Page 10 of Welcome to Ero-TEA-Ca: We’re Open!

Harriet

T he teas were stocked, toys displayed, and the tables set.

The small issue with the electrics had been sorted after a mini breakdown and a very helpful electrician Kevin knew.

Everything was ready for Ero-Tea-Ca’s soft opening.

Everything except Harriet. Her uniform was on, and physically she looked set to open the doors for the first time, but emotionally, she was a mashed potato.

Tears kept popping up in her eyes and rolling nausea swept through now and then.

Ero-Tea-Ca was Harriet’s baby, and in a few minutes, people were going to come in and judge the hell out of it, and her.

“Five minutes!” Nabi called through the toilet door.

Shit, five minutes! Harriet had to clean up and look presentable.

Lip sweat did not a confident businesswoman make.

Tucking her black short-sleeve shirt further into her black slacks, Harriet regarded herself one more time in the mirror.

She gently ran her fingers over the Ero-Tea-Ca emblem stitched over her pocket.

The only thing left to do was tie on her apron, and voila!

Harriet Kirkwell, business owner, was ready.

Instead of milling around chatting, Harriet planned to wait tables and serve behind the counter.

She might be the owner, but she wanted to show everyone how hard she planned to work.

Harriet wasn’t the type of person to have her employees do the dirty work.

She’d be right there with them, serving and dealing with customers, pleasant and difficult.

Summoning her brightest smile, Harriet sauntered to the serving area.

Manifestation was a wonderful thing. She would will herself to succeed, and that started with a show of confidence.

Spotting Nabi fixing a table setting so it was perfect, Harriet gave her a thumbs up before unlocking the entrance door.

With a big breath in, and a slow release out, she opened it to find several friends already waiting, gifts in hand and adoring smiles on their faces.

“Welcome,” she called, accepting hugs and cheek kisses. Her face hurt from smiling so much, but the discomfort was worth it. Genuine happiness was rare in the world, and Harriet swore to hold on to hers. Because she was happy.

Her nerves in the loo had dissipated the second she had her friends and family surrounding her.

Several minutes later, two of the Shop Owners’ Guild rocked up, looking apprehensive but open-minded.

They shook Harriet’s hand and proceeded to take a look around.

Nerves pitter-pattered their way through Harriet’s chest again, but she kept them to a minimum. Nothing would pop her bubble.

Diane arrived with her husband, Mitchell, and their eldest, Robbie, who’d turned eighteen a few weeks ago. Robbie was the spitting image of Harriet and therefore her favourite. Diane’s other kids were just as precious, but she couldn’t help but have an extra-special bond with her mini-me.

“Guys, thank you so much for coming,” Harriet called as she embraced them all.

Robbie held on a little longer, squishing her ribs.

“Aunt Harriet, this is so cool,” Robbie gushed.

Her eyes were wide with wonder. Doing what Diane did for a living meant her kids weren’t taken aback by sex or anything related to the human form.

Robbie came out at thirteen. She had “The Talk” at sixteen when she got her first girlfriend, but it wasn’t the horrifying shit show most teens endured when discussing sex with their parents.

There was nothing in Ero-Tea-Ca that Robbie would find scandalous.

Harriet insisted her other niblings adhere to the 18+ policy, though, much to their irritation. Milly and Parker were only eighteen months shy of becoming legal adults, but Harriet wouldn’t endanger her business.

“It really looks fantastic, sis. Well done,” Diane said, giving Harriet another bone-crushing hug.

“Let’s be honest, I couldn’t have done it without you and Kevin,” Harriet replied sincerely. They’d been her rock, both emotionally and monetarily. If not for their sizeable investments, the tea shop would never have happened.

“We helped, but this was your brainchild. You did this, Harriet, and I am so very proud.”

A lump the size of Jupiter formed, threatening to choke her up. Batting her sister away with a playful punch to the arm, Harriet inhaled deeply. No more tears . “Anyway. Why don’t you sit. I’ll get Nabi over to take your order.”

Seizing the opportunity to step away for a moment, Harriet leaned on the office door frame, taking it all in. People were laughing, some were in deep discussion, and others were checking out the display of toys. All seemed happy, including Mandeep and Shirley from the Shop Owners’ Guild.

There were only a few people missing—notably, her parents, but they’d been adamant they couldn’t support her in this, so no surprise they’d kept to their word and stayed away.

The other two people Harriet hoped would show were Kendal and Cassandra.

Cass. Could she use the shortened version yet?

Ugh, whatever. It was still early, though.

