Lyrics of a Small Town by Abbi Glines
Four
The third request on Gran’s list was my goal for the day, then I thought I might find the library and spend a few hours there. I was procrastinating and I realized that but there were only seven things on Gran’s list and yesterday I had completed two of them. This process made me feel as if I had Gran here with me. I needed to slow it down. Once I finished it, I was afraid it would feel as if she had truly left.
Standing outside Signed Sips, I held the letter in my hand that I was supposed to bring to a Mrs. Hillya Garry. Gran had said I was to tell Hillya Garry it was from Honey and that I was to wait on her to read the letter. Again, another awkward request. Thanks a lot, Gran.
Signed Sips however was interesting. From outside you could see the walls lined in books. There were thousands of books inside. In front of all the books was what looked like a coffee shop with bakery items. The place was unique as was the name. Luckily it didn’t appear to be too terribly busy at the moment.
I opened the door and instead of the smell of coffee hitting me in the face, it was the books and I decided this was the best coffee place I had ever been. Don’t get me wrong, I love the smell of coffee but nothing beats the smell of a physical book that you can hold in your hands.
An older lady was placing muffins into the bakery display and looked up at me as the door bells chimed.
“Welcome to Signed Sips. How can I help you?” she asked smiling brightly. Her hair was the purest color white I had ever seen. She had it styled in a short bob that made her face look as if it were heart-shaped.
“I’m looking for a Mrs. Hillya Garry,” I said, returning her smile, glad to have found a friendly face since I was about to be annoying for a few moments.
The lady continued to smile. “You found her,” she replied.
This was even better. The nice lady was Hillya. She looked to be my gran’s age. This made sense. Another one of her friends. The kind I could picture my gran being friends with, unlike Lily who I visited yesterday at the penthouse.
I stepped up to the counter. “Hello, I am Henley Warren. My grandmother was Honey. She left me a list of things she’d like me to do after she passed away. I am to give you this letter,” I said and held out my hand to Hillya. When she reached out to take it, there was an odd expression on her face. She wasn’t close to tears or emotional. She seemed concerned almost. As if my gran had left her words she wasn’t sure she wanted to read. Knowing I had to follow this through I continued, “I’m also supposed to stand here while you read it. I’m sorry.” I added the last part because Hillya truly looked like she did not want to read the letter from my gran. Let alone have an audience.
Everyone loved Honey Warren or so I thought. Perhaps I was visiting the one person in this town who didn’t love my gran. Was this Gran’s way of making amends for something she had done. Hillya looked at the letter in her hand several moments then slowly opened it. I had expected her to ask me some questions first or tell me she didn’t have time to open it now.
Not wanting to stare at Hillya while she read the letter, I focused on the options in her bakery display. She had blueberry, banana, and praline pecan muffins. The cake donuts came in chocolate glaze, strawberry, and maple cream. Her cupcakes were works of art with pieces of candy bars, cookies and even tiny cupcakes as toppings. I glanced up as a girl came from the back carrying a tray of cookies and sat them down before helping the customer who had just walked in the door.
Hillya cleared her throat and I turned my attention back to her, hoping this wasn’t going to be something Gran had walked me into that was unsalvageable. If they had a grudge between them, I did hope Hillya could forgive Gran. She was gone now. There was no reason to hold a grudge. However, Gran doing anything to someone that would make them hold a grudge seemed unlikely.
“You bake gluten-free, dairy-free items?” Hillya asked me then.
I wish I had read that letter now. I had no idea what this was about and I had obviously been way off with my assumptions. “Uh, yes, I mean, not professionally. I just enjoy baking and I can’t have dairy or gluten... so…”
“You good with the low-calorie granola mixes and those bowl things that are all the craze?” she then asked.
I nodded. “Acai bowls? I make them for me,” I said.
Hillya folded the letter slowly and studied it before looking back at me again. “I’ve owned this place for thirty years. I’ve had to change it many times to keep up with the trends. Seems the trends have changed on me once again. Young people want healthier options. Nut-free options I have managed, but the gluten and dairy, I have not. I do not know how to make the granola bowls the way they want them or the best way to make them low-calorie. I will pay you twenty dollars an hour. Thirty hours a week. If you have any savory evening appetizers ideas, I am looking for those too. We add a full bar after four every day and stay open until ten. There are two different book clubs that are held here each month and we have a monthly author signing.”
I stood there, unsure what to say. I had never made any of my recipes for anyone other than me. my family, and some friends. My mother had tried and liked them and Gran had enjoyed my experiments in the kitchen but that didn’t mean others would. This woman was offering me twenty dollars an hour without even trying any of my creations. What had Gran said to her?
“Would you like me to make some of them for you to try first? Before you hire me?” I asked. I hadn’t wanted to get a job so soon, but I also hadn’t expected to get a job doing something I enjoyed. Something I thought I was good at, but I wasn’t sure other people would agree. At least not sure enough for twenty dollars an hour.
“Honey’s opinion is all I need,” she replied and tucked the letter into the pocket of her white capri pants. “I believe baking runs in your blood, even deeper than you realize,” she said with a smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes. “Can you start tomorrow morning? Fridays are busy and I could use the extra help. I get here at four, but if you could be here by five that would give me plenty time to show you things and you can tell me what all you need in order to make your creations.”
All I could manage was a nod. How could I say no to this? Well played, Gran. Well, played.
“Thank you,” I said.
The expression on Hillya’s face was sad, but there was something else there. Possibly hopefulness? Was her shop struggling that much? If it was on me to save the place that was a lot of pressure. “I believe we both have Honey to thank,” she replied. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Henley.”
When I was seated back in my car, I thought perhaps I should start reading all the letters Gran left before I delivered them.
“What have you gotten me into this time, Gran?” I asked, but of course she didn’t answer.
Starting the car, I pulled out onto the road and drove. I didn’t drive toward Gran’s house or the library. Instead I headed for the health food store in town. I needed to be sure they had what I needed before tomorrow morning. I didn’t want to show up empty-handed. I would feel better about things if I could walk in and bake some items right away for Hillya to try. I might also feel more confident at five in the morning if I spent my day today baking what I planned to do tomorrow.
Will had loved my banana bread and it was not only dairy and gluten-free but organic. Mom always asked me to make the dark chocolate granola bars and I could do those organic as well if I could find the right ingredients.
My mind began turning over all the different ideas and I grew excited about the possibilities. I was going to get to bake things that I created for people to buy. I would be lying if I hadn’t thought about it before but then I would push the idea away because I had no real training. I played around in the kitchen. I would have never had the confidence to apply for a job to do something like this, and yet, here I was with a job doing just that and it was all thanks to my gran.
