Slow Sparks

Chapter 1

Bonnie's point of view:

"Morning!" I said to Emily, the barista at my local coffee place. I spent every Sunday morning in this place. It was where I planned my week out while my fiancee, Christopher, worked with his personal training clients. Christopher was a lawyer, but he also still worked as a personal trainer. He'd done it a lot more when he was in law school, but since he graduated a year ago, he still saw clients in a group every Sunday morning. He's used the money he made as a trainer to pay for law school, and he loved working out, it was a part of himself he didn't want to give up, so now he more or less just did it for fun. He didn't need the money, not when he worked at the state's most successful law firms. His dad, being one of the named partners, had definitely helped him get the job. It was also the reason he had so much more time to kill on Sundays compared to the other associates. He didn't get half the workload as the others since he was the boss's kid.

"Hi, Bonnie!" Emily said back, just as excitedly as I did. "Usual?"

"Please," I said, handing her the usual cash for the coffee and a tip.

"I'll bring it to you," she said. I smiled at her gratefully and went to sit in my usual corner booth. It was next to the window, but also the heater, so the cold blasting in from the outside snowfall didn't affect the temperature too much. I loved to people watch, so it let me watch as families and couple strolled down the snow-covered streets, and also greet everyone as soon as they walked in.

I opened my laptop and pulled up everything I needed.

I had a business, a blog, and Instagram and TikTok accounts I used to run my business. At twenty-seven, I had been a dietitian for two years. I'd graduated first my by Bachelor's, then my Master's and then finally completed my internship. I never wanted to work in-patient like in a hospital calculating tube feeding requirements or with people with eating disorders. I was passionate about health and wellness, and knew one-hundred percent without a doubt that weight had nothing to do with that. Not everyone thought that, but the research was strong. I did online group coaching for clients and taught them how to ditch the ridiculous diet culture and make peace with their relationship with food and bodies.

"Here you go!" Emily said, setting my usual drink in front of me—a large coffee with two pumps of mocha, one pump of caramel, a little bit of milk, and some whipped cream on top. I loved it, and it was so delicious.

"Thanks, Emily."

"No problem."

She walked away, leaving me and my computer alone.

I had client meetings every Tuesday and Thursday. My program was structured around sixteen sessions, once a week, and I had two groups running simultaneously. On top of the group coaching, I did master classes on intuitive eating, and posted tons of free resources and content on my blog and social media.

Sipping my coffee, I looked through what I had planned for the upcoming week. I had two discovery calls planned for potential members for the next group coaching session, which started next month. I had three blog posts scheduled, and seven social media posts. The problem with having an online business was that there were no days off, really. Thankfully, I was two weeks ahead on my posts and used an app to schedule them in advance so that I didn't actually need to be present the entire time.

Christopher and I were going away next weekend to scout wedding locations. We'd been engaged for almost a year, but hadn't actually planned anything yet.

While I planned blog posts and social media posts for the weeks after the two that I already had scheduled, I greeted and smiled at everyone that came into the coffee shop. Sundays were always a busy day, according to Emily. Families came in pre or post church to get their caffeine fix. College students from the local college came in looking for a greasy breakfast sandwich and a caffeine fix so they could study through their hangovers. And on top of that, it was the hangout for the locals who lived in the retirement community across the street. Apparently, the coffee there was disgusting, as they so often put it, which meant in about ten minutes, I would no longer be the only person in the coffee shop.