She skips the eight-treasure rice because it turns out that the rice needed to soak, but my M&M-covered chocolate pizza makes up for it. Hazel likes it so much she eats three slices.
As the evening slips into night, I share more of my pieces with Hazel. The messy, the shiny. The clumsy, the smooth.
And in return, she shares more of hers with me.
Chapter 11
HAZEL
When it came to working in a candy shop, I thought the hardest part would be avoiding snacking on the inventory all day long.
I didn’t think it would be constantly trying to avoid distractions. And by distractions, I mean Gloria.
“Why peach?” Gloria asks as she scoops out sour peach lips from one of the jars on the round table in the middle of the shop into a small glass bowl. “Peach rings, peach lips, peach rounds, peach skulls. Did every candy maker congregate and agree that peach wastheflavor? Was it the cheapest flavor option?”
“Maybe because they taste the most natural?” I say toward my laptop, where the past year’s sales and customer data from the point-of-sale system are downloading.
She pops an entire pair of lips into her mouth. “Do dey, dough?” she mumbles. I think she meansDo they, though?
Emma comes in from the shop’s back room with a box of sour watermelon skulls. “Gloria, restock this, will you please?” she asks.
Gloria plays with one of her silver hoop earrings. “I don’t get a paycheck from you.”
“Okay. Do you plan on paying for that?” Emma asks, nodding toward Gloria’s bowl, which is her third refill of the day.
Gloria hides it behind her back. “Friend special?” When Emmaarches a sharp brow at her, she surrenders. “Oh, fine! Did you like the way I organized the bats yesterday? I brought some bodega pumpkins to scatter around the jars.”
With three weeks until Halloween, Sweet Escape has been packed. In addition to contributing pumpkins, Gloria’s taken it upon herself to add faux cobwebs to the front door and windows.
Where I mostly spend time is at the register, which is situated along the opposite wall with other products that people tend to impulse buy on the way out: candles, mugs, and hats.
“Maybe you should start paying her,” I suggest to Emma.
She laughs. “I’ve tried. She won’t accept a penny. I think she just likes having something to do during the day, having somewhere to go.”
“It wouldn’t be the same without her,” I say. It feels true. “Oh, I have something for you.” I grab a box next to my bag behind the counter and hand it to Emma.
She lifts the lid and peers in. “You got me cupcakes?”
“It was Sweet Escape’s two-year anniversary yesterday, right? They’re dirt cupcakes.”
From where she’s standing, Gloria lets out a loudaww. “I’ll grab the worms!” she calls out.
“This is so thoughtful,” Emma says, wrapping her arm around me in a hug. “Thank you.”
Gloria joins us at the checkout counter and sets a few gummy worms on top of each dirt cupcake.
“What’s with this?” Emma asks when she notices a plump bag of gummy numbers tied neatly with an orange ribbon.
“I paid for it,” I say.
“No, I’m just curious why you do it,” Emma says before biting into her cupcake.
“Oh. It’s just this thing I do for…”
Gloria waves me on with her half-eaten cupcake. “For…?”
“For myself,” I say before taking a bite, the dark chocolate crumble perfectly sweet and rich.
