Page 31 of The Lone Wolf Café
“What time is it?” I asked Aria as I rubbed my eyes with my free hand. I cringed as I realized what a silly question it was.Do elementals even have a sense of time?
I turned one of the faerie fire lanterns on, and both my hands and Aria’s airy form were bathed in dim blue light. To my surprise, Aria squeaked and held up her front paw, with four of her toes spread wide.
Four…
Four!?
Panic jolted through my body like a lightning bolt. I was supposed to be at The Lone Wolf Café by three-thirty, so I’d have time to prepare the baked goods for the day. Even if I bolted out the door now, I’d be almost an hour late to work.
My eyes flicked over to the front door.I wonder why Rowena didn’t knock?
On my first full day of work, Rowena had knocked on my door at 3 a.m. to wake me up. I assumed she was being courteous since I didn’t have an alarm clock, and I cursed myself for not buying one at the general store the day before.
So much for being a strong, independent werewolf,I scolded myself as I tucked Aria into my dress pocket and tossed my cloak over my shoulders.Can’t even get to work on time.
I managed to cut my commute in half by jogging down the path to the village square. I seriously considered slipping into my werewolf form to get there faster. After all, it was still dark, and I doubted any other witches were awake.
Then I scolded myself for my horrible idea and kept jogging.
I made it through the back door of the café ten minutes later, panting and covered in cold sweat. I peeled my damp cloak off my shoulders and hung it on the hook, bracing myself against the wall as I caught my breath.
To my surprise, the kitchen lights were already on.
And I could hear activity coming from the front of the café.
I walked through the kitchen door, making sure Aria was safely hidden away in my pocket, and saw Rowena standing by the counter. She was fiddling with some sort of metallic kettle, which at first, I assumed was for tea.
Then I saw the stray coffee beans scattered across the counter.
And the bags of coffee stacked behind the tea display.
“Um, good morning?” I greeted, confused by the scene before me. Rowena continued fiddling with the kettle for several seconds before finally looking up at me.
“Good morning,” she replied in an exasperated tone, setting the kettle down on the counter. Anxiety bubbled in my stomach.Uh oh. She’s going to scold me for being late.
“Rowena, I…” I struggled to choke my words out. “I’m so sorry I’m la–”
“How do you work this thing?”
My jaw froze mid-word as my mind struggled to process what she’d just said.
“Um, what do you mean?”
She’s not upset that I’m late?
“The kettle,” Rowena gestured toward the device on the counter. It was tall, thin, and made of metal, and several strainer-like inner pieces lined the counter next to it. Rowena had completely taken it apart.
That was when I realized it wasn’t a tea kettle.
It was a coffee percolator.
“You’re making coffee?” I asked, more astonished Rowena bought coffee than her inability to use the percolator.
Rowena scowled at the percolator, her petite nose wrinkling. “Yes. And I already had Mavro brew up a whole kettle of the stuff. I followed the directionsexactly, and the water barely absorbed the coffee. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”
Barely absorbed the coffee?
I plucked the splayed-out list of instructions off the counter and scanned them. We’d never had written instructions for our coffee-making devices on Hollenboro, but it seemed straightforward. It was no different than how I’d made my coffee back home.
