Page 38 of The Promise Of You

Did he not recognize me? Did he even look at me?

God, I have to stop these thoughts.

I take a quick shower and skip my morning espresso machine routine. Instead, I head out to Easy Monday.

I need my coffee, and they claim it’s the best in town. I want to put that claim to the test. I also need to forget about who my neighbor is, and exploring the town and all it has to offer should help me do just that.

The wooden door is painted a bright yellow that dings when I push it open. A young woman with long flowy hair, a long print dress, and actual flowers in her hair comes from somewhere in the back and says, “How can I make your day awesome?” with the most genuine smile.

“You already did.” I smile back and focus on the blackboard menu above her head.

“Cool!” She turns around and skips to the back, leaving me alone at the counter.

“Millie!” a woman with long, blue-streaked hair calls out. I hadn’t seen her when I came in. The place is a hodgepodge of beanbags, shelves stacked with books, wooden tables and chairs of all sizes and heights, artwork on the stone walls, and sculptures hanging from the ceilings, some, but not all, doubling as light fixtures.

Nudged between a table with a puzzle in progress and an easel with the half-finished canvas of some goddess or mermaid whooshing out of the river, the woman is deep in a couch, a coffee in one hand, a cupcake in the other, a book balanced on her knee. She looks at me and shakes her head, a you gotta see it to believe it look on her face.

“Over here!” a voice singsongs in the back, and the first young woman returns. “’Sup, Cass?”

“I think your customer might want more than your sunny presence.”

“Oh cool!” Millie says, a huge smile on her face, like someone ordering anything from her store is a complete surprise to her. “What can I get’cha?”

I read from the blackboard over her head. “One large Road to Heaven.” As the words leave my mouth, doubt strikes me. “That’s not… there’s no…”

Millie tilts her head patiently, waiting for me to find my words. I’m not even sure how to ask this.

“The weed place—420—is on the other side. Different entrance. Regulation,” the woman called Cass offers. “Here it’s straight up coffee.”

Millie frowns and smiles at the same time. “I can add a shot of CBD?”

“No, no, no, no. Straight up coffee is what I need.”

She leans over the counter. “You sure? Cos I heard about Justin. And his… you know… with you?”

I open my mouth, but no sound comes out. Small towns are known for spreading news like a bushfire, but this is a whole ’nother level.

And hopefully she means yesterday’s argument with Justin.

Not the rest.

She has to, right?

“I can… not believe he wouldn’t talk to you!” she whispers. “He is such a nice man. So devoted to the community! Always lending a helping hand.”

I almost breathe easy. She does mean our argument. “Hey, we all have our limits.”

She drops the to-go cup she was about to fill. “Ohmygod, you are So. Right. I can… not believe you, of all people, would understand that. After how he treated you, I mean,” she adds quickly, like she just said something extremely offending.

She gets back to preparing my coffee, mumbling, “Maybe I’ll just bring him a gummy today.” She hands me my coffee and says, “Let me know if you like it,” looking at me like she really expects me to give her a full feedback on my cup’o joe.

What can I do? I indulge her. “Ohmygod.” I’m so not faking this. “Millie. It’s Millie, right?”

She blushes and nods.

“Are you for real?” I laugh for the first time in… a long time. “This is… heaven!”

She swipes her hand sideways. “That’s what it’s called.”

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