Lizzy jumped, almost dropping her book as her body bolted upright.
Donna didn’t wait for a reply as she barreled on. “I’ll have our regular order, please. But no coffee.”
Lizzy narrowed her eyes with the distinct feeling that she’d missed a step. “Okay…”
“I’m trying to cut down on my caffeine intake,” Donna replied, her voice suddenly low with the weight of the apparent hardship. “I read a recent study that said caffeine can be linked to an increased risk of anxiety. Can you believe that?”
It was all so normal that Lizzy wondered if she had imagined the last forty-eight hours, or if she had somehow woken up in a parallel dimension. She went through the motions of putting together Donna’s regular Tuesday order—four blueberry scones, two baguettes, and one loaf of banana bread—while Donna continued to pontificate on this week’s new dietary challenge.
“I didn’t think I’d see you today,” Lizzy said when there was finally a brief lull in the monologue.
Donna’s forehead creased. “Of course I came in. It’s Tuesday. I always come in on Tuesday before book club.”
“I just thought, with everything going on with Mary…” Lizzy said carefully, “…and Tristan?”
“Oh,that.” Donna waved her hand in the air as if batting away Lizzy’s concerns. “I’m just happy it all worked out.”
“What worked out?”
“The whole Mary thing, obviously. I told Hank it was a misunderstanding, and sure enough, some law firm contacted him this morning about reimbursing Tristan’s fee by the end of the week.”
Lizzy blinked. “Tristan is giving back the money?”
“Apparently. In any case, cooler minds prevailed. Tristan must have realized it’s not Hank’s fault that Mary has issues.”
Lizzy was struck dumb. Before she could find the words to ask Donna to elaborate, the woman was already distracted. “Oh! You still have sour cherry muffins! It’s my lucky day. Can I grab a half dozen of those, too?”
Donna kept talking while Lizzy completed the order, waiting for another moment to glean as much information as she could. But Donna only babbled on, and Lizzy continued to listen, so confused she almost missed the faint sound of her cell phone ringing from the office. By the time it registered in her brain, the ringing stopped. Then it immediately started again.
Lizzy was tempted to just walk back and get it—Donna was so involved with counting out change that Lizzy doubted she would notice her absence. But then the woman pulled a penny from her wallet with a flourish.
“There you go!” Donna announced, dropping exactly $38.71 on the counter. “Thanks, Lizzy. Oh, and can you ask Jane if she can help with the haunted hayride again this year? We need her students to paint the side of the trailer to hide the logo for Larry’s Lawn Service and make the whole thing look haunted. She can do that, right? Like a class project? Maybe I’ll just call your mother. I need her to pick up some of the pumpkins for the carving contest anyway.”
Donna was still talking as she walked out the door, balancingthe cardboard box in one hand and pulling her phone out of her bag with the other. Meanwhile, Lizzy headed toward the back.
In the office, she pulled her bag out from under the desk. Her cell phone was ringing again, but by the time she found it at the bottom, hidden below a tube of sunscreen, it had fallen silent. The screen was still lit up, though, displaying the fact that she had eight missed calls and a litany of text messages from her sisters.
JANE
Did you disconnect the bakery phone?
KITTY
Is your phone on silent?
JANE
I’m at school until 3 but call me when you can!
KITTY
I can’t believe you’re missing this rn.
LYDIA
Bring home some sour cherry muffins im starving
Lizzy’s heart began to race. What the hell was going on?
