Page 23 of The Baby Dragon Cafe
“What about Sparky?” Saphira asked.
“Probably being babysat against his will,” Emmeline replied. Public town spaces like the gardens often had a babysitting area for baby dragons which—much like human toddlers—they did not enjoy.
Saphira looked under the counter and grabbed her purse. “Lavinia!” she called. Lavinia popped her head out of the kitchen, where she had been taking a break.
“What’s up?”
“Can you cover closing for me?” Saphira asked. There was only half an hour left before the cafe closed.
“Of course, but where are you going?” Lavinia asked, arching a curious brow. She stepped out of the kitchen, giving Saphira a close look.
“I’m going to prove to Aiden that he’s missing out on not being there for Sparky’s training,” Saphira said, lifting her chin. She sounded a lot more confident than she felt, but it was time to take matters into her own hands. She wouldn’t keep waiting around for Aiden to be there, and Sparky needed him.
“Oooh, I love this,” Lavinia said, looking inordinately pleased for reasons Saphira could not decipher.
“Me too,” Emmeline added, looking equally pleased.
Taking a deep breath, Saphira stepped out from behind the counter, and went for the door. She chanced a glance over her shoulder and found Emmeline and Lavinia whispering and giggling to each other. Saphira narrowed her eyes at them. They waved, giving her innocent smiles.
Saphira didn’t have time to pry into exactly what they were giggling about.
“Emmy—do you know where in the gardens he’ll be?” Saphira called.
“I think the rose garden!” Emmeline called back.
“Thanks!” Saphira straightened her back, steeling herself.
She was a woman on a mission.
Chapter 7
Saphira walked out of the cafe and onto Main Street. It was a sunny day, the sky a perfect paint-tube shade of cerulean blue, and the grass along the sidewalk an equally perfect green. All the rain these past few nights had paid dividends, and the scene was idyllic now.
The weather was balmy, like a caress—a lovely spring day with a light breeze, the type of weather that made you wish to always stay outdoors. Saphira’s thoughts strayed to the overgrown garden behind the cafe, how she had originally dreamed to make it into a play area for the baby draggos by this spring to enjoy the warm weather. Unfortunately, she hadn’t gotten the chance—nor did she have the money.
Saphira ambled down Main Street, passed the ceramics store, where they held pottery classes. Then she passed the Rolling Pin Bakery. Inside, Theo was restocking the fridge. As he caught sight of her passing by, he tapped the nonexistent watch on his wrist, then mimicked crying. Saphira laughed and waved as she walked by.
Dragons flew high above, their jeweled scales glimmering inthe sunlight, flashing white, black, red, and blue. The dragons enjoyed the hills around the valley, while the chimeras preferred to be down by the lake, the griffins lived in the dense forests, and the phoenixes built their nests up high in the mountains.
While Starshine Valley was pretty big, it was divided into little sections to cater to the magical animal that inhabited that part of the area. The divisions made each bit into a cozy little town. Dragons were the most common magical animal, which was why the Main Street running through the valley was the biggest, while the Pines—where the griffins resided—and the Heights—where the phoenixes resided—were smaller areas.
Saphira walked past the Animal Hospital (where Lavinia hoped to one day be a veterinarian), the one nice restaurant in town, the stationery store, the florist, the pizza parlor, the live theater … all quaint joints where you could easily run into people you knew.
She loved Starshine Valley, and she loved Main Street best of all. She couldn’t imagine ever living anywhere else. As she ambled further along, a woman a few years older than her walked by with an azura baby dragon in tow. Saphira looked over her shoulder and saw the woman was heading for the Baby Dragon Cafe, a sight which made her want to float off the ground with joy.
She loved her cafe so dearly. She just needed to figure out
how to make it a lasting success. Aiden paying her was definitely wonderful, but she had a sinking feeling that what she really needed was to pay off the last bit of her mortgage on the cafe, something she thought she would have done by now.
The monthly payments automatically depleted most of her money, but if she paid it all off in one go, that would be a hugehelp, plus she would fully own the cafe. That way, she wouldn’t feel the need for constant money in case of yet another baby-dragon-created issue; she would already have savings set aside. Nani-Ma, too, would want Saphira settled and secure.
Ugh, but Saphira didn’t want to think about the financials, not when she was out in the sun. She never liked math, and she had unfortunately had to do way too much accounting as a small business owner these last six months.
Luckily, just then Saphira got to the Starshine Public Gardens, which were gorgeous. She saw the little sign that saidThe Bloomsmiths, and it drew a smile to her mouth. There was something special about being able to recognize and notice Aiden’s handiwork all over the town she loved.
Saphira made her way to the main building, where there were information pamphlets about the history of the gardens, as well as maps pertaining to the different areas. She quickly found the babysitting area for the little draggos.
There were about five baby dragons behind a fence in a little play area, wreaking havoc, while there was someone at a desk with a computer guarding them. The babies were being chaotic, either playing or fighting with one another, she couldn’t quite tell, but she spotted Sparky’s black scales immediately.
