Lattes & Lace

by Annora Green

  And that is how things continued for the next little while. By day, they remained two professional women who worked near each other, Sophia stopping by for coffee breaks, friendly banter being the hallmark of their daytime interactions.

  But by night, Ari might visit for dinners that, when Percy was not around, involved late nights of long talks, jokes, playful quarreling and conversations interspersed with caresses and kisses and gentle touches of soft fingertips on fiery skin.

  One week, when too many days had gone by without privacy at Sophia’s house, Sophia snuck Ari upstairs into her office after hours. They wandered into the dark room and indulged each other amongst scraps of silk and lace that peppered her table and shelves.

  As they had agreed, they did not stop to try to label what they were doing, or discuss it in detail. Instead, they had fallen into a comfortable, perfectly natural rhythm: just the two of them, together.

  And it was lovely.

  12. Exchanges

  “Why didn’t you tell me that The Little Cafe was struggling?” Sophia had come over to the cafe after she finished work to pick up Ari for dinner. It was Ari’s turn to select the restaurant, and pizza was the plan for the evening.

  (“Let’s have it in the park, overlooking the water,” Ari had suggested over the phone earlier that day, and Sophia had to admit, despite the casual choice of food, all things considered, it was a pretty romantic date plan.)

  But when Sophia arrived at The Little Cafe, she found Ari, usually so upbeat, was in a sour mood. After she walked behind the counter, she overheard Ari complaining to Rachel that the cafe was once again dangerously close to being in the red that month.

  “It’s not struggling,” Ari grumbled as Sophia made her appearance, interrupting the conversation she was having with Rachel. “Just not sure how to reconcile some things in the books. I feel like business is decent, but at the end of the month, we’re not making a lot of money. Not as much as I need, and definitely not as much as I want to be making.”

  “What does your accountant suggest?” Sophia asked as Rachel slipped back out into the cafe to wait on customers.

  “Nothing. He just takes care of tax stuff.”

  “Okay. Well, what about suppliers? Are you getting the best prices for the volume of materials you are purchasing? Or leftover inventory? How many things do you have to toss at the end of the week? What expenses do you have that you can trim?”

  “I... I don’t know, really, I’d have to start keeping better track,” Ari admitted.

  “You might want to,” Sophia said. “Tiny details and expenses here and there might not seem like a big deal on their own, but everything adds up.”

  “Would you mind taking a look at my books?” Ari asked. “You have tons of experience, and I’m still new at this whole running your own business thing. And, clearly, I’m really new to this whole staying out of the red thing.”

  Sophia hesitated.

  “Never mind,” Ari said quickly. “You’re busy. I don’t want to bother you.”

  “No, that’s not it. I just don’t want to get in an uncomfortable situation where I’m giving you advice on your business. I don’t know everything. A lot of what I do know was learned simply through trial and error, and probably a dose of luck. I don’t want to steer you in the wrong direction,” Sophia said.

  “Right now, I have no one to give meany direction. My parents try to help, but let’s face it, their cupcake shop failed. I’m doing better than that so far. I’ll take any advice I can get, because otherwise I’m on my own,” Ari said.

  Sophia smiled. “All right. It’s not a problem, I’ll take a look. I’ll let you know what I think, if there’s anything I see that might help you out. But right now I suggest trimming any costs you can in the short term.”

  “Like... what?” Ari asked warily.

  “Well, what about striking some of the pastries and the little snacks that don’t sell as quickly off the menu. Or reduce the choices of different filtered coffees you brew every day, so you don’t have to buy so many different types of beans. Little things like that.”

  Ari considered. “I know I should’ve been trimming more things like that, but I hate to do it. I like offering customers a larger selection. I think it makes my place seem special, worth going out of the way to visit, you know? Compared to the average coffee chain.”

  “It’s hard to edit when it involves the things you love. Trust me, I know. But you can always do it for a little while, until business picks up. Then you can slowly experiment with re-introducing more things.”

