by Annora Green
As she drove, she tried to put his words out of her mind. She had other concerns in her life. Percy would be waiting for her at home. She felt a pang of guilt as she realized she hadn’t cooked dinner in a while, although for tonight she would have to stop at the store for take-out salads, soups and grilled chicken for dinner. Another non-homemade meal.
There were only so many hours in the day, she thought later, after picking up the food and pulling into the driveway. As she carried the bags into the house, she saw her phone screen light up with an incoming text. She looked to see if it was Percy.
“I’m home, I’m home,” she muttered under her breath.
But when she glanced down at the message, she saw it was from Sabrina.
Nice seeing you this weekend, sis. Only 5 months ‘til my wedding. Don’t forget: go find some arm candy to be your date.
Sabrina had followed up the text with a saccharine photo of her and her fiancé kissing on a boat, taken during their trip to Fiji last summer.
Sophia tossed her phone into her bag and went inside.
3. Cooling Off
In January, the weather turned cool - at least, as cool as California is ever likely to get in winter - and despite Ari’s efforts to plead her case, the town passed Sophia’s proposal to tighten restrictions on businesses and restaurants in the retail district. The Retail Association drafted a set of new rules with ridiculous stipulations like no live music outdoors without a special permit, or a maximum of two small bistro-size tables outside of a cafe or restaurant.
“What a bitch,” Rachel commented the morning after the rules passed and were emailed to all local businesses, as she helped Ari put away the excessive tables that had been outside of The Little Cafe.
Ari just shrugged. “Sophia is a real piece of work, but I’ve wasted enough energy on her.”
Ari decided it didn’t matter much anyways. What’s an extra table, or live music outdoors? Maybe if she gives Sophia this victory, the woman will finally leave her alone.
Aside from Sophia’s harassment, so far business was good. The location had turned out to be a blessing, as there certainly had been a need for a good coffee shop in the area, judging from the steady stream of traffic she always seemed to get, no matter the day or time. The quaint pedestrian district with its shops and restaurants seemed to attract couples escaping the city for a brunch or weekend shopping on the tree-lined streets. The Little Cafe was proving to be a favorite stop, offering a caffeine fix for those who needed a quick, mid-shopping spree pick-me-up. Anyone who craved an indulgent snack on a lazy Sunday afternoon was lured in by the promise of fresh-baked croissants or apricot tarts, or more savory treats like Rachel’s mini-quiches or sundried tomato and fresh mozzarella baguettes.
Ari did not cross paths with Sophia again for a while after the infamous town meeting. She did, however, know that Sophia lurked in her shop or upstairs office for long hours, if the amount of time Percy spent doing homework, reading or playing his Gameboy and eating donuts or drinking hot chocolate in a corner booth at The Little Cafe was any indication. He regularly stopped in after school to buy a donut, pastry or hot chocolate and do homework or read his comic books before meeting his mom after she was done with work.
Ari always asked him what he was reading; she did not know a lot about comics, but she was mildly amused when he told her synopses of the stories’ complex plots or the heroes’ superpowers.
“Seems like our neighbor may have hit an after-Christmas lull,” Rachel observed one day as she refilled a tray full of prosciutto, rosemary and marinated red pepper sandwiches on sourdough baguette. “No one is going in or out of her store anymore, although her son is here all the time waiting for her.”
Ari shrugged, tucking a stray piece of her long blonde hair behind her ear as she focused on checking off tasks from her daily to-do list.
“Maybe she’ll eventually go out of business,” Rachel added.
“Not likely,” Ari said. “Most of her business is from online sales, and her workroom or studio or whatever is upstairs. I guess she just keeps the storefront for fun.”
“Have you been in there?”
Ari shook her head. “Nope. I like the look of lingerie better than the actual act of shopping for it. Or wearing it. Ugh, give me a tank top, sports bra and some leggings any day. It seems too fussy.”
