A Catty Christmas

Chapter 7

Swirling her coffee Jenny looked around the coffee shop she'd been waiting at for the last fifteen minutes. Full of life it somewhat reminded her of her sister's house, albeit without any cats and far more organized but still lively and full of the same style of Christmas decor as well as a gift section filled with local creations. There were cozy chairs and tables scattered around the coffee shop along with a coffee bar and pastry display case setup like an L with the register at the very end.

The pastry she'd ordered had been reduced to crumbs almost the moment she received it but she sipped her dwindling coffee, growing more annoyed by the minute at her sister's tardiness. The doorbell rang as someone entered the coffee shop. Glancing over her shoulder Jenny watched as a lovey dovey couple entered the coffee shop decked out in holiday sweaters and feeling far too comfortable with PDA.

Rolling her eyes she turned back to her coffee and phone. She dialed the number for the contractor again leaving an overly upbeat voicemail letting him know it was her again and asking him to call her as soon as he possibly could so they could figure out how to get the water damage fixed.

After she'd hung up an older woman sitting two stools over leaned towards her. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Caught off guard Jenny instantly smiled. "Oh yeah, all good! I'm meeting my sister here and she's pretty late, that's all."

The older woman chuckled. "Sisters. Such an odd invention by the Lord. My three sisters and I were always at odds but when it came down to it we knew we'd have each other's backs. I love your jacket by the way. It looks incredibly familiar but I can't seem to place it. You're not a fashion designer are you?"

With a laugh Jenny shook her head. "No, just something I borrowed from my sister's closet ironically." The older woman laughed with her. "Something my little sisters were constantly doing to me. I'm Barbara by the way." Barbara introduced herself. Jenny took her outstretched hand in hers, shaking it firmly.

"Jenny. Wonderful to meet you."

"A pleasure to meet you too."

The door chimed as Claire came in carrying an arm load of supplies. She smiled at Jenny and Barbara wiggling her fingers at them in greeting.

"And there's my sister." Jenny said with a roll of her eyes turning back around.

"Ahh, you must be Claire's sister then. She's mentioned you a few times." Barbara said with a smile.

"Yeah. Wait, how do you know Claire?" Jenny asked in surprise.

"Claire and I are good friends. I mentor her as part of a women's entrepreneur group. It's not easy getting anything in the food industry up and going but she's done a wonderful job the last couple of years." Barbara commended.

"Back up, what do you mean entrepreneur? Does she make cookies or something over in the gift shop section?" Jenny peered over at the pyramids of locally made projects trying to decipher which could be her sister's.

Barbara shook her head almost imperceptibly with a knowing smile. "Your sister owns this coffee shop. She also runs a non-profit and is on several different boards. She's quite the entrepreneur."

Jenny looked around the cafe with new eyes; the style that reminded her so much of her sister, the placement of the seating, the locally made gift section. All of this screamed Claire and yet somehow she hadn't noticed. As she was looking around she saw something on the wall by the register she hadn't noticed earlier. Whether she'd been too hungry to see it or blinded by efficiency she couldn't say, but staring back at her from over a dozen pictures were cats, each with a typed bio. Now that Jenny was paying attention she noticed a few of the cats from her sister's house in the mix, including the kitten that had tripped her last night, Cicero. In the middle of the collage of pictures was a chalkboard sign that read "Available for Adoption".

"Maybe she's not a crazy cat lady after all." Jenny muttered to herself, taking a sip of coffee.

Claire's laugh filled the cafe drawing Jenny's attention to the dish drop off station near the doorway. Barbara said something to Claire before giving her a quick hug and heading out the door. Claire grabbed the bin of dishes, swapping it out for an empty one.

"I'll be right there. Sorry about the wait!" She said with a smile. Claire dropped off the dishes, grabbing a pastry on the way by as she hopped into the seat next to Jenny.

"I saw you and Barbara met. What do you think of her?" Claire asked.

"She seems really nice. We didn't get to chat long but while we were talking she mentioned that you own the cafe. Since when? You've never mentioned it in your Christmas card." Jenny accused.

"I wasn't trying to hide it if that's what you're implying. There were just other things that were more important to include." Claire shrugged. "Besides, if we talked more than twice a year I'd be able to keep you updated on what's going on in my life." She added.

"Well it goes both ways." Jenny shot back.

The barista from behind the counter set two to go cups in front of them. Claire grabbed her cup shaking her head with an exacerbated smile. "Look I don't want to fight with you, it's Christmas. This is the one time of the year when the whole world is supposed to be generous and peaceful towards each other. If the whole world can manage it, we can too. Right?"

"Does that include the Markles and the royal palace?" Jenny joked.

"Actually I heard they were all coming together for Christmas this year." Claire remarked.

"Well if they can find a way to set aside their differences for Christmas we can too." Jenny smiled determinedly.

"Are you wearing my sweater?" Claire asked.

"The first test of Christmas cheer." Jenny joked. "Actually I am also wearing your pants and socks."

"What happened to your clothes?" Claire asked incredulously. "Also what happened to your apartment?"

"A long story." Jenny sighed. "One I really don't want to get into right now. I just need a place to crash for a few days while I figure things out."

Claire hopped out of the chair with her drink in hand. "Say no more, it's time for some clothes shopping."

Jenny lit up. "Finally something we agree on."

"But!" Claire held up a finger. "We're doing it holiday style."

Jenny rolled her eyes. "I'm not buying matching Christmas sweaters."

"Not Christmas clothes, we're going shopping at the Christmas Gift Garbanza! It's the biggest holiday bazaar in the state and it's full of local vendors and small businesses we can support." Claire said excitedly.

"I'm not buying some grandma's knitted sweater from a flea market."

"That's incredibly close minded. Come on, if you absolutely hate it I promise to go with you to the corporate department stores I'm sure you exclusively shop at."

Jenny narrowed her eyes at Claire gauging how serious she was before smiling slyly.

"Deal."

"You ready to go?" Claire asked, still standing.

"Of course but don't you have to finish your shift?" Jenny asked, an eyebrow raised.

Claire laughed, waving the comment away. "That dear sister is the beauty of being your own boss. You can come and go whenever you want as long as the work gets done."