Page 2 of Love at First Sip

True to his word, Deanna signs the last page with ten minutes to spare. “See, I told you we’d have everything done in less than an hour.”

“Does this mean it’s official?” A huge grin suddenly appears on her face.

Sloan pulls a set of keys from his desk drawer and passes them over. “Congratulations!”

Chapter Two

“I did it!” Deanna screams into the phone. “Nelda, it’s mine. The place is all mine.”

“Oh, honey, I’m so happy for you.” Nelda replies.

“You’re coming grand opening day, aren’t you?” Deanna leans her head against the back of the seat and sighs. “I want you to be here for the ribbon cutting ceremony.”

“You tell me the day and I’m there.”

Deanna missed her best friend so much. Moving away hadn’t been easy, but there was no way she could stay in New York knowing how Don had disrespected her.

“I’m meeting with the contractor on Monday and I’m hopeful he can get started right away. I’d love it if he could have everything completed by the first of the year, I’ll wait and see what he says before I make it official,” she says, a hint of emotion in her voice.

“That sounds wonderful. Does this mean you’re also going to be moving into the little studio apartment above the shop?” Nelda inquires. “Because how cool would that be!”

“I have enjoyed staying at mom and dad’s, but I know it’s not something I want to do permanently. Seeing the way those two act around one another,” she can’t help giggling. “Oh, Nelda. Those two…they’re too much.”

At one time, she and Don had had a similar relationship. Refusing to let him and the past steal her thunder and joy, she sits up straight in her seat then presses the ignition button on the dash.

“I remember the last time they were here and I met you all for lunch, the way your father tried to convince the server he’d met your mother on the internet. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard. The best part was she’d played right along with him.”

“They’re like that all the time.” Looking over her shoulder, she slowly backs out of the parking spot. “Now that I have the keys, I’m going over to the shop to take another look around. Do you want me to send you some pictures?”

“Would you? I’d love to see more. It’ll be great to compare before and after shots. Ohhh, you should look into doing one of those boards that you can hang in the hallway or something. You know, the way the storefront looks now vs. what it’s like completed,” Nelda suggests. “I’ve seen them online.”

“I might look into that. I’m sure the locals would appreciate it. Considering the place used to be some kind of sandwich shop. And before that, it was a pharmacy ran by the Nelson family. There was a neat little soda fountain off to the side and I can remember my father lifting me onto one of the swivel seats. I couldn’t have been more than four or five years old. He would allow me to have one squirt of cherry syrup in my Coca-Cola. It didn’t take long for them to get his diabetic medicine ready, but he loved hanging out at the back counter, catching up with whoever else came in. I never told him, but Mrs. Nelson would sometimes sneak me refills. Along with another squirt of cherry.”

“Sounds like it was a really neat little place.”

“It really was. When Jack Nelson passed and his wife decided to close down the pharmacy, it was a sad day in Lake Tahoe. I only visited the sandwich shop a few times, since they were only opened for half a day. It’s no wonder the place didn’t last long, but even sadder they’d put so much into converting it only for it to turn around and go out of business. It’s been vacant the last couple of years, according to the realtor I was using. Several individuals looked into leasing it, but the owners were looking to get out from underneath it altogether. Makes sense, since they’d still be responsible for the overall upkeep. It was a chunk of change, but—”

“Nope. Don’t even go there. You’re going to do fabulous and with all the tourists that come there, it’s the ideal place for them to stop in. Who wouldn’t enjoy a cup of coffee after a day of skiing?”

“I need to pinch myself, just to make sure I’m not dreaming.” Deanna flips on her turn signal at the next intersection.

“It’s definitely real and don’t you ever think you can’t do this on your own!”

“Thanks, Nelda. I love you!”

“Don’t forget to send pictures.”

Six weeks later…

Chapter Three

Deanna takes down the help wanted sign from the front window. Slipping it underneath her arm, she walks over to the door and secures the lock. Of the ten people who’d applied, she was thrilled she was able to offer eight of them jobs. She wished she could’ve hired them all—reaching out to the high school and the instructor who was in charge of the Ready To Work program had been a brilliant suggestion from one of the city council members—but she had to hold off until after the shop opened before bringing anyone else on board. If the business was as demanding as she hoped, it was nice already having a couple names on standby.

The phone over on the back counter begins to ring and she rushes over to answer. Calls about when the coffee shop would open began coming in as soon as she’d hung the “Coming Soon” banner out front and she’d had to monitor the front door as well, since a couple of people had made their way inside in between the contractor and his crew going in and out, thinking the shop was already opened for business. She loved the enthusiasm and hoped it would continue.

Scooping the phone up, she answers before the pre-recorded message comes on. “Thanks for callingThe Coffee Loft. This is Deanna, how may I help you?”

“Hi, Ms. York. This is Katelynn August. You hired me to be one of your baristas yesterday. I can’t seem to find one of my gloves. I had them both in my jacket pocket, or so I thought, and I was hoping that maybe you’d seen it.”

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