Page 8 of A Breeze Over Rosewood Beach
“Thanks, Sally.” Dean shook her hand. “You’re a peach.”
“Thank you for fixing my car,” she replied. “Now I can drive to work.”
She bid Noelle and Dean goodbye and went out into the parking lot, where her trusty little car was waiting. She clambered inside and started the ignition with a sigh of satisfaction. She loved it when things worked properly.
She made her way to Ocean Breeze Café and parked in the back parking lot. She was feeling flustered by the fact that she was so late, and the feeling was exacerbated by the fact that she saw a great many cars in the front and back parking lots. Although both parking lots were small, it was a guarantee that the café would be packed with customers. She felt stressed as she hustled inside through the back door.
“Thank goodness you’re here,” gasped out Annie, one of Sally’s newest workers. “It’s so hectic—and we don’t know where the rest of the oat milk is.”
For a second, Sally’s heart skipped a beat as she wondered if she’d somehow forgotten to restock the cooler. Then she remembered that the oat milk cartons were tucked into a corner of the cooler behind the bags of lettuce. Many employees had had trouble finding the spot, so it was no wonder that a whole bunch of new hires had been unable to locate them in the middle of the morning rush.
“I’m on it, don’t fret.” Sally patted Annie on the shoulder. “I’ll bring out two.” She snapped into motion, as if she was aminiature cyclone that had just been turned on. She scurried into the kitchen and popped inside the cooler. She grabbed two cartons of oat milk and rushed back to the front counter.
“Here you are,” she sang out cheerfully.
Annie turned around and her jaw dropped. “Wow, that was fast.”
Sally gave an easy shrug. “When you’ve been doing this as long as I have, you’ll be better at moving around in a hurry. Besides, I already knew where the oat milk was.”
Annie offered her a watery smile and went back to concocting a vanilla rose latte. Sally chuckled. It was clear that the teenager was still feeling frazzled, and she couldn’t really blame her, since she was still feeling frazzled herself. No matter how old or experienced you were, there was always something a little alarming about a line of customers that stretched all the way back to the front doors.
Soon, however, she and her employees were able to get into the swing of things. Once they had a rhythm established, the hustle and bustle flowed a lot more smoothly.
After she’d been working the front counter for about half an hour, she looked up and her face lit up with an expression of surprise and delight.
“Julia!” she exclaimed. “Cooper!”
Julia and Cooper Harris had just stepped inside the café with Vivian and her other daughter, Alexis Bennett. Both Julia and Cooper looked flushed with the happiness of newlyweds, and Vivian also appeared to be over the moon over the fact that they were back in Rosewood Beach. Alexis had her baby Cash strapped to her stomach, and his little head was just poking out of her partially-unbuttoned coat.
“Hold down the fort, girls,” Sally said to her employees. “These are customers I need to say hello to up-close.”
She hurried out from behind the counter and gave Julia and Cooper a giant hug at the same time.
“Welcome back!” she sang out. “How was Niagara Falls? Everything you hoped and dreamed it would be?”
“So wonderful.” Julia nodded, smiling, but Sally noticed that she looked a little pale and tired.
“I’m so glad to hear that,” Sally said, meaning it sincerely, although she couldn’t help feeling a twinge of sadness for her own sake. Both Cooper and Julia looked positively starry-eyed and in love, and she knew she would never feel that way again, or ever be coming back from a honeymoon. “And how’s this little man?” she asked, turning to Alexis, who had unbuttoned her coat all the way. Cash was blinking around the room with wide blue eyes, looking like a chubby little cherub.
“He’s wonderful.” Alexis smiled. “He loves coming to work with me—and our customers love it even more. He gets a fun ride and mommy snuggles, and everyone eating at the pub gets to see his cute face.”
“I think it’s even more than that.” Vivian chuckled. “The sight of you whizzing around the dining room with a baby strapped to your back is really something to see. I don’t think we’ve had a single customer complain about delays if you’re their waitress. They all know you’ve got extra to juggle.”
“Yes, but it’s such nice juggling.” Alexis bent down and kissed the top of Cash’s little blue hat.
Sally watched Alexis’s joyful expression and thought to herself how lucky the other woman was. Alexis had a family and a career—she hadn’t had to choose between the two of them. Vivian was the same. They had their jobs, and in Vivian’s case she was also a business owner, but that hadn’t stopped them from having children. Sally’s heart ached, wishing that she’d found someone who had allowed her to follow her dream of owning the café and still been there for her romantically.
She brushed those thoughts aside, determined to stay cheerful. After all, she was thrilled that Julia and Cooper were back and she wanted to be sure to express that to them.
“I got to see some of your pictures of your honeymoon,” Sally told them. “It looked just beautiful up there.”
“It really was.” Cooper grinned. “We did a lot of winter hiking, that’s for sure. It was cold, but it was worth it.”
Sally nodded and smiled, glancing at Julia. Was that why the newly-wedded bride appeared to be so fatigued? She looked as happy as a person could be, but it was clear from the way she was holding her shoulders and from the circles under her eyes that she was unusually fatigued. Normally Julia exuded an aura of confidence and boundless energy. Today, however, the energy she was giving off was sleepy.
Sally was a little surprised to see the change in Julia’s energy and appearance. Certainly a little fatigue after traveling was understandable, but Julia had traveled before and not come home looking so worn out.
Maybe it was all the hiking,Sally speculated. I’m sure there’s nothing really the matter—after all, look at how happy she is!
