“I’m almost a big man. Look how tall I am.” He puffed up his chest, and I held back tears.
How was he already six? And going to school with a backpack that was too big for him and little shoes he constantly grew out of?
Life was running away from me. Though, somehow, I was trying to keep up.
My meeting with my friends later today would not help matters. I was not ready for our lunch date. But I didn’t think I had a choice.
I got Joshua off to school, waved at his teachers, and did my best not to speed on my way to the Boulder Bean. I had spent a considerable chunk of my savings and had taken out a loan that I knew I’d probably be paying off for the rest of my life for this café. I had worked at the former iteration of the place when I was a teenager. When the old owners needed to sell but wanted me to change the name to make it mine, I had leaped at the chance.
I had put my literal blood, sweat, and tears into its design, the process, and I loved it. I loved coffee, all kinds, and continually tried to find perfect versions of old favorites. I also dug baking and cooking and was able to do a few of those things every time I opened the doors.
I loved every inch of the Boulder Bean and the fact that it had become a hub for my friends and me. Myra, Paris, Hazel, and I couldn’t be more different from each other. But, somehow, we had all met up at the Boulder Bean and became friends.
They didn’t look down on me because I didn’t have the kind of money Hazel and Myra had. Nor the education the three of them had. But they were my friends, and I never truly felt inferior. That didn’t mean I wanted to see them today, however.
“Hey, boss,” Jason said from the front of the shop as he handed off a large double shot, double whip mocha with extra chocolate shavings.
My blood began to jitter just thinking about the amount of sugar in that, but I didn’t judge.
Sometimes, I needed that boost, too.
The man in the high-end business suit who gave me a sly wink didn’t seem to fit the usual mocha with chocolate shavings type, but people and coffee came in all sizes, and I loved trying to match them up.
“Hey there, Jason.” I looked around to see if there was anything I could do right away before I went to the back.
“Things are in tip-top shape here. Pop’s in the back.” Jason grinned at me, his dark eyes dancing with happiness. He’d pulled his black hair back into a braid that went down to the middle of his back today and had a bandage on his inner arm that I knew covered his new ink. All of my employees were allowed to openly wear all of the ink they wanted, but Jason’s was still healing. I couldn’t wait to see it looking vivid against the light brown of his skin.
Pop was a twenty-five-year-old woman who liked to go by the name Pop and was as cantankerous as an old grandpa set in his ways. It made me laugh most of the time. And she was a great baker, so I went with it.
I did most of the baking at the shop with Pop and Jason in the front, but some days, I didn’t have time to do it all myself. Hiring Pop meant I didn’t have to come in every morning, especially with my babysitter issues.
Both she and Jason worked for me full-time, though I had a few part-timers that rotated in and out, too. We were situated between two universities, as well as many of the businesses of Boulder, and that meant we had a steady stream of customers.
Boulder was weird. That’s what the city was known for. Franchises came and went, especially the big green machine that I attempted not to think about. But Boulder liked its quirky and unique, and the Boulder Bean tried for that.
“Seriously, thanks for opening today,” I said, hating that I hadn’t been able to be here.
“No worries. It’s what we’re here for. Though as soon as you can replace Nancy, the better.” He winked. I could tell he was annoyed with the woman. Nancy had been a great babysitter. She just liked a married man more than she enjoyed watching my son.
I was not going to harp on that, though, because I would only get cranky, and I didn’t have time for that.
I waved at a few of my regulars, made a couple of coffees, then went back to the kitchen to work on baking for the late morning and afternoon crowds.
“Hi, Pop,” I said, looking over at the woman with the literal pop of color on her head. Today, she was bright pink with a purple stripe that went through her natural curls. Her two nose rings and Monroe piercing shone brightly against the dark brown of her skin and made me feel like I would never be anywhere near as cool and trendy as her.
I’d had a nose ring all of four days before I sneezed and lost the jewelry down the drain. And while I wanted to add color to my hair, it tended to wash right out after a minute. And I wasn’t a fan of bleaching because then the curls got all dry and I ended up with a rat’s nest on the top of my head.
“Hey, Dakota. Joshua, okay?”
“He’s doing great. Thank you for opening today.”
“No prob, Bob.”
The idea that my staff cared about my son warmed my heart. It was odd, being a business owner and a single mom. I knew that it was a little too much work, and that I would burn out eventually if I didn’t find some balance. But Joshua was loved.
