Page 23 of Love By the Slice

Shelly said, “No, you’re not getting it. If Rowan’s looking out for you, that’s the opposite of what should happen. You’re raising him, not him raising you. He’s trying to take the burden off you because hedoescarry the weight of the world. And that’s not fair. Let us take some of that weight for him while he’s taking the weight for you.”

“He shouldn’t be doing that.” Rowan’s grandfather’s voice lowered. “He’s a good kid. None of this is his fault.”

Lacey hummed. “Is there anything else we can do for him? How old is he?”

Shelly said, “Too young to get a part time job.”

Rowan’s grandfather said, “Twelve.”

Lacey paused, looking down.

Ezra glanced at Greg, but Lacey and Shelly had this in hand. Why was this guy even here? He’d be able to solve this problem if he just let everyone help him the way they were trying to. Let the food pantry drop off food and let the school give the kid new clothing from that random fund. Let social services step in and detangle it all out for him.

Finally, the grandfather said, “I don’t want you thinking I can’t care for him.”

Shelly looked about to detonate, but Lacey said, “I haven’t heard anyone saying that. What I hear is my employees caring about Rowan, and also about you.”

The man crumpled his hat. “I don’t need anything, either.”

Lacey said, “You need to know Rowan is doing well. There’s nothing wrong your concern.” She grabbed a menu and a pen. “If you ever want to know if Rowan’s here, you can call the shop, or you can call me direct on my cell phone.” She wrote her name and number up the margin. “My employees are amazing, and if they wanted to help, it’s to their credit. If you don’t want the help, they will stop.”

Shelly said, “But I hope you won’t.”

He muttered, “Fine.” He took the menu. “Thank you.”

It sounded like he’d had to pry those words from himself with a can opener, but he’d said them. Lacey escorted him to the front door, and after she closed it behind him, Ezra let out a huff. “Well, that could have gone bad.”

Shelly glared at Greg. “A lot of help you were.”

Greg raised his hands. “You had it!”

“You didn’t do a thing!” She stepped toward him. “You’d have just gone along with it if he’d stuck to his guns.”

Greg stepped back. “Relax! We weren’t going to let the kid go hungry.”

“So you’d have crossed his grandfather? You’d just have told everyone what they wanted to hear?”

Behind Shelly, Ezra was shaking his head. Greg said, “There wasn’t any point in riling him up. Lacey was talking him down.”

“Lacey shouldn’t have had to talk him down!” At the front door, Lacey was re-locking the door. “You should have stepped forward and told him he had no right to starve the kid just because he’s too proud to accept a little help, or maybe because he didn’t even notice his grandson needs help.”

Lacey said, “And both of you, I need to know in advance if we’re helping someone. There are things we can do as a business rather than slipping a kid free pizza every few days.” She looked from one to the other. “We could offer a portion of one day’s receipts to that school fund you mentioned. But if you give him free pizza, and he ends up getting food poisoning, or he chokes on the crust, or heaven forbid he has an allergic reaction, especially because he’s a minor, suddenly it’s us on the hook.” She took a deep breath, then glanced at Greg. “I don’t expect you to think of all that, but it’s something that’s going to come up if you end up managing a location.”

Shelly turned away. “Not like you have to worry about that. Greg’s not going to take it because that requires work and sacrifice”

With the slightest of eye-rolls, Ezra shook his head. Greg said, “What did I do?”

Shelly called over her shoulder, “Nothing! Lacey, call in one of your other drivers. I’m too sick to work today.”

Ezra walked off into the supply room, and Lacey looked at a retreating Shelly, then at Greg. As Shelly stalked to her car in the alley, Lacey said, “What was that about?”

Ezra called from the supply room, “This is two entire weeks before I thought it would happen.” He stuck his head out. “Good job. Maybe go after her.”

Greg said, “Let her walk it off. She’ll cool down.”

Ezra looked defeated. “It’s your funeral. Go talk to her, or it’s not happening.”

Greg said, “It’ll be all right,” but ten minutes later, with Shelly not returned, the words echoed in his mind.

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