“Today you do because your hair looks like a rat’s nest. Tomorrow, if you brush it out good and wear it up, you can take the net off, but ifyou’re needed in the back to work on making doughnuts, then the net goes back on,” Grace answered.
“What if my friends come in?” Audrey whined.
“If any of your friends come into the shop, then they’ll see you with a net on your hair—unless you have a brush in your purse. If that’s the case, then you can go to the bathroom and pull it up into a bun on top of your head, but make sure all the hair is tucked in tight,” Grace answered. “I see more customers coming this way, so you better hurry.”
Audrey dashed through the door leading into the kitchen, and Grace bit back a smile.
“Not funny,” Sarah teased as she arranged the white coffee cups with the Devine Doughnuts logo on a tray.
“It is a little bit,” Grace said. “I’m remembering when you had to work one whole summer to pay Mama back for the damage you did to the car when you snuck out and wrecked it on a back road.”
Sarah filled three cups and put them on a tray. “I hated that summer almost as bad as Audrey does having to work through her spring break.”
Grace nodded. “Maybe she’ll think twice before she does something stupid like this again. Did she tell you who she was covering for?”
Sarah shook her head. “Nope. She swears she’s not a rat, but we both know it’s Crystal and Kelsey. But never fear—they have been banned from ever being her friend again.”
“Those girls are nightmares in my Sunday school class,” Macy said. “I can’t imagine them listening to anything their parents say.”
A teenage girl opened the door and glanced around the room as if she were lost or in trouble. She looked like she could break into tears any minute, and her hands were trembling.
“Who do I talk to about applying for a job?” she asked.
Sarah motioned for her to come inside. “Raelene, it’s been a while since we’ve seen you.”
“Yes, it has, but...” She scanned the room. “But Audrey and I...,” she stammered. “We kind of aren’t friends anymore, but I’m in trouble and I need a job, and I was hoping that you might need help. A job here would mean I could work in the mornings on a work permit from school and still finish up my classes in the afternoons so I can graduate.” She finally stopped for a breath.
“I’m sorry to hear that you’re in trouble. We don’t need help, but is there something else we can do to help you out?” Grace asked from behind the counter.
“I’ll do anything you want. I can clean or wash dishes...” Tears began to flow down her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have bothered you.” She turned and started out of the store just as the three old guys pushed their way inside.
“Whoa!” Grace said. “Wait just a minute. Don’t go yet. Let’s talk. Want some doughnuts and milk?”
Raelene shook her head. “No, ma’am. I’m not looking for a handout. Ineeda job.”
“You come with me.” Sarah motioned toward one of the tables to the left. “Sit down and tell me what’s going on since your grandmother passed away.” Even though she’d never been as desperate as Raelene, she could feel her pain, and she patted the girl on the shoulder.
Raelene didn’t argue. “Yes, ma’am,” she said and pulled out a napkin from the dispenser to wipe her wet cheeks.
“Did you walk all the way from your house down here? That’s four miles, at the very least.” Sarah eyed Raelene.
She looked a lot like her mother, whom Sarah heard had left town a few weeks ago with her current boyfriend. At eighteen, Raelene was even shorter than Grace, had thin brown hair that she’d pulled back to the nape of her neck in a ponytail. Her clean but well-worn jeans—no holes in the legs—were a little baggy on her, and her T-shirt was slightly frayed around the neck.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Sarah said. “Your mother and I graduated together. We didn’t stay friends, but we knew each other pretty well back in the day.”
“My mama and her new boyfriend moved to California and left me behind. The rent has run out on the house we live in. The food is all gone, and...” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and went on, “And I’m a straight-A student, and...” She opened her eyes and nodded toward Audrey, who had just emerged from the kitchen, her hair wrangled into a sloppy bun perched atop her head. “I figure if she’s working here, then I don’t have a chance.”
“Whether we hire someone or not doesn’t have anything to do with Audrey,” Sarah said. “What happened between you and her, anyway?”
“She told me that in order to run with the popular crowd, she couldn’t be friends with me or any of the little group we’ve been a part of since we were all in elementary school.”
“I see,” Sarah said with a nod. “I’m going to get you a glass of milk and a couple of doughnuts to eat while we talk about a job for you. I can tell you right now that you won’t make enough money at your age to pay rent and utilities on a house.”
One of Raelene’s thin shoulders raised in a half shrug. “I’ll figure out something if I have a job. I’ve got a scholarship for the fall, but I have to get through graduation first. I’ll sleep in the park, if I have to. The weather is getting warmer, and there’s showers in the bathrooms for the campers.”
“Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back in five.” Sarah crossed the room, picked up two glazed doughnuts from the case, put them on a disposable plate, and poured a tall glass of milk.
Audrey rolled her eyes when Sarah came around the counter. “What’sshedoing here?”
