Across the Pond

Chapter 10

Wendy owns Wilmington's most beloved bakery, Sweets. Located in the center of town, it's a cozy little space with rustic aesthetics. Globe string lights hang from the ceiling, and the room is filled with plants and plaid couches.

Grandma Ruby and I walk over to the register, which is adjacent to a bakery display case, and ask for Wendy, who soon after, walks through the café doors sporting an apron that says 'Baking Boss'.

"Ruby!" she greets my grandma as I stand to the side. Wendy's the same age as Grandma Ruby, but much taller. She's got black curly hair that looks dark purple when it hits the light, and is wearing glasses that are tied to a chain necklace around her neck.

"Wendy!" grandma greets her with the same enthusiasm before pulling away. "Thank you for doing this," I hear her whisper to her friend.

Wendy shifts her stance to look at me. "You must be Isabella."

"Hi!" I say. "It's so nice to meet you. What a great place you have here."

"Thank you! Sweets is my pride and joy."

"Do you bake everything yourself?"

"Sure do. Everything here is 100-percent homemade."

"And the almond croissants are to die for," Grandma Ruby chimes in, pressing her palm to her chest.

"Hold that thought!" Wendy says, turning around and calling out to the dirty-blonde-haired boy that's standing behind the counter. "Danny, mind grabbing us two almond croissants and 3 cappuccinos, please?" She then looks at me and asks, "you're old enough to drink coffee, right?"

"'Course," I smile.

"You know what, Danny?" Wendy shouts again. "Make that three almond croissants - Wendy's going to treat herself." I can't help but laugh when she talks about herself in third person.

When Danny comes around the counter to hand us our drinks and pastries, I'm able to get a better look at him. He's wearing khakis and a plaid long sleeve shirt over a white v-neck. He's tall - not as tall as Nico - but definitely over 5'10. And I must say, he's cute.

"Thanks, Danny," Wendy says.

"Thank you," Grandma Ruby and I say at the same time. His eyes gleam when he looks at me, which causes me to smirk and then him to smirk back. I don't know what just happened, but it was nice to be...I don't know...recognized.

After a few seconds, Danny walks back to the register to attend to the long line of waiting customers. This place is packed. When we walked in, the line was out the door and around the corner.

"Let's take that couch over there," Wendy says, nodding to a corner, and Grandma Ruby and I follow her lead. "So, Isabella, why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?" she asks once we're sitting. She then leans in, shields her mouth with her hand, and whispers, "Don't worry, you already got the job, this is just standard routine."

I chuckle at her comment and then proceed to tell her about myself.

"Oh wow, Boston College," she remarks when I inform her of my plans after graduation. "My friend's son goes there. He's on the hockey team. Boston is a fun town. What do you want to study?"

"Journalism," Grandma Ruby says before I can respond. "Oops," she chuckles, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry, Isabella, I'm just so dang excited."

"It's okay, Grams," I say with a smile. "Journalism," I repeat the word to Wendy, and then we end up talking about how much we both love to write.

"So, why don't we have you start next week? How does that sound?"

I glance at Grandma Ruby before looking back at Wendy. "Next week is great."

"Great! 9 AM - 3 PM, Mondays through Thursdays work for you?"

"That works," I say excitedly.

"Well, this was the easiest hire that I've ever had to make," Wendy jokes.

We all stand up at the same time and then Wendy walks us to the door. She and Grandma Ruby make lunch plans before she comes in to hug me.

"So nice to meet you, Isabella," she says, patting me on the back.

"It was so nice to meet you, too. Thank you again for the opportunity. I'm looking forward to next week."

When we leave Sweets, Grandma Ruby and I decide to hit up the café next door. I always love getting to spend one-on-one time with her.

Grandma Ruby is the strongest woman I know, and while she's never gone into detail about how hard it was to lose her husband at such a young age, I know she struggled. Mom pushed her a few times to try and remarry, but Grandma Ruby is the type of person who falls in love once. I can't say that I blame her.

"Wendy was sweet," I tell her.

"Isn't she a doll?" Grandma says before biting into her banana nut muffin. "We go way back. As in high school way back."

"That's so nice."

I try to keep the smile on my face, but I can't stop thinking about Nico.

"Something the matter?" Grandma Ruby asks, and I quickly compose myself.

"Nope, nothing," I force another smile.

"Isabella...," Grandma presses, and I know that I can't keep anything from her. "Does this have to do with last night?"

"Last night?" I ask. "What do you mean?"

"I heard you leave the house. I wasn't going to say anything in front of your mother because I didn't want to upset her. But I'm pretty sure that I know who you were with."

"Ugh, Grams, I'm so sorry that I woke you up."

"You didn't! I was wide awake. I don't sleep much these days." Grandma Ruby pauses as I fiddle with my French toast. "Did something happen?"

I drop the fork down lightly and look up at my grandma. With the concerned look she's giving me, I know that I have to be honest. "Nico picked me up and we went to Melly's. Everything was going great...until he told me that he has a girlfriend."

"Nico? As in your Nico?" she asks, and I just nod. I want to shout 'he's not my Nico', but that'll just make me feel even worse.

"Oh, Isabella! I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

I feel the tears start to form, but I hold them in. "It's okay," I drop my head back down because I know that if I look Grandma Ruby in the eyes, I'll lose it.

"It's his loss. And I'm not just saying that because you're my granddaughter."

I wish I could believe that, but I don't. Because I feel like I'm the one who lost something.

"Thanks, Grams," is all I say.

My phone beeps with a text from Remi. It's a picture of an Evite for Trish's party on Saturday.

Remi: We in?

Maybe Trish's party is coming at the right time. Maybe I do need to mingle and 'let loose', as Remi likes to say.

I pick my head up as I think about my response, and then type:

Me: In!