Page 60 of It's a Brewtiful Day
I pulled myself onto my feet and walked back behind the counter, scratching down his requests. “Got it, Harvey.”
“I knew you would.” He hung up before I could say anything else.
“Feel better,” I said to the handset as I settled it back into the cradle. However, my focus was on the window, wondering where Elliot had gone.
And then I wondered why I cared so much.
Chapter Twelve
I missed my daily caffeine jolts, but I found myself missing Elliot more, and in spite of all of that, I couldn’t make myself step into the Coffee Loft. Instead, for a couple of days, I had to settle for a homemade coffee in a travel mug which wasn’t anywhere close to the deliciousness of whatever concoction Elliot created for me. It was sad really, as was my life these days.
It was Sunday, and I arrived at the bookstore slightly before my scheduled time as I needed to get that dang astronomy book display set up before Harvey arrived. The store was too busy yesterday to have spent any time getting it done and it didn’t help that I had been on my own.
Setting down the bag of goodies I brought with me, as I’d had a brainstorm last night, I started making my creations.
Taking two aluminum foil tart wrappers, Ihammered out a five-pointed star, ensuring not to have the holes touch. Then I hot glued a flameless candle to the inside and dabbed a few dots of hot glue along the edges of the tart wrapper, pushing the other tart wrapper on top.
“Wow.” I held it up. It would’ve looked quite amazing if I’d actually turned the candle on before I sealed it up.
My next one was better, and the third one was impressive, if I said so myself.
By the time I had hammered out the fourth one, Harvey unlocked the door and meandered up the stairs to the counter. “Hey, Sage. Whatcha making?”
I held up the working prototype. “A star light. Figured I could hang a few from the roof over the display.”
He shrugged with a weak grin of approval. “I like it. Great idea.”
But it wasn’t my idea. It had been Elliot’s; the one he mentioned he was going to make to light the paths for the festival next weekend. “It was a friend’s idea.”
“It’s all fine, whatever works.” He lumbered to the back room, and I went about constructing more, wondering how I could swap out the battery-powered lights without damaging the tart shells.
I set up the window display—a recessed pocket that displayed everything at the perfect street height—and erected books on astronomy and displayed the tiny model rockets the rocketry club haddropped off. One was apparently a Saturn V, not that they ever launched those, but the kids (or adults) could paint one of the models to look like it. I had agreed to sell a few kits on consignment, and the buyers could take them to the school field and have a little fun.
Stretching on my tiptoes, I taped one of the decent-looking star lights to the top of the window, allowing it to dangle above the books and rockets. Shrugging with acceptance (and a modicum of hope) that in the evening with the store lights off and battery inside, it would look pretty neat. Maybe the addition of a few fairy lights would help give it more curbside appeal. I made a mental note to bring in a string on my next shift.
Just as I taped on another dangling star light, Elliot walked on by carrying two takeaway cups. As he neared the bookstore, his stride shortened but he didn’t look toward the entrance. Instead, he stopped on the sidewalk for a second. A small smile, but not a real deep and pleasant one, spread across his pensive face.
My heart hammered hard against my ribs, and I put a hand over my chest in fear they’d break from the strength. With my breath held, I waited to see if he’d come into the store, but instead, he continued down the sidewalk and handed off one of the takeaway cups to a gorgeous redhead. It wasn’t his sister, and she didn’t look familiar, but they had a friendly exchange all the same.
Just like that, he was gone, and my heart started aching all over again. But this time, it was because I’d been wrong about him – he’d already moved on to someone else. So much for our night together.
* * *
Since it was clear that Elliot was now friendly with someone else, there was no reason for me to avoid going to the Coffee Loft. Although, if I were trying to protect my own heart, staying away should've been the smarter choice.
A week after the storm, I entered the coffee shop for the first time, and a sense of familiarity wrapped all around me. The strong scent of the coffee beans, the aroma of a cinnamon bun someone had heated, and just the overall feeling of comfort.The place was packed, and we were still two days out from the Dark Sky Festival. I couldn't even imagine how busy the place would be once the festival started.
Accommodations at the motels and various B&Bs were booked solid, and all retail shops were fully staffed and stocked. As it was, Harvey had scheduled me to work nine-to-three for the entire weekend without a day off since he’d cover the two-to-closing at six.
I patiently waited my time in line, slowly moving to the counter—and Elliot. I scanned the station, noting the book tree was absent, and with thatcame a heavy, pained sensation in my gut. Had he tossed it?
Searching beyond the usual staff, I surveyed all the tops of the shelves in case he’d moved it to a better spot, but there was no sign of it.
Elliot avoided looking in my direction. I could only guess that either he hadn't seen me, or was super focused on making the drinks, or the unlikeable but more likely third scenario was that he had noticed but was giving me the cold shoulder. Deep down, I hoped it was the first one, but I really needed to trust my gut and accept the third was the reality.
Eventually, I made my way up to ordering.
Nina was taking the orders and she lit up when she saw me.“Oh, hey, Sage.”