Page 5 of Coffee Break with the Billionaire

It’s nice to see in this world where scandals and holding grudges seem to be the norm.

“Looks like she dumped him good,” Leodie says, still studying her phone.

“Is there any other way to dump someone? Morning, Sophie.” I smile as the woman steps up to the counter. “Usual?”

“Please.”

Sophie likes a flat white—espresso with a layer of microfoam. I make a point to know all the regulars and remember their preferred drinks. I’ve been at the helm of Coffee for the Sole for almost ten years, after a heart attack caused my father to retire and cut short my post-secondary career.I was fine leaving the University of Laandia to come back here—I may be a small business owner, but I have no love for studying business.

Astronomy is my jam, but I do okay with the shop.

I took what my parents had built and made it better, taking the tired cornerstone of the town square and updating everything—the dishes and décor, the brands of tea, and bringing in a supply of almond and oat milk that my father refused to stock. I splurged on a Victoria Arduino espresso maker that I may still be paying for to this day.

Coffee for the Sole is now the first stop for tourists visiting Battle Harbour. We have a Facebook page and an Instagram account, thanks to Leodie.

Leodie asks Sophie about the Fenella video because, apparently, Sophie is now friends with Fenella. At least she talks about her like she is.

I move on to the next customer. Pumpkin spice latte with three pumps. Americano for the next. Two iced coffees for Rebecca from the bakery.

My dream was to be an astronaut. It’s a strange dream for a person who really doesn’t like to fly, or do much at a fast speed, and especially odd for someone who lives in a country without a space program. But from the time I was four until I was fourteen, all I wanted was to see the stars.

And then my sister Emily got pregnant.

She was seventeen; it’s not unheard of for teenage pregnancies to happen in Battle Harbour, but it is uncommon for teenage parents to run away and leave the baby behind.

With my parents.

My parents—Alister and Betty Bell—had their children later in life, so taking responsibility for their first grandchild in their mid-fifties was a bit of a shock. One day they had been talking about retiring and selling the coffee shop, and the next, my mother had taken a leave to look after Wyatt.

No one ever voiced a word of complaint at the new normal. Of course, we never wanted to see Emily leave, but she had gotten involved with one of the McKibbon boys and not one of the good ones. Rob’s family were all fishermen and that wasn’t the life he wanted.

Neither was a baby at eighteen.

My sister was young and scared and easy to influence. She was also head over heels in what constitutes as love at seventeen so when Rob suggested the baby would be better off with our parents, it didn’t take her long to agree.

At least that’s what I think. Emily never talked to me about it. That stung because, before Rob, we had been close; as close as you can be close to your sister who is three years older than you and likes fast cars and drinking Screech with her friends.

Emily liked it when I told her about the stars.

But then she left, running out of town in the middle of the night and leaving four-month-old Wyatt asleep in his crib in her room. My parents gave up their plans ofretiring and became his guardians. I gave up my dream of jetting off into space because there was no way I was going to leave my nephew behind after his mother abandoned him.

It wasn’t all bad; now sixteen, Wyatt is an amazing kid. And I started studying astronomy on my own. I may never visit the stars, but I certainly know what’s up there.

And maybe someday I’ll find that person who wants me to tell her about the night sky, but I’m not holding my breath. I have my shop, my friends, family. It’s nothing like the bright lights and drama of the TikTok clips that Leodie shows me, but it’s a good life.

It’s enough.

Chapter three

Fenella

Lavinia: should have kept the ring

Coral: champagne would have been better than Pepsi. Except ours, bad publicity

Rupert: whole thing is good publicity for Tiger

Milo: will trash his next song

---