumpster.
I think, at this point, a normal friend would say something comforting and check I’m alright. Skyler screws up her nose and says, “Top points for glamour.”
I tug off the powder blue apron tied around my waist. “You’re fired.”
She smirks. “Feel better?”
“Yeah, actually. A little.” The nausea’s gone at least but I still feel like there’s a hundred bees living inside my body and all of them want out.
Roman wanted to be my first official customer so I sent him away while we got ready but I’m about two seconds away from calling him so I can crawl into his arms and hide there till the end days.
I scuff the toe of my Converse against the charred concrete. We cleared out the old driftwood sign, but the ground is black where it burned. Seeing the scars is a harsh reminder of every single one of my setbacks.
“Fuck Skyler, so many things could go wrong.”
Skyler’s French braids brush her shoulders as she shrugs. “So many things could go right too.”
My gaze catches on the broken lock hooked on the chain link gate behind her.
I still haven’t got it fixed. The bees buzz harder.
Why the hell did I think I could do this?
I’ve never run a shop before. The closest I’ve come is leading a shift as a bartender in Panama and I messed up balancing the till and almost got fired.
“What if everyone hates the apple fries?”
She lifts a shoulder, her smile lopsided. “They’ll still love the coffee.”
I throw my screwed-up apron at her and whine like a child. “Skyler.”
She catches the apron then snags my hand and drags me back towards the shop. “Come on.” She pulls me around the counter and plants me in the middle of the shop. “Wait here.”
Skyler takes out her phone and types away.
“What am I waiting for exactly?”
She holds up a finger then tucks her phone into her jean shorts and leans against the nearest table.
“Skyler!”
Her eyes twinkle. “Just wait.”
I sigh and do what she says, standing like a lemon in the middle of my shop and then dancing like an idiot when I spot Henry and his fiancée through the windowfront. They stroll towards the door and Jaya holds it open as Henry walks inside, his newborn baby girl swaddled in his arms.
I rush towards them, my hands wiggling in the air. “Oh my god, I want to hug you but I don’t want to squish the baby.”
Henry laughs and the little bundle in the crook of his arm, scrunches up her tiny nose.
“She’s so small.”
Henry smiles down at her. “Last week I could almost fit her in one hand.”
Skyler cuts him a look. “Dude, don’t try to hold your baby in one hand.”
Jaya laughs, shifting the baby bag she’s holding on one shoulder. “That’s what I told him.”
“What’s her name?” I ask, completely enamored by the little bubble of spit on her lips.
“Annie,” Henry says, that one word so full of love. “Anjij in Mi’kmaq.”
Anjij wriggles her arm out of the blanket, and I hold a finger out for her to grab. My heart melts as her tiny hand wraps around my pinkie, some of my anxiety calming.
“Hi little Anjij, it’s nice to meet you. You gave your mom and dad a scare there for a while.”
Jaya’s hand rests on her heart. “She’s doing so well. The doctor’s thought she’d need to be in the NICU for longer but she’s a fighter.”
As if on cue Anjij starts crying and Jaya takes her so she can feed.
Henry crosses his arms and looks around.
Two days ago, this place was trashed. Now, it’s everything I ever dreamed it would be.
The wooden floorboards are a soft beech, not a trace of red paint in sight.
Lights and lampshades from different countries shine down on the tables and the long coffee bars up against the shop windows.
We’re a few tables short because not all of them could be repaired but I’ve got more coming next week.
The large wooden map of the world spreads across the whole of the left wall and I pinned little golden studs on all the places I’ve visited.
Henry smiles up at the wall of T-shirts opposite.
I didn’t think it would be possible to save the T-shirts I collected but it turns out Cooper, of all people, can sew.
And I mean really sew. So, I let him take the lead on the T-shirt wall, well, apart from one particular T-shirt that is.
That one thankfully made it out unscathed.
I blushed crimson when Roman pinned it back up, in the middle of the display, but I like that it’s there.
A reminder of him and our first time together.
“This place is awesome, Lola,” Henry says. “You did a fantastic job.”
“Yeah?” My heart flips.
“Yeah.”
