Page 50 of The Roadie
Kira and Audra stared at the contraption on the counter, looked at each other, then back at the intricate coffeemaker. “Are you sure you’ve seen Brett make coffee in this thing?” Audra asked. “It looks like something from a lab.”
The gift had arrived two days after Brett returned to California. Not only did he send Kira a replica of his elaborate coffeemaker, he also sent a coffee grinder and a bag of gourmet coffee beans. Only, she had no idea how to work it, and the directions read like stereo instructions. She opened the bag of coffee beans and inhaled the rich sent. It was nutty and smelled like caramel. “I know how to do this part,” she exclaimed, filled with a sudden burst of confidence.
While Kira cleaned the grinder and poured some beans into the cylinder, Audra read the back of the box. “Are you sure?” she asked, skeptically.
“Yes! I’ve seen Brett do it at least four or five times.” Kira plugged the cord into an electrical outlet and held the top of the grinder in place, almost expecting it to skitter off the counter or for the top to blow off and cover her kitchen in coffee grinds. She took a deep breath and held it while she pressed the button. It produced a whirring sound like the blender and turned the beans into a perfect pile of coffee grinds.
“Holy shit.” Audra stared at it in amazement. “It worked. Now what?”
“I don’t know.” Kira picked up the instructions to the coffeemaker and frowned. There were different compartments and settings and a contraption to froth milk, and 17 different steps.
“I know what to do.” Audra picked up the coffeemaker and headed toward the door. “Take the instructions and the coffee grinds and follow me.”
They went across the hall to Audra’s apartment and straight to the kitchen. “Gregory, we need your help. We have no idea how to work this thing,” Audra told her personal chef.
Gregory took the coffeemaker from her and looked it over. “This is an impressive machine.”
“Can you figure it out?” Kira asked, hopefully, handing him the instructions.
“Of course, ma’am.”
Ten minutes later, they sat in Audra’s kitchen with two cups of coffee overflowing with froth.
“This is the best coffee I’ve ever tasted,” Audra said, taking another sip. “I’m so jealous. I need to get one.”
“I’m leaving it right here,” Kira told her sister. “There’s no way I’m going through all that trouble to make a cup of coffee. When I want one, I’m coming over here to have Gregory make it.”
“Awesome.” Audra sipped her coffee and smiled happily. “Be sure to thank Brett for me.”
Kira glanced at the chef, who was busy prepping dinner. “You too, Gregory. Please feel free to help yourself to the coffeemaker whenever you want.”
He stopped chopping a head of cauliflower and turned a quarter of the way toward her. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“I gotta run.” Kira picked up her cup and raced toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I have to text Brett a selfie in my kitchen with the coffee and thank him. I don’t want him to know I couldn’t figure it out and had Gregory set up the machine.” When she got to her apartment, she placed the cup on her kitchen counter and snapped a photo. Then, she took a selfie on her balcony with the cup at her lips and sent them both to Brett with a text.
KIRA: I love it! Thank you! It reminds me of my weekend in California. I miss you!
A reply came back almost instantly.
BRETT: Then you better come back this weekend!
KIRA: I already bought my ticket! ♥
After another round of West Coast/East Coast visits, three weeks of disappointment followed. Things had been moving forward, but now a roadblock landed in their path and didn’t want to budge. First, Kira had a business trip that couldn’t be rescheduled, then Brett went on a 10-day tour with Bulletproof. He was supposed to be home this weekend, but the tour got extended a few days.
It had been almost a month since they’d last seen each other. The hope she had for their future, only a few weeks ago, was withering away with each day they were apart, and she began to question if this relationship was going to work.
Dragging her feet, she walked back to the dining room table at the Blade-Garcia mansion with her shoulders slumped and without the smile she wore when she left the room.
She slid into her seat at the table, unnoticed amidst the boisterous chatter. The entire Immortal Angel family ate, drank and laughed while her heart was breaking.
“What’s wrong, Aunt Kira? You look sad.”
Of course, it would be Mason, her soft-hearted nephew, who noticed her deflated spirits amid the chaos. She gave him a small smile. “I just had a change of plans. That’s all. I was supposed to take a trip to the West Coast. It was canceled, so I’m just a little disappointed.”