“I’ve been in. Her stuff is nice. Really. Very nice. And very expensive, not exactly something my budget can handle right now,” Rachel laughed. “The store feels kind of cold, though. She’s very into the shiny black and marble and metals and the whole minimalism thing. Not really a place I’d feel like browsing every day.”
“Hm,” Ari said, even less convinced to visit. “Maybe she’ll eventually move her shop someplace else. Seems like the kind of store that should be downtown. Not out here in a tucked-away suburb.
Rachel shrugged. “I do my part to not make her feel welcome. I sometimes throw cigarette butts in the planters outside her store.”
“Seriously?” Ari asked, not too impressed.
“Hey, she hasn’t been nice to you. I don’t exactly feel generous when it comes to disposing my cigarettes in an appropriate receptacle when her planters are a perfectly fine option.”
Ari smirked. “As your employer, and a citizen concerned about litter, I should probably tell you not to do that. But I’ll turn a blind eye to it this time around.”
¨°¨
The proverbial dust that Sophia’s hectic schedule had kicked up before the holidays finally settled again in January. After claiming a small victory over the blonde barista next door, Sophia was content to go back to her real work, not those petty little details she had to focus on as head of the Retail Association. All was well: the sidewalk and storefront next door were virtually restored to its former peaceful self, just the way she liked it. Calm, serene, elegant, free of surprises, disruptions or flamboyant displays.
Sophia could get back into her routine: working with her designers, having video conferences with a freelance social media publicist in Los Angeles that she’d hired to drum up the online presence of her brand, meeting with buyers, driving into the city to cocktail parties where she could network with other industry professionals, fussing over her online shop and her brick-and-mortar boutique. And with the few hours she had remaining in the week, she attempted to engage Percy in conversation. These days, he was far more into his video games than chatting with her about school, although if his report cards were any indication, he was managing to hold on to straight As.
She could hardly ban him from playing video games when he was doing that well in school.
But just as she was settling into a comfortable daily routine in the new year, something rather uncomfortable happened.
She arrived at work one Tuesday about a half hour later than normal. She hated to be late, but she had had an early conference call with someone in New York and opted to finish the call at home before leaving. She had ignored a few calls so she could have time to drive out of her way to one of her favorite coffee shops before tackling a day that was booked with meetings, conference calls and an interview with a journalist. Her mind was jolted out of her schedule, however, when she pulled into a parking space across the street from her shop and saw Elle standing outside with two cops.
Sophia half-ran across the street.
“Oh, here’s my boss now-” she heard Elle say to one of the policemen.
“What happened?” Sophia asked the two cops.
“There was a break-in early this morning, ma’am.”
One of the cops stepped aside so she could see - a window was broken. The other cop was taping it up.
“How did this happen?”
“We don’t know other than someone tried to break in. Your security company called us, and when we arrived on scene there was no one in sight. Do you have cameras?”
Sophia shook her head. “I don’t.”
“Well, I’m afraid it’s unlikely we’ll catch the culprit
- this area’s pretty sleepy early in the morning, but we’ll ask around to see if anyone saw anything suspicious. Good thing your security system was in good shape, though. Elle said she didn’t think much was missing - but let’s go in and look around together, before we finalize the report?”
Sophia swallowed, barely hearing anything the cop was saying. Her throat felt dry, but she had left the coffee in her car when she saw the police standing outside, and it felt superficial now to go back to get it. She followed Elle and the cops inside to look around.
Later that morning, Sophia has just gotten off the phone with the insurance company about the window. She was still downstairs in the shop with Elle. There were very few customers that morning, thankfully, and Kate, who worked upstairs as one of Sophia’s assistants for the online shop, was creative enough to find a sheet of plywood, paint it black, and position it over the broken window in such a way that was not too obvious it was covering up an unsightly broken window.
