entire shop that Tildy is my niece and I would never, ever give
her coffee, so I just set her down. I glance around frantically,
but thankfully, Stephanie isn’t here yet. I have her picture, so I
know what she looks like. No one in here looks like her. I just
hope she didn’t send me a fake one just so she could judge me
silently and unseen before we work together.
“Honey, can I get you some milk or something?
Chocolate milk? Juice?”
“No!” Tildy pouts. “I want a latte! With whipped
cream and caramel. That’s what mom always gets!”
“Well, she’s a grown up, sweetheart. Coffee isn’t good
for kids.”
“I don’t care. I want that!”
Tildy isn’t normally this difficult. She isn’t spoiled or
bratty. These past weeks have been incredibly tough for her
with what’s going on with her parents and it’s starting to show.
I stand there helplessly as Tildy’s eyes fill up with tears.
Fuck it. Let’s do this. “Okay.” I take Tildy’s hand,
ignoring the death glare and bad vibes coming from all around,
and march proudly over the counter. I smooth down my blouse
and brush my hair back as I stare at the menu.
“What can I get for you?” Even the teenage barista, a
really pretty girl who is probably seventeen or eighteen, is
judging me. I can tell by the way she’s looking at me, then at
Tildy.
“One decaf latte with whipped cream and caramel, and
one regular coffee, black, please.”
“The lattes have a lot of sugar in them…” the girl says.
I stare at her chest area, looking for a nametag so I can
see who I should blast, but then it occurs to me that maybe
