by Jinty James
Mitch went outside. Lauren and Zoe watched from the window. So did Annie and Father Mike. After a short discussion, with Mitch gesturing toward the end of the street, Smirky started up the engine. Chug chug, grr grr. With a roar, the van took off down the road.
“Good riddance!” Zoe waved at the departing van.
“Zoe!”
“Well, it is.”
The pushy woman looked up from her now empty paper bag. “He’s gone?” She pouted. “That cupcake was incredible with all that frosting!”
“It was, but now my teeth ache,” her friend complained. She shook her head. “Too much sugar.”
“Now we can drink our lattes.” The pushy woman took a gulp of hers.
“All taken care of.” Mitch came back inside. “I told him he’d need a permit if he wants to operate a food truck, and I know that the members on the town council don’t seem to be keen on that kind of thing around here.”
“Thanks.” If they didn’t have an audience, Lauren would have come around the counter, stood on tiptoes, and kissed him.
“I knew you’d take care of him.” Zoe grinned.
“Brrt!” Annie added. She still sat with Father Mike.
“I’m glad you were able to fix things, Mitch,” the priest called.
Lauren made Mitch a latte to go and gave him a vanilla cupcake. “On the house,” she murmured.
“Are we still on for tomorrow night?” he asked.
“Definitely.”
“Let me know if he gives you any more trouble.”
“We will,” Zoe said cheerily. As soon as he left the café, she turned to Lauren. “Quick, give me your car keys.”
“Why?” Lauren asked as she handed them over.
“You’ll see.” Zoe zipped out of the café.
A minute later, Lauren looked out of the window. Zoe maneuvered her white car into the parking space right outside the café.
“There!” Zoe re-entered the shop. “He won’t be able to park outside our place again.”
“Good thinking.” Lauren smiled at her.
“Brrt!” Annie praised from Father Mike’s table.
“I think between Mitch and Zoe, you won’t have any more trouble, Lauren.” Father Mike came to the counter to pay. “Thank you for a delicious coffee – and cupcake. Next time I must have one of Ed’s pastries.” He raised his voice. “You can’t get them anywhere else and they’re one of the best things I’ve ever eaten, along with the cupcakes here.”
Lauren noticed the pushy woman glance over at the priest, seeming to listen.
“Thanks,” she murmured as she handed him his change.
“Here is a big tip,” he said in a loud voice, clinking silver coins into the tip jar on the counter.
“Thanks!” Zoe winked at him.
After he left, the pushy woman came to the counter.
“Tell me about Ed’s pastries,” she demanded. “Is he hot like the cupcake guy?”
Before Lauren could decide how to answer, Zoe took over.
“Oh, yeah.” She nodded. “He’s hot, all right. And his pastries are amazing. There’s usually a line right outside the door, especially when he—” she leaned over the counter and whispered, “makes apricot.”
“I love apricot.” The pushy woman fanned herself. “Gimme three.” She glanced over at her friend at their table, sipping her coffee. “No, make it four.”
“Coming right up.” Zoe placed the pastries into a brown paper bag. She rang up the sale, including their lattes into the total.
The woman paid without a murmur, and clinked a couple of coins into the tip jar. Lauren was sure Father Mike’s helpful comments had had an effect, along with Zoe’s talking up of Ed.
She knew Ed did get hot in the kitchen at times. Was Zoe deliberately giving the wrong impression such a bad thing to do? Ordinarily, Lauren would have said yes, but maybe allowances could be made just this once.
CHAPTER 2
Lauren woke up the next morning telling herself to be positive.
“Brrp?” Annie enquired as Lauren sat up in bed, yawning.
“Time to get up.” Lauren smiled at the cat sitting beside her. “Hopefully the cupcake guy won’t be there today – Mitch moved him on yesterday.”
“Brrt,” Annie replied in approval. She jumped off the bed and scampered out of the room.
“I’m coming.” Lauren threw on her robe and followed Annie to the kitchen. After feeding her beef and liver, she stumbled into the shower. She loved running the café, which she’d inherited from Gramms, but sometimes she disliked the early morning starts.