As she typed a memo to herself on her phone, Sophia noticed out of the corner of her eye that a man who she had seen in the boutique a couple of times before was coming in. He walked straight towards Elle, and she smiled, the first look of relief all day crossing her face as soon as she saw him.
“Everything all right now, Elle?” Sophia heard the man ask.
Elle nodded. “Sophia showed up only a few minutes after I did. I’m sorry I called you, I just panicked.”
“It’s no problem,” the man said smoothly, resting his hand on her shoulder.
Elle tore her blue eyes away from the man to glance over at Sophia.
“Sophia?” she called out hesitantly. “If you have a moment, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
Sophia looked up from her phone and walked over. “Yes?”
“Sophia, this is Rupert - erm, Mr. Goldsmith. He’s a good friend of mine,” she said, smiling at him, her eyes sparkling.
Sophia gave Elle a brief, curious look, then a professional smile crossed her face and she shook hands with the man, who, for a Tuesday morning, seemed slightly over-dressed in his dark pinstriped suit.
“I believe I’ve seen you in the shop before,” Sophia said.
“You probably have,” the man said, his eyes steely.
He was quite a bit older than either Sophia or Elle. In his mid-fifties, likely. So. It seemed as though Elle had a bit of a May-December romance going on.
The man smiled coolly and made Sophia slightly nervous, though she didn’t know why. It was rare for her to be intimidated by anyone, but this man was slightly imposing, despite his relatively short stature and calm demeanor.
He seemed to bring the polar opposite of the warm, friendly, youthful energy of Elle.
“I trust you’ve found what you are looking for here?” Sophia asked.
The man looked at Elle, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Oh, indeed I have.”
Sophia glanced away. Well. She had walked right into that one.
“Good,” she said, ignoring the subtext of the comment. “Pardon me, but I have to get back to work upstairs. I’m sure Elle will help you with anything you need today.”
Mr. Goldsmith nodded. “I’m sure she will.”
Sophia inwardly grimaced. Again with her poor choice of words.
Sophia didn’t keep track of how long Mr. Goldsmith stayed at the shop, but it was a good while after she had gone upstairs. She was pacing around her office, trying to sort out how to reply to an email, when she caught a glimpse of Elle and the man on the sidewalk outside. Elle was giggling as Rupert said something to her. They shared a kiss that was just long enough to not be entirely innocent, and held hands briefly before Rupert wandered away down the sidewalk and Elle went back into the boutique.
A little while later, Sophia passed through the shop on her way out for lunch. Rupert had left, and there were no customers at the moment. She went up to Elle, who was typing on one of the shop’s iPads.
“Everything all right so far?”
Elle nodded and smiled. “It is. And I don’t think anyone’s noticed the broken window. Oh, the person the insurance company arranged to inspect the window called and said they’ll come tomorrow.”
Sophia nodded. “Good. Although one other individual seemed to be aware of this morning’s incident. Your... friend? Mr. Goldsmith.”
Elle flushed slightly. “Right. Sorry if that was awkward. He’s a good friend. I called him, in a panic, right before you arrived this morning, after I saw the broken window and the cops.”
“What a good friend to come to your workplace at the drop of a hat first thing in the morning.” Sophia smirked slightly while Elle nervously played with a pen.
“I... well, yes. I think we are, at this point,” Elle admitted. “I’m sorry he comes in so much while I’m working, he’s a lawyer, but works a somewhat flexible schedule.”
“Oh, I don’t mind,” Sophia said, waving it off. “Just as long as he isn’t bothering you.”
“No, not at all. And he does purchase things,” she added quickly.
Sophia raised her eyebrows. “Does he? I wonder who for...” she said teasingly.
Elle, not one to divulge details of her personal life, pretended to suddenly be very interested in the message that popped up on the screen of the iPad in front of her.
Sophia studied Elle. There had been something about the girl lately. A certain lightness, cheerfulness. She never would have guessed that Mr. Goldsmith was the reason behind it.