  “You’re probably right,” Ari admitted.

  “And I’ll look at the rest of your paperwork this weekend,” Sophia said, taking the folder that Ari offered her, which was stuffed with papers.

  As they walked to the pizzeria, they chatted lightly, dropping the work topics for the rest of the evening. They relaxed, enjoying their food as they sat overlooking the water at a park just a stone’s throw from the pizzeria, enjoying the warm evening weather.

  “I haven’t met your parents yet,” Sophia pointed out as they were eating. “You’ve met my family - unfortunately - but I have yet to meet yours.”

  “Strange you haven’t run into them. They come by the cafe once or twice a week, although they usually come over in the middle of the day, when you’re at work,” Ari said. “We could all have dinner sometime if you want. My mom would love Percy. She adores children and I think she always wished she’d had more.”

  “You don’t have any other siblings, do you?”

  Ari shook her head. “No.”

  “Your parents really worked for my father’s company?” Sophia asked, hesitantly bringing up the topic for the first time since the wedding.

  Ari nodded. “Yes.”

  “What did your father do?”

  “Software programmer,” Ari said.

  “And your mom?”

  “She was in human resources.”

  “My father retired a long time ago, but he’s still on the board and involved in some things around the company. I came across the company’s job postings recently, and there are some positions open that might be a match for your parents,” Sophia said, trying to sound casual.

  “Really? I don’t know...” Ari hesitated. “I don’t know how they’d feel about being hired back at the same place.”

  Sophia shrugged. “There’s been a lot of turnover in the years since they were laid off, I doubt it would be too difficult to transition back in, especially if they left on good terms. I could see what I could do.”

  “We’re talking business again,” Ari warned.

  “It’s more about your parents,” Sophia defended herself, smiling.

  “Yeah, you volunteering to pull some strings for me. Seems a little shady.”

  “How do you think most of corporate America runs? You scratch my back, I scratch yours.” Sophia said, then grimaced. “That’s truly a disgusting expression, isn’t it?”

  Ari laughed. “I feel weird asking that kind of favor of you. As you just pointed out, you haven’t even met my parents.”

  “It’s not a favor, I offered. And I’m not guaranteeing anything. It’s just a thought. You’ve done a lot for me, Ari. I’m happy to do something for you.”

  Ari gave her a serious look. “Things don’t have to be exactly equal all the time, you know.”

  Sophia swallowed. “I know. But I just feel like doing something helpful if I can. Think about it. Maybe mention it to your parents sometime.”

  “Why don’t you mention it yourself? Maybe I will plan something, and you can finally meet them.”

  ¨°¨

  Meeting the parents was a rare event for Sophia.

  She had scarcely gotten far enough in a relationship - at least in the past decade - to do the whole meet the family thing. But that is exactly where she found herself, in that “meet the parents” stage, with Ari.

  The summer was drawing to a close, and although they lived in a temperate c
oastal climate, there was a heat wave in August and everyone flocked outdoors to bask in the summer weather. Ari called her on a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon and said that her parents were grilling and wanted to know whether Sophia and Percy would like to join them for dinner.

  Sophia arrived a few hours later, toting a bored-looking Percy with his eyes glued to the screen of his phone. Percy was suddenly inseparable from his phone these days, mainly thanks to a new friend.

  Sophia knew he was texting with Isabella.

  “Oooh, apple pie,” Ari said as she greeted Sophia at the door of a small but cozy bungalow that was actually only a few blocks away from The Little Cafe, tucked away on a steeply-sloped residential street.

  “I didn’t have anything else in the house other than apples,” Sophia explained as a woman with chin-length dark brown hair and a heart-shaped face like Ari’s greeted her at the door.

  She was followed by a tall blonde man with a charming smile.

  “Welcome! Oh my goodness, that pie looks delicious,” the woman said, a grin spreading across her face.

