by Harper Bliss
“I love it.” Mia would say that, of course, but she genuinely had fallen for the Pink Bean. “It has a great vibe, amazing owners, and a wonderful bunch of customers. And I get along with Jo really well. I won’t claim I jump out of bed in spritely fashion when my alarm goes off at five, because I’m so not a morning person, but once my day gets going, and I’m surrounded by the delicious smells of coffee, I feel very fortunate.”
“This is a genuine love fest we have on our hands here tonight then.” Sheryl waggled her eyebrows and, again, kept her gaze locked on Mia’s for a second longer than politeness dictated. Maybe she was just that kind of person, or maybe Mia had been invited here tonight for other reasons than just a celebration. One glance at Kristin and she knew that was not the case. These two were so different—Kristin with her impeccable attire and measured movements and Sheryl in her eternal vests and her easy way—but yet so suited to each other.
“When it’s a good fit, it’s a good fit,” Kristin said drily.
Mia remembered the day of her interview vividly. Kristin had been somewhat intimidating, yet Mia had seen more in her than the business-savvy, always-on-top-of-everything boss of the Pink Bean. Sheryl didn’t ask any questions then, but just sat there observing and, Mia had concluded later, giving off a distinct lesbian vibe. Perhaps she had intimidated some other candidates, but not Mia.
Neither of them had come across as if they would hire Mia solely because of her easy smile and outgoing personality. Luckily, Mia had the right qualifications for the job along with a burning desire to work for a small outfit like the Pink Bean.
She didn’t mind that she would earn less than at the previous company she had worked for, nor that there wasn’t any sure path to promotion. She didn’t care about any of that, as long as she was granted enough independence to work on her ideas to make the Pink Bean an even better place than it already was. Kristin and Sheryl might only have been hiring someone because Kristin needed help with her expansion plans, but Mia was someone with her own ideas and dreams and somehow, after she had walked into the coffee shop and shaken off most of her nerves, she had felt there was something special about the place.
“You should have heard everyone rave about you the other night after yoga,” Sheryl said. “Throw it all together and one would easily believe you’re the second coming of the Christ. Right here in Darlinghurst.” She chuckled.
Mia’s ears perked up at the sound of the word yoga. Did that mean Amber had been there? Amber, who knew about her past.
“Really? Please go on stroking my ego. I’ve been having such a great night of it already.”
“Micky was saying how much you helped them with Glow’s ads.”
Ah. Micky. “It was only a couple hours of my time. And a good chance to schmooze with an ex-employee and loyal customer.”
“I haven’t seen you at any of the classes,” Sheryl said. “Yoga has been a great help with my sobriety and Amber can talk almost anyone into at least giving it a go. I’m surprised she hasn’t swayed you yet.”
Did they know something? Were they trying to suss her out, getting her to say something about the animosity between her and Lou, which must be palpable to two such observant people, especially to Kristin who watched the goings-on at the Pink Bean like a hawk? But the contract had been signed. They were drinking champagne to celebrate Mia’s official appointment as Pink Bean manager. This was hardly the time to trap her into divulging information that could possibly get her fired.
“I—er.” Mia hesitated, unsure what to say to her employers. Lou had promised that neither she nor Amber would tell anyone. “I’ve been a bit busy,” she said.
“If you find the time to work on their ads, surely you have time to take one of their classes,” Sheryl said, her eyes piercing, her tone probing.
“I guess. I’ll get myself an acceptable yoga kit over the weekend and perhaps go next week.” It was a lie, which made Mia feel uneasy.
“There’s a class most of us take together on Saturday afternoon,” Sheryl said. “Lou teaches it. Why don’t you join us for that one? You can see it as a kind of Pink Bean team building exercise. Jo will be there, along with me and Kristin.”
“Babe, leave it.” Kristin put a hand on Sheryl’s shoulder. “I’m sure Mia has much better things to do with her weekend than doing yoga with us.” She fixed her gaze on Mia. “Please don’t feel as if you need to do this.” She cast Sheryl a stern glance. “I’m going to check on dinner.”
