Page 5 of In this Moment

ChapterTwo

With the new shipment finally sorted, tagged, and hung up, Evie decided they’d worked enough for one day. At least, Jonah had. He was curled up on the oversized chair she kept by the change rooms and was flipping through a comic book. Evie knew her son’s limits and she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to get much more work out of him that afternoon.

Besides, April, her part-time employee, had finally shown up and it likely wasn’t going to be busy enough for both of them. Maybe it would be the perfect day to have a little mother-son time afterall.

“Come on, kiddo.” She ruffled Jonah’s hair as she walked by his chair.

“Aw, Mom.” She knew he hated it when she did that, but she couldn’t seem to help it. Sometimes it felt as if he was growing up so fast, every once in a while she still needed to treat him like a little kid, just because she could.

“Never mind,” she said. “You’re my baby. And sometimes I just need to be reminded of that.” She bent to kiss him on the cheek, and he didn’t object. “It’s time to go. Let’s go grab some lunch.”

“Really?” At the mention of food, Jonah jumped up. Especially if it included eating out. Something they rarely got todo.

Evie nodded. “Let’s go see if we can get a table at the cafe instead of grabbing takeout. I don’t think I’ve ever actually sat down in there. It looksnice.”

The cafe had been open for a little over two weeks, and although Evie had immediately started ordering sandwiches and salads from their menu to grab on her way back to work, she’d never had a chance to eatin.

“Let’s do it.” Jonah was already at the door. No doubt he was afraid she’d change her mind and find something else that needed doing. And there was no end of things she could find. But it could wait. Evie grabbed her purse, gave April a few last instructions and they slipped outside into the sunshine.

“Mom, did you mean it when you said we could go jet skiing? You’ll really let mego?”

“Of course I’ll let yougo.”

“You mean it?” Jonah grabbed her hand and squeezed.

“Of course I mean it.” Evie smiled, and squeezed back. There was no greater gift in her life than her son. The fact that, at eight, he still wanted to hang out with his mom made her heart ridiculously happy. She knew it wouldn’t last forever so she would gladly take it while she could. “We’ll go soon. But today, we’re having lunch.”

They’d walked into the already crowded cafe and Evie scanned the room. There were only a few tables left. “I’ll tell you what,” she said to Jonah. “Go look at the menu board and tell me what you want. I’ll go order and you can grab a table before they’re allgone.”

Jonah nodded, flush with the responsibility. “I don’t need to look,” he announced. “I want a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. With fries, of course.”

She shook her head. “Of course.”

“And a fruit punch?”

“You’re pushing your luck,” she said. “You can have water.”

He look disappointed, but only for a minute before he ran off to grab a table.

“Hi, Evie.” Scott Harding greeted her with a grin. “The usual? A garden salad to go? Or is today the day I can convince you to try one of my paninis? I’m telling you, they’re fantastic. They’re going to be what makes this place famous one day. You’ll wish you would have known mewhen.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. Scott’s food wasn’t the only reason Scott’s Stop was doing so well, so quickly. It also had a lot to do with the fact that he was genuinely friendly and despite the fact that he was new to town, he’d immediately fit in just like one of the locals.

“Okay,” she said and Scott took a dramatic step back. Evie laughed again.

“Did you just say yes?” He slapped his hand to his chest. “I feel like I should mark the occasion. Did I hear you right? You want one of my soon-to-be world-famous paninis?”

She laughed. “I do.” Evie scanned the menu board quickly. “Maybe a turkey with goat cheese and pesto?”

“Such a good choice.”

“And a grilled ham and cheese for Jonah.”

“That’s my favorite.” Scott laughed. “He’s a smartboy.”

“He is.” Evie turned to scan the restaurant and see where he was sitting, but he was nowhere to be found. She turned around farther and looked again.

“He went into the bathroom,” Scott said, picking up on what was happening. “I saw him go in a few minutesago.”

---