Adrift

by Robin Wainwright

down to enjoy their breakfast.

  A little while later, when they both came up for air and a second cup of coffee, they sat back and smiled at each other.

  “Nothing better than a full tummy and a full cup of coffee.”

  “Agreed,” said Heather. They toasted each other with their coffee mugs and took a sip.

  “So, after a breakfast like that I’d better do some walking. What would you suggest?”

  “Oh, we have a lot of cool shops you can look through plus there is the beach and lighthouse. Unfortunately, you can’t go in the lighthouse, but you can look around outside.”

  “What’s wrong with the lighthouse?”

  “A long time ago it was shut down and since then no one has been doing any upkeep. I’m hoping to fix that.”

  “Really, how?”

  “I’m a member of the city council here in our little village and I’m hoping to appeal to the other members’ greed.”

  “Greed?” laughed Heather

  “Yep, greed. I’ve tried to save the lighthouse in the past by appealing to their sense of history, and apparently they don’t care about history. So now I’m going to appeal to their greed. You see, if the lighthouse was renovated it would be a terrific tourist attraction. More tourists mean more money. See? Greed.”

  Heather smiled and thought that even though she had just met Sarah, she really liked her. The wicked twinkle in Sarah’s eyes spoke of a playful spirit. She thought that she’d like to see Sarah slyly manipulate the other council members to do her bidding.

  “Maybe you can come back when the lighthouse is fixed up.”

  “I’d like that. Is my room available for one more night?”

  “Yep. In fact I don’t have any more reservations until this weekend.”

  “Oh, I don’t think I’ll be here that long, but one more night would be nice.”

  “So be it.” Sarah laughed as she began to gather up the breakfast dishes.

  She waved off Heather’s offers of help, “Go and enjoy the day. I don’t do high tea in the afternoon, or anything like that, but if you come back around 4:00 I can treat you to some freshly made cookies and coffee.”

  “That sounds wonderful, see you then.”

  Heather retrieved her purse and stepped out onto the front porch. She could hear the ocean in the distance and the smell of the sea soothed her spirit. She stepped off the porch and headed back to Main Street.

  Crescent Bay is a small fishing village nestled between the big seaports of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Historically it had been a port of call for merchants who wanted to smuggle in contraband to avoid the high tariffs charged in San Francisco.

  The village was no longer a seaport, but the current day residents of Crescent Bay were proud of their nautical heritage, including the smuggling, and they let their pride show. They built homes and businesses with a nautical air, although some of the buildings more closely matched Disney’s idea of a seaside village than the real thing. The effect was a bit fanciful and quaint, which made the village a big hit with tourists. This was good because the village of Crescent Bay survived on tourism.

  An influx of day tourists made Main Street much busier than it had been the night before. Heather was swept up in the energy of all the people enjoying a little vacation time, and soon she found herself enjoying some window shopping and lookie-looing.

  A Peace of the ‘70s was a fun retro shop featuring clothing, music and other memorabilia from the 1970s. Heather couldn’t resist a beautifully tie-dyed blouse with large angel sleeves. She had no idea where she’d wear it, but it made her feel funky, happy and free.

  Crescent Crafts held amazing art pieces made by local artisans including beautiful ceramics in stormy blues and emerald greens that mirrored the nearby ocean. Pieces of artfully carved driftwood and paintings of the local scenery graced the shelves and walls. Crescent Bay’s own lighthouse played a prominent part in many of the pieces of art. Most of the artwork was beyond Heather’s budget, but she did find a beaded necklace that she thought would look great with her new blouse.

  Heather lost herself for a couple of hours in Bay Books, a very cool bookstore offering both the current best sellers and older used books. Books had been Heather’s one solace as she had watched her dad’s decline. During that tough time Heather had found that ending her days by curling up with a good book, and getting lost in the stories of faraway places and other people’s problems, had helped to leech away the stress and pain of each day.

  Heather realized that she hadn’t read anything since her Dad’s passing. Well time to fix that, she thought. She chose a new romance novel by one of her favorite authors and an old book on ghost stories of California.

  Now that she had a good book, she wanted a good cup of coffee. It was too early to go back to Sarah’s for coffee and cookies, so she set off to find a restaurant.

