“Sure. Lemme just change my shoes.”
Billy gave a nod and disappeared, and Regan shook her head with a grin. Two lockers down, Jo, the cake decorator, shook her head, too.
“He loves to run things by you,” she said, not unkindly. Jo had been with Billy since he opened the bakery more than twenty years ago, and she knew him better than pretty much anybody.
“He really doesn’t need to,” Regan said. “I rarely disagree with him.”
“He trusts you. It’s his way of showing you that.” Jo slammed her locker shut and turned a gentle smile toward Regan. “You’re like a daughter to him, you know.” Then she squeezed Regan’s shoulder as she passed her and headed out the break room door.
Regan cleared her throat of the unexpected lump that parked itself there. Alone in the break room, she took a second to gather herself. What a day, right?
Clean shoes on, white apron tossed into the laundry bag in the corner, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed for the basement, wondering if she should celebrate by ordering some Thai food for dinner.
The basement served many purposes. It was used for the storage of dry goods, it held the walk-in freezer, and it contained Jo’s cake-decorating station. Regan reached the bottom of the stairs, and before she could register that there were more people down there, she was hit with an enormous cheer that startled her, making her take a step back, her heart pounding.
The entire bakery was there. Everybody, if Regan’s eyes were correct. And then Billy was next to her, his arm around her shoulders. When she looked up at him in question, he bent down to her ear and said, “I put the Closed sign up for few minutes. This is more important.”
By the time Regan made it home that day, she was a combination of so many things, she could hardly keep her thoughts organized. She was proud. Beyond-belief proud. She was happy, that was a given. Who wouldn’t be? She was thrilled, because this was going to be incredible. She also felt more loved than she’d felt in a very long time, thanks to Billy and her coworkers. Billy had told her to take all the time she needed, that he’d find a way to make do until she returned.
She was pretty sure her feet never touched concrete on her way home, her arrival much later than normal. Artie was waiting at the door, meowing his disapproval of this new return time.
“I know, I know,” she said, bending to scoop him up and lavish him with kisses of apology. “I’m very sorry, but it was a crazy day.”
“Don’t let him fool you.” Brian’s voice came from the kitchen. He entered the living room with a grin and a bottle of champagne. “This starving cat thing is an act. He ate dinner at his usual time. And you, my friend, are late.” He was tall and handsome, a husky guy with a neat brown beard and the greenest, kindest eyes Regan had ever seen. She always told him that if she was in the hospital and he showed up with those eyes, she’d relax in a heartbeat. “But Kiki told me about the retreat, and I am so proud of you.” He bent to kiss her cheek, then held up the bottle. “Celebration?”
“Why not?” Regan put her stuff down and slid off her jacket.
“Kiki ran to pick up Thai for dinner,” Brian tossed over his shoulder as he went back to the kitchen for glasses, and Regan was reminded how much she adored her roommates.
“I’m gonna take a quick shower and call my parents, okay?” she called out, headed to her tiny bedroom. Once there, she closed the door and leaned back against it, still unable to fully absorb what was happening. She pulled out her phone and FaceTimed her mother, then propped the phone on her dresser so she had both hands free to give attention to Artie.
“Hi, honey,” her mom said into the screen. She was clearly making dinner, her phone propped in the kitchen while she looked to be sautéing something.
“Hi, Mom. I have news.”
She barely finished telling her mother about the retreat before the entire household was trying to cram their faces into the shot. Both ofher parents, her little brother, her little sister, and her grandfather were all trying to talk at the same time, and Regan could see at least a sliver of each person’s face. By the time Kiki knocked at her door to tell her the food was ready, Regan was laughing so hard, her sides hurt.
“All right, I’ve gotta go eat dinner. I’ll tell you more when I find out more.”
“We are so proud of you, honey,” her father said, and she could see that his eyes were wet.
“Oh, Dad, don’t cry. Okay? You’re gonna make Mom all uncomfortable again.” Still laughing, she said her goodbyes and hung up.
Artie was still hanging around, waiting for more attention, and she obliged him, putting her nose right up to his face so he could boop her with his. Then she sighed happily.
“What a day, huh, buddy?”
* * *
Much as Ava was dreading talking to her boss, she knew she had to do it. She preferred to wait until the end of her shift, but that wouldn’t be until after midnight, and Goldie was usually gone by then.
Ava sighed quietly as she hung her purse and jacket in her locker and donned her white chef’s coat with the Pomp logo embroidered on the left breast in black and gold thread. It wasn’t that Goldie Schaefer was bad at her job. She wasn’t. She was actually a pretty excellent restaurant manager, and that wasn’t an easy achievement at a five-star restaurant in New York City like Pomp. It was that Goldie was simply a miserable person in general. Nothing made her happy. She complaineda lot. And making her employees feel less-than was something she seemed to shoot for on a daily basis. Kind of an “if I can’t feel good, then nobody should” type of attitude. Ava had become pretty good at flying under the radar and avoiding any need for Goldie to seek her out, but today could change all that.
“Goldie? Hey.” She rapped on the door frame of Goldie’s open office door. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”
“That’s about all I’ve got,” Goldie said, not looking up from her phone. “Come.”
Ava entered the office and stood with her hands clasped behindher back. She didn’t take a seat because she’d done that once without being invited to, and she’d been called out on it.