After they all finished breakfast, the trio trooped through the private hallway to the café.
“I bet we get lots of customers today!” Zoe unstacked the chairs.
“I hope so.” Lauren looked out of the window. Her car was still parked outside the shop, but she couldn’t see a pink van anywhere. Good.
They finished getting the space ready. Ed clumped into the kitchen through the rear entrance, his heavy work boots echoing through the swinging kitchen door. A moment later, the clang of pastry tins alerted them he’d started his day’s baking.
Ed wasn’t much of a talker and preferred to work alone.
“All ready for our first customer!” Zoe unbolted the front door and peered out. “No smirky guy either.”
Chug chug, grr grr.
“Oh, no.” Lauren froze. Had she imagined the sound?
Chug chug, grr grr. Louder this time.
“What?” Zoe burst into the street. “He’s back again!” Her short brunette pixie cut strands stood almost upright.
The bright pink van sailed past Lauren’s car and parked right in front of it. A few seconds later, the serving hatch opened and the smirking guy stuck his head out.
“How’s it going?” he asked. The big fat smile on his face told them he wasn’t going to be a pushover – for anyone.
Zoe had left the entrance door open, giving Lauren a front row view.
“Brrt?” Annie jumped down from her cat bed and trotted to the door.
“Stay there, Annie.” Lauren hurried over to the entrance.
Déjà vu.
“Woof!” A black and white dog with short hair and a bulldog type face stuck his head out of the hatch.
Lauren stepped onto the sidewalk, shutting the door behind her. She didn’t want Annie to be so curious that she left the café on her own. Annie stuck her nose to the glass door, her green eyes wide with curiosity.
“Who is that?” Zoe demanded, pointing to the dog.
“Do you like him?” Smirky grinned, patting the dog. “His name is Sweet Boy and he’s a French Bulldog. My grandpa says he’s a real ladies’ magnet.”
“What’s he doing in the van?” Lauren asked.
“He’s my helper. Just like your cat helps you get customers, Sweet Boy here is going to help me. The ladies won’t be able to resist him, you’ll see.”
“Woof!” Sweet Boy seemed to agree.
“Hi, I’m Scott.” Another guy who looked around the same age as Smirky appeared at the window, holding a black instant camera. He wore blue jeans and a purple t-shirt. He had short brown hair, an open face, and a slightly crooked nose. “Jason said you girls are cool about us parking here.”
“No, we are not.” Zoe drew herself up to her full height of five foot seven. “Jason—” she threw a death glare at Smirky “—was moved on by the police yesterday. Trading in a van in street parking is illegal!”
“You didn’t tell me that.” Scott frowned at his friend.
“It’s cool, Scott. Don’t worry.” Jason didn’t look worried at all. “We’ll do business here until we’re told to move on – by the authorities – and then we’ll just park somewhere else. I set up a page for the truck on social media last night, so we’ll be able to let our customers know where we are at all times.”
“As long as they know you’re on social media,” Lauren said tartly. She did not like this at all.
“
Oh, yeah.” For a second, Jason looked like he hadn’t thought of that. He quickly recovered. “We’ll tell all our customers as soon as they arrive.”
“Ooh, cupcakes!” A middle-aged woman halted outside the café. She looked from Annie inside the glass door, staring out at the street and the pink van, and then glanced at the two guys at the van.
Jason smiled winningly at her.
“We’ve got awesome cupcakes,” he told her.
“We’ve got cupcakes too,” Lauren told the woman. She didn’t know her. “And Danish pastries by Ed.”
“And awesome coffee,” Zoe added.
“Oh, I’ve heard about Ed’s pastries,” she replied. She glanced at Annie. “And your cute cat. But I’m really in the mood for a cupcake, and I haven’t seen this van before.”
“Here’s our list of flavors today.” Jason pointed to the hand scrawled list next to the hatch. “Raspberry, chocolate, red velvet, and carrot.”
“Oh, they all sound so tempting.” The woman hemmed and hawed. “Carrot! No, chocolate! No, raspberry!”
