Page 5 of Where There's Smoke…
I just wanted to be wherever she was.
2
Where There’s Friends...
Phoenix“Phee”Preston-April 18th, 2025
It’s been damn near a week since I last saw Angel, but we’ve been so busy around here that I hadn’t had the chance to stop by the bakery. Hell, I hadn’t even had the time to stop by Maddox’s cafe to potentially run into her. It was that time of year when we had to do an excess amount of paperwork, and I hated that shit. I wanted nothing more than to have my free time back.
Luckily, all I had was a bit left to finish up, and I knew I’d be done by today if we didn’t have any emergency calls. Once that was done, I’d have nothing standing in my way of going to talk to the woman whose affection I longed to receive.
I smiled as I climbed out of my car with the bags filled with sandwiches I’d picked up from Kiwi’s Coffee Cafe. I was in a good mood today, so I brought everyone on duty some breakfast.
“Damn, who got you smiling like that?” I hear as soon as I walk into the station. I glance over to see two of my coworkers (my best friend Kentrell and my cousin Jed) working on one of the trucks. I sigh and walk over.
“Sup, y’all,” I greet, ignoring their question completely. I handed over the bag of breakfast sandwiches.
“What took you so long to get here?” Kentrell asks before taking a bite of his sandwich. “Usually you’re the first one.”
“Sorry, I was busy thinking about my future wife.”
Jed chokes on his food, and Kentrell laughs, patting him on the back. I smirk, handing him a bottle of water. He chugs it and then does his best to catch his breath as he stares at me in confusion. I shrug.
“You’re engaged?” He asks once he finally gets all of his coughing out. “Since when?”
“No, but ain’t nothin’ wrong with manifesting,” I mumble. They both double over in laughter, and I shake my head.
“I never pegged you for the settling down type, Phee,” Jed says as he stares at me in amusement.
“Yeah, they must be special as hell,” Kentrell agrees. “You’ve never said shit about getting married in the past. You always claimed that it wasn’t for you. This woman must have some kind of spell on you.”
“She bad?” Jed asks with a smirk. I don’t say anything, and he laughs knowingly. “She must be thick as hell, too. You know you have a type.”
“Don’t y’all have something better to do than to grill me?” I laugh, waving them off. “Finish fixing that raggedy ass truck so we won't break down the next time we get a call. I’m going to clock in.”
They laugh as I leave them to return to what they were doing. I push through the double doors that lead to the main lobby. I speak to a few others, letting them know I brought breakfast as I make my way to the office to clock in. I was a bit late, but I knew that my uncle wouldn’t say anything, especially when he saw that there was food.
“Well, look who finally decided to show up,” I hear him say as soon as I enter the office. I greet him before handing over his sandwich. “Ah, okay. I’ll excuse you this one time.”
“Unc, you a trip for real,” I chuckle, shaking my head.
Uncle Sol was married to my Aunt Gracie, and they had both been in my and my sister’s lives a lot after we moved here. They helped my grandpa with us as he got up in age. They have always treated me and my sister like their own, and I’d always appreciate them for that. I had that father/daughter type of bond with him, similar to the one I had with my grandpa. He always looked out for us, even when I told him I didn’t need his overprotectiveness.
However, that didn’t deter him from keeping up with me that year I was away. He’d been begging me to come back and work with him again until I finally took the job. I wasn’t the most social person for a few months, but I eventually opened up and returned to my extroverted self once I realized that being here wasn’t the punishment that my mind thought it was.
“So, how’s the prep going for the fundraiser?” He asks as I take a seat across from him. “Are we still on track for it to be the first weekend of June?”
“Yeah, of course,” I nod. “You know we gotta keep the tradition going.”
“Good. Good,” he nods. “By the way, I heard the bakery reopened this week. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with Mrs. Henrietta’s granddaughter, but she’ll be taking over. Mrs. Henrietta always bragged about how talented she was, so I have no doubt she’ll do a good job. What do you think about getting her to donate a few pies to be auctioned off at the event?”
“Oh, yeah, we’ve met,” I say, trying not to smile too wide. Just the thought of seeing her again and hearing her voice gave me a boost of energy. “I’ve had something she made before, and it was really good.”
“See, that's perfect,” he replies. “So, I’m assuming you’ll go down and talk to her later?”
“No problem at all, Unc,” I nod before standing. “Well, let me change into my uniform so I can officially start working.”
“Okay, and please go supervise Kentrell and Jed’s non-mechanic asses,” he says, shaking his head with a sigh. “I don’t know why they insist on trying to fix the truck when they both know that is not a skill they possess.”
