Cavin let go of Mrs.Madelyn’s hand, looked up at Noel, and then turned his gaze to Levi.“Actually, I am,” Cavin agreed.“This is my Black Friday coat, but I didn’t think anyone would realize it.You are a very observant little boy, Levi.”
Levi chuckled.“I knew it,” he mumbled confidently with a cute smirk covering his proud face.
Mrs.Madelyn handed Cavin a twenty-dollar bill.
“What is this for?”he inquired with a wrinkle between his eyebrows.“Does the first customer receive twenty dollars to spend on candy?”he asserted, glancing around at the edible merchandise taking in a scene that reminded him of childhood.He could almost taste the chocolate, and another smell also stood out, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“Coffee,” Mrs.Madelyn announced.“We need coffee,” she insisted.“Me, you, and Noel all need coffee.”
“I like coffee,” Cavin replied jubilantly, shrugging his shoulders and then looking down at Laney.“Now I know everyone’s name.You are Laney,” he deduced reaching down to squeeze the ball on the end of her hat before looking up at Noel.“That means you are Noel.”
Noel’s gaze shifted to his warm brown eyes.“Yes,” she confirmed.“And I need to bake fifty cinnamon rolls in record time.”
“By the time you return with coffee, yours will be ready,” Mrs.Madelyn promised with a smile.
Without another word Noel scurried down the center aisle toward the Christmas tree before vanishing through the door leading to the kitchen.
“She’s not always this high strung, Mr.Dawson,” Mrs.Madelyn reported.
“Maybe the coffee will help,” he surmised with a grin.
“Mom loves coffee,” Levi shared.
“She drinks it every morning,” Laney disclosed, drawing out the words.“But maybe she forgot today,” she added with a shrug.
“Where might I find this coffee?”Cavin pondered aloud.
“That’s right; you mentioned you are new in town,” Mrs.Madelyn murmured.“Cru is just around the corner,” she acknowledged, pointing him in the right direction.
His brows rose toward his hairline.“Cru?”
“Cru is a coffee shop and wine bar,” Mrs.Madelyn explained.“Best coffee around.”
“How do you take your coffee, Mrs.Madelyn?”Cavin inquired.“And what does Noel prefer?”
Mrs.Madelyn answered Cavin’s questions while Levi and Laney ran to the countdown to Christmas signs, where they flipped the numbers to twenty-six.After making the day official, the two skipped around the store reacquainting themselves with all the new Christmas candy.This morning during breakfast they talked about how they looked forward to showing their friends from school where to find all the good stuff when they came in with their families today.
“That’s a lot of information; would you like me to write it down?”Mrs.Madelyn asked Cavin.
“No ma’am, I think I can remember the order.”
“I don’t need any money back,” she noted.“I am buying your coffee, too, and you can keep the change.”
“That’s mighty kind of you,” Cavin replied.
“Oh, one more thing,” Mrs.Madelyn interjected.“Tell everyone you see that the first fifty customers receive a free cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven.If you have the social media, tell those people, too.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Cavin agreed with a grin on his face, somehow able to hold in the chuckle in response to her arrangement of the words the social media.
When the cuckoo clock sounded, Cavin turned and walked out the door, and Mrs.Madelyn hustled to the cash register area to remove her coat and put away her things.Since no one else entered the store by the time she felt put together enough to start work, she scurried back to the kitchen to check on Noel.
“How are things going in here?”Mrs.Madelyn inquired while taking in the scene.
“You’re acting differently this morning,” Noel announced rather than pointing out she already pulled the first batch of cinnamon rolls out of the fridge to slide into the preheating oven as soon as the temperature reached the desired level.She figured all of that appeared obvious anyway.
“You think I’m the one acting differently?”Mrs.Madelyn quipped while she humored her friend.
“You called that man handsome,” Noel retorted as she set two cups of icing on the stainless steel counter.
