Page 6 of Passion in Store

She darts out of reach, turning back to give me a startled look while walking straight into the ladies’ changing room door. But before I can catch her, she pushes it open and disappears inside.

Chapter 6

Minnie

“Connor said I have a hot body!” I wail to Tor as we run along the beach on Saturday afternoon. The sun is shining and my world is imploding.

“Oh wow, sounds like he really likes you, that’s awesome!” she chimes happily, taking easy strides. “Do you like him too?”

In contrast, my legs are chopping along like logs and I groan, “Nooo, it’s not awesome, Tor. It’s terrifying!” It’s low tide, so we are running in the large stretch of hard sand near the foreshore, the great ocean just beyond us. Well, Tor’s running. I’m wilting a bit as I try to keep up.

“I get it,” she says kindly, “you don’t have a lot of self-confidence right now. I know how that feels. But you do have a hot body, Minnie. You have to believe it.”

“No, Tor, you have a hot body. Mine’s just ordinary,” I puff.

She looks straight ahead as she pounds along. “I know what you mean. Compliments make me nervous as well, if I ever get them, so I understand if it makes you terrified. Getting attention like that can be scary if you are shy. But Connor is kind of special, he’s like a big teddy bear even if he looks like a tough guy with all those muscles and tattoos. Believe me, he’d never lie about something like that.”

She’s barely puffing as I look out to sea and try to think up a response that shows I’m grateful for her support.

“Fine,” I say, making an effort to be positive. I must admit it does make me feel excited to think Connor likes me like that.

“So what do you think of him?” she asks.

“I think he’s incredible.” I’m puffing but I want to talk about him so much. “I’m like a teenager crushing on the cool guy at school, and it’s scaring the crap outta me,” I confess as we dodge around some streaks of incoming foamy water. It’s great to have a girl buddy, but then I remember Tor and Connor know each other and I have a moment of panic, not wanting to tread on her toes—romantically, that is. I add, “You don’t like him in that way, do you?”

“No, of course not. I’m definitely not looking for a man right now. Nope, no man for me.” She seems to consider what she’s said. “Well, I do like men, it’s just a recent bad experience that I’m finding hard to forget…”After a weirdly painful groan that is quite out of character, she increases her strides and gets in front of me, goes off into her own little world for a quarter mile. I have to double step to keep up.

“Tor, are you okay?” I’m shouting as she’s pounding the sand and I fall behind, watching as her long ponytail gets farther away.

She realizes I’m not next to her and slows down, comes to a stop. “Sorry, Minnie,” she says as I catch her. “Got a bit distracted there. All good, I’m fine. We’d better turn around, don’t you think?” She’s noticed I’m struggling for breath and is kindly giving me a break but I can’t help think she’s getting herself together too, as she shakes her head a few times and wipes her brow.

We start jogging back but don’t speak. It’s hard for me to talk now as oxygen is at a premium, so I have to trust that she’s okay.

Once we get back to the patrolled area, we have a quick dip in the sea, and when we are relaxing on our towels on the sand, Tor seems to be back to her normal self. I decide not to bring up the topic of men again as it seems like it’s a trigger for her, even though I could talk about Connor all day and night.

I’m fascinated by her culinary experience so I can’t resist asking her opinion about the café. “What do you think about Jimmy’s menu?” I probe.

“He’s got a good range of items for his clientele. I’ve always liked the mix of fresh and cooked—not too much greasy stuff. If anything, he could do a few more imaginative salads.” She brushes some sand off her shoulders and turns to face me.

“I completely agree. Personally, he could do with a few more trips to the markets. His fruit and vegetables are not always the freshest,” I respond, raising my sunglasses to look at her.

“Right on, I think so too. That would make a difference. I get the feeling you have some other ideas?” she asks encouragingly, drawing her legs up and turning towards me.

“Yes, I’ve got a bee in my bonnet about the smoothies. Being next to a gym, he has such an opportunity to do post-workout power mixes, but at the moment, they are more like glorified desserts. They should be great-tasting, healthy, fruit and protein shakes. How do you think I can convince him?”

But she shakes her head. “No menu in the world is going to fix his attitude and his staffing problems. If there’s no one there to make the food or serve, he’s not going to sell anything.” I can see Tor thinking about this issue as if she’d been observing for months, though I’m just focusing on what I’ve seen the past few weeks. “But why don’t you prepare some recipes and get ready to suggest them if you get the opportunity?” she asks, but then looks away at something behind my head, something she starts pointing at.

“Oh my. Look over there.”

I crane my neck to see what’s attracted her attention and sure enough, it’s an impressive sight. Connor is in his lifeguarding getup, looking tanned and oh-so-buff.

“You should go say hi.” She gives me a little push and nods her head.

“Oh, Tor, I couldn’t.” She knows how terrified I am.

“Minnie, you are going to have to get over this and start talking to him again. It’s awkward otherwise.” She rolls her eyes but smiles kindly.

“You’re right, Tor. I know you are. Just not today, okay? Give me a little while to convince myself. I really appreciate what you said, and I like him so much that I’ll work on it. I promise I will.”

---