Page 20 of The Hampton Beach Café 2
He leaned toward her and pulled her into a side hug. She let herself lean heavily on him––he was just so warm and solid.
“I...I don't know what to say,” she stuttered. “I loved being friends with you. Whenever we were together, I had the time of my life––even the boring bits. And...I'm sorry I let us fall out of touch.”
The arm he had been resting around her shoulder dropped to her waist, and he squeezed her closer. She noticed how his hand held her tightly around the ribs. It was protective and reassuring at the same time.
“That happens. I'm just happy you walked back into my life.”
Frances laughed. “I think you'll find you walked your sign into my shin, but who's counting?”
TWELVE
“That glue finally came up,” Vince said as he entered the kitchen.
“Finally!” Frances exclaimed. She'd been scrubbing at it for days. “And do you think the storage for behind the bar will be ready soon?”
Her resident artist grinned. “It's already there.”
She leaped to her feet and scurried past him, out into the café, and through to the gallery area.
Behind the beautifully carved dark wood bar was a set of impressive shelves that reached all the way to the ceiling. The higher shelves had latchable doors, so they were safe from what Vince inexplicably called 'coconut hazards'. The shelves that were reachable, though, had a swinging door attached at the corner. During the day, all of the milkshake mix ins, syrups, and candy would be displayed while all the alcohol remained discreetly out of sight. While the door itself was actually two doors cleverly latched together, Vince, in all his woodworking handiness and experience, had gone the extra mile to make sure that if the milkshakes and kids’ stuff was on display, the alcohol couldn't be.
Their last big meeting with Kennedy had gone so poorly that Frances was wary of rescheduling, but a mandatory check-in was coming up. She had managed to get away with sending in the stats on the work they'd been completing, and until now, Kennedy had seemed happy with that––but now she wanted to come in and give the place a once over.
There were only ten days until they could open––if they passed their inspection. Frances picked up the remaining papers on the bar countertop and glanced over them. Their orders had all come in successfully. She couldn't quite bring herself to look at the totals. She knew what they were, and they were not low, but she had to prove that the café was up and ready to go.
“Get the rest of the stock loaded up. I think we need to have it all done at once so she doesn’t think we're showing a preference to either side.”
Vince nodded and turned to start packing glass jars of gummy bears into their preferred location.
“Oh, and Vince...Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” He leaned on the bar.
“Has Lucinda been...moody with you?”
She paid close attention to his face as he reacted. There wasn't a lot of movement––he was very good at not showing his emotions––but she did notice a twitch of panic and then concealed concern.
“Sort of. I think she's not used to someone chatting back to her,” he said.
“You chat her back, do you?” she asked, suddenly even more interested than before.
Lucinda had always said she needed a man who knew when to give her game and when to back off and do as he was told––so far, she'd never dated anyone with the gumption to give her any game at all.
“And I sometimes win, too.” He grinned. “But I do see what you're asking, and I don't know why she's so...unpredictable. You know, the other day, she asked me to hold her phone for her for a day. I think she was avoiding someone.”
“Hmm, interesting,” Frances said. “Thanks for the info and the shelves.”
She turned and moved to run through the checklist they had received from Kennedy last time to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything.
***
“Well, this has been a long afternoon,” Kennedy said. “However, I'm very impressed.”
They sat at the front table, and Frances let out a sigh of relief. Kennedy always managed to make her so nervous.
“I'm glad––“
“Did you have anything else to put to me? Any ideas for the name yet? Or how you're going to showcase more local wares?”