  “Sophia, this is my mom, Carrie, and dad, James. Mom, dad, meet Sophia, and her son Percy.”

  “So lovely to meet you both,” said Carrie, reaching out and giving Sophia warm hug, then Percy, and ushering them both inside.

  “Glad you could join us,” said James, who was wearing a red apron and holding a spatula, and promptly excused himself so he could return to the backyard where he was grilling.

  “Don’t want the burgers to burn!” He explained.

  “Come outside and have some lemonade,” Carrie offered, leading them all out back to a small deck overlooking a cheerful yard filled with trellises laden with flowers and shady trees. Birds were chirping and splashing in a small mosaic birdbath in the far corner of the yard.

  “It’s so charming back here,” Sophia said, looking around at all of the flowers, tidily planted in patches around the yard, and a few kitschy decorations like flamingoes and gnomes interspersed amongst them. “I also enjoy gardening.”

  “Oh, do you? I just love being outside, taking care of my yard,” said Carrie, pouring them all tall glasses of pink lemonade. “We’re so lucky it’s been such a nice and warm summer.”

  “My parents don’t drink,” Ari whispered quickly in Sophia’s ear as Sophia took the glass of lemonade.

  Sophia nodded slightly as she listened politely to Carrie talk about her future plans for the garden.

  Before long, James announced that the burgers were ready, and Sophia followed the rest of the group indoors and helped Ari and her mother finish up with the coleslaw, beans and various other side salads.

  “You have made so much food,” Sophia said, picking up the bowl of coleslaw to carry outside. “It looks delicious.”

  “I love to cook,” Carrie said. “And I especially wanted to invite you over. I’m so sorry, we would have invited you sooner, but Ari was a little secretive about you... we only recently found out.”

  “No apologies necessary,” Sophia said as they settled down around the outdoor table, watching as James plated up the hamburgers and brought them to the table. “It’s just nice to be here and meet you at last.”

  Percy politely put away his phone when they started to eat (Sophia had at least taught him that much, although not by example... most nights she herself had issues putting down her phone at dinner), and they all chimed into the conversation, talking about outdoor activities and travels to the beach.

  Although things were going smoothly, Sophia felt a little strange. She could not remember the last time she ate outside, and she was distracted by how odd her own family must have come across to Ari. Sophia’s harsh, stubborn mother and eccentric sister were so different compared to Ari’s incredibly soft-spoken, polite and, well, normal, parents. From her mother’s nitpicking to her sister’s over-the-top parties and wedding, Sophia’s family was such a contrast to Ari’s completely pleasant and lovely parents, who were practically an image off of a 1950s greeting card.

  Sophia wondered what it must have been like to grow up with parents who were kind, did not drink, smoke, or swear. They stuck to completely appropriate conversation topics, asking Percy about school or Sophia about her work. It was a delightful, pleasant experience, and the setting was downright idyllic in their sunny, flower-filled backyard. As the afternoon wore on, Sophia began to wonder how Ari could grow up in such an environment and yet still accept Sophia’s family’s eccentricities. Carrie and James may have been somewhat vanilla, and rather ordinary, but they really seemed to be everything anyone could want from their parents.

  Sophia was also very conscientious of the fact that her father’s company had been the reason these lovely people had been having a difficult time for the past couple of years. She assumed by now that Ari’s parents knew who her family was. And although she was not directly responsible for their predicament, she could not help but feel a little bit guilty about it all.

  Which was why, perhaps, over apple pie and vanilla ice cream (Carrie had offered the ice cream on the side, and it seemed perfect in the warm, slightly humid afternoon), Sophia cringed when James asked about her parents.

  “Oh, they keep busy. My mother does some work for the Palo Rosa municipal government, sits on the boards of charities, and plans fundraisers. She always finds something to do,” Sophia explained. “And my father still does a few business projects here and there. He’s retired, but he is on the board of his company and finds things to keep himself occupied with.”

