“Fine,” he said. “Just make sure she doesn’t forget my bacon.”
“Has she ever?” I asked but jumped out of the car and closed the door before he could answer.
It was a great day for there to not be a line out the door at Viv’s place, but everyone inside looked dreary and sad. They were used to a hopping morning full of hard work and happy customers. It had to be a total drag just standing around hoping the rain would stop.
Both girls behind the counter tried to step up when I came in the door, but Viv appeared from the back at the sound of the bell over the door announcing my arrival. “She’s mine, girls,” Viv told them. “Why don’t you guys go clean out the walk-in?”
They both groaned but still darted into the back. Nobody ever wanted to clean out the walk-in, but they were bored beyond belief. I looked around, and there was one elderly gentleman sipping coffee and reading the news on a laptop. He was probably dug in until the rain let up. Or until the Brew Station closed.
“Breakfast is on the house,” Viv said. “I’ve got a bunch of stuff prepped, and it doesn’t look like I’m going to sell it. You should take something for Reggie too. You think she’ll make it into work?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Jeremy bought her that new truck. I think that thing can drive through four or five feet of standing water.”
“Well, I might need her to come over here and rescue me if this keeps up,” Viv said. “You want your usual latte?”
“Yeah, and a raspberry mochaccino thing for Reggie,” I said. “Thanks. So, Thorn said that Coventry shouldn’t flood because of some sort of elevation. We’re on an rise here. But the surrounding area might get washed out. The creeks are swelling.”
“Well, that’s good for us, then,” Viv said.
I stood at the counter and watched the rain out the window while she made the coffees. She brought them over to me and then bagged up four croissant sandwiches with bacon, egg, and gruyere.
“I don’t have the fryer on in the back, so I hope four sandwiches is okay,” she said and slid it all across the counter to me. She normally used paper bags, but that day she doubled-bagged the entire affair in a plastic grocery bag.
“Thanks again,” I said. “Four free sandwiches is more than generous.”
“There’s twice the bacon in there for Meri, and I saw your little puppy through the window, so there’s some turkey lunch meat in there for her too,” she said.
“You’re the best,” I said. “I’ll probably come back over here for lunch. I doubt we’re going to get any business today either.”
“Turkey club sandwiches and all the chicken and wild rice soup you can handle. I got it started this morning in a moment of misplaced optimism. If you show up here again, expect to go home with at least one container of it,” she said with a chuckle. “I don’t think the girls working with me today will be able to eat it all, and they might call your husband on me if I try to make them.”
“Oh, that sounds delicious. We’ll definitely be back for lunch,” I said.
After that, we said a quick goodbye, and Viv went into the back to help the girls clean the cooler. I ran out to my car and dove in like I was made of sugar.
Meri and Tangerine sniffed the bag, and I wasn’t sure which one of them was more excited. “Pipe down, you two,” I said. “We’ll eat as soon as we get into the shop.”
I backed out of my space, shifted into drive, and did my best to baby the accelerator. That car went from zero to sixty in under four seconds, so you had to be careful. But, I wasn’t careful enough.
You would have thought I’d stomped on the pedal the way the car lurched forward and then fishtailed. “Whoa, lady!” Meri cried out as he dug his claws into the seat.
Tangerine fell over and rolled into him, but since Meri was anchored in place, they both managed to stay on the seat. I righted the car and drove as slowly as I could over to the other side of the square and parked next to Reggie’s truck.
I got out of the car, and Reggie must have seen me coming because she opened the door and held it. “Run for it,” she called out through the deluge.
For whatever reason, Meri and Tangerine decided to heed her call. They bounded past me and out the driver’s door. Somehow, neither one of them managed to land in the puddle outside the door.
I reached back in the car and grabbed the food, coffee, and my bag. As I stood up, it became abundantly clear that I didn’t have my purse straps all the way over my arm, and it did fall right into the very puddle Meri and Tangerine avoided.
“Oh, no,” I said and snatched it up hard enough that I splashed water all over my thighs. “Great,” I murmured as I ran for the door with my soaked bag.
Once I got inside, I dumped my bag’s content out on the counter. Reggie ran in the back and grabbed a bunch of paper towels. We tried to dry everything as best we could. My phone was in one of the side pockets, so it avoided getting ruined.
I had a bunch of paperwork, including my new marriage license, in a folder that was completely waterlogged. “Crud, I needed that to change a bunch of stuff to my married name,” I said.
“You could just not change it,” Reggie offered with a shrug. “Although, if you go with Wilson, you won’t have to spell it out for everyone anymore.”
“Nobody knows how to spell Skeenbauer,” I said. “Of course, they can’t spell
