Page 47 of September

Elisa laughed and asked, “So, you’ve already seen her boobs, but you’re still in the ‘will they, won’t they’ phase?”

“She’s bringing me coffee later and showing me how to make it.”

“Because you don’t know how to make coffee?”

“I do, but Jules thinks the machines that use pods aren’t delivering me the quality of coffee I deserve, so she’s coming over to show me how to use a French press.”

“Do you have a French press?”

“No, but she bought me one.”

“And you can’t figure out how to use it?”

“I probably could, yes.”

“Are you sure you’re not already dating?” Elisa asked.

“Pretty sure, yeah. It’s just a nice thing that she’s doing because I took care of her dog at the last minute, and she’s eternally grateful.”

Gwen pulled open the door to Henry’s and let Elisa walk inside first.

“Hi, Henry,” Elisa greeted her girlfriend’s uncle.

“Hey, Elisa. Usual?” he asked from his position behind the counter.

“Yes, please. And Gwen is here, too.”

“Hi, Gwen. For you?”

“Whatever she’s having is fine.”

“Is Myra joining you?” Henry checked.

“No, but can you make one for her, too? I’ll run it by the office for her. I’m sure she hasn’t eaten yet.”

“Will do,” he replied.

“Hey, you two,” Jill said before they’d had a chance to sit down. “Late lunch?”

Jill walked over to them with Willa at her side.

“Hi,” Willa greeted.

“Day off from school?” Gwen asked her.

“We had a teacher’s conference yesterday and this morning, so we have the afternoon off. It’s not really off – I have a ton of work waiting for me when I get home – but Jill was free for lunch, so I wanted to join her.”

“If you two want to eat by yourselves, don’t feel like you have to join us just because we stopped by,” Elisa spoke.

“No, it’s cool if you don’t mind the company,” Jill said.

“Not at all,” Elisa replied. “So, how is the new school?” she asked Willa when Jill went to the counter to place their order.

“It’s great. Totally different from where I was before. I’ve had a bit of a culture shock, but in a good way. I love that Juni is there with me, too. She’s doing so well in class.”

“That’s great,” Elisa said.

“Yeah. And I have an excuse to see this one all the time when I bring Juni to her place to hang out or have dinner.” Willa nodded over at Jill.