A morning of lounging around and doing nothing was tiring. Especially with a hangover. The greasy breakfast was a temporary respite, but while the salty and buttery facets of the drunken palette were satiated, there was one aspect that the Green’s bacon and eggs weren’t able to cure. Shawna Josi needed something sweet, and she wasn’t gonna find that in the cupboards of her home. Not after the last couple of weekends.
She could drive to Publix and pick some things up. She did feel OK enough to drive apparently. That was a plus. But grocery store turnovers weren’t going to cut it today. Not after the night of self-pity she just had. Not after practically throwing herself at CJ earlier. Was I throwing myself too much at CJ earlier? I mean...I… no. I wasn’t that thirsty… but I am hungry…
She decided on Ganache Bakery. It wasn’t usually open on Sundays, but they were having a special month of sales in celebration of… something or other. And although it meant a longer trip away from her couch, Shawna didn’t care. What it meant was that there were cupcakes available. Good cupcakes, not those hacky grocery store ones. And Momma needed Red Velvet cakes. Probably a solid half dozen. She grabbed the keys to the Audi and tore off towards the source of the sweets.
On the other side of Crown Heights, Kellie Anne Nicholson was walking through the doors of Ganache Bakery herself, Oakley glasses still on to hide the post-breakdown eye swelling. Sometime between the sobbing and blowing her nose, the girl had decided that the only solution to soothe some of the heartache caused by her stupid ex-boyfriend was, logically, to drown herself in cupcakes. The extra sugar would do no favors for her physique, but who cared?! All she wanted at the moment was to fill the void in her chest with sugar. She could worry about diabetes and cellulite later.
After waiting a few minutes for her turn, it was finally time to order. “I’ll have a half dozen: red velvet, carrot, peanut butter cup, hazelnut, espresso and strawberry cheesecake,” the brunette instructed the cheerful girl behind the counter, letting out a small sniffle.
The silver A8 pulled into the parking lot outside Ganache and the slightly-disheveled teenager ambled her way out of the car. The bell at the top of the door rang just as the girl at the head of the lineup was finishing her order. But Shawna was in no mood to wait for her cupcakes. No, this was a speed mission. Get in, get out, as quick as possible. There was no time for lineups. Spotting the girl at the counter, a girl who looked to be her age from the back, maybe a classmate? Either way, she was an opening. So Shawna did something she never would have done in her previous life. She cut. She cut hard.
“Excuse me, I just need in here. Thanks,” she said to the person who was set to order. She butted in with a distinct lack of grace behind the girl who had just finished ordering.
“Hey!” the heavy-set man complained. “I was next!”
“Oh, it’s OK,” Shawna lied. “My friend was saving my spot while I went and looked for a parking space.”
”No she wasn’t! I came in right behind her! You weren’t here!”
“Look, be cool, and I’ll buy you... well, not all the cupcakes you can eat, but I’ll cover you, OK?” Shawna was willing to pay for his spot, but she wasn’t going to break the bank for him. “Price is Right rules. Take advantage of my generosity and pay for it yourself.”
Even in Palm Beach, the prospect of free baked goods was a solid offer. ”Fine,” he quietly muttered.
“Super!” Shawna turned to the girl with the pierced nose working the counter. “Can I get… three red velvet cupcakes, one peanut butter chocolate, one cookies and cream...and I guess I should get a healthy one… one banana cream. That’ll do.” Shawna was satisfied the fruit in the last selection would offset the unhealthiness of the other five. The cupcake woman nodded and went to work assembling the half-dozen.
While the man in front of her may have been pacified, Shawna figured she had to put on a show for the rest of the line. Continuing her trend of risky behaviour, she went up to her “friend” and put an arm around her. ”Hey thanks for holding my spot, uh….” It was only as she got close that she could see the girl’s skin was blotchy around her eyes, and there was a bit of snot hanging around her nose. Almost if the girl had been bawling her eyes out. Which would explain why she would want some cupcakes. Shawna was still shaky on social cues though. ”Uh...you all right, friendo?”
Kellie Anne had watched the scene unfold in front of her hidden behind her sunglasses, the corners of her mouth curling up in the smallest of amused smiles. It was obvious that the girls didn’t know each other, but the way this random girl approached the situation made her claims -at the very least- somewhat believable. However, a nagging feeling in the dancer’s mind whispered at her that she knew this girl from somewhere, so maybe the claims that they weren’t complete strangers could have some foundation to them. Maybe they had met during that obscure period when the break-up had been so fresh the days had faded together into a blurry haze. Maybe they had met somewhere else. But whatever the case, Kel wasn’t one to let a fellow sister hang out to dry, so she chose to follow her lead.
