14
Ellie walked into What’s Perkin’, sporting freshly painted, hot pink toenails and shopping bags dangling from her arms. It had been a whirlwind shopping extravaganza. Ellie had justified her purchases with the reasoning she needed new clothes for work.
“Hey, Luke, is Mom around?” She greeted her mom’s counter guy, but that was an understatement. Luke had quickly become Mom’s right hand and Dani, her sister’s replacement, was the left. Now her mom had time to spend away from the shop with Ray.
Luke beamed. “I see someone is keeping the local economy humming.” He took a couple of large shopping bags and set them behind the counter. “Your mom’s in the kitchen getting more cupcakes. They’re selling like hotcakes today.”
“What’s the flavor of the day? I might have to sample one.” Ellie g
