Weaving her way between the small groups of people seated throughout the room, Katherine set her suitcase down near the window and looked across at the daintily written chalkboard menu behind the counter. She was relieved to find the prices affordable.
Still, she thought, it’s probably best just to order something simple. She wasn’t sure how long her savings would last, and the morning’s efforts proved that it would be much more difficult to find a job than she had expected.
She tried to push aside the aching mix of old memories and present troubles that welled up inside her, but to no avail. Her mind raced restlessly from one to the other until, lost in thought, she felt a gentle touch on her arm. She hadn’t noticed the tall woman standing near her table.
“Hello, again.” The woman said cheerfully, leaning down to catch Katherine’s gaze.
Katherine looked up quickly with an embarrassed blush. “Hello.”
“My apologies for not seating you personally when you came in.” The woman said graciously, setting a small silver tray on the table. Taking a dainty china teacup and saucer from the tray, she set it in front of Katherine, explaining, “Friday noon is always a rush, you see.” She smiled. “Tea?”
Katherine nodded. “And a scone, please,” she added as the woman deftly poured out a cup of amber liquid from the small teapot on the tray.
“Coming right up. I’m Miss Harriet, by the way.”
“I’m Katherine. And I wasn’t offended.” Katherine smiled in spite of the emotional turmoil from which she had just surfaced. “Is this your shop?”
“Yes, it is. It’s my pride and joy… and my livelihood.”
“Sounds like a pretty good deal.”
“It is. I consider myself very blessed indeed. Now, what brings you to our lovely little harbor hamlet today?”
“I grew up here, actually.” Katherine replied, trying to sound cheerful. “We moved away when I was nine, but nowhere else ever seemed quite like home. When I graduated from college yesterday, it seemed right to come back here.” She shifted in her chair, a little embarrassed. She hadn’t meant to spill out her life’s story before a stranger like that, but something about Miss Harriet invited confidence.
“Well, congratulations! And welcome home,” Miss Harriet said heartily.
“Thanks.”
“So then, you’ve finished school and are looking for a new beginning?”
Katherine smiled ruefully at how cliché her plan sounded when boiled down to its essentials. “Yes, something like that. I grew up here, and came back expecting, well… expecting a lot of things to be the same, that have evidently changed.” Katherine’s deep disappointment clouded her face as she spoke. “I thought the owner of the ice cream shop might remember me and be able to find a job for me there, but I guess he sold the shop to someone else after the mill closed and the new owner made it very clear they weren’t hiring.”
A strange look passed over Miss Harriet’s face when Katherine mentioned the ice cream shop, as if she were pondering something. But as she opened her lips to speak, a boisterous woman in a large hat called Miss Harriet’s name from across the room and she had to excuse herself to see what the woman needed.
Katherine watched Miss Harriet glide gracefully away, then took a sip of her tea. She had never really tried tea before. Her parents and friends had always been coffee drinkers. She noticed it had layers of flavor. It tasted delicate and light, but strong at the same time, if just a bit bitter. She decided there was something comforting about this tea, calming, even. Taking another sip, she looked around her. As Miss Harriet had pointed out, it was lunch time, and customers filled nearly every seat in the place.
Seeing Miss Harriet fly about from table to table, darting gracefully in and out of the kitchen, Katherine suddenly felt a curious sort of longing and wished, rather than hoped, to one day have the sort of peaceful joy which radiated from this elegant middle-aged lady.
She noticed how everything about Miss Harriet seemed graceful and orderly, from her straight blonde hair, pulled smoothly into a French roll, to the light floral skirt that flowed respectably around her as she walked, to the neat little pastel blue flats and the precise way she had rolled up the cuffs of her spotless collared shirt over the sleeves of her light pink cardigan. This was a lady who personified grace, elegance, and meticulous attention to detail.
Miss Harriet disappeared behind a curtained doorway, and Katherine let her gaze drift over the other occupants of the room. She noticed a mother and daughter sitting at a table nearby. The little girl was probably around six, and from the looks of it, had decked herself in every piece of costume jewelry she owned. The two seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.
Katherine thought of the imaginary tea parties she’d had with her mother as a child, and soon her mind was flitting back through the years she had spent at her home in Harborhaven. A wave of loss swept over her as the happy memories all tumbled over each other, rushing headlong into the shock of that last Christmas at home, when everything changed and the life and home she knew and loved had been so abruptly jerked out from under her.
Somehow, coming back to the little town where she had been so happy before only served to solidify the nagging, painful truth that those days were gone forever. She now was a stranger to the town she loved. She had no friends or family there to bolster the rush of courage that had at first driven her to return. She could feel it fading faster as the day wore on. Letting her shoulders slump, she stared into her teacup, overwhelmed by loneliness, and utterly daunted by the excruciating struggle of deciding what to do next.
After a while, Miss Harriet returned with a small plate of hot scones. Laying a hand lightly on the chair across from Katherine, she asked, “May I?”
Katherine nodded, and Miss Harriet took a seat.
“Katherine, I have something I wondered if you might help me with?”
“What is it?” Katherine asked, intrigued.
“Well, you can see how full the shop is today, and I’m the sole waitress, cook, and dishwasher. Would you mind helping out, just for the day? Of course, I would pay you.”
Katherine’s face lit up as she exclaimed, “Oh, yes. I would love to!”
Miss Harriet smiled broadly and said, “When you’re finished with your tea and scones, come to the kitchen and we’ll get you an apron.”
Katherine found she enjoyed the work immensely. She spent most of the day bussing tables and delivering food, but Miss Harriet watched her closely and by the end of the day had allowed her to begin welcoming customers and taking orders.
As closing time approached, however, Katherine was again gripped by the need to decide what to do next. She realized that, although she had found work for that day, she now had no place to spend the night.
With a heavy weight in the pit of her stomach, she acknowledged to herself that she taken the job in hopes that something would turn up before the end of the workday, so she would be spared the awkward and bewildering task of looking for a place to stay. What have I gotten myself into? she wondered silently.
She had to find somewhere to sleep. There was the old Grand Hotel down the street, but she knew one night there would be sure to empty her bank account, even if she added in her day’s earnings. Without a car, she would have to walk somewhere… or else… maybe she could get a bus to the next town. But something seemed to be compelling her to stay in Harborhaven. Maybe there was some other option.
She hated to impose upon the woman who had been so kind to her already, but she didn’t know where else to turn. So she walked hesitatingly over to where Miss Harriet stood vigorously polishing the counter.
Before she could say a word, Miss Harriet, still polishing, said in a cheerful tone: “Well, then. You’ll need a place to stay for the night, now, won’t you?”
Katherine let out the breath she had been holding. “Yes. In fact, I was just coming over to ask you if you could recommend a cheap hotel nearby?”
“Oh, I can do better than that. There’s a rather dreary little flat above the shop I keep up in case of company. You can stay there tonight, free of charge.”
Astonished by the older woman’s generosity, Katherine stuttered out her thanks. Miss Harriet laughed a sweet, bubbly, infectious laugh, then held out her hand.
