Out of The Blue

Chapter 28

"Have a great day," Eric said with a grin as the elderly couple he'd served grabbed their bag of food and turned to leave. When the door swung shut behind them, leaving the store empty for the first time since he'd started hours ago, he let his shoulders relax and released a long breath. "Is it always this busy?"

Traffic in and out of the store had been crazy all day considering the beach was packed with locals and tourists looking for a quick snack or a cold drink as they soaked in the last traces of summer. And while June had stayed a bit after our usual lunch rush to help out, it'd been just the two of us for the last hour or so. Me mostly observing, though hopping in where I could, as I let Eric take the lead considering his training period was coming to an end and, thus far, had shown himself more than capable of handling the register while filling orders. All while exuding an upbeat energy and sporting a toothy smile.

I let loose a laugh and shook my head. "Don't worry, it's mostly a steady stream of customers. There are only a handful of days—holidays or when there's a festival in town—when we get swamped. But don't worry," I explained with encouragement, "you're doing a great job."

A gleam sparked in his eyes. "Thanks."

"And with Naya and Brendan starting next week—" Two high school students I'd hired as part-time employees to help out in the kitchen and front of the store, respectively. "—June and I will be able to craft a more official schedule, so we'll make sure to have two people working during the predicted rushes."

"They'll definitely be a big help around here," he commented. "I can't believe it was just you and June running the ship around here for over a year."

I shrugged, because now that I looked back on things, it hadn't been the least bit practical to balance the workload between the two of us. "We made things work, but it probably wasn't healthy to spend as much time as I did focused on work. So, it was time for a change."

He nodded in understanding before lifting a brow. "Do you know when you're going to hang up the apron for good?"

While I hadn't specifically looped him into my plans, he'd likely picked up enough context from conversations between June and I. After all, it wasn't a secret. Not anymore. "Soon," I replied, the corner of my lips quirking upward, "but not quite yet."

There were a few things up in the air regarding what was next for me, and until those were figured out, I would be sticking around to help out at Wilma's.

"Speaking of hanging up an apron though," I continued, hooking a thumb over my shoulder, "I'm going to refill the display case with everything June left to cool, and then I'll cover for you while you take a much-deserved break."

Flashing me two thumbs up, he said, "Sounds good."

Grabbing two empty racks, I carried them into the back and started transferring the sweet-smelling treats onto them. As a weekend special, June had whipped up blackberry muffins and apple pie snack bars, and those items were flying out of the store faster than any of our usual sweets, so she'd made sure to make extra before leaving today. She truly had a gift for finessing flavors and creating desserts that were out of this world, and I'd miss acting as her taster when I finally did step away from Wilma's. But I had no doubt that any of the new hires would oppose stepping into those shoes.