As the man with the short Afro plunks down a rook on the board, I arrive.
They all turn to me with suspicion in their eyes.
I plow forward. “Hi, gentlemen,” I say, then waggle the thermos withF*ck Morningswritten on the side. “I brought you all coffee, fresh-brewed and strong, and black from Rise and Grind.” I take the liberty of setting the thermos down, then don’t waste another second. I flip open the bakery box, letting them sniff the freshly baked goodies.
Noses lift, inhaling the scent of blueberry Danish, raspberry Danish, and peach Danish. “I heard you guys like these flavors, so I made them for you this morning so you don’t have to go to the grocery store.”
The man with the pale weathered face and a few stray nose hairs arches a dubious and bushy brow. “You’re trying to trick us into coming to your hipster bakery every day.”
He sounds just like Dottie at the yarn shop.
The man with the Afro scoffs at his friend. “Just eat it, you old fool. Of course she’s trying to convince us,” he says, then takes a bite of the peach one, and his eyes pop. After he chews, he turns to me. “Do you deliver to the town square?”
I laugh. “Maybe I can. Except on Tuesdays. My oven takes that day off.”
“Perhaps we’ll put in a standing order. Name’s Jackson.”
“I’ll be on the lookout, Jackson.”
The nose-hair guy harrumphs, but then takes a bite of the raspberry Danish. He doesn’t say a word when he finishes chewing. The third man adjusts his San Francisco Cougars baseball cap, pours coffee into his own to-go cup, and drinks some. “Not bad,” he says, then gives me a once-over. “You’re the kid who ran over the mailbox, let the llamas run free, and then ran out of town, right?”
I wince as my past bites me again. But I own it. “Yes, that’s me.”
He nods. “Good on you for doing the hard thing. We’ll place an order for Wednesday morning. Not sure about Arnie,” he says, turning to the raspberry Danish guy, arching a brow in question.
“Fine,” Arnie grumbles.
“But this time I’ll pay,” the Cougars fan adds, then tells me his name’s Lorenzo.
I didn’t come here thinking I’d gain them as customers, but I’ll happily take it. I say goodbye, then head to Annabelle’s shop to grab some flowers for my next mission.
This is long overdue. It’s been weighing on me since I ran into Joni at the coffee shop when we first started working on the bakery. That encounter this morning with the chess guys only reinforced it. My palms feel clammy as I park my car, and grab a sampler box of brownies, cookies, and bars, along with a bouquet of orange marigolds, since I checked that Mrs. Henderson had that color and type of flower painted on her current mailbox, and open the car door.
I head up the cobblestoned path to her front porch. It’s one of those cutesy homes with ladybug pots for plants, and sunflower wind chimes. When I reach the porch and lift my hand to knock, I freeze, hand mid-air.
Who answers the door anymore? This is dumb. I hate the doorbell. I avoid it. Most people look in the security camera and hide out of sight till whoever knocked goes away.
But I have to do it anyway, rapping on the wooden door.
I’m greeted by a yap.
Then another one.
A few seconds later, two aggrieved black-and-tan Chiweenies pop up on the couch in the window and give me hell through the windowpane.
“Sorry, cuties. Just wondering if your mom is here,” I say to the pups.
Seconds later, the sound of boots squishing in the front lawn draws my attention. Then there’s a voice. “Quiet there, you little monsters,” a woman says.
But it’s said with affection.
She turns to me, tilting her head, forehead wrinkled, mouth unsure. She’s got a tall shovel in her hand, and she plants a booted foot on it. That shovel could bludgeon me. She’s giving badass grandma vibes. “What can I do for you?”
“I was…” I trot down the steps. “I’m Mabel. I ran over your mailbox ten years ago, and I never said I was sorry. I know my parents replaced it but I didn’t know what to say so I avoided it. And I just wanted to apologize in person.”
She chuckles warmly. “Oh honey, that was years ago. Water under the bridge. But what made you think of it now?”
That’s a reasonable question, and it has an easy answer. “I guess it just seemed overdue. And like something Icoulddo.”