Once Kristin had left the living room, Sheryl leaned in toward Mia and said, “We know something is going on between you and Lou. Something must have happened, but we can’t quite put our finger on it. I promised Kristin I wouldn’t push, that you would tell us if and when you felt the need, but I have less impulse control than my wife, so I’m asking you, woman to woman: what happened?”
A blush crept up Mia’s cheeks. Sheryl’s intense gaze was not one to easily avoid. She would have to give her something else than the lame excuse that yoga was not for her—even though, under any other circumstance, that would be perfectly acceptable.
“Lou and I knew each other in school.” An awkward pause. “We weren’t the best of friends.”
“A feud at university?” Sheryl asked.
Mia shook her head. “High school. It was all my fault, but I’d rather not go into the specifics.” She thought about what Lou had said a few days earlier, about Mia being welcome to take a class at Glow. Coming clean to Micky as they were drinking wine was one thing, but fessing up to Sheryl, with her demanding stare and the millions of questions she would have at the ready afterward—Mia was sure of this—was another thing entirely. This was not an intimate moment between her and a budding friend she had just done a favor. Sheryl was her boss. “I hope Lou and I can figure it out over time.”
They had exchanged a few words since that painful night at Glow when Lou had confronted her. They would never be friends, but perhaps Lou, with her gentle character and her Zen attitude could find it in her heart to forgive Mia some day.
“So you’re not ex-lovers gone awry?” Sheryl leaned back in her chair.
Mia managed a dry chuckle. “Nothing like that at all.”
“And you won’t be going at each other’s throats in the middle of the Pink Bean any time soon?”
“Most certainly not.” Mia hoped she had reassured Sheryl.
“Then you are exempt from yoga tomorrow afternoon.” She shot Mia a smile.
“Maybe some other time.” Mia smiled back.
“Dinner’s ready,” Kristin said from the kitchen.
“Let me be the one to tell Kristin I interrogated you further,” Sheryl said as they headed toward the dining table. “She’ll be able to handle it better if it comes from me.”
Chapter Fifteen
Lou had agreed to babysit the twins while Phil and Jared went to the opera. She had suggested it herself when the sitter they had booked weeks in advance had cancelled a few days ago. She wasn’t planning on going on anymore Tinder dates any time soon, anyway.
While Jared prepared the twins for bed, she confided in Phil about the disastrous end to what had been a promising date with Meredith, how she had turned up at the Pink Bean out of the blue, and how Mia had come to her defense.
“She sure has a nerve,” Phil said, while pouring them both a glass of wine as they stood around the kitchen island.
“Mia or Meredith?” Lou asked with a smile.
“Meredith has already been forgotten about.” Phil knew all about Lou’s unwillingness to ever again date someone who would even consider taking a work call during a Sunday night dinner.
“I didn’t really take offense,” Lou said. “There was something… strangely sweet about it.”
“The wolf has purchased better sheep’s clothing,” Phil said.
“You should hear the others gush about her. I can’t go anywhere these days without someone saying how utterly marvelous Mia Miller is. Like the universe decided to conspire against th
e harsh feelings I still harbor toward her.”
“They can say all they want; they don’t know what she’s really like.”
“But what is she really like, though?”
“What do you mean?” Phil gave her a puzzled look. He had blindly put all his allegiance behind Lou as soon as she’d told him about Mia’s past antics.
“I’m beginning to think that she’s not the same person anymore. These days, it seems she spends her days helping people, even trying to rescue Annie’s Bookshop. She respects the boundaries I set completely, and then some. If anything, it’s me who is making her feel excluded. It makes me wonder whether people can change. A notion I wasn’t even willing to consider after seeing her again, but as time goes by, and I see more of her and what she’s like today, I ask myself whether I’m the one being too hard on her now.”