“I’m going to lunch,” Sophia announced, and she left the store, needing some fresh air after the morning.
¨°¨
Ari went to the post office to pick up a shipment of coffee beans around 12:30pm, and returned to find Rachel talking to Sophia.
What now, she thought to herself.
Ari wiped her hands on her pants and walked over to them.
“Can I help you?” she asked Sophia.
Sophia turned to her, studying her briefly, her sharp dark eyes raking her up and down, and Ari, for the briefest second, dropped her eyes. Ari felt suddenly, and ever-so-briefly, self-conscious in her jeans and plain white sweater next to the polished, professional woman.
Then she got over it, and crossed her arms and looked straight into the other woman’s eyes.
Which, to her surprise, were full of worry.
“Someone broke the front window of my shop this morning. They apparently were not aware that I would have a security system, so they didn’t do much damage beyond broken glass,” Sophia announced. “Still, it’s unnerving.”
“It is. Sorry to hear about that,” Ari said, dropping her arms, genuine concern in her voice.
“I was wondering if you know anything that might help track down the culprits? If you’ve seen anyone suspicious around lately, or have had any problems of your own with vandalism?” asked Sophia.
Ari shook her head. “No, I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary, and no problems over here. But I’ll keep my eyes open.”
Sophia’s dark eyes lingered on Ari’s for a few seconds too long.
Ari shifted uncomfortably.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” she asked, crossing her arms again, hoping the tone conveyed that she was not exactly inviting the woman to linger any longer than necessary.
“No,” Sophia said, pursing her lips, glancing up at the menu.
“Coffee to go?” Ari offered, following Sophia’s gaze at the menu.
Sophia shook her head. “No. Thank you.”
She turned to walk out... and nearly bumped into a tall woman who was wearing a long black coat and sky-high heeled boots. Her long, wavy blonde hair was pinned up in a casual yet chic loose knot at the nape of her neck.
Today she looked like a femme fatale who had stepped straight out of a 1920s Hollywood flick.
“Vera,” Sophia said, her voice cracking, looking up at the imposing woman.
“Hello, Sophia,” the woman responded, gazing down at
her.
“We’re running into each other a lot,” Sophia said, taking a step back and smiling nervously.
“So it seems,” the woman said, appearing indifferent to this news, peeling off her gloves and glancing up at the menu.
“I was just going to have lunch somewhere nearby. Care to join me?” Sophia asked.
“I can’t now,” Veronica said.
“Another time? Tomorrow, perhaps?” Sophia pressed. “Lunch, or dinner?”
Veronica considered the invitation for a few seconds.
“I could do dinner tomorrow,” she finally said.
“What time?”
“8:30?” Veronica suggested.
“That’s late,” Sophia said, more to herself than to Veronica.
“Oh?” Veronica said in a sassy tone, a wry smile crossing her face. “Have that many years really gone by? Do you need to eat at an early hour these days?”
Sophia smiled. There was the old Veronica she knew. Snarky. Sassy.
“You would know,” she snapped back, smiling.
Veronica ignored the comment.
“8:30 would be fine,” Sophia said quickly, before the woman could change her mind. “Meet me at The Grotto. It’s a seafood restaurant a few doors down.”
“See you then,” Veronica said.
¨°¨
Sophia lost track of how many times she changed her clothes the next evening.
She made a quick dinner for Percy after work - leftover lasagna pulled out of the freezer and reheated, a salad, some fruit for dessert - and then sat with him in his room for a few minutes.
“Are you ok for a few hours?” she asked for the second time.
She always felt a pang of guilt when leaving him in the evenings after school, especially for a frivolous reason like having dinner with an old friend.
He nodded from his desk, glancing up at her. He was working on a paper for English class.
“Yeah, mom. It’s fine.”
“Finish the rest of your homework before watching any television or reading any comics, ok?”
“Yeah, got it. I got an A on my two tests I took last week. I know how to study,” he grumbled slightly.
