The Hunter's Werewolf

(10) Café & Bake

Ever hear coffee and cookies are for Sundays? Well, in my town, we have a small coffee shop and bakery called "Café & Bake," which combines the local community's favorite coffee and bakery into one. Everyone loves the coffee and bakery shop, especially when there are weekly specials, new drinks, and treats, especially on Sundays. There are so many types of drinks, snacks, and treats; my favorites are the chocolate chip cookies and the vanilla chip frappuccino, which always make my day. The shop is much cheaper than Starbucks and is in the town instead of driving ten miles outside of it, so most of the people always come to our town bakery and coffee shop in one. Hazel loves the shop so much that she begs Kaylie and me to take her there whenever it is possible.Oh, yes. Did I mention the owner of the shop was also a werewolf and she is an elder of the pack? Marley is one of the sweetest and most generous seniors in the town. Whenever someone needs something, like raising money for a family, school, or even a community event, she is always there, raising money to help. Her husband Alan is the one who started the business; he helps Marley out with the business side, and she bakes her heart out so much that everyone keeps coming back for more of her delicious treats. I adore them; they have been married for over forty years and counting, and they never got sick of each other. There is a story about them, including how they met and many other cute minute details about them, which, honestly, I do not remember the stories, but I should ask next time I see her.Sundays are always one of my favorite days, especially when I have a girls' day with my girls at the Café & Bake. Kaylie, Hazel, and I always come to the shop for lunch. We like to sit in the shop, Hazel likes to read all kinds of books that she finds inserted, even if it is higher than her reading level, Kaylie likes to write, and she never sticks to a specific type of novel such as teen fiction or something else, and I just happen to use the extra time for working on a project or starting a new one like drawing Hazel and Kaylie in front of me. Sometimes we like to go window shopping or do fun things like take photos with Mom's old camera. After some years of watching my mom do photography, I happened to pick it up quickly.Today was sunny and perfect, with warm weather for adventure. I asked the boys if they wanted to come with us to Bake & Shop, but they would rather sit at home and play video games or do other guy stuff. I was slowly waking up to Hazel and Kaylie jumping on my bed so hard that I thought we almost broke the bed."CHAR, ARE YOU UP?" C'mon, sleepy wolf, it's time to wake up! "IT'S ALMOST LUNCH SPECIAL TIME!" Hazel practically yelled in my ear while trying to open my eyes with her fingers."Hazel, I can open my eyes by myself, but thanks for helping me," I said while getting ready to get up from my bed."I already picked your outfit for today; pack your art book bag. Hazel is so bookish that she carries way too many books; maybe we should get her a tablet or a laptop today while we are out." "I need a new laptop and tablet that are two in one." Kaylie said while helping Hazel off the bed."I cannot wait to get my tablet, oo... I always wanted to get one, and mom said I could get one for my birthday." Hazel asked while jumping on the floor with the help of Kaylie."Well, of course, we can help you set it up and everything, plus mom and dad said it was okay," I said while looking for my phone and car keys."Which car are we taking today?" "I want to go in the Mustang today, and you guys are lucky you get your cars; maybe I can have a fancy car when I turn sixteen." Hazel while trying to hold straight and trying not to overdue the bookbag being a bit heavy."Ready guys, before the boys heard us talking about Best Buy and tried to come alone, we all know how much time they want to spend looking at every single thing in the whole store," Kaylie said while looking in the mirror and fixing her hair and makeup."Yeah, they tend to smell so bad that they need baths like a bubble bath with rubber ducks and some bath bombs that smell good," Hazel said while putting on her bookbag."Alright girls, let's go on our adventure. We are going to Café & Bake, Best Buy, and a few other places that we can always check out too," I said as we walked out the door with my keys in my left hand and my phone in the other."I can’t wait to go to Café & Bake. I would like to try the new soups and sandwiches they have on special today. I know Hazel would like the chicken nuggets, French fries, and a shake. "We can grab some coffee too," Hazel said while opening the back passenger door for her."I can’t wait to try the new coffee that I have; it’s fall season, and I think it's called a sweet pumpkin drink," I said while we were walking to the mustang."Maybe we can go to the park after lunch and play on the playground?" Hazel said while getting into her booster seat, which was bigger than her."We can stop at the park after lunch and other stores. "We also need to go buy Hazel a tablet," I said while buckling her in with her favorite stuffed animal."Alright, the last call. Does anyone need anything from the house before we leave?" Kaylie said