Page 16 of Britta & the Beach Boy
There it is. But I’ve got this, and it feels good.
My experience and ability to pick things up quickly doesn’t mean things go smoothly. There’s some confusion as I learn how to call back the orders and communicate with the staff. But we fall into a pattern within the first twenty minutes I’m at the register that, while not completely smooth, speeds things up.
While I work, Stella sits at her table, eyes glued to her phone screen. She only lifts them long enough to call out something new Google has revealed about Dex and hisSurf City Highfriends.
“Britta! Dex is really good at surfing! Like, one of the best in the whole world!”
I roll this over in my head. I don’t think there are many surfers in the world, so does being one of the best come easy? Or is it so rare that it takes loads of hard work and talent?
A few minutes later, Stella adds, “Britta! This competition is huge! He’ll officially bethebest surfer in the entire world if he wins!”
Followed by, “Archieishis manager.”
“That’s what I thought.”
The fact Archie is his manager seems like the least important thing I knew about Dex, considering everything else I’ve learned this morning. I had no idea he was so good, and I’m slightly humiliated that I teased him about being a slacker with no ambition. To be fair, I didn’t realize surfing was as big a deal professionally as it is.
The line of customers finally slows to a trickle, and in between customers, Stella moves closer so that she’s leaning her elbows on the counter, still holding her phone in front of her face.“Archie, Rhys, and Frankie were all competitive surfers, too, until the show started. They came here together from Australia to model for Rip Tide, then got recruited for the show. Rip Tide came up with the idea for the series and financed it; that’s how they all got involved. But Dex is the only one who stuck with surfing instead of the TV show. They had no idea it would take off the way it did after the pilot, and he backed out of his contract only a few episodes in. They all stayed in America, but he was primarily in Australia until 2021.”
Annie comes up next to me. “Learning about our local celebrities, are you?”
Stella lowers her phone and lifts her wide-eyed gaze to Annie. “You know them?”
“They’ve been coming in here since they were kids. Their show was filmed at our beach and the local high school.” Annie wipes her hands on her apron, reaches into her pastry case to pull out what looks like a piece of custard pie, and hands it to Stella. “They were all so homesick. I wanted to do something, so I told them I’d add an Australian dessert to my menu. Rhys gave me his grandma’s recipe for it. Lemon and honey Anzac biscuit tart. This one’s on the house.”
Anzac? I’ve never heard this word in my life.
Speechless, Stella takes the plate to her table. While I’m waiting on another customer, Stella lets out a borderline inappropriate moan and says, “this is amazing! It’s as delicious as Rhys’s voice.”
Annie laughs. “Enjoy it. That’s probably as close as you’ll get to him. Fame makes it hard for him to come in anymore or even go to Dex’s competitions. He hates the attention off stage.”
“We’re still going,” Stella says around her bite of tart. “At least I can meet Archie.”
“I never said we weren’t going,” I say. “You’re the one who was complaining about the early morning.”
I glance over my shoulder at Annie, almost regretting my new “job” now that I know Dex isfamous-famous, not just semi. I want to see him do the thing he’s famous for.
“Dex is a… friend.” I don’t know how else to explain our relationship to Annie. “He invited us to his competition tomorrow. We thought we’d go, unless you need me here.”
Annie shakes her head. “You’re volunteering. I’ll take you whenever I can get you, but if you’ve never seen Dex compete, you need to watch him. That boy is magic on the water.”
A large group walks through the door and Annie calls for Mitzi and Diva to come off break. Stella scrapes the last bit of tart from her plate, then reaches for her phone again.
“I bet we can find footage of Dex from other competitions,” she says, typing.
Something flutters behind my ribs, and I have to fight the overwhelming urge to pull up a chair next to Stella and watch every video I can of Dex—including his two episodes ofSurf City High.
I pick up the tart plate and wipe down her table to keep from looking over her shoulder at the video that’s made her drop her jaw. I’m working—or volunteering, anyway. I have to stay focused.
I hand Stella her half-full iced mocha—her second of the day—that she’s been nursing for an hour. “Maybe the bookstore has some books or magazines about him, since he’s a local celebrity. I’ll find you there when things slow down here. Or I can meet you back at Georgia’s.”
Stella gives me a questioning look before noticing the growing line at the counter. “I’ll meet you at the bookstore.” She drops her phone in her bag, then waves to Annie. “Thank you, Annie!”
Without Stella interrupting me every few minutes with more info about Dex and his friends, I’m able to keep my head where it should be—on my non-money-earning job. By the end of theday, Annie lets me take over the espresso machines, and I feel the sweet satisfaction of her trust. The worry in her eyes has almost disappeared and her voice is lighter.
After locking the door at three o’clock and turning the closed sign—an old school one that reminds me ofBritta’s—Annie lets out a long sigh.
“Britta, thank you,” she says, tearing up. “Karen probably told you about my daughter. Things have been pretty rough without her. You were an answer to prayer today.”
