—
The next morningI was late to work. Again.
I dodged the line of fudgies on the sidewalk and slipped inside the back door. My mother’s voice carried clearly from the front of the shop. “…sweepbeforeyou put the chairs down. Otherwise you’re just pushing dirt around.”
Zoe was in the kitchen, retying her apron. “Hey, darling!”
“Hi, Zoe. What’s up?”
She pulled a face. “I believe Maddie’s going over openingprocedures with Hailey.” And Zoe, catlike, had left the room at the sound of conflict, I thought with a flare of amusement.
“I said I was sorry,” Hailey was saying.
“I don’t need you to apologize,” my mother said. “I need you to get it right.”
I walked through to the front, where a red-faced Hailey clutched a broom. Mom, tight-lipped, had crossed her arms over her apron.
“I know. I will,” Hailey said. “Eventually.”
“Good,” Mom said.
“Or she’ll be forced to kill you,” I added, earning a weak smile from Hailey and a sniff from Mom.
“You all right?” I asked Hailey as we finished setup together.
“I feel stupid I can’t remember.”
I pushed the last chair into place. “It helps if you write things down.”
“You mean, like a checklist.”
“Yeah. But it has to be where you can see it. That’s why I always write student assignments on the board.” I grinned. “Also, I’m always writing little reminders to myself. Colored Post-its everywhere. Like a rainbow threw up all over my desk.”
Mom unlocked the door and flipped the sign toopen.
I grabbed a marker and a sheet of parchment paper. “Come on,” I said, leading the way to the back. “If you break down the steps in order, it’s a lot easier to get the job done.”
Hailey followed me into the kitchen. “You sound like my therapist.”
I wondered why she was seeing a therapist. Not that Iwanted to pry. Or make her feel self-conscious. “You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I said lightly.
“Yeah, no.” She leaned against the work counter, watching me scrawl the basic tasks I’d been doing since I was fourteen. Sign in. Sweep up. Make sure the drinks case, the condiments station, and the restrooms were stocked and clean. “You know this is really boring, right?”
“But it feels so good to cross things off.”
She rolled her eyes.
I nibbled on the marker cap. Did I have the steps in order? Or was it stock and clean the restrooms and then the dining room? “You can make lists of other things, too. Wish lists. Favorite songs. Stuff Anne Shirley would do.”
“I could dye my hair green. Or paint my nose red. My brother would love that.”
I could imagine. Okay, something else, something that didn’t involve a baking disaster or setting herself afloat in a small boat on a river. “You could start a story club. Or have a tea party.”
“All by myself.” Was that…wistfulness under the snark?
Joe wanted his sister to make friends.
“You wouldn’t have to do it alone. You could make it a challenge,” I suggested. “Like on TikTok. #GreenGablesChallenge, maybe. You could connect with other people. Anne girlies. Kindred spirits!”