while putting our stuff in the backseat."Nope, and are you ready to go on an adventure?" I asked them."I am so ready for today; too bad mom and auntie are working; I wish they could come too, but maybe next time," Hazel said while playing with her toy in the back seat."How about when we get home, we can make dinner with treats for them and go visit since they are working the night shift?" I said while driving down the long, curvy road from the house.We drove about ten minutes to the local Best Buy to get Hazel her birthday present, which was one of the best tablets to have because it came with a keyboard and a pen for the screen. After spending an hour in Best Buy getting Hazel's tablet and setting it up, we decided to finally go to our favorite place in the whole town for our favorite food and drinks. I parked my car in the small parking lot, unbuckled Hazel, grabbed our stuff out of the backseat, and walked inside the bakery-café shop. Once we walked into the shop, a mix of different smells filled the air that made our mouths water in delight. As soon as we found our favorite spot near the big fireplace, Marley spotted us and spoke."Hi girls, and how is my favorite little pup doing today?" "I saved you guys some of the last chocolate chip muffin tops with chocolate drizzle on top," she said while standing in front of us with a big smile on her face."We are good. We just got Hazel's birthday present, which is a brand-new tablet, and we are currently still planning her birthday party with her first Harvest Festival experience. "This year is going to be extra special, especially when she first shifts into her wolf form," I say while looking at the menu to see if there is anything new that was added to the menu."That is overly exciting; I can't wait for the Harvest Festival this year, especially when I can get to see the change in the food and drinks." Anyway, girls, I must get back to cooking. What would you like today? Merely said while taking the mini notepad out of her waiter's apron."I will go first; I want some chicken nuggets with a barbecue, sweet and sour sauce, fries, and a chocolate shake with an extra whip and cherries," Hazel said while looking at the menu, trying to act as though she knew how to read it but did not, but Marley knew her order."I will have the tuna melt, fries, and a cherry coke," Kaylie said while putting her menu on top of others on the table."Finally, it’s my turn, and I would like a bacon cheeseburger with also fries and sweet ice with a lemon," I told Marley, who was writing the order on her mini notebook."Alright girls, I will put this order in and see you girls soon," Marley said while standing up from the table and starting to walk away."So, guess who has finally finished another art project?" I asked Hazel and Kaylie, who were busy trying to get their stuff, to step onto the large table we were sitting at."Oh my gosh, let me see it, and is the picture of me in my wolf form?" Hazel said with a huge smile on her face and was almost falling out of the chair trying to reach across the table for my drawing notebook."Actually yes, it is, and it turns out beautiful, and we all wonder how she will look in her wolf form, so I thought she might look like this, which I hope will become true," I said while opening the page of Hazel in her wolf form."This is a really beautiful Char, and it looks like Hazel, especially with her pretty eyes," Kaylie said while holding my drawing notebook in her hands."Whoa, this is pretty, and I love that fact that it has a star on the forehead," Hazel said while looking over Kaylie’s shoulder."Excuse me, I need to set this heavy tray down on the table if you don’t mind before I drop it on your head," the waiter said while trying to set our food on the table."Open, I am so sorry, and look at this; am I pretty?" Hazel said while showing him while he was putting our food on the table."This looks amazing; who drew this?" he said while putting the drinks down on the table."I drew it, and thank you," I said while grabbing my iced tea and putting some sugar in my tea. "Pretty soon she will have to make me a book cover for the novel I am currently writing," Kaylie said while looking at him."Excuse me, sir, what's your name?" Hazel asked him while she grabbed her chocolate shake."Oh, my name is Nathan, I am Marley’s grandson, and I just moved here because she needed some help with the shop and, well, my parents are going through some things," he said, putting the rest of the food down on the table."You are cute; do you have a girlfriend? Kaylie needs to get a guy soon so she can stop talking about hot guys from movies and TV shows," Hazel said while picking up one of her chicken nuggets and dipping it in the sauces."OH MY GOD!" Kaylie tried to hide in her seat while covering her face."Umm, well, here you girls go; I am going to go help get more orders out, and when you are done, just bring the order slip up to the front to check out," Nathan said with a small chuckle."See you later, cutie," Hazel said while mocking Kaylie while flirting and waving her hand in the air."Hazel, zip it, and I do not flirt like that," Kaylie said while trying not to turn red in embarrassment."Okay then, how do we just eat and then go home and watch a movie or something?" I said