Chapter 2
1925 Words
Chapter Two
Evan
“Where are you going this early?” My sister, Elsie, plops down on the stool, looking half asleep. “I don’t mind the mid-morning shift, but you owe me for this.”
I finish the last tray of bagels. “I owe you? Remind me to pay you back that favor tomorrow when I wake up at three a.m. so we have product to sell to pay for your college. All you have to do is unlock the doors and take orders. Mom will be in after she drops off Eli at school.”
“But you know she’s going to talk to his teacher foreeeever. And last time Mr. Tettlebaum yelled at me because I put too much cream cheese on his poppy seed bagel,” she whines because that’s what Elsie does. “There was a huge line of witnesses.”
“This is one morning. Please, just handle this.”
“But why? Tell me what you’re keeping from me? Are you surprising Brock?” Her eyelashes flicker up and down in a dreamy state. “It’s like a Cinderella story with you two. One day he’s going to come in here and sweep you off your feet, take you to his castle on the hill, and you’ll live happily ever after.” She rests her chin in her palm as if she’s envisioning it all happening right now.
I won’t break my sister’s naively romantic heart, but Brock isn’t the type of guy to put much thought into anything other than his vices—video games, hanging out with his friends, and betting on car races with said friends.
All Elsie sees when it comes to Brock is dollar bills. His fancy sports car and his family’s big house on the hill. Sometimes I sit next to him and wonder how we ever started dating. The truth is, it all started here in The Bagel Place.
Brock would come in around noon and ask if we had anything fresh. Eventually he lingered longer and longer, and since business was always slow by then, it was nice to have someone to talk to. Sometimes a friend of his would stop in and he’d make them buy a bagel or a drink. Usually they’d chat for a minute or two then be on their way, but Brock would stay until I closed. One afternoon he asked me out and I said yes even though he’s not really my type. If I told that to Elsie, she’d faint like one of the members from BTS just walked in the door.
But Brock surprised me. He’s pretty charming and he’s been almost sweet on our dates. Except for after a gala we attended, where we ran into Seth Andrews. It was an event for the Testicular Cancer Awareness Group. Brock’s dad is a bigwig for some company that bought a table.
All those doubts Seth Andrews keeps trying to bring to my doorstep come to mind—that Brock is a drug dealer and the scum of the earth.
“Hey, have you ever heard any rumors about Brock?” I ask in a light voice, trying to make it sound like no big deal. I shove another tray of everything bagels in the oven because we usually run out of them early and Elsie will be lost if she has to actually prepare anything.
“What kind of rumors?”
I shrug with my back to her. I’ve dissected Seth’s accusations about Brock being his brother Trevor’s drug dealer repeatedly. Why would a guy like Brock need to sell drugs? His family is loaded. It makes no sense.
What makes more sense is that Seth has the last name Andrews and anyone with that last name can’t be trusted when it comes to us Ericksons.
“You mean other girls? Damn, Evan, you know you’re hot, right? He’s lucky to get you.”
I turn around, wiping my hands clean with a dishcloth. “Yeah, not about other girls.”
Although Brock does have a reputation of having no-strings-attached relationships. Even Elsie’s sweet compliments can’t erase his past.
She tilts her head. “Then what?”
“I don’t know. I don’t really go out much—”
“Evan, you’re dodging the question. What’s bothering you?”
I sit on the stool across from her and allow all the nervous energy about what I’m doing as soon as I leave here to disperse from my body. “You know that gala I went to a few weeks ago?”
“The fancy one Brock bought you a gorgeous black dress for? That thing may disappear out of your closet one day, by the way.” She laughs and I throw the dishrag at her.
“Yeah, well, Seth Andrews was there too.”
Elsie’s laugh dies as though someone cut her throat.
“Els,” I say.
She shakes her head. “You’re thinking of ruining your chance at a fairy tale romance because of something Seth Andrews said?”
I never expected to see Seth there—in a tuxedo, no less. It was probably his first time wearing one since junior prom when he got crowned as king. Brock was seething after our confrontation with Seth and actually demanded I have nothing to do with him. I’m not sure why Brock’s worried. It’s common knowledge to anyone who lives in Cliffton Heights that Seth’s dad and mine had a falling out years ago. As if that’s not cliché enough, I see actual voting polls on our community f******k group about who has the better bagels: my family, the Ericksons of The Bagel Place or Seth’s family with Andrews Bagel Company.
I’m not sure what Brock saw the night of the gala to make him demand I never see Seth again.
“You know Trevor has a—”
“Drug problem? You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in Cliffton Heights who didn’t see that downward spiral.”
I nod. Elsie’s younger than me by enough that the family feud happened right before she was born. “Well, Seth says Brock was… er… is Trevor’s dealer?”
“I thought Trevor was in rehab? Is he back and using again?” The judgment in her tone is clear.
