Lucy was in charge of closing up, as she did most days.
We only stayed open until three.
Some days Lucy would keep the doors open later, depending on traffic.
Ember usually worked until closer to five.
She liked to stay ahead on orders and was obsessed with cleaning the back of the bakery.
I was so lucky to have Lucy and Ember.
That was something I never took for granted for a second.
Any dime the bakery made, I split three ways.
They deserved more, but it just wasn’t feasible.
“That was a crazy morning,” Ember said as she turned and leaned her butt against the counter.
“What was?”
“You got dumped.”
“Oh, that?” I asked. “That was… that was nothing.”
“Girl, he dumped your ass,” Ember said. “In front of everyone.”
“No. That was just a disagreement.”
“Emily, you’re crazy,” Ember said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said. “And even if he did… dump my ass… oh well. We weren’t married.”
“You two were together for a while.”
“Less than a year.”
“More than a month.”
“So anything over a month is long term for you?” I asked.
“This is about you,” Ember said. “It’s not okay to just hold-”
“Ding dong,” Lucy said as she walked into the back. “The bitch is here.”
“What?” I asked.
“Miranda is here,” Lucy said. “I am not talking to that woman.”
I sighed. “You’ve got her all wrong.”
“Sure,” Lucy said. “I’m taking a cigarette break.”
“You don’t smoke,” I said.
“I’d rather smoke than have to talk to Miranda,” she said.
“Come on, I’ll give you one of mine,” Ember said.
I shook my head as they walked toward the back door of the bakery.
I went back to the front and saw Miranda standing in the middle of the floor, looking up.
“Hey, Miranda,” I said.
“That light is buzzing,” she said. “This place looks like shit.”
I swallowed hard.
Okay, fine… Miranda was a bitch.
I sat across from Miranda and looked at the papers she had.
“You see what they’re doing, right?” she asked. “I can’t help that nobody wants the end spot. And I can’t keep pouring money into it. I’m in a bind here, Emily.”
“I see that,” I said. “That sucks.”
“Well, flip the page,” she said. “This is what really sucks.”
I flipped the page and saw a number bolded.
“What’s that?”
“What you owe,” she said.
“What?” I asked.
“I’m sorry,” Miranda said. “My hands are tied. I have to split the charges evenly. It’s in the agreement we have. I don’t want to do this to you. You’re my friend. You’re like my best friend, Emily.”
“I can’t afford this,” I said. “I’m barely getting by as it is.”
“I don’t know what to say. I’m trying to flip the building. That’s all I want to do.”
I swallowed hard.
I hated myself for bringing the building to Miranda’s attention. I thought it would have been a good thing for us to do together. Back in college - before she took off to law school without me - we had talked about buying a building together. We wanted to be badass business bitches.
But that dream fell to the side after my grandmother died.
Long story short… Miranda bought the building, became my landlady, and my life was some version of a joke that had no real punch line.
“When does it start?” I asked.
“I have to backdate it two months,” she said.
“What?”
“Emily, come on,” Miranda said. “Don’t make me feel like shit any more than I already do. I’m having a rough day. Last thing I need is heat with you. This is business, right?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
“Why don’t you take the end spot?” Miranda offered. “I can get this place filled in a heartbeat.”
“I don’t have the money to build it out.”
“Get a loan.”
“From where?”
“A bank…”
“I can’t,” I said. “I don’t… I don’t have the credit for it.”
Miranda sighed. “Okay. Well, there’s nothing else I can say. This needs to be paid. I can give you a week to get caught up. After that, I have to charge interest. Then I have to start adding it to the next month, plus interest, and from there…” Miranda waved her hands. “You know what? I don’t even want to think about that. That won’t happen between us. We’re friends. You know? You’d never do that to me. Right?”
“Of course not,” I said.
I felt Miranda wiping her shoes on my back.
Hello, world, my name is Emily… and I am your doormat…
“You can keep those papers,” she said. “But get them out of my sight. It makes me sick to do this. I feel sick, Emily.”
I folded the papers and put them on the table next to me.
“So what else is going on?” I asked. “Rough day you said?”
“Just dealing with assholes all day today,” she said.
“I’m sorry. I got dumped today.”
“What?” Miranda asked. “By who?”
“Jon.”
“You were still with him?”
“Yeah. He kind of came in here and screamed it in front of everyone.”
“Oh, that’s embarrassing. I would have closed up and gone home to cry. Liam was being clingy this morning… just annoying…”
“Clingy?” I asked.
“Yeah. Worried about that wedding quiz I told you about. Talking about the past all the time. I don’t know. I just wasn’t in the mood.”
“Well, you two are supposed to be talking about the past,” I said. “The past makes the future. Or something.”
“Bullshit,” Miranda said.
“You’re enjoying the wedding planning, right?” I asked.
“I will soon,” she said. “I’m working on a case and then it’s time to focus. I wish Liam would hear me when I say that.”
I knew Liam. He was eager, jumpy, and wanted it all done in advance. He wanted everything laid out in front of him.
Trust me, I knew Liam all too well.
Again, another joyous thing I did with my life mostly by accident.
I ran into him in college while visiting Miranda. And when I saw him and felt all those crazy old feelings, I got spooked and not only introduced him to Miranda, but all but threw her at him.
Like I wanted to protect myself from my feelings. Or from whatever Liam felt or didn’t feel.
Next thing I knew, they were dating… and then more…
I looked at the
