“Good morning, Auntie. You look pretty today.” She winks at me from behind her wide-framed glasses. She must have a dozen pairs of glasses that she coordinates with her many colourful smock dresses and tights. Today they are red—my favourite colour.
“And good morning to you, Ryan,” she says, joining us at the counter. “Thank you for bringing my girl into town this morning.”
“It wasn’t a problem. I drive right past your driveway twice a day.” He smiles at her wide enough to make his dimples pop.
“I suppose you do,” she says sweetly, her eyes twinkling. “Would you like your usual?”
“You have a usual?” I scrunch up my nose as I look up at him.
“Yes.” He dips his chin and shoves his hands in his pockets. “I’m here almost every morning.”
“And what would you like, Beck?” Aunt Maggie asks me. “You change your order daily.”
Tapping two fingers on my lips, I check out the display behind the glass. There are dozens of options to choose from, all of them delicious. Ryan shifts from leg to leg impatiently.
Turning my head, I narrow my eyes at him. He checks his large gold watch, ignoring me. Turning my attention back to Maggie, I ask, “May I have a black forest cupcake and a large iced white chocolate mocha with extra whipped cream and cherries, please?”
“Absolutely. I’ll be back in a jiffy.” She spins around quickly, her knee-length dress twirling, as she rushes to prepare our orders. It’s hard to believe she is my father’s sister. She’s so loving and cheerful, and my father’s…not.
“You can’t just eat that for breakfast.” Ryan wrinkles his forehead, interrupting my thoughts.
“I can and I will,” I answer, grinning up at him. “Cupcakes are my favourite, and I will make no apologies for starting my day with one. Chocolate and cherries together, even better.”
He scratches his eyebrow and dips his chin. “There is zero nutrition in it, though.”
Shaking my head, I say, “Nope, and I don’t care. I want what I want.”
I check my phone while we wait for Aunt Maggie to return to the counter with our breakfast. Sighing loudly, I see I have one missed call and three text messages since I left the house. Awesome. I can’t wait to deal with that.
“Is everything okay?” Ryan asks, lifting his chin towards my phone.
“Yeah. Totally fine,” I reply, staring straight ahead. It would be nice to confide in someone and get their opinion, but I don’t need to drag anyone into my bullshit. Especially Ryan.
Aunt Maggie returns a moment later with our orders.
“One iced coffee and a cupcake for my girl. And one large black coffee and an avocado and egg white sandwich on toasted multigrain for you,” she says, pushing his order towards him. “On the house for helping Beck yesterday and giving her a ride to town this morning.”
“That’s your usual? Is that even on the menu?” The contrast between our two orders is laughable. I try not to giggle and fail. Ryan rolls his eyes and shakes his head.
“It’s unnecessary. I don’t mind helping, but thank you,” he says, putting his wallet back into his pocket.
When I try to hand her a crumpled five-dollar bill, she subtly shakes her head. “My treat.”
I mentally try to track how many “treats” Maggie has given me lately. It’s a lot. Too many.
“Thank you, Aunt Maggie.” I blow her a kiss. “I may need a ride home after work if that’s okay with you. I’ll know better after I call Dillon at the garage and see what’s going on with my car.”
“You know where to find me, Sunshine.”
Ryan opens the door for me, and we meet on the sidewalk. The morning is still cool, but the sun feels warm on my face.
“Do you want me to drive you the rest of the way?” he asks, gesturing towards the truck.
“Nah, it’s not that far of a walk, and you need to get to work. I have more than an hour before my first client arrives.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am,” I say, lowering my sunglasses over my eyes.