“I will be after I have some of these,” Kellie told the girl in a soft voice, pulling her card from the back pocket of her shorts and handing it over to the cashier. “And don’t worry about it. That’s what friends are for, right?” she added teasingly with a shaky laugh in response to her earlier comment about holding her spot.
Shawna smiled at her new friend, who was at least willing to continue the ruse. “Fuck yeah, they are!” She was speaking loud enough for the man behind her to hear. “They are for holding spots and eating cupcakes together! Yes ma’am!” However, she dropped the volume in her voice for the next bit. “Seriously, thanks for helping cover. Did not want to wait 20 minutes for iced deliciousness.”
The dancer couldn't help but let out a small laugh at the girl's antiques. Her exaggerations made it obvious that they knew each other as well as mud, but why be a party pooper? This was the most fun Kel had had since the breakup. “No girl will be subjected to the agony of waiting for sweets for as long as I can do something about it!” Kellie declared in a mock superhero voice as she grabbed her card and box of cupcakes. Then, in a voice low enough for the girl to hear, she added, “And really: don’t sweat it. I would have done the exact same thing.”
“My hero!” Shawna exclaimed as she pulled a pair of $20s out of her purse and slapped them on the counter to cover her and whatever portion of the rotund fellow’s order was necessary. She turned to the girl as she picked up her own order. “But what do I call this savior of the sugary snacks, and crusader for cupcake connoisseurs everywhere?” Some long-dormant vocabulary skills were starting to show, but it also covered the fact that Shawna didn’t actually know this girl’s name.
“Kellie Anne Nicholson, at your service,” the brunette introduced herself, giving Shawna a mocking curtsy before chuckling. “And what may I call you, my charming damsel in sugary distress?” she asked, extending an inviting hand to the taller girl.
That taller girl batted her green eyes for a moment, almost surprised at the forward motion before happily accepting the hand with her own. “Shawna Marie Josi,” she answered. “But you can stick with one first name and call me Shawna.” She shifted the box in her hand and opened the door to the parking lot with her shoulder. “Must admit, as far as rescues go, this is easily my favorite one so far.”
“Oh, for sure!” Kellie responded with a laugh, taking advantage of the open door to exit the bakery. “You know, it was honestly really nice to meet you, Shawna Josi. This has to be the most I've laughed in the last two and a half months. You have no idea how much that means to me.”
“Hey, no problem!” Shawna said as she followed Kellie Anne out the door. “I mean, you know, I’m glad I could give you that at the very least for being super cool and everything!” It was an odd feeling for Shawna, her humor actually winning out and being not only accepted, but appreciated by this girl. It was something she hadn’t felt in a long time... She stared at her now suddenly lonely-looking silver sedan. “So…uh, what’s your plan for those cupcakes, Kellie Anne Nicholson? I mean, I know what my plan is for mine, but it’s kinda...meh.”
“The only real plans I had were to stuff my face with these long enough to stop bawling my eyes out,” she lamely admitted, making sure to add a sarcastic little laugh to disguise how painfully true her statement was. “Why? What's yours?”
“Honestly?” Shawna said with a tilt of her head. “Pretty much the same thing, without the crying part. Just, uh, yeah, eating all these by myself.” She put her finger up to the side of her face, as if trying to work through the gears of a plan.“You know, I bet eating cupcakes is a lot more fun if there are multiple people eating the cupcakes. I mean! You know, if you want company while eating said cupcakes. I wouldn’t mind company while eating these cupcakes. Especially company I already know to be heroic and all…”
Kellie thought about the interesting proposition for a moment. Holing up in her bedroom and going over the fuckups Max was getting himself into would only serve to make her more miserable. On the other hand, pouring her heart out to a neutral stranger who knew nothing about her love life would give her a new perspective on the subject. Who knows? Maybe this could be the start of a lovely little friendship. Finally, the brunette spoke up. “Honestly? I would really like that,” she told Shawna with a soft smile.
“Cool! Cool, cool,” Shawna tried to play off like she wasn’t excited about having another girl to talk about things with, but it was hard. She was tired. “I mean, yeah, if you want, we can go over to my place. It’s the McMansion at the end of Via Las Incas. I don’t know if you drove here, but I can give you a ride if you didn’t, or if you did, just have you follow me. However you want to roll, we can roll.”
Kel didn’t have to be told twice. With the soft smile still on her face, she walked up to her car and turned back to Shawna. “Let’s roll then, sister. Our cupcake feast awaits.”
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