“You’re going to love it,” Jason promised. He pulled out a container with a tall clear lid and grabbed one of the cakes with a pair of tongs.
Lauren’s eyes widened. A huge dollop of bright red frosting covered the small cake, along with squishy raspberries, their juice dripping into the bright frosting. She guessed the berries were either frozen and defrosted, or canned. She’d prided herself on always using fresh ingredients. Surely she hadn’t been wrong to do so? Didn’t customers care about what was in their sweet treats?
“Oh, my.” The woman’s eyes lit up. “Thank you.” She practically snatched the bag from him.
“Check out our social media page.” Jason winked at her.
“I don’t do that sort of thing. But my daughter does.” She brightened at the thought.
The four of them watched her hurry down the street, peeking into the pink bag.
“At least she didn’t barge into the café and start eating it,” Zoe whispered.
“Yes,” Lauren returned glumly. When was the last time she’d had a reaction like that to one of her creations? Not for a while. Maybe it was time she upped her game.
“Ladies?” Jason smirked at them. “How about trying one of my delicious cupcakes – on the house? And you could give me one of yours to sample.”
“No, thanks.” Zoe answered before Lauren could. “They don’t look as good as Lauren’s.”
Jason frowned. “They don’t? Why not?”
“As if we’d tell you.” Zoe tossed her head, swiveled, and stalked back to the café. Lauren followed, wondering if it had been wise to answer so quickly. She wanted to understand what was so good about their rival’s cupcakes.
“Start taking photos of me,” she heard Jason’s voice before she entered the café.
“I blew it,” Zoe mourned after she entered the café and closed the door behind them. “We should have tasted his cupcakes.”
“I agree,” Lauren replied.
“Sorry.” Zoe looked at her apologetically. “But this has never happened to us before. Everyone loves our baked goods and coffee.”
“Brrt!”
“And you, of course, Annie.” Zoe bent down and stroked the silver-gray tabby. “We’ve got the whole package right here – so why would anyone want to try his stuff?”
“Because it’s something different,” Lauren replied. “And I haven’t come up with a new creation for a while.”
“But you’ve got so many flavors already,” Zoe protested. “Don’t forget you came up with that amazing lavender cake.”
“That was in January,” Lauren told her. “And now it’s April. Maybe our customers are getting tired of the same old thing. The same with—” she lowered her voice “—Ed’s pastries. But don’t tell him that.”
“No way!” Zoe shook her head. “But maybe it’s easier to come up with new cupcake ideas than it is with pastries? Ed already makes honeyed walnut, blueberry, cherry, apricot, and apple.”
Lauren drew in her breath as an idea hit her. “What if we call our customers when Ed bakes their favorite? His honeyed walnut pastries are very popular.”
“Great idea!” Zoe beamed. “We’ll phone the customers who always rave about that one and tell them we can only hold their order for a couple of hours because so many people want it. They’ll skedaddle down here and BAM! We’ve made a sale.”
“I’ll ask him what he’s making this morning.” Lauren hurried through the swinging kitchen doors into the commercial kitchen. She’d inherited Ed along with the café, and knew he liked to work independently.
“What’s up?” Ed lifted his head, turning his attention away from rolling out a large rectangle of dough.
Lauren explained their idea.
“No problem.” A brief smile. “I was going to make honeyed walnut today, anyway. I’ll just make a double batch instead of apple.”
“You’re the best. Thank you.” Lauren left him to it.
“Watch out, Smirky Jason,” Zoe crowed. “We’re going to beat you!”
Lauren sat behind the counter and tapped her pen on her order pad. She needed to come up with some new flavor ideas. But however hard she tried, her mind was blank. It didn’t help that every time she looked out of the window, another customer was being served by Jason, his friend Scott, and Sweet Boy, the dog.
She frowned. Was the dog allowed back there? Because it was a certified cat café, Annie was allowed in the café area, but she certainly wasn’t allowed in the kitchen. What would the rules be for food trucks regarding pets?
Maybe she should check with the town council.
Lauren glanced out of the window. She couldn’t help herself. It was like picking at a hang nail.