“Seriously?” Phil downed the wine he had just poured. “You’re willing to forgive and forget?”
Lou shook her head. “No, of course not, but I’m not sure I’m willing to hate for much longer. Hate is just such a… corrosive emotion.”
“You’ve been a yoga teacher for too long.”
“Why are you giving me such a hard time about this?” Lou asked because this wasn’t Phil’s style. He was usually such an easy-going guy, willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
“I’m doing no such thing, but I know you, Lou. I met you not long after you escaped Mia Miller’s evil clutches, and you have come such a long way since then. You put yourself together again, but it took many long and hard years to do so. I wouldn’t want to see that jeopardized in any way.”
“But that’s just the point. I’ve changed. I’m not that girl I once was. Maybe she has changed as well.”
“She’d better have.” Phil shook his head. “But the two are so completely different.”
“I’m not so sure. We both had to change to survive.”
“No, Lou, she changed you first by diminishing you and lowering your self-esteem and turning you into a nervous mess.”
“I was already a nervous mess.”
“That’s of no importance.” Phil cocked his head. “I feel like you have changed since the last time we spoke. Who is this person standing in the kitchen with me? Did Mia get to you in any way?”
“Don’t be silly. I—I just… I don’t know how to explain it.” Lou couldn’t quite put into words the feeling she’d had when Mia had walked away from her in the Pink Bean after she had invited her to Glow. It was a strange blend of pity, unexpected kindness, and an eagerness to understand.
“Please don’t tell me you have the hots for her,” Phil said.
Lou scoffed. “That would be ludicrous.”
“Stranger things have happened.”
“Who has the hots for whom?” Jared walked into the kitchen, followed by the twins—who were dressed in matching Spiderman pajamas and looked much too excited to be ready for bed.
“I sure hope Phil still has the hots for you,” Lou said quickly. “You do look rather dashing in that suit.”
Jared straightened his posture and fiddled with his tie. “Why, thank you, young lady. By the way, you must let us know how we can repay you. I can assure you tonight will not be a Netflix night for you. These two are beside themselves because you’re here.” He sighed.
“You know it’s my pleasure.” Lou glanced at the twins who were doing a silly dance around the kitchen. Every time she saw them the desire to have children of her own flared up inside of her. Because subconsciously—and perhaps cruelly—that had also been the rule she had measured Meredith against. Could this be a potential co-parent to her children? One glance at Meredith as she stood gesticulating while she talked into her phone and Lou had known enough.
“We’ll see what you have to say about that when we get back and you’re close to a nervous breakdown,” Jared joked.
For the next hour, Lou didn’t have a second of brainpower available to think about her conversation with Phil or Meredith’s failed chances as she played with Toby and Yasmine. She finally got them into bed, read them the same story three times over, and they eventually fell asleep—suddenly and in the most outrageous position, the way only young children can.
It was only when she sat on the couch and poured herself the remainder of the bottle of wine Phil had opened that she had the chance to think and, immediately, her mind drifted toward Mia, as it had been doing a lot lately.
Lou was fairly certain she didn’t have the hots for her, but she could not ignore Mia’s presence on the outskirts of her life as easily as she had expected—or wanted.
The next Monday Lou and Amber were having lunch at Glow. Earlier, they’d had their daily cup of coffee and tea at the Pink Bean, and Amber had again showed a more courteous demeanor toward Mia.
“Do you think people can truly change?” Lou asked.
Amber smiled enigmatically. “Oh yes, but before I elaborate, may I inquire as to why you’re asking me such a deep and philosophical question on an ordinary Monday?”
“I’ve noticed some change in your behavior when it comes to Mia lately.” Lou knew she could be straightforward with Amber. “You seem to have warmed to her.”
Amber pouted, which made her cheeks dimple. “Well, it’s hard to give the cold shoulder to the person who tweaked our online ads so successfully.”
“Of course. I get that.”
“But?” Amber asked.
