One pastry she set aside from the others, tucking it into a bag. It was silly, and she knew it, but her Wednesday customer hadn’t come. She didn’t have a ton of regulars, not yet, but one, her best friend from high school, Cairo, always came on Wednesdays. Sometimes she came during the rest of the week, but in the month that Liv had been back here, she had never missed Wednesday.
But today she hadn’t shown up.
“What’s that?” River popped her head over Liv’s shoulder, taking advantage of their height difference.
“Cairo normally comes by,” Liv said, shrugging and entirely unbothered by River popping into her personal space. That she could deal with. Someone pushing into her personal life, however? That was a different story.
“Gonna take it to her?” There was an amused twist to River’s voice.
Liv nodded. Just as she was about to speak, the door jangled open and someone walked in. Liv put the smile on her face automatically, heading to the register. Her eyes flickered to the clock. A minute to spare.
“Hello,” Liv said, her voice warm. She didn’t recognize the woman, which was a rarity for their small town. She was tall and blonde, her skin as white as the rest of them who lived in the northwest and never saw enough sun. Her nails were painted purple, Liv noted, same as her eyeshadow. Her eyes were blue, like ice. “What can I get you?”
The woman’s gaze lifted towards the board above Liv’s head, surveying what was available.
Liv exchanged a look with River, who shook her head the smallest amount. She didn’t recognize the woman, either. She was dressed smartly, professionally, in a blazer and slacks. Close-toed heels peeped out from beneath the grey houndstooth pants, and she had a bracelet on her left hand. A business executive of some sort? Liv couldn’t think of anyone else that dressed so well.
“I’ll take an Americano,” the woman said finally.
Liv nodded, immediately punching it into the register. “1.65, please.”
The woman paid in cash, pushing the single dollar bill and coins across the counter. Exact change. “Thanks.” Liv put the money in the till and started on the drink. The woman stood stock still, her arms crossed over her impeccable blazer. She wasn’t angry, though, or impatient. There was a tired blankness to her face.
“Come here often?” Liv asked, trying to start small talk. She had to treat her customers well, and small talk was part of being a barista.
The woman looked startled, then she refocused on Liv. “Excuse me?”
“Do you come here often?” Liv repeated. “The town, I mean.”
The woman looked away, then nodded. “Yeah.”
Liv studied her for a moment while pouring the espresso shots. She didn’t think asking any more questions would get her anywhere. Instead, she just finished up the drink, putting on the top and sliding it across the counter. “One Americano.”
The woman picked it up, heading not towards the door, but to one of the small tables that Liv kept for customers. She sat down, her purse by her feet and her legs crossed.
Hating the way awkwardness prickled across her skin and made the hair on the nape of her neck stand up, Liv went and flipped the sign from open to closed. She didn’t mind that the woman was going to stay a bit, but she had plans for after the shop closed. She was going to go check on Cairo.
“Anything else?” River’s voice was low, directed at Liv. It felt strange, almost like neither of them wanted to disrupt the peace and quiet.
Not that a coffee shop could ever quite be considered quiet. The speakers played a soft but constant radio station. Liv’s favorite pop station, to be precise. It was her guilty pleasure.
Liv shook her head. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” She had the afternoon off, whereas River would be working the full day. Abby was working the morning shift with River.
“Tomorrow.” River hugged her, then paused.
Liv followed her gaze, watching as the woman stood and shifted to a different table, then sat down again. She exchanged a look with River. What was she doing?
A few minutes later she shifted tables again, as if she couldn’t get comfortable. “Can I get you anything?” Liv tried, uncertain as to how to approach the situation.
The woman looked at her, startled, then shook her head. “I’m fine.” There was a light flush to her cheeks, and she grabbed her purse and walked out the door.
“Well that worked,” River said with a drawl.
Liv elbowed her. “That wasn’t what I meant to do!”
“Strange lady.”
Liv nodded in agreement. She was so focused on prepping a care package for Cairo that she didn’t hear River slip out, and only noticed when Mocha trotted up to her.
“Hi girl,” she murmured, giving her a scratch behind the ears. Mocha was a tricolor beagle, but as she aged she had lost a lot of her black coloring to brown. The once dark saddle on her back was now brown with sprinkles of black and white, and the smallest hint of white had started around her eyes. No matter what Liv did, Mocha was going to grow older.
Mocha placed a paw on her knee and looked up at her. She wasn’t the type of beagle that did kisses, but she loved having her ears scratched. She was much too dignified for any other type of attention.
Snapping the leash on Mocha’s harness, Liv turned off all the lights and ensured all the equipment had been cleaned. She needed to do some prep for tomorrow, but she could do that later. Or River could do it in the morning.
Liv locked the coffee shop door behind her as she and Mocha ventured out into