  “We visited one of their properties,” Ari said. “When I went to Sophia’s sister’s wedding, I visited a hotel and spa owned by Sophia’s family in Napa. It’s really nice there. Secluded and relaxing. Sophia’s family has great taste.”

  “Oh my goodness, I would love to go there someday,” Carrie said, clasping her hands.

  “You are welcome there any time,” Sophia said. “My treat. Just let us know when.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t possibly,” Carrie shook her head politely, backing off.

  “You should at least visit for lunch sometime. You’d like it,” Ari said.

  As the sun crawled across the sky and edged closer to the treeline, Sophia began to wonder if there was anything at all imperfect about Ari’s parents. But then, at one point just as the sun was sinking behind the trees, Sophia reached out to Ari’s hand as Ari joked about something or other. She rested her hand on top of Ari’s on the table and squeezed it lightly. As she flashed Ari a quick, adoring smile, she noticed out of the corner of her eye Carrie’s eyes linger on their joined hands. Carrie stiffened at the sight, and for a moment, a shadow crossed her face.

  Sophia delicately lifted her hand and took a sip of lemonade.

  So, she thought. Maybe Ari’s parents were not so perfectly supportive about everything after all.

  Sophia had obsessed so much over what Ari might think of her own family that she had neglected to wonder whether there were any issues regarding what Ari’s family might think ofher. She had not wondered whether it had been at all difficult for Ari to tell her parents about the two of them. Ari seemed so at ease with herself all of the time, the thought had not crossed Sophia’s mind.

  She could not help but wonder exactly how many women Ari had brought home to her mom and dad before. From Carrie’s reaction, it did not seem like it had been a regular occurrence. She filed the question away in her mind to ask Ari later.

  ¨°¨

  “Have you taken many other women home to meet your parents?” Sophia brought up the question gently that night.

  Ari was laying on her bed next to her, the sheets wrapped tightly around her body.

  Sophia and Percy had gone home first, and after Sophia had made sure Percy was settled in for the night, Ari turned up a half hour later. Sophia quietly let her in.

  Now, basking in the lazy, sated feeling of an afterglow, Sophia’s thoughts slowly turned back to the afternoon.

  Ari cringed a little. “You noticed.”

>   “Your parents were nice. But they both seemed a little uncomfortable at times, as hard as they tried to hide it, especially when I took your hand. I didn’t think I was doing anything - well, I mean, I’m sorry for doing so - it was just an impulse,” Sophia said.

  “You don’t need to apologize,” Ari said quietly, stroking her hand along Sophia’s arm, which was propping up her head. “And to answer your question, no. Not really. I mean, my parents know that I exclusively see women. And except for when I first told them years and years ago - that was a bit touch and go back then - they are generally supportive and okay with it. Otherwise I would not have brought you to meet them at all. But, you know. I think it’s never going to be completely, 100%, totally cool with them. They try, and I value my relationship with them and I just want to get along, so... it is what it is.”

  Sophia nodded. “They were very nice. I didn’t mean to contribute in any way to making them uncomfortable.”

  Ari smiled sweetly. “You did not. Quite the opposite, both seemed to like you very much. And Percy, too. You have nothing to worry about.”

  Ari’s hand snaked under the covers and found Sophia’s waist. She pulled it closer, urging Sophia to move in closer to her own body.

  “You were - and are - perfect,” Ari said softly, then kissed her lightly.

  “I’m not perfect,” Sophia countered, before threading her hand through Ari’s hair and kissing her deeper.

  ¨°¨

  Everything about Sophia’s life suddenly felt a little more in focus, a little more manageable, even a bit more balanced.

  She had always thought the opposite would be true. She used to think that if she got into a relationship, it would consume her fully, and that something - work, Percy, or the relationship itself - would simply implode because she would never be able to handle being spread so thinly across so many different responsibilities, so many people who depended on her.