Eight Days Later
I had the best time of my life in New York. Haji treated me like a queen. Whatever I wanted to do, we did. Wherever I wanted to go, we went. Whatever I wanted to have, he bought. While the experience was fun and I did relax enough to think clearer, more than anything, it showed me how life could be with Haji if I stayed in Jasper Lane.
We continued to get to know each other in deeper, more intimate ways, and he shared with me that like I used work to distract myself, he did the same with the coffee shop. A part of him wished he’d traveled more since Lianne died, but he didn’t feel right traveling and enjoying his life while she was no longer on this Earth.
When he shared with me that this trip was the first one he’d taken since she passed, I almost cried. I was honored to be the reason he got out and enjoyed himself. I urged him to travel and enjoy his life more, regardless of the capacity he’d have me in it, and he promised he would if I’d do the same.
I was so thrown off by Raymond’s visit that I forgot my parents were supposed to be coming to Jasper Lane. They were cool with coming a few days later than expected so I’d have a day to unwind after the trip before they arrived. We’d been texting daily which I appreciated. Just that steady stream of communication made me feel closer to them.
“Oh my God. I’m so glad you’re back,” Pam said, and I was so sure she was talking to Haji that it surprised me when she said, “I’m so sick of people asking me about your damn bread. Please tell me you’re going to bake some tomorrow.”
“Damn. Hello to you too,” Haji said, making us both laugh.
“My bad, boss. Hi. It’s great to have you back.”
“Mhm.” He grumbled and walked away as I snickered.
“I hadn’t planned on baking tomorrow because my parents are coming to town, but if people have been asking, I can stop by and make a few loaves.”
“Cool. And we just won’t offer the full loaves. We might have to put a one slice minimum on it as well so they can last for a while. These people have been stressing me out.”
I laughed but she was clearly serious. “It’s been that bad?” I asked, feeling a warm feeling surge through me.
“Girl, yes. Whatever you put in that bread, they’ve been loving it. No exaggeration. Almost every other customer asked about it.”
“Aww, that makes me happy.” I almost cheered, heading toward the counter so I could order a cup of coffee. I’d officially become a coffee girl, when in The Hills, I was hooked on lattes. Haji and I were staying long enough for him to check in and make sure he wasn’t needed before going back to his place to rest.
I honestly didn’t know how things were going to go with my parents when they arrived, but I was excited, so I wanted to be as rested as possible.
“Are you nervous?” Haji asked, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.
My parents had been in Jasper Lane long enough to get settled into my room, shower, and take a nap. I told Mama to let me know when they were up and ready to eat because Haji and I were going to fix them dinner. There wasn’t a lot to do regularly, but they were here in time for the summer festival, so we were going to take them there tomorrow. And after that, we’d have dinner with his parents. By day four, I was going to let them do their own thing, and we’d link up again before they left.
“I wouldn’t say I’m nervous, but I am a little on edge about how the week is going to go. This is the first time I asked to spend time with them, which feels weird.”
Haji smiled as he wrapped his arms around me. “It shouldn’t feel weird to ask for what you want, just like it shouldn’t feel weird to reject what you don’t.”
“True,” I said with a sigh.
“Before they get here, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“What’s up?”
We went to the sitting room and got comfortable before he said, “I think I’m going to have an electrician update the wiring before we start up with Soulful Sundays or anything else for that matter. The lights have started to flicker more, and Pam said they went out completely once while we were gone. I don’t want to risk them going out when the bands and crowd are there. There’s also the risk of fire if they have too much of a strain on them, and you know I can’t ignore that.”
“I didn’t know it was that bad.”
“Yeah. I’ve been finessing it for as long as I can, but I want to go ahead and take care of it before we start with the events.”
“How long will it take? Will we be okay to have the auditions there?”
“It could take a few weeks to a few months. The company I’m looking into will prioritize us for an additional fee, so it shouldn’t take more than two weeks. They can work around our schedule. We won’t have to shut down completely, but there will be outages of course in the areas they are working on.
“I feel like what will most be affected is the bake, but Bianca is cool with baking in a commercial kitchen while they work, as long as she doesn’t have to transport the items. I wasn’t going to have her do that anyway. And as far as the auditions are concerned, I would rather have them at the sound room or a studio to be safe.”
“Cool. Well you know I’ll support whatever you decide. Let me know if I can help in any way.”
With talk of the auditions, we also used our free time to go over the options our virtual assistant had sent us. There were some really good options from here, The Hills, and Memphis, and I was excited to see them perform. I’d already let the promoter and social media manager know I wanted them there to take videos and go live on the company page to further promote the event and shop.
