"Just shine like you always do."
Gwenn Davidson has always known she was adopted, but after clearing up her stuff for her first move out of her parent's house, she finds an old blanket gifted to her by her birth mother that triggers an avalanche of...
"IF YOU ASK FOR a pumpkin spice latte, I think I'll go mad," Sierra said, eyes drooping from exhaustion. Gwenn held her tongue before ordering the exact drink her friend advised her not to get. Sierra grimaced and punched in her order, grumbling under her breath about the season's pumpkin nightmare.
The coffee shop bustled with activity. Groups of Lockfell students huddled together at round tables, accompanied by an array of laptops, notebooks, and textbooks. With the cozy atmosphere made possible by the light cream tones, large panels of windows, and open seating area overlooking the town of Lockfell, she had the urge to find a good book and get lost in a corner.
Scarlet leaned against the wooden counter, sipping on her own latte, and waved Sierra off. "If she had one, then she'd be in a better mood." Zilla nodded in agreement beside her.
"I can't have one when you guys keep ordering more and more," Sierra responded, turning her back to them to focus on the coffee machines. Gwenn fought back a smile as Scarlet stuck her tongue out at Sierra.
"G, you made it!" Aura grabbed onto her shoulders, then dropped her hands. "What is up with all those stains, girl?"
Gwenn looked down at herself, and flushed at the mess left behind by the little weasels from daycare. "Working with children is tougher than it looks."
"Today was your first day, right?" Zilla asked, swishing her cup of coffee in her hand. Gwenn nodded, thinking back at her long day. "How'd it go?"
Sierra came back, sighing in relief when she realized there wasn't another customer to tend to, and handed Gwenn her latte. "That better be the last stupid latte I make."
They all chuckled, surrounding the front counter and blocking the clear stands showcasing muffins and cakes. If Sierra's boss walked out, they'd be thrown out of the shop for disturbing the flow of customers. But from what she could see, only two other employees worked alongside Sierra in the busy September evening.
"I cleaned, and played, and cleaned, and then played some more," Gwenn told Zilla. She took a pause. "And then I cleaned again."
Her friends laughed. Aura patted her on the back for good measure.
"If there's anyone in the world with patience for that job, it's you." Scarlet raised her latte in the air as if in a toast. "If you can help me graduate high school, there's nothing you can't do."
Gwenn shook her head, fighting a smile. "Unfortunately, there is something I can't do." She grasped onto the small cup, tightening her fingers around it before letting it go.
That old chest snapped its handles and hinges at her, wanting her to keep looking inside. Her fingers itched to pry it open and pull out every little item that connected her to her biological mother, starting with that sunflower-embroidered blanket.
"I...I want to find my biological mother," she confessed.
Her friends blinked in unison. Silence fell over them like a massive wave of dust over their heads. Only the coffee shop's noise filtered through—keyboard typing, coffee sipping, and muffin munching. Gwenn tapped her finger over the side of her cup.
"Your biological mother?" Aura broke the stillness. "You've never expressed wanting to find her before. What happened?"
In response, Gwenn sipped her latte. She relished the pumpkin spice flavor, letting it roll around her tongue before swallowing. "Wow, this is really good, Sie," she commented.
Sierra bowed her head. She wanted to keep prodding about the techniques used to achieve the flavor and whatever Sierra magic she held when making coffee, but everyone kept staring at her as if waiting for her to tell them everything.
Aura pressed on. "So what was it?" Gwenn set her cup down, not meeting anyone's eyes.
"I found this thing," she started. Immediately, the group leaned in, watching her every move so as not to miss a single detail. "When I was clearing out my stuff to move out, I checked the attic for anything I might've misplaced. And there was this chest filled with old stuff I've never seen before."
"Come on, girl, what was it? You're killing me here," Sierra said. The tension deflated, and Gwenn laughed.
"I found my old baby blanket," she told them. Aura tilted her head to the side as if not understanding how important it was. "The blanket I came with given to me by my biological mother."
They gasped in a breath.
"And now you're looking for her?" Zilla asked.
Gwenn shook her head. "I asked my parents about her. I figured they'd know about her if they were in the process of waiting for me to pop out, but they didn't seem to like the topic much." She grimaced at the end.
The front door swished open and Sierra groaned under her breath, retreating back behind the register with an apologetic smile thrown her way. A guy in black sweats, messy hair, and dark circles against bronze skin walked towards the counter, his body begging for coffee. He slumped forward and fetched for his wallet in his pockets, blinking away sleep.
Gwenn inhaled sharply and turned back to her present friends. "Anyway, now I just want to find her, but I can't tell my parents, much less Mom."
Scarlet placed both of her elbows on the counter, absorbing her words. In front of her, Sierra set to work on a new order. "Okay, so you can't tell your parents about finding your biological mother, so they can't help. Do you have any idea how to even start trying to find her?"
"All I know is that it was a closed adoption." She swallowed another sip of her latte to calm her insides. Her efforts didn't work. "I don't even know where to start."
"Uh, hi." They all turned to find the same half-dead guy who had just ordered sporting a shy smile. Aura shuffled back, thinking he needed space to wait for his coffee. However, he stared directly at Gwenn. "I apologize, but I couldn't help overhear your struggles and I know someone who can help."
Gwenn blinked. "Who are you?"
He gave a sheepish smile. "My name's Arthur Lovett. It's nice to meet you."
She grabbed onto his outstretched hand. "Likewise. I'm Gwenn Davidson." Her friends watched like focused hawks as they separated. "So you know someone who can find my biological mother?"
"My good friend, Ronan King," he revealed. Blood drained from her face and pooled under her feet. "He works on the down low, but he can find just about anyone." He reached over the counter, keeping his space from Aura as he grabbed a brown napkin and fetched a pen in his pocket. Before she could say anything else, he scribbled down numbers.
Arthur gave her the napkin as Sierra came back with a steaming large cup of coffee. "Gosh...um," Gwenn stammered with her words. Ronan's cellphone number glinted up at her as if daring her to call. "I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything," he said, then thanked Sierra for the coffee. "Just call Ronan. He's a good guy. He'll help you out." Arthur nodded towards her, then again at her friends before making his exit out of The Cream Accent.
Gwenn kept staring at his back, even when he disappeared from view down the sidewalk past other shops. She found his previous spot cold, stepping over it as if that could help her understand that the events did transpire. Her friends said nothing, waiting for her to say something.
It took a few minutes for her to gather her wits, but when she did, she turned to her friends with the scribbled napkin high in the air. "He gave me my boss's son's number."
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