Page 28 of Christmas in Watch Hill
“We should check onJessica,” I told Molly over the breakfast of fluffy pancakes, bacon, and eggs Aunt Eliza insisted on whipping up the following morning. The way she was feeding us, I was going to gain a few pounds on this trip. Still, I didn’t want to resist. The best holidays always included great food, and Aunt Eliza could have written her own cookbook on December entertaining. I speared some of the eggs with my fork. “She seemed really sick last night.”
“You’re right. It sucks to be sick over the holidays, and besides, she can’t afford that right now.”
“I am so glad she took over that business, it would be a shame to have it shut down for good. That shopping center wouldn’t have been the same without a coffee shop.” My aunt sat down at the kitchen table opposite me. “You both should see if she’s okay.”
“We probably should. I want to do some shopping today, too,” Molly grinned. “I still have a few things on my list to buy. Not many, but a couple.”
“I’ll go with you,” I said. “And then let’s stop at the coffee shop on the way home and see if she’s there.”
“Great.” My cousin looked at her watch. “Let’s go after breakfast.”
Molly’s insistence that she needed only a few things on her list turned into a shopping spree that lasted half the day. She was a sucker for sales, and her end-of-the-year bonus for clerking at the McAllister Law Firm downtown had just hit her bank account. She wanted to spend, and she did, stopping by one store after another until the purchases loaded down her trunk.
We didn’t stop by Already Perked until late afternoon. When we walked in, a long line of customers wanted happy hour drinks and spiked coffees from the limited alcohol menu the restaurant served. Molly and I took spots at the back of a line twelve customers deep.
“You should try the Mexi-Cocoa,” Molly said. “It comes with a shot of spiced liquor that makes it taste amazing.”
“I’ll remember that.”
I surveyed the café menu, admiring the selection and deciding to order something different than the black coffee I’d requested at my previous visit. Unlike then, I wasn’t here for only the caffeine jolt. Besides, I’d heard enough raving to know this might be the coffee shop that converted me to more exotic drinks.
“Is Jessica here?” Molly asked when our turn to place an order finally came and she’d requested two large Mexi-Cocoas. “We were hoping to see her.”
“She’s in the back. Let me get her.”
The barista walked to what I assumed was an office area next to the kitchen. When he emerged, Jessica was a few steps behind him. She looked somehow thinner than when I’d dropped her off at her house, her hair dull and her eyes wide.
“How are you feeling?” Molly asked as the barista worked on our drinks. I wondered why she felt the need to ask. I knew the answer just by looking.
“Better.” Jessica frowned. “Still sick, but better.”
“Are you sure that you should be at work?”
“I don’t have any choice.” Jessica shrugged and looked away. “This is our busiest time of the year. Besides, it’s probably only food poisoning, not anything contagious.”
“That’s good, although food poisoning is the worst. I had a bad case of it last year,” my cousin said. “Almost caused me to miss my trip to Hilton Head. You didn’t miss much last night, by the way. Just some bad karaoke. The lead singer brought a couple of people from the audience up on stage, and they embarrassed themselves singing “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and a few others.”
Jessica grimaced. “I hate that one.”
“Yep,” I agreed, injecting myself into the conversation for the first time. “That’s one of the worst ones. I have no idea why people still bother singing it.”
Jessica blinked at me. “Thanks again for the ride. It was great to have the help.”
“Anytime.”
As I studied her across the baked goods display case, I noticed once more how beautiful she was, even when she didn’t feel well. Darn it, why does she have to live three states away?If Jessica lived anywhere near DC, things would be totally different between us. I’d have asked her to dinner by now; I wouldn’t have limited our interaction to one breathless weekend. We’d have been . . .more.
Too bad.
“We should have dinner,” I suggested, blurting it out in a way that surprised me. “I know I’m only in town a couple more days, and tomorrow is Christmas Eve, but . . . we should have dinner.”
Jessica gave a weak smile. “We should.”
Molly chuckled. “Oh, here we go, I should have seen this coming.”
“How about the 26th?” I didn’t care that my cousin was hearing all of this. “Seven?”
“The day after Christmas. That will work.” She braced herself against the beveled glass. “Hopefully I’ll feel better by then. I’ll see you at seven.”