“That’s my question. Do you think someone like Mia can truly change?”
Amber put down her fork and took a sip of water. “To be completely honest with you, if you hadn’t told me about Mia, I would never have known. I’m not an expert on personality types and the traits that define a bully, but I would never in a million years have pegged Mia as one. I haven’t spent a lot of time with her myself, but I know people who have, and for that reason I think Mia might actually have changed.”
“Are you talking about Micky?”
“They have been spending quite a bit of time together, yes.” Amber scrunched her lips together again. “You should talk to Micky.”
“I should?” This took Lou aback.
“She knows Mia better. She might know… other things.”
Lou’s eyes grew wide. “Does Micky know about what happened with Mia and me?” Instant panic in her gut.
“I consider you a friend, Lou. As your friend, I’m telling you that you might benefit from a conversation with Micky. I’ll also tell you that whatever Micky knows, she didn’t get from me. Confidentiality is important to me.” Only Amber could say such a thing in such a solemn tone of voice.
“So Mia told her?” Lou couldn’t believe it. The nerve of Mia.
“None of this is for me to say. But to get back to your very first question. You and I are cut from the same cloth. That’s one of the reasons I hired you. I saw a lot of myself in you. And I think that, if I can believe that a person can fundamentally change who they are, so can you. Not only that, though. I believe in the power of forgiveness. I think you do too. I know it sounds radical, perhaps foolish to your ears right at this very moment, but forgiveness sets you free. That’s what I believe.”
“You think I should forgive her?” Lou wondered if she had started this conversation because Amber would push her to think about Mia differently. Because she had seen with her own eyes how Amber had warmed to Mia, and it wasn’t a fake business-like kind of warmth because Mia was helping her. It was more than that. Amber knew something. So did Micky. What on earth had Mia told Micky? Because those two were still chummy, getting chummier by the day, it seemed, and Micky didn’t seem like the kind of person who would be easily fooled by Mia’s smile and helpful behavior.
“No, Lou, that’s not for me to say at all. But I can tell you that I was not always the person you see sitting in front of you today. I was once consumed by a different but equally destructive kind of rancor, because I felt I had been so wronged. But step by step, because of my practice, I was able to see things di
fferently. It’s not because some things are inexcusable that they can’t be forgiven. Because by not forgiving someone, you’re often harming yourself much more than the person needing to be forgiven.”
“I would just really like to know what Mia has said to Micky.” Lou knew there was no point in pressing Amber to tell her. If Micky had asked her to keep it from her, Amber would never violate that trust.
“Ask her.” If Amber was imploring her to talk to Micky in such a way, Lou could only conclude that whatever Micky had found out was something compelling enough to make Amber change her mind about Mia as a bully.
“I will,” Lou said, putting it at the very top of her priority list.
Chapter Sixteen
Sheryl and Kristin had visited Annie’s Bookshop, had crunched their own set of numbers, done all the talking they needed and, quite possibly because of the time restraints Pages put on them, had given Mia the go-ahead to have an exploratory conversation with Annie. Mia had known Annie for a long time and was a loyal customer. Hopefully Annie would realize that Mia only had Annie’s best interests at heart.
Unable to keep the news to herself, Mia had told Jo as soon as Kristin had okay’ed the operation. They’d never had that Save Annie’s Bookshop Committee meeting they’d joked about. So far, it hadn’t been necessary. If Mia could get Annie on board, it might not be. But before she went to see Annie, she wanted to get Lou’s take on it. Lou had known Annie for much longer and, perhaps, had a different point of view to offer. She was a less business-minded person and would, Mia guessed, focus more on the direct consequences on Annie’s life and wellbeing of what she was about to propose.
Mia waited impatiently for Lou to turn up at the Pink Bean, which was an odd sensation. Usually, the thought of Lou walking in made her jumpy, made her retreat behind the hissing sounds of the milk steamer and the bulk of the coffee machine.
