Farrah Rochon - Forever's Promise

“You know exactly what brought you back here,” Shayla whispered before downing the last of her juice in one gulp.

Guilt.

Suffocating, unrelenting, soul-crushing guilt. And if leaving her previous life behind so she could do right by her brother’s family was the only way to assuage that smothering guilt, then so be it.

Shayla set the juice glasses in the sink, made sure the back door was locked and went in to check on the girls. Kristi was still sound asleep. Cassidy was in bed, reading an R. L. Stein Goosebumps book.

A smile drew across Shayla’s lips. Like father, like daughter. Braylon had kept stacks of Bobbsey Twins mystery paperbacks next to his bed when he was younger.

Why did you leave these two babies?

How she wished she could ask him that question face-to-face.

It took some effort to swallow past the lump that instantly formed in her throat. Once she was able to clear it, she said, “Ten more minutes, okay, Cass?” The girl nodded. “Good night. I love you, honey.”

Cassidy didn’t respond.

Shayla’s eyes closed briefly in defeat before she pulled the door, leaving a five-inch gap. She went into her bedroom and barely managed to change into her own old, comfortable T-shirt before falling onto the bed and into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Shayla was nearly a half hour late making it to The Jazzy Bean. Unlike yesterday, Gayle had not been there to help get Kristi and Cass off to school. She’d enjoyed her first weekend alone with the girls, but she would probably weep in relief when Leslie picked them up tonight.

It was no surprise that Lucinda had everything running like a well-oiled machine by the time Shayla arrived at The Jazzy Bean. And, thank God, Erin was back behind the counter.

“I am so happy to see you,” Shayla told her, giving her a brief hug. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had to run the front end of a coffeehouse on my own.”

“I probably could have come in yesterday afternoon, but I wanted to make sure I was completely over the virus before I returned to work.”

“Good girl,” Shayla said. “Spoken like a future pediatrician.”

“I talked to Desiree this morning. She’s still in the don’t-stray-too-far-from-the-bathroom phase.” Erin grimaced. “Believe me, you don’t want her here.”

“Lucinda and I did okay yesterday. We can handle it now that you’re back,” Shayla said.

Despite wanting to run from the building screaming during yesterday’s lunchtime rush, for the most part she’d enjoyed being back in the thick of things. She wasn’t about to give up Erin and Desiree—not by a long shot—but at the end of the day Shayla had felt a sense of accomplishment she hadn’t experienced since her early days with her old company, when she was still climbing her way up the bottom rungs of the ladder.

The morning crowd mostly consisted of regulars, with a smattering of unknown faces that stopped in on their way to the site of the new concrete plant being built just off Highway 190 a few towns over. One of the contractors had stumbled upon The Jazzy Bean a few weeks ago and bought coffee for the rest of his crew. It had become a ritual. Someone came in at least three days a week, ordering one of the carryout cartons that held a gallon of coffee.

That thought brought up another one.

Shayla looked over from where she was adding bagels to the tray inside the display case. “Hey, Erin, will you be able to deliver coffee to the clinic this morning?”

“Not unless you want to make the drinks,” Erin called over the noise of the coffee grinder.

“I don’t think so,” Shayla said. Yesterday had exposed her limits. Although she still had some skills behind the espresso machine, when it came to barista duties, Erin was far superior.

She was really missing Desiree right about now. Her manager was the one who usually slipped out during the slow period to bring coffee to the health clinic.

Since its doors opened about two months before, The Jazzy Bean had provided free coffee and breakfast pastries to the doctors and nurses who volunteered at the clinic that had been the brainchild of local attorney turned state senator, Matthew Gauthier. Matt had recently won his position in a special election and, in a surprise to no one, had quickly set out to improve life in Gauthier.

Residents could receive health screenings and checkups for a nominal fee, which Shayla learned was code for “whatever folks could afford to pay.” The supplies were bought using donations, and the medical professionals donated their time. Shayla figured providing a light breakfast was the very least she could do.

She filled a travel carton with today’s dark roast and prepared a large cup with decaf for the one nurse who didn’t drink regular. She grabbed a plastic tray and loaded it with the oatmeal, cranberry and flaxseed breakfast bars she ordered from the organic bakery in New Orleans that supplied her healthier pastries. She was still having a hard time convincing customers to try the heart-healthy food selections, but Shayla claimed a small victory every time someone got on board.

The clinic was an easy walk, only a couple of blocks down, in a single-story bungalow on Cooper Lane once owned by Matt Gauthier’s family.

She walked up the front steps and encountered Tanya Miller exiting the clinic. Tanya had lived directly across the street from the house Shayla had grown up in, where Leslie now lived with the girls. She was accompanied by a teenager who looked as if he’d come out on the losing end of a battle with the flu.

“Hey there, Shayla,” Tanya said, holding the door open for her. “I was just on my way to your place to get some soup. I hope Lucinda has chicken noodle on the menu today.”

“Chicken and rice.”

“Close enough,” Tanya said. “Maybe I’ll be able to get this one to eat something.”

“Good luck with that,” Shayla said, eyeing the boy. She entered the clinic and called out a hello to the half-dozen people seated in folding chairs in the lobby.

“Shayla! How are you?” Shayla turned to find Malinda Donaldson walking toward her. Malinda was once a friendly rival on the Maplesville Mustangs’ Quiz Bowl team. The Gauthier High Lions had never lost a single match to them throughout Shayla’s high school career. Yes, she had been a nerd. And she was damn proud of it, too.

“Hi there, Malinda. I didn’t know you were back in Maplesville. You were somewhere in Texas, right?”

“Yep. Dallas. Moved there after Hurricane Katrina. My oldest just started at LSU so I decided to move back home. It was time.”

Shayla nodded. “Eventually I guess we all come back home.”

Malinda put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I was so sorry to hear about Braylon,” she said, her voice taking on that somber tone that usually accompanied any conversation surrounding Shayla’s brother.

“Thank you. It hasn’t been easy.” She held up the coffee and pastries. “Where can I put these? Desiree usually delivers the goodies, but she’s out sick.”

“We have a break room back here. Thanks for providing the coffee, by the way,” she called over her shoulder. “It means a lot.”

“It’s the very least I can do. The time you all volunteer at this place has been such a blessing for Gauthier’s residents.”

She followed Malinda into the break room and came face-to-face with the E.R. doctor from last night.

“Oh, great.” Shayla snorted. She moved past him, setting the coffee and pastries on the square card table in the middle of the room. Then she turned around and addressed him. “Before that huge head of yours gets any bigger, know that I had no idea you would be here. This isn’t some ploy to put me in your illustrious presence once again.”