She leaned over, her weight on her forearms as she smiled at Carol, whose head was tipped up so that she could look down her nose at Eloise.
"You know what, Carol?"
And Carol's body moved the slightest, ready to catch whatever words Eloise was going to let slip, ever the journalist with her butterfly net.
"I'm going to throw in a wild violet tart this morning for free. They're delicious. Buttery with light brown sugar and the most delicate violet taste that will have you closing your eyes in tastebud bliss."
"Free pastries will not make you friends," she sniped.
"Oh, you haven't tasted the pastry yet."
She paid for her coffee and before she moved down the bar she gave Eloise another pointed look. "I'm going to write the story, with or without your input."
"As any good, tenacious journalist should. Enjoy your coffee and treat, Carol." She winked and turned her attention to the next customer effectively dismissing the woman who huffed as she walked away.
"Why are you so nice to her? She's written some pretty terrible things about you guys." Tess was making the dry cappuccino with a sour face.
Eloise smiled as she finished taking an order and then leaned back against the counter. "She's a reporter. Reporting on news, which seems fantastical and plentiful here in Salem, is her job."
"She's being judgemental, rude, and kind of an ass."
"Language," Eloise warned before she softened her tone. "Look, some people never learn this lesson which is a terrible shame, but if you do you will find more peace in your life than most: responding to unkindness and judgment with more unkindness and judgment doesn't fix anything. It only doubles the unkindness and judgement put into the world."
Tess's expression turned sly. "Yeah, but it can feel pretty awesome."
She laughed nodding in agreement. "Yeah, it can. But take my advice; find other areas in your life to make you feel awesome. A new hobby, yoga, working towards a goal like opening your own coffee shop. And when it comes to people, treat them better than they treat you. It can be hard and it doesn't always feel awesome at the moment," she shrugged and threw a white towel over her shoulder as she moved to clean the burr grinder. "But it sure as hell creates a path for peace ahead of you. And the older you get, the more you understand the value of peace. Also," she leaned in and lowered her voice as she added, "it really pisses people off."
Tess smiled wide as she took in her words, letting them soak into her skin as she finished up the cappuccino. "Dry Cappuccino for a Carol Iscariot!"
She bit her lip to keep from laughing as Eloise turned around giving her a flat look.
"It's Weatherby," Carol corrected as she came up to get her drink.
Tess gave her innocent, wide eyes. "Oh, right. So sorry. Enjoy your drink."
The journalist's face didn't lose the look of suspicion as she took her drink and left. Eloise and Tess watched her walk away, each woman thinking something different. Eloise wondered if Carol ever didn't have a suspicious look on her face. Tess hoped the woman found no energy in the hot drink.
"I will give you points for the biblical reference, but unfortunately the snark and unkindness earned you total bar deep clean duty," Eloise said with a dramatic sad note.
Tess groaned. "Fair." Then the girl gave Eloise a sly grin. "Totally worth it."
"Good. The deep clean should give you time to come up with more funny things to say," Eloise winked and threw her the towel that was on her shoulder, relishing in this camaraderie that she had found with Tess. "And since you are taking on that heavy task, I am going to head out. Thank you so much for being the child I never had that I can kind of ground when they act out," she said pinching Tess's cheek lightly.
That earned her another groan but also a hidden smile. "Fine."
"Aww, look at you learning," she said. She walked back to the office and paused, turning around with a thoughtful look on her face. "You gave her decaf, didn't you?"
Tess's face was the picture of innocence when she replied, "What?"
Eloise pointed a finger at her. "You will offer her a coffee on the house next time she comes in and apologize." Though she was holding Tess accountable, something inside of her smiled at this young woman going from terse and unfriendly to finding small revenge on behalf of her. It was sweet, and frankly, exactly what she would do for a friend.
"Fine. But know that I am not fully converted to living out the golden rule. Sometimes peace isn't the answer."
"Mhmm. Don't forget to move the rubber mats and get under the machine," she called over her shoulder with a smile that Tess couldn't see. She did work in the office, put in the order for next week, and then grabbed her things to leave. As she was heading toward the front door, a familiar head of hair was leaving, and her heart stopped. A hand had the door open and she had a flashback to sitting at the club bar; a gold signet ring made her stopped heart start galloping. Without thinking, she charged forward, pushed through the thick crowd of people waiting to make their orders and then the group of people waiting to receive their orders swallowed her for a few seconds until she muttered apologies and got through. Finally, the door was in sight and she exited into the bright day, hand over her eyes as she looked around frantically.
Nothing.
Someone called her name.
