Heart | N.H.

twenty nine - late night talking

"Can I have a banana nut muffin? And a chocolate chip cookie. And a large hot chocolate, extra whipped cream. And a mini blueberry scone. That's all--I'm trying to cut down. Do you want anything, Miracle?"

I blinked at Callie. "Oh. I thought you were ordering for me."

"Pfft. What I ordered is barely enough for one person."

"Right. I want a brownie and a hot chocolate, please."

"All right, so double the chocolate," Callie said.

From behind the cash register, Annika announced the total. I frowned and started to protest, "You combined the bills by accident--" but Callie ignored me and handed Annika her credit card.

"It took all my energy to convince you to leave the house," she said, waving me off. "I'm not making you pay."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick squeeze, which she returned. We walked down the counter, over to where Louis, wearing a pinstriped apron, was plating our orders. I grabbed the two mugs of steaming hot chocolate, while Callie picked up our tray.

I leaned over the counter and whispered, "When do you and Annika get off?"

"Not for another two hours," he said apologetically. "We'll text you, maybe we could hang out after that. Or visit Niall," he suggested.

I shook my head. "It's his first day back home, I think we should just let him get settled in."

"Right." Louis nodded, pouring a latte for the lady standing behind me. "Is everything okay?"

"With what?" I said quickly. Callie had already walked away, picking a table towards the back of the bakery. The lady behind me made an impatient tsking noise. "With me and Niall?"

Louis raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "No... with you. Have you been sleeping?"

"Oh yes," I said, my voice suddenly loud for no reason. "I sleep tons. All day, all night." I didn't know what else to say, so I flashed him a peace sign and almost dropped my hot chocolate.

"Am I ever going to get that latte?" said a voice behind me.

Patting my arm, Louis said, "I will text you, promise. Try not to fall apart till then."

"I'm fine," I said, my voice cracking on the fine. I gave him a smile, took a second to compose myself, and headed over to Callie.

"Finally," she said as I slid into the leather seat across from her and passed her her hot chocolate. "I'm dying over here."

"Starvation does indeed seem to be near at hand for you," I gravely observed, indicating her half-devoured plate full of baked goods.

"The struggle is real," she said, only it came out as, "Buh fuffle sheal" because her mouth was full of scone.

I wrapped my hands around my mug, enjoying the feeling of warmth seeping into my chilled fingers, and took a sip of cocoa, in the process getting whipped cream on my nose. As I was reaching up to wipe it away, I heard someone call my name from across the bakery.

I turned to see Albert Pickenstein walking towards our table, holding a paper to-go bag. "Hi! Fancy seeing you here! I come here all the time and I never have before."

"We've only started coming more recently. Our friend Louis insists we visit so we can tip him a lot," I explained, waving hi. "You know Callie?"

Albert exchanged a friendly nod with Callie. "Nice hair."

"Thanks," said Callie; she'd recently changed her highlights to a gradient pattern of purples, blues, and greens. It was Northern Lights inspired.

"Hey, we got the same thing. Their brownies are the best," Albert said, gesturing to my plate. "If I got them every time I came here, though, I'd be so fat, so I force myself to get a banana with my coffee on school days. Today's a treat yo'self kinda day, though."