Her eyes widened as she saw their friend Martha push her rolling walker to the cupcake truck. In her senior years, she had curly gray hair, and liked her independence.
“Zoe!” She beckoned her cousin over.
“What?”
“Look!” She pointed at the large window.
Zoe sucked in a deep breath. “No way! The traitor!”
Through the window, Lauren could see Martha talk to Smirky Jason at the truck. Then he handed her a pink bag. Martha placed it on the seat of her walker and shuffled a few steps away. Then she sat down on the walker and opened the bag, taking a bite of what looked to be a chocolate cupcake.
Zoe charged outside. Lauren and Annie followed.
“Annie!” Lauren turned around. “Go back inside, please.”
“Brrt.” Annie seemed to shake her head no. The tabby was an inside cat, although she accompanied Lauren for walks as long as she wore her harness.
Lauren scooped her up and hugged her.
“All right. But only if I hold you.”
“Brrt,” Annie replied in a mollified tone. She nestled her cheek against Lauren’s for an instant.
“Caught you!” Zoe scolded Martha.
“Whaa?” Martha mumbled around a mouthful of cupcake. The word guilty flashed across her face in red neon letters.
“How could you eat his cupcakes?” Zoe demanded.
“Fwee thample,” Martha explained thickly, swallowing the treat. “I didn’t ask for it, I swear.”
“But you took it,” Zoe replied.
“If someone’s going to give me a free cupcake, I’m not going to say no.”
“Brrp.” Annie sounded reproachful.
“Want a ride, Annie?” Martha beamed at the cat. Annie usually loved standing on the walker seat and allowing Martha to push the contraption.
“Brrt.” Annie turned her head away and snuggled her face into Lauren’s chest.
Lauren stroked her, the velvet fur soft against her finger tips.
“I think she’s upset,” Lauren murmured.
“I’m sorry.” Martha rolled up the cupcake bag, a woebegone look on her face. “It wasn’t that good, anyway. I didn’t even eat it all, see?” She held up the balled-up bag.
; “Then you can put it in the trash,” Zoe told her.
“How was the cupcake, Martha?” Jason called out from the truck.
Martha shrugged, not seeming to want to be the center of attention for once.
“Leave our customers alone, you – you – cupcake stealer!” Zoe glared at him with her hands on her hips.
Jason held up his palms. “Hey, I didn’t ask her to come over to the truck.”
“Ooh!” Zoe flounced to the café.
“I wouldn’t have tried his cupcake if I’d known Annie and Zoe would be so upset,” Martha said. “You too, Lauren. Sorry.”
“I understand wanting to try something different,” Lauren attempted to be fair. “But we haven’t had any customers so far this morning, and hardly any yesterday.”
“I’ll tell the gals down at the senior center to come to your café,” Martha said. “And the cupcake guy doesn’t sell coffee, so you’re good there.”
“Except everyone seems so enthralled with his cupcakes that they’re not interested in a latte or mocha from us,” Lauren replied, thinking of the way Zoe had strong-armed the two women yesterday into buying coffee, when they’d only been interested in finding somewhere to sit down and eat the treats from the truck.
“I’m sure things will pick up,” Martha said sympathetically. She placed her hand sideways across her mouth and whispered, “And I’ll tell my pals that his cupcakes aren’t too good, anyway.”
“Thanks,” Lauren whispered back. “But only if it’s the truth.”
“It is.” Martha assured her.
“Brrp?” Annie lifted her head. She was still snuggled in Lauren’s arms.
“I’m sorry, Annie,” Martha apologized.
“Brrp.” Annie placed a paw on the senior’s arm, as if patting it.
“I think we’re all friends again.” Lauren smiled at Martha.
“Am I welcome to come in for a hot chocolate?” Martha asked.
“Of course!”
“Brrt!”
“I’ll even put in extra marshmallows for you,” Zoe called from the open café door.
“Goody.”
A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER, Lauren called their customers to let them know that Ed had just made a double batch of honeyed walnut pastries. Several people promised to be there by lunch to pick some up.