“Sending you home,” I said. “Go home.”
“What? Why?”
“Take a break,” I said. “Enjoy the afternoon and night.”
“It’s my job to close up.”
“Not today.”
Ember walked from the back and knocked on the wall. “Hey. I’m out. Are you two good?”
“Emily is kicking me out,” Lucy said. “She’s up to something.”
“Oh. Juicy.” Ember hurried around the counter. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I said.
“You have someone coming here, don’t you?” Lucy asked.
“What?”
“Oh, damn,” Ember said. “There’s only two possibilities…”
“Which are?” I asked.
“You’re meeting someone to get rid of the business,” Ember said. “Or…” She pointed to Lucy.
Lucy smiled. “You’re meeting that hot guy who got you soaking wet.”
“What?” I yelled.
“Liam,” Lucy said. “When he broke the pipe in the bathroom… you were wet…”
“Oh,” I said. “Right.”
“So, is it him?” Ember asked.
“No,” I said. “It’s new friends.”
“You have friends?” Lucy asked.
“New friends?” Ember asked.
“You two are horrible,” I said.
“Well, tell us what’s going on,” Lucy said.
I backed away from the counter. “I sang at a club last night. And I met a few other singers. And that’s that.”
“You went out last night?” Ember asked.
“Was Liam involved in this?” Lucy asked.
I didn’t answer.
My cheeks did it for me.
Ember laughed.
“Stop it,” I said.
“This is something,” Lucy said.
“What is?” I snapped.
Lucy slowly put the receipts on the counter and stepped away. “Nothing. I’m going home. My boss told me to.”
“I’m going home too,” Ember said.
“You both suck,” I said.
“One last thing,” Lucy said as she reached under the counter for her balled up coat. “You look happy right now. That’s all I’m going to say.”
“I second that,” Ember said as she walked to the back of the bakery.
A few seconds later I was alone.
The front door was locked.
The chairs were up on the tables.
And I couldn’t calm my mind.
Everyone was right.
I was happy. I liked to sing. I wanted to do it again.
But there was one thing really wrong.
I didn’t want to do any of it unless Liam was with me.
“Oh, this coffee is perfect,” Carla said. “Damn, you have something here.”
“You think?” I asked.
“She’s right,” Faye said. “This is good. I never knew about this place before. You’re kind of in a bad spot.”
“I’ve heard that before,” I said.
“You’re at the end of a not so busy street,” Carla said. “This building is yuck too. No offense.”
“I don’t own the building,” I said. “I just lease this spot.”
“Then get out of here,” Faye said. “I know someone who-”
“No thanks,” I said. “Trust me. No thanks.”
“Fair enough,” Faye said.
They both kept looking around.
It was hard for me to take pride in the business. I knew all the dirty secrets. I knew where the skeletons were hiding.
I knew what I wanted too and it wasn’t this place.
“Sorry for coming over now,” Carla said. “You’re all closed up.”
“I wouldn’t be able to focus otherwise,” I said.
“I think it’s cool,” Faye said. “I feel like a badass chick. In a business after it’s closed.”
“Like you and Dozer that one night?” Carla asked. “If Ernie ever finds out what you two did…”
“Shut up,” Faye said.
“Yeah, about Ernie,” I said.
I looked at Carla.
She batted her eyes. “What?”
“He said you and him…”
“That was a long time ago,” she said. “I fell for the whole I own the place and you’re beautiful thing.”
“More than once,” Faye said.
“How long?” I asked.
“Until he proposed,” Faye said.
“Can I tell my own story here?” Carla asked.
“Ernie proposed to you?” I asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Carla said. “The biggest diamond ring I ever saw.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“I didn’t want to marry him. So I told him that.”
“While he was on one knee?”
“Of course,” Carla said. “Hey. Life is too short to fuck around. I told him I liked him. I told him I didn’t love him. He put the ring away…”
“And you fucked him,” Faye said.
“You did?” I asked.
“Well, yeah,” Carla said. “But that was the last time. And why are we talking about this? Or about me? We were supposed to talk about singing.”
“Wait a second,” Faye said. She smiled a devilish grin, which matched her jet-black hair that came down just past her shoulders. “Can we talk about the guy you were with last night, Emily?”
“Nope,” I said. “Let’s talk about singing.”
Carla laughed. “Oh, come on. That guy was… hot. Tell me you took him home…”
“Liam is an old friend.”
“Old friend,” Faye said, rolling her eyes. “That means either he’s gay or he’s taken.”
“Which one?” Carla asked.
“Taken,” I said.
“And where was she?” Faye asked.
“She’s away right now,” I said.
“Oh, you little devil,” Carla said. She slapped my arm. “The bitch goes away and you come out to play…”
Faye clicked her tongue. “My, oh, my… you fit right in with us.”
“Tell her about Robin and Fritz.”
“Who’s Fritz?” I asked.
“Her husband, Kyle,” Carla said. “That’s his nickname. Long story short… Fritz had a girlfriend. They were basically engaged. Weird story there too. But Robin saw him and wanted him. She was better. She believed they were meant to be.”
“Did he… cheat?” I asked.
“Not necessarily,” Faye said. “Feelings are crazy things, you know?”
“Put it this way,” Carla said. “When they both knew, they both knew. That was it. Fritz got rid of the wrong woman and got the right one.”
“Even though he knocked up the right one and we’re short a singer,” Faye said.
“Which brings it all back to why we’re here,” Carla said.
“Wait a second,” I said. “Robin and Fritz. They’re married? She’s pregnant? It’s good?”
“I’ve never seen her so happy,” Faye said. “They’re meant to be. The heart knows what it wants. It’s not all sappy romance like in a movie.”
“Back to singing,” I said.
“Simple,” Carla said. “Do you want to sing with us or not?”
“I do,” I said. “I’d love to sing on stage with you. And Ernie wants me to sing a solo show too.”
“Perfect,” Faye said. “How awesome is it that the night Robin sings her last song with us you’re there to sing, Emily?”
“Thank Liam,” I said. “He wanted me to do it.”
“I hope that’s not all he wants you