Plenty of time. Harriet was determined to become friends with every shop owner, miserable café owner included.

“Harriet!” Kendal’s excited voice filtered over the chatter. She really was a striking woman. And she was alone. Damn it.

“Kendal, thank you for coming,” Harriet replied, giving Kendal a cheek kiss. She felt comfortable enough to do that, and something told Harriet she and Kendal were going to be great friends.

“This place is amazing!”

“Thanks. I’m really happy with it. I hope everyone else feels the same way.”

“If all the smiling faces are anything to go by, I’d say so.”

“Can I get you a drink? We have Champagne, or…tea. Lots of tea,” Harriet said with a smile and a chuckle.

“I’ll take a flute of bubbly before perusing the tea. I’ve never seen so many varieties. It’s impressive.”

“We have a tea for everything. There’s a reason it’s been consumed for thousands of years.”

“And the teapots,” Kendal gasped. “Who made them? The art is exquisite!”

Harriet beamed. “All local artists. I’ll introduce you. The glass toys are made by my brother and a friend.”

“I love the gift boxes. Very clever.”

“So…no Cassandra, huh?”

Kendal sighed. “She said she might come. That’s more than I expected after she flatly refused the first time I asked her.”

“Better than nothing, I guess. Now let’s go talk to some fabulous artists.”

And talk they did. Kendal slotted in seamlessly with Harriet’s friends, the majority of who were clearly experiencing a tiny crush.

Understandable…Harriet might have one herself.

Still, a small blip of disappointment hovered like a tiny cloud over Harriet’s sunshine-filled day.

What did she have to do to get Cass here?

Why couldn’t the woman just give Harriet and the shop a chance?

“Why are you frowning?”

Harriet turned to face Nabi. “Cassandra didn’t come.”

“Who?”

“Cassandra Beaufort. The coffee shop owner.”

“Well, Kendal’s here and she’s fifty percent of The Beanery, isn’t she? So, I don’t think we’ll get any more shit.”

“That’s not the point,” Harriet stated.

“M’kay. So, what’s the point?”

“Just…well…I don’t know, but it’s important Cass gets on board.”

“Right. Okay, I’m gonna leave you with all that and carry on serving. We’ve already sold three glass dildos and four teapot gift boxes.” Nabi danced away, leaving Harriet with a choice: she could wait in vain for Cass to turn up, or she could make it happen.

Giving a swift glance over the room, Harriet slipped out the door and raced over to the café.

It was closed, but she could see Cass behind the counter.

With a jaunty tap, Harriet smiled brightly.

Cass looked up and furrowed her eyebrows.

A few seconds passed before Cass huffed and beckoned Harriet inside.

“Hi,” Harriet called brightly. “How are you?” She shut the door and skipped over.

Cass regarded her with what could only be seen as contempt. “What are you wearing?”

Harriet looked down in confusion. “Um…my work uniform.” Wasn’t that obvious?

“You can’t wear that. Take it off!”

“Wow, you could buy me dinner first.” Harriet laughed. Cass either didn’t get the joke or didn’t find it funny.

“I’m serious. That can’t be your uniform.”

Hopping onto the closest stool, Harriet rested her chin on her hand. “And why’s that?”

“Because it looks too much like The Beanery’s uniform. Clients will get us mixed up and think we’re connected,” Cass spluttered.

“But the logo’s different,” Harriet mused. She felt something unexpected stir in the pit of her stomach—laughter. Now she knew to expect Cass’s prickly demeanour, it was starting to feel more amusing than off-putting.

“Unless someone’s staring at it, they won’t see the difference!” Cass shrieked.

“Hmm. But I also have teapots on my apron. They’re smiling—look.” Harriet stood up on the stool’s crossbar. Her apron did, in fact, have smiling teapots on it. They made Harriet’s day every time she looked at them.

“It doesn’t matter. Your shirt and trousers are exactly like mine. You have to change it.”

Harriet whistled. “Sorry, Cassandra, no can do.”

Cass growled—actually growled. “Ms Kirkwell—”

“Harriet.”

“Harriet. You cannot—”

“Did you try the tea I gave you?”

Cass’s retort died in her throat. “What?”

“The tea? The one that aids sleep?”

“I…no, why? I sleep fine.”

“Just wondering. It tastes great. I tried the coffee you brought over. It’s great.”

“It’s Peruvian Gold.”

“It tastes golden,” Harriet replied sweetly.

“How could it possibly taste golden?”

“You know. It’s the feeling you get when something is delicious. Golden.”