My dad is aware of Trevor Andrews’ drug problem and has judged how Seth’s dad could ever allow Trevor to become a junkie, saying he’d never let his children get that lost. I don’t think it’s quite that simple though.
“I have no idea about Trevor. I think Seth was warning me or something.”
“Warning?” She rolls her eyes. “That Brock might decorate you in diamonds?”
Oh, my poor sister. Once she graduates high school and finds out what the real world is like, she’s going to be devastated that her new reality doesn’t come with glitter bombs and streamers.
“I’m serious.”
“I thought they were friends? Didn’t they play football together? There’s a picture of the two of them in the glass case with that trophy when we won state all those years ago.”
I was a sophomore when Trevor was a senior. I kind of remember Brock and Trevor hanging around one another, but only because Trevor was actually nice to me. He’d smile and say hi in the hallway while Seth scowled as if I was the reason for our parents’ fallout.
“They were, from what I remember. But there’s no denying that Trevor lost his battle with addiction.” I go to the sink and wash my hands. “Anyway, I have to go if I’m gonna be on time.”
“Okay, but tell me… are you showing up naked with only a rain jacket on?”
I shake my head at my little sister. “Stop watching all those romance movies and meet the rest of us down here on Earth.”
“I bet Brock would love it if you did,” she singsongs, heading toward the front of the store. “I hope you waxed. No one likes a hairy p***y anymore, FYI.”
“Elsie!” I scold as though she’s my child.
I walk out the back door, double-check that it’s locked behind me, and head toward the mercantile mart, crossing my fingers I’ll be the first one in line.
Sadly, I have to be satisfied being the fourth in line. Cliffton Heights isn’t a small town, but it’s not a big city either. So I recognize Luiz from Los Tacos, Audrey from Scumptuals, Tony from Pizza Pies, and Meg from Spoon and Fork, which is a soup and salad place. They all tentatively smile and wave as I pass them to walk to the end of the line.
At least I’m first for the breakfast crowd. None of them are competition for me, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
I glance at my watch. It’s only six o’clock, which means we have three hours before the doors open. Since I didn’t bring a chair like my other Cliffton Heights hopefuls, I sit on the concrete and pull out my phone.
“How’s your dad, sweetie?” Audrey peers over the edge of the romance novel she’s reading. I glance at the name—Lessons from a One-Night Stand. Sounds interesting.
I smile. “He’s good.”
“And your mom? She came in the other day with Eli and she looked tired.”
I want to ask Audrey how I look. Does she notice the bags under my eyes? I never planned on running the day-to-day operations of The Bagel Place. But my mom has to be hands-on with Eli to assist with his special needs due to his Down Syndrome. Elsie isn’t much help and I want her to finish college. “She’s good. We’re all good.”
She nods, but her eyes are soft and kind. “It’s hard running a business.”
Her gaze bores into my soul as if she sees every piece of the resentment I’ve buried deep inside.
“Yeah, but rewarding too.”
She nods. “Sometimes. Scrumptuals was my dream.”
Is Audrey trying to use telepathy to tell me she knows I feel stuck in a life I didn’t choose? My dad’s health isn’t what it once was, and my mom runs ragged after my brother. I’m a good daughter to them for running the store, but stuck in a destiny I never wanted.
“Let’s hope this will help increase the tourist population in Cliffton Heights.” I change the subject more to strip that pitying look from her face than anything.
“Oh!” She puts her unicorn bookmark between the pages and shuts the book. “It’s going to do great things for us. That’s why it’s pivotal for all of us to be on the show.”
I nod and bite my lip.
“Which reminds me, this guy came in the other day.” She moves her chair to face me, leaning forward.
Unease wraps around me. She’s going to tell me something I don’t want to hear.
“It’s crazy, right, but you know the ongoing battle this town has with your cream cheese and the Andrews’ bagels? He asked me about my cream cheese frosting on my chocolate cupcakes and I said that I buy it in bulk from The Bagel Place. He said he bought a tub of your cream cheese and then went to Andrews Bagel and bought a dozen for a family brunch. And everyone raved about the combination.”
I nod. What exactly does she want me to say to that?
She pats my leg, then her gaze falls behind me, and her eyes widen in surprise. “Well, well,” she says softly.
I glance over my shoulder and spot Seth Andrews and his mother getting in line. Seth’s holding a coffee, his hoodie over his head, while his mom talks with Lucy from Porterhouse.
My gut twists. It’s not like I didn’t think anyone else from the breakfast crowd would show up, but why did it have to be them?
Audrey pats my leg. “No worries. There’s no contest when it comes to your cream cheese.”
And that’s exactly it—the cream cheese. But cream cheese can’t stand on its own. A bagel can.
I glance back once more and Seth notices me this time. He nods then smirks. I can almost hear him thinking, “Game on, Erickson.”
- Writer
