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“Among the thousands of other Post-It notes? I don’t know how, but yeah.”

“I know, I know…I suck,” Vanessa said. “Anyway, can you come? I’ll drive.”

“Sure. What’s it about?”

Vanessa bit her bottom lip, a little smirk on her face.

“It’s a surprise,” she said. “But…it’s also something serious I want to talk to you about. Good serious, though, so don’t worry.”

Chloë shrugged. She was intrigued but she liked surprises and so she let it go.

***

Her and Vanessa left La Vida Mocha at two o’clock, getting in Vanessa’s Jeep and starting the drive south. It was a glorious day, cloudless, warm. Vanessa had the top of her Jeep off and so the women were able to enjoy the ride able to feel the air caressing them and able to smell the salty tang of the nearby ocean.

Encinitas being the next city south of Carlsbad, it wasn’t long before Vanessa turned off the freeway and made her way to the Coastal Highway, the main avenue of the town. After driving a few blocks, she pulled into a parking spot in front of an empty storefront.

“Megan!” Chloë exclaimed, seeing Vanessa’s fiancée, face mask on, approach the Jeep as Chloë was getting out.

The two women embraced. Megan was a few years older than Chloë, pushing thirty but looking as if she was no more than twenty-five. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a ponytail today.

“Chloë, this is Myrtle,” Megan said, indicating an older, well-dressed African-American woman with beautifully braided silver hair, which Chloë immediately complimented her on. The smile Myrtle gave in response crinkled her eyes.

“Myrtle is our realtor,” Vanessa explained, after hugging Megan. “And one of my favorite people.”

“These two have told me a lot about you,” Myrtle said to Chloë. “I’m excited to finally be meeting you!”

Chloë couldn’t help but wonder why Vanessa and Megan would tell a realtor about her but she supposed she would soon find out.

“Are we ready to go in?” Myrtle asked.

“Lead the way,” Megan offered.

Myrtle unlocked the door of the empty storefront and they all stepped inside, Myrtle flipping on the lights.

Chloë looked around. If she had to guess, the place had once been a coffeeshop, or maybe an ice cream parlor. It was about the same size as La Vida Mocha and against the far wall was an ordering counter that was certainly from an earlier era, design-wise, and a little dusty now. A cool-looking antique cash register sat atop it and dangling from the ceiling was a faded sign which read “Order Here.”

“Megan and I have already been here twice,” Vanessa said to Chloë. “But we wanted you to see it. Here, let me show you what’s in the back.”

And taking Chloë’s arm, Vanessa escorted her to the back area of the shop, which was roomier than La Vida Mocha’s back room, even with the walk-in refrigerator. After a moment, Megan joined them.

“So, what do you think?” Vanessa asked.

Chloë thought of the Post-It note.

“LVM 2,” she said. “Are you opening another La Vida Mocha or moving the current one?”

“Opening another one,” Vanessa stated.

“Wow! I didn’t even know you were thinking of that.”

Vanessa nodded.

“It was kind of something I kept to myself. But we’re doing really, really well in Carlsbad, despite Covid still being around. A lot of that is thanks to you, by the way.”

Chloë blushed. She had given Vanessa several ideas for increasing the shop’s profile and getting more customers in.

Vanessa went on.