Sage
This morning couldn’t be more hectic if it tried.
Avery, my five year old daughter, had forgotten her coloring pencils at home—but that was just the beginning. To prevent the meltdown of the century, I’d turned around after we got to the parking lot of Bell Buckle Brews, but halfway home, we got stuck on the road waiting for elk to cross. After what felt like forever, I’d put the pedal to the metal—without actually speeding—and ran inside once we made it home, grabbed her things, and jogged back out to the car. But naturally, on my way back, I tripped on the stick she’d been playing with the day before and fell on my ass, resulting in the colored pencils flying all over the lawn. After plucking the pencils out of the overgrown grass, inadvertently adding a few plucked green blades to the bag, we’d rushed back to the cafe only thirty minutes before opening, which made everything else fall behind.
The pastries weren’t in the oven, the dishes weren’t cleaned the night before thanks to my lovely coworker Gemma, so I had to scrub like my life literally depended on it because my position at this cafe depended on it. I couldn’t afford to lose my job over some dirty dishes. Because yes, I would be the one blamed for Gemma not doing her closing duties the night before. That was just how it worked here.
Typically, my mornings went smoothly. Avery and I were always on top of things. We had our routine down. If it was a school day, Avery would get her things together in her backpack on her own while I prepped her lunch, then I’d drop her off on the way to work. But with it being the middle of summer, she didn’t have school, and I didn’t have a babysitter to watch her, so she came to my job with me every day. The same went for winter break, spring vacation, or any other holiday during the school year.
If she wasn’t at school, she was with me.
Bell Buckle was a small town on the north eastern side of Idaho with a population of only a couple hundred people, which made it difficult to find anyone with the time to watch an almost six year old girl. I also had a hard time trusting people, so if someone did come up with the ability to watch her while I was at work, I’d typically let them down easy. I was probably causing more problems for myself by doing that, but with how our life was only mere years ago, I wouldn’t risk it if I felt off about someone.
Having Avery under my wing here made me feel better, even though it did make work difficult. There was typically only one employee working in the cafe at a time, other than the small overlap when shifts switched. With Bell Buckle being small and all, we didn’t have so much foot traffic to where one person couldn’t handle it all.
But today was one of those days where I wished someone was here to help.
It didn’t even have to be my friend and coworker, Penny.
I’d take anyone.
Even Gemma.
“Mama, can I have something to eat?” Avery asked, coming out from the back of the cafe through the swinging door.
“Can you give me five minutes and I’ll bring something back to you?” I asked as I pulled a breakfast sandwich out of the warmer with tongs and poured coffee into a mug at the same time. Some of the dark liquid splashed over the rim, adding to the multitude of other spills on the counter I kept telling myself I’d clean up when I had a minute.
If I got a minute.
Of course, the one day I was late had to be the busiest morning all summer.
Avery let out a huff and went back through the door to where her small table was set up with activities to keep her busy throughout the day. She got moody when she was hungry.
I set the sandwich and coffee on the counter beside the register. “Eight dollars and twenty-three cents, please.”
Eric, one of the local ranchers, handed over a ten dollar bill. “Thanks, Sage. Keep the change.”
“Thanks. Have a good day, alright?”
He grabbed his items off the counter. “Same to you.”
Eric walked over to one of the tables and sat down, pulling the curled up newspaper out of the back pocket of his jeans. I heaved a breath, then turned to throw Avery’s sandwich together before another customer came up to order.
“Hey, Sage. Refill?” Jeff, another local, asked from where he was seated by the window at the front of the cafe.
“Coming!” I called to him. I put more beans in the machine to brew as I grabbed Avery’s sandwich and slipped through the door to the back.
“Here you go, Aves,” I said, setting it down on a napkin in front of her.
She set her coloring pencil down and grabbed for the sandwich. “Thanks, Mama.”
“You’re welcome. I’m going back out there for a bit.”
“Wait. Do you like my picture?” she asked, holding the paper up with her free hand.
I quickly studied the stick figures in the field of flowers, giving a nod. “I love it.”
“Should I add anything else, do you think?”
“Needs more flowers. I’ll check on you in a little, okay?”
“Okay,” she mumbled through a mouthful of food.
I pushed through the swinging door with my shoulder, grabbing the decanter of coffee off the machine before turning. Right as I pivoted, my arm smacked right into a hard chest, causing the handle to slip out of my hand. It fell to the floor with a crash, shards of glass and drops of coffee spraying everywhere.
“Shit, I’m so sorry,” I said to whoever I’d run into.
I didn’t bother to look at who it was before grabbing a towel off the counter and bending to mop up the coffee.
“Be careful of the glass,” the man warned as he crouched beside me, another rag in his calloused hand.
“I know how to—” I cursed as one of the shards of glass sliced my finger.
He grabbed my hand, pulling it closer to him to look at the cut.
“You should clean this up so it doesn’t get infected. I’ll take care of the mess.”
I finally looked up into hazel eyes rimmed by dark lashes. I’d never seen the guy in my life. He was all man, his dirty blonde hair curling at the nape of his neck under his tan cowboy hat. He had to be new in town or just passing through. In a town so small, everyone knew everyone, and I’d know if I’d seen this man before.