Skyler hops off the table. “She’s having a crisis of confidence.”
“Did the baby help?” Henry asks.
I chuckle. “A little, yeah. Congratulations, Henry.”
“Congratulations to you too. Remember day one, when I had to get you to move because you were meditating right here?”
“Uh huh.”
Henry’s gaze sweeps over the shop before settling on the counter behind me. He smiles. “You’ve got nothing to worry about Lola.”
I turn around to see what he’s smiling at and find myself reading the words burned into the wood on the front of the counter: “done that…”
Bean there… done that… A smile sneaks across my lips. That shop name has been in my head for four years. The words ‘got the T-shirt’ are painted in sloping letters above all the shirts to complete the slogan.
I go a little lightheaded, the surrealness of it all hitting me right in the solar plexus.
This isn’t just an image in my head anymore. There’s an actual coffee machine and a vintage cash till, and the sweet aroma of fried apples fills the shop from the test batch I just made.
Henry goes over to help Jaya with the baby and I head towards the counter.
I run my hand along the wooden surface. “Hey Skyler,” I say, the whisper of a smile on my lips as I turn to face her. “I own a coffee shop.”
Her grin grows to match mine. “Yeah, you do.” She spins the shop keys around her finger. “You ready?”
My chest flutters. “Ready.”
I panic the second I say it, so I dart behind the counter as Skyler goes to the door. I check the pastries are arranged properly and that I haven’t misspelled anything on the chalkboard drinks menu hung on the back wall.
I’m mid-way through tying my apron back around my waist when Skyler closes the door again and blinks back at me. “Uh, Lola, how many people did you invite for the dry opening this morning?”
“About twenty, why?”
She tilts her head. “Because I think the whole town is here.”
“What?” I squeak, hurrying over to join her by the door. Honestly, I think she might be hallucinating because I can’t see anyone through the shop windows but when I open the door and lean out, my jaw drops.
Roman stands a few feet away, keeping the gathering crowd just out of sight of the shop windows, because he’s a romantic fool who thinks surprises are fun.
So many people are waiting to come to my coffee shop. My parents, Beli, Cooper and all of his teammates, pretty much everyone who lives in Pine Rock and a bunch of tourists too. Roman looks over his shoulder at me and winks.
I dart back inside the shop and lean against the door like I’m keeping out the zombie apocalypse.
Henry looks on in amusement and Skyler snaps her fingers in front of my face. “Breathe, Lola. You want me to send them away?”
“No.” My mind rebels against the idea even though this is supposed to be a dry opening, with only a limited customer base so we can work out any kinks. The sensible thing would be to ask everyone not invited to come back tomorrow. But I’ve never really been sensible.
I’ve dreamed about having a line of customers down the street and I don’t have it in me to turn any of them away. Not when this is everything I’ve ever wanted.
I push off the door. “Right, okay, we can do this. It’s just a few more people, we can totally do this,” I say to myself more than Skyler as I grab one of the chairs and carry it outside.
I plant the chair on the sidewalk, climb up onto it so that everyone can see me, then I put my fingers between my teeth and whistle.
The chattering crowd quiets, and I gulp under the dozens of gazes that settle on me but then Roman catches my eye, utter pride lighting up his face.
Golden electricity in my veins.
I pull back my shoulders and smile. “Okay, for those of you who don’t know, I’m Lola. Bean There… is my baby and I can’t wait to share it with you all. Having said that, this is a dry opening which means we get to make mistakes, and you don’t get to shout at us for it.”
The crowd chuckles and I grow into myself.
“For today and today only, our specialty apple fries are on the house, but I have to charge you for the coffee or Skyler here will quit.”
Skyler nods sagely below me. “True story.”
Another round of chuckles and my heart slows to its normal speed.
“Okay, I don’t really have anything else to say except welcome to Bean There… Does anyone have any questions?”
Cooper’s hand flies up. “If this is a dry opening, what exactly is a wet one?” Cooper’s face is the picture of innocence, and I bury a laugh as Roman elbows him in the ribs.
“Cooper will pay for his apple fries,” Roman says, a sharp grin on his face.
I join in with everyone’s laughter and hop down from the chair.