  Following her nose, she found a delightful little coffee shop named The Java Junction. As she entered, she smiled at the bright and welcoming atmosphere. Scattered around the café were a few tables colored a bright nautical blue with well-padded chairs in white. In front of the windows were high round tables with stools that matched the blue and white nautical theme. One corner was set up as a gathering area with a sofa, over-stuffed chairs and a low coffee table, also done in blue and white. The energy was happy and welcoming. Heather was surprised to see how busy the café was in the middle of the day.

  On the coffee bar sat one of those beautiful brass and copper monsters that make espresso. Copper tubes spiraled around the shiny brass body of the machine making it look more like a piece of art than a kitchen appliance. All the knobs, levers and spouts looked really complex, but the female barista operating the espresso maker made the creation of a cappuccino look like a well-choreographed dance.

  The barista was middle aged and had a slender build. Her shoulder length hair was a lush chocolate brown with just a few strands of silver glimmering in its depths. Her hazel eyes sparkled as she laughed and chatted with a customer who must have been a local based on their conversation.

  “Pretty busy today,” the customer said.

  The barista nodded in agreement, “Yep, it’s nice to see so many people enjoying the sunshine. Not to mention shopping.”

  “Jennifer!” The customer responded with mock shock. The barista, who must have been Jennifer, laughed.

  “Now Lulu, you know I just calls ‘em as I sees ‘em. We could all use a few more of these busy days to keep ourselves a float.”

  “From your mouth to god’s ears.”

  “Yep, I hope they’re all listening.” Lulu gave Jennifer a playful slap on her hand and rolled her eyes. Taking her cappuccino, Lulu nodded to Heather and left the shop.

  Jennifer focused her attention on Heather. “So, what can I get for you today?”

  “I would kill for a vanilla latte and one of those bagels with cream cheese.”

  “Oh, no need to kill anyone. Although I understand that type of craving. Let me get that started for you.” Heather paid for her purchase and Jennifer set the brass beast to hissing and spitting. Heather settled down at a round table by the front windows where she could watch people enjoying the village.

  Jennifer set before her a fragrant latte and a bagel with a large helping of cream cheese. Heather took a sip of her latte and couldn’t help but let out a small moan.

  Back at the counter Jennifer laughed. “Now that is the nicest compliment I’ve gotten in a long time.”

  Feeling embarrassed that she had given her pleasure a voice, Heather blushed and looked up at Jennifer. “Yeah, sorry about that. It’s just that this is one of the best vanilla lattes I’ve ever had.”

  “Well thank you,” Jennifer rubbed a loving hand over the brass espresso machine. “We’ve been a team for a long while and I’m going to miss her.” Jennifer looked a little sad.

  “Why? What’s happening?”

  “Ah well, the owner is retiring to New Mexico where her children are and she d
oesn’t want the hassle of keeping the shop.”

  “Why doesn’t she sell it?”

  “She’s been trying, but she hasn’t had any luck. She’s just going to have to auction everything off and move on.” Jennifer ran her hand lovingly over the big espresso machine. “I’d buy Betty for myself, but I’m sure she’s going to go for big bucks.”

  Heather laughed, “Betty?”

  “Yeah, Big Brass Betty. A long time ago, I figured that since we were spending so much time together that I should name her. Big Brass Betty meet—sorry I don’t know your name.

  “Heather. Heather Moore.”

  “Heather Moore, meet Big Brass Betty the best espresso machine in Crescent Bay.” Jennifer leaned toward Heather and whispered in a conspiratorial way, “Don’t tell her she’s the only espresso machine in Crescent Bay. We’ve got to keep her spirits up.” They both laughed.

  “Well enjoy your latte and let me know if I can get you anything else.” Heather nodded and went back to people watching.

  People walked by dressed in tee shirts, shorts and flip-flops. Some of them had obviously forgotten to put on sunscreen, as was evidenced by their bright red faces. That’s going to hurt later, Heather thought, hope they packed some aloe. People came in and out of the shop in a constant stream that kept Jennifer hopping.

  Before Heather knew it, she’d reached the bottom of her cup. She debated the impact of more caffeine on her system and decided that even though she really wanted another cup that she had better wait. She stood up to