had always just been too absorbed in my books to notice.
We moved on converging tangents. I was feeling self-aware again, and I felt so awkward. Part of me felt satisfied when I realized she was indeed heading to the Pike as I was. So she must be a regular there. Another part of me was wondering if the yellow blouse I was wearing looked presentable.
She arrived at the outer doors a moment before me. She shot me a smile that made me aware that I had no idea what to do with my hands. Did she notice my pant cuffs were rolled up? Had I always felt like I moved this awkwardly? She said like someone from one of the mystery thrillers mom insisted on watching, “So, we meet again.”
I glanced up, the heat was rising, and my stomach was fluttering again. I couldn't afford to be sick. I couldn't miss any work when we were so close to a breakthrough. She had opened the door for me and stood there with her arm arching above me.
I squeaked out a thank you and scurried under her arm and down the hallway, past the closed shops to the glass door at the end. She kept pace with me and reached easily over my head to open the door to the Pike for me. Again to her, I squeaked, “Thank you,”
I fished out the thermal mug which that really nice girl, Eve, had given me the prior day and I saw the tall woman beside me pull out one of her own. I admit that I glanced to see her name... Sparky? Was that even a name? It was more like a designation. No, I had enough data to postulate that this was a nickname. Like when dad called me Imee since my middle name was Imelda.
I started going through all of the female names I could in my head, trying to determine which one could reasonably be shortened to Sparky. Then paused, I had more important queries that needed resolution first.
There were a couple people in line and the woman moved to a table and sat. Then I saw Eve looking around the other customers. The motion made the comparison to a mercat come to mind. She grinned at me and said, “Just have a seat sweetie. I know what you need.” Then she looked back and forth between the woman with the cane and me.
I found myself smiling back. She was a pleasant person and it sort of made me feel content that she remembered me. I pulled out my equations and decided to take another stab at them.
Chapter 5 – Meddling
I saw Liya and Sparky come into the bakery at the same time. I was buzzing with excitement when I saw how shy and bashful the Filipino girl was around the ex-firefighter. It was as cute as sin. Trust me, I know cute... and sin.
I popped my head back into the kitchen and called out, “Sparky's here Zo.”
She replied from where she was watching Ashley deftly disassembling the evil dishwasher from the seventh ring of hell, “On it Evie.”
After helping the people at the display case, I motored on over to Liya with a tray containing her unspoken order. I set a saucer with a cup of coffee and a single cube of sugar on it beside her, as she shuffled her papers around to accommodate it.
I smiled at her and said, “Good morning Ligaya Imelda Hannigan, and how are you doing this morning?”
She blinked at me then smiled almost shyly and said, “I am doing satisfactorily this morning.” Then after an awkward moment, she added hastily, “Mom tells me that instances like this require reciprocity... umm... I hope your morning has been adequately fulfilling, Eve.”
I couldn't stop the giggle that escaped from my lips as I smiled at the girl. I could tell she was trying hard to act what she viewed as normal, and it was frigging adorable. I said as I set another small plate down with her bagel, “I'm doing splendid this morning, thank you for asking.”
Then I nudged my chin to the plate. “Onion bagel, butter, and apricot jam. Coffee one cube of sugar.”
She smiled at her order then looked up at me then got a panicked expression for a moment as she dug in her
We moved on converging tangents. I was feeling self-aware again, and I felt so awkward. Part of me felt satisfied when I realized she was indeed heading to the Pike as I was. So she must be a regular there. Another part of me was wondering if the yellow blouse I was wearing looked presentable.
She arrived at the outer doors a moment before me. She shot me a smile that made me aware that I had no idea what to do with my hands. Did she notice my pant cuffs were rolled up? Had I always felt like I moved this awkwardly? She said like someone from one of the mystery thrillers mom insisted on watching, “So, we meet again.”
I glanced up, the heat was rising, and my stomach was fluttering again. I couldn't afford to be sick. I couldn't miss any work when we were so close to a breakthrough. She had opened the door for me and stood there with her arm arching above me.
I squeaked out a thank you and scurried under her arm and down the hallway, past the closed shops to the glass door at the end. She kept pace with me and reached easily over my head to open the door to the Pike for me. Again to her, I squeaked, “Thank you,”
I fished out the thermal mug which that really nice girl, Eve, had given me the prior day and I saw the tall woman beside me pull out one of her own. I admit that I glanced to see her name... Sparky? Was that even a name? It was more like a designation. No, I had enough data to postulate that this was a nickname. Like when dad called me Imee since my middle name was Imelda.
I started going through all of the female names I could in my head, trying to determine which one could reasonably be shortened to Sparky. Then paused, I had more important queries that needed resolution first.
There were a couple people in line and the woman moved to a table and sat. Then I saw Eve looking around the other customers. The motion made the comparison to a mercat come to mind. She grinned at me and said, “Just have a seat sweetie. I know what you need.” Then she looked back and forth between the woman with the cane and me.
I found myself smiling back. She was a pleasant person and it sort of made me feel content that she remembered me. I pulled out my equations and decided to take another stab at them.
Chapter 5 – Meddling
I saw Liya and Sparky come into the bakery at the same time. I was buzzing with excitement when I saw how shy and bashful the Filipino girl was around the ex-firefighter. It was as cute as sin. Trust me, I know cute... and sin.
I popped my head back into the kitchen and called out, “Sparky's here Zo.”
She replied from where she was watching Ashley deftly disassembling the evil dishwasher from the seventh ring of hell, “On it Evie.”
After helping the people at the display case, I motored on over to Liya with a tray containing her unspoken order. I set a saucer with a cup of coffee and a single cube of sugar on it beside her, as she shuffled her papers around to accommodate it.
I smiled at her and said, “Good morning Ligaya Imelda Hannigan, and how are you doing this morning?”
She blinked at me then smiled almost shyly and said, “I am doing satisfactorily this morning.” Then after an awkward moment, she added hastily, “Mom tells me that instances like this require reciprocity... umm... I hope your morning has been adequately fulfilling, Eve.”
I couldn't stop the giggle that escaped from my lips as I smiled at the girl. I could tell she was trying hard to act what she viewed as normal, and it was frigging adorable. I said as I set another small plate down with her bagel, “I'm doing splendid this morning, thank you for asking.”
Then I nudged my chin to the plate. “Onion bagel, butter, and apricot jam. Coffee one cube of sugar.”
She smiled at her order then looked up at me then got a panicked expression for a moment as she dug in her
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