Cafe Latte

Chapter Nine

The next day was just as busy, and the next, and the next, and while Danny and Meara had expected business to die down after a few days, they were pleasantly surprised, and the customer traffic kept up. Josselin still came in every day, and he'd started staying later so he could have a quick chat with the kids before he left, and before long, Max and Roxie were begging Danny to invite him over too, the next time Meara came.

Then, at the beginning of October, Frankie came back into town.

Josselin had told Meara, at one point, when she was going to return from her trip, but with how busy he had been at work, the dates all blurred together and it completely slipped his mind until she and Josselin entered the coffee shop together one grey morning in early October, hand in hand.

The pang of jealousy Meara had expected never came. Instead, he was just glad to see Josselin so happy that his girlfriend was home, even though, from what it sounded like, she never stayed long. Instead, he was grateful Josselin liked him enough to want to extend his love, or, if it wasn't love yet -- it couldn't be, could it, not this fast? -- his life, to include Meara, too.

Josselin adjusted the laptop bag over his shoulder as Frankie bounded ahead a few steps to peer into the bake case. Meara waited until her attention turned to him, and he smiled.

"Hey," he said. He extended a hand over the counter. "I'm Meara. I don't think we've properly met yet."

Frankie grinned and shook his hand brightly. "Frankie," she said. "So you're the guy who's been making my boyfriend so happy while I've been away. Thank you."

The sleeves of her white sundress were short, barely straps at all, and while she was wearing a sweater, it slid down her shoulders and showed off part of the ink coloring her skin. She didn't have tattoo sleeves, exactly, more like a number of smaller, separate ones that happened to run together. They were everywhere, on her arms, her chest, her throat. Her legs, too, Meara remembered from the last time she came in.

Josselin slipped up to Frankie's side, looked up at Meara's face, and seemed to think better of it and dropped his hand. Meara tried very hard not to frown. Josselin didn't do this last time. Had Meara done something to make him uncomfortable?

"My usual," Josselin said. He scratched the side of his nose and squinted at the menu board behind his reading glasses. "Do you have pumpkin spice?"

Meara shook his head. "Surprisingly, it was never a big seller for us. It cost us more to buy than we made selling it."

Josselin looked over at Frankie with a shrug. "I was only asking because I knew you wanted to."

Frankie laughed and gently shoved him with her shoulder. Meara wished there weren't a counter between them, that they could all sit around a table together and talk. But if not now, maybe later.

"That's okay," Frankie said. "I'll take a cappuccino."

"Wet or dry?" Meara was in the habit of asking. It was a polite way of finding out if the customer knew what a cappuccino was or if they actually wanted a latte.

"Bone dry," Frankie grinned. "Thanks for asking. Most don't. With just the tiniest amount of cinnamon syrup, if you have it?"

"That we do have."

"Just a half-pump, if even that."

Meara grinned. "No problem." His eyes darted up when the doorbell rang and a couple walked in, hand in hand. He plated up Josselin's regular scone and slid it down the counter, rang them up, and said, "If it's slow enough I'll bring it out. If not, I'll call you."

Frankie gave him an exaggerated wink and a thumbs up, and Meara rang up the next customer and started on the orders.

Since only the couple had come in, Meara brought the drinks out to Frankie and Josselin. Josselin looked into his mug to see what Meara had drawn for him today. It was a turtle with a heart on its shell. So whatever that face had been when he pulled his hand away from Frankie hadn't been from discomfort?