Page 39 of It Couldn't Be You
“No, just a silly piece I was writing for myself. Got to keep the juices flowing, you know.”
“Why don’t you reach out to some places for a little freelance work?”
“I don’t have a lot of freelance experience,” I said. “Since I graduated, I’ve only written for the Sweet River Gazette about things happening in Sweet River. I don’t know if I even…”
I didn’t even know what to say. I didn’t really have an answer. I wanted to try freelance writing, but I also didn’t want to. I wanted a new writing job, and also my heart beat frantically at the idea of any job that wasn’t at my own local paper. Indecisive Emma strikes again.
“You’re a writer, Em. What’s the harm in trying? You don’t have zero experience. Just put yourself out there and see what happens. You can’t just hide out in our coffee shop for forever. Well, I guess you can, and I’d honestly kind of love it. But the most selfless side of me encourages you to justtry.”
I poured myself a coffee. My third cup of the day. Working here had done a number on my caffeine intake. “I guess I could try. It all feels daunting to try something so new. I feel like I should just go right back to what I had been doing, even though that isn’t really an option.”
Katie gave me a sympathetic nod.
“I’ll ask Gabe for some advice. I know he knows how to pitch and how to connect with people. I won’t be writing for the serious journals like he does, but maybe I can do some cute listicle or something.”
“Youshouldreach out to Gabe. But, speaking of Gabe, my God you two are such peas in a pod. He’s all grumpy about his new writing prospects, too. Why is it so hard to get writers to write? You both want these perfect specific conditions and get so persnickety when you have to change things up a little.”
“Says the woman who has never published her heart and soul for the world to read.”
“Your heart and soul? You just said you might do a listicle.”
I snickered into my coffee cup. “I’ll stop being persnickety. I’ll write—maybe even more than a listicle. I’ll get Gabe writing, too.”
“You better,” she quipped. “Though, you’d write a fine listicle, Emma Brown.”
We heard a bell ring as a bundled-up mom wheeled a stroller in, and our little break was over.
We were in the last days of a cold January. It was mid-afternoon, and my shift was nearing an end at the coffee shop. I had a question for Rose that I’d been meaning to ask her, but she hadn’t been around the shop in a few days. I slipped off my apron and found Katie in the back going over some paperwork.
“Hey, Katie,” I said. She glanced up at me. “When is Rose going to be in?”
She winced. “I’m not sure? I could call her for you.”
“Does she have, like, an official schedule anymore?”
“She comes and goes as she pleases, really.”
“She used to basicallylivehere. Do you remember that?” I leaned against the desk.
“Yeah, the past several months, she’s kind of checked out. I think that’s why she trained me up a lot. She’s had the shop for so long, I think she’s gotten tired.”
“You kind of run the shop now.” I was only half-joking. “It’s weird because you feel like my boss.But you’re Katie.”
“I love running the shop.”
“Well, you deserve a bigger paycheck with how much falls on your shoulders. I know Rose, and she would happily give you a raise.”
“I got a little raise, actually. Rose has always given me a lot of responsibilities, but it’s really been this past year that the load got so heavy. She upped my pay along with it. Rose noticed and took care of me,” Katie said as she stacked a pile of papers.
“Do you know why she’s offloaded so much to you? You said you think she’s getting tired. Are you worried she’ll close the shop?”
“Not really.” She let her mind wander. “But if she did, I’d just buy the shop myself or something.”
I sat down on the desk in front of her. “Do you want to own a place like this someday? You always talked about owning your own business when we were in school.”
“I think I do. I love this place, and to be honest, there are a lot of things I wish I could change up around here. But Rose is a little checked out and just wants to maintain the status quo.”
I hadn’t known Katie was thinking like this about the shop, but maybe Katie hadn’t known until recently, either. It felt as if our futures were starting to roll in like the tide. For so long, we could run out and get our toes wet and then skip up to the safety of the shore, but recently, the tide was rushing up to us, and the safe shore was getting smaller and smaller. Soon we would have to dive in, whether we were ready or not.