while putting my stuff in my bookbag.We had started to eat our food before it started to get cold. Hazel kept saying Nathan’s name to make Kaylie blush like crazy, and she kept looking at him while trying not to get caught. I quickly wrote on the back of the order receipt her cell number with a cute little note saying, "Call or text me some time" with a wink face. Thankfully Hazel was distracting her while I wrote the note; if she caught us, we would be in big trouble and she would be mad at us for a long time. About a half-hour or forty-five minutes later, we were done eating, so we packed our stuff up because the shop was getting busier and we had other things to do today. Hazel wanted to go to the park and model for Kaylie with her photography camera while I finished my sketch for my art and history class project. After we are all packed up and ready to leave, we stop by the front counter to pay for our food when Nathan stands there and says..."Hi again, how was the food and cash or card today?" He said that while looking straight at Kaylie, she started to blush."Our food was excellent as always; I have a card today, and here is the receipt," I said, handing him my card and receipt with Katie's number on the back for him because she was too shy to give him her number."Oh, before I forgot, Marley had told me to give this to you guys before you left; she said something about being sorry for being too busy to give it to you in person, but tell your mom to stop by for planning the Harvest Festival," Nathan said while typing and then sliding my card through the card reader machine."Thanks, and I will; I hope to see you soon," I said while grabbing the folder off the table."Thank you; tell Mar I said bye-bye and love you," Hazel said while fixing her stuffed animal in her arm while trying to put her bookbag on."Oh, I will, and Kaylie and I will text or call you later," Nathan said with a wink while looking straight at her."Oh my God, who gave him my number?" Kaylie said this while blushing and trying to hide the fact that she was blushing like a bright red tomato."Yeah... About that... Umm… I left my cookie on the table for mommy... "Bye," Hazel said and then ran away to hide, knowing that she was the one who gave him her number."Don't look at me; I was paid in a cookie to write it, and Hazel just wants you to have a date to the Harvest Festival, so you won't be lonely," I said while looking for my little munchkin, who was weaving through the tables back to us."Well... It does not hurt to try to talk, and call or text me when you can. "I would love to get to know you, and maybe we can hang sometime." Kaylie said this while trying to catch Hazel in her arms while she was running in minicircles."She is one cute kid; is she one of yours?" "I bet you girls will make a good mother," Nathan said while smiling at Kaylie, who made her blush more."No, she is our baby sister, and Kaylie is like a sister to me because our families are very close, and she is the last pup from my mother," I said while getting ready to leave the little cozy shop." Ahh... It makes more sense; I got a little worried, and I will see you guys again soon. "Bye, girls, have a good day," Nathan said and waved bye to Hazel, who giggled and waved back."Ready girls, I think we should get back and finish our girl day while the boys are doing God knows what right now," I said while picking up Hazel, so she does not run off again from the sugar rush she is having."I'm ready. Can I stick my head out the window and act like a true dog in the car on the ride home?" Hazel spoke while we were walking out the door."Umm. "Sure, if that is what you want to do, but do not choke on a bug if your month is open," I told Hazel with a chuckle."eww. Gross! I do not want to eat a bug. That is gross, Hazel said while trying to make any gagging sounds to end up throwing up her lunch."Remember when the boys ate bugs at the family camping and thought it was fake bug candy when they were around Hazel’s age?... Ahh, good times, especially when they ended up puking for a good hour or so," Kaylie said, and she began to laugh so hard that she almost lost her balance while walking to the car."Yeah, I remember, now they eat them like there is nothing, which is still gross," I said while opening the car door up and putting Hazel in her car seat and buckling her safely in."Bugs are gross, but boys are grosser, especially with cooties," Hazel said while trying to open a bag of cookies secretly, trying not to get caught."Yeah, boys are nasty; you better not be kissing any at school," Kaylie said while checking her makeup in the passenger-side mirror."I’m not, in fact, and I wouldn't even dare try," Hazel said with a mouthful of cookies."Good, and keep it that way, or else Colt would throw one huge hissy fit," I said.While driving home, we stopped at the local park for Hazel to get rid of her sugar rush and took plenty of nice photographs of everyone. It took us all day with our adventures and running around getting some things for the harvest festival, which is coming up in a few short months. I honestly cannot wait for the huge party and for Hazel to be shown off to the community as a welcome to the wolf pack. When we got home, we ate dinner and watched a movie before going to bed.