“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.”
