5

Lorraine grinned from ear to ear as I reached up—my feet flat on the ground, mind you—and grabbed the box.

“I should pay you more just for that,” she said.

“Don’t mention it,” I said. “I’m just glad my giant ass can help do something.”

“Don’t call yourself an ass, dear. It’s not ladylike.”

Lifting an eyebrow, I grinned at her. “Didn’t you call a customer a bitch, like, two seconds ago? Is that ladylike?”

Lorraine narrowed her eyes playfully. “Don’t be a smart-ass. That’s not ladylike, either.”

We both burst out laughing, and only barely managed to contain ourselves when the bell above the door tinkled to let us know a new customer had arrived.

“Hello,” I said with a bright smile. “How can I help you?”

“Hi,” she said. “I came in last week and purchased some of that rainbow-colored faux fur. I need another two yards of it. Do you still have that in stock?” she asked.

Of course we did. That ugly stuff had been on the shelf as long as I could remember. I had no idea why anyone would ever want it, but a sale was a sale.

“Sure,” I said. “Let me grab it.”

This item, along with most of the others that rarely sold, sat high up on a shelf at the back. Again, my height and strength helped me, and I dragged the heavy bolt down. The customer raised her eyebrows in appreciative surprise. Ten minutes later, she left with her bag of fabric and receipt.

“You know, Elle,” Lorraine said from across the store. “My grandson broke up with his girlfriend a few weeks ago.”

I sipped at the last of my frappuccino and slowly turned to face her.

“We’re not doing this again, are we, Lorraine?” I asked heavily.

Lorraine sighed and hurried across the store, moving gracefully for someone her age. She put a hand on my arm and smiled at me.

“Blake is a good boy. Handsome, smart. You could do worse,” she said.

“I’m not really looking for romance.”

Lorraine clucked her tongue in disappointment. “You can’t blame me for wanting a granddaughter-in-law who’s such a catch.”

“A catch?” I laughed. “You just want someone to reach stuff on shelves outside the shop.”

“I’ll have you know, my grandson Blake is six feet tall. He can reach anything.”

I snorted, and rolled my eyes. “Oh, please. They always say they’re six feet tall. I have yet to meet someone who hasn’t said that, even when I’m looking down at them.”

Lorraine pursed her lips. “Well, now that I think of it, I suppose he may be a tad under six foot.”

“Told ya,” I said and went back to unpacking supplies.

Lorraine waved a hand through the air dismissively. “Even if not my grandson, I’d love to see you with someone, Elle. You deserve it. Sometimes,” she said, smiling sadly at me, “I get the impression that you’re lonely.”

“I’m not lonely,” I lied. “I have my friend Delphine. We hang out a lot. I’m a homebody, Lorraine.” I sliced through the tape on the box with a bit more force than was necessary. “It’s fine. I’m in no hurry to find a guy. Seriously.”

“Mmhmm.” Lorraine didn’t look as if she believed a single word that came out of my mouth.

Thankfully, she let it go and went about preparing the back room for the needlepoint class that would be starting soon. As I worked, I allowed my mind to drift. Unfortunately, instead of drifting to something pleasant like the new book I planned to read or what I wanted for dinner, it went to the memory of them turning me out all those years ago.

While breaking down boxes to put in the dumpster, I recalled the almost-disgusted look on Mom’s face as she handed my suitcase to Delphine.

“You take care of yourself,” she’d said. “Your nanny will take care of everything.”

Delphine was now pretty much my only friend and companion, but she’d begun her time as a nanny to a teenage shifter who had no ability to shift. A girl who was a blight on the shining family name.

“I’ll take good care of her, Mrs. Laurent,” Delphine had said, smiling warmly at me.

If it weren’t for Delphine’s kindness, I probably would have died of sadness those first couple years. I hadn’t understood how my parents could just send me away like that. They’d shoved me into the shadows and acted like I didn’t exist, simply because I hadn’t lived up to their expectations. Dad hadn’t even spoken to me when I left. Not one word. All the years of him bouncing me on his knee, reading me stories, calling me his little princess had been thrown away because I was an embarrassment. They’d put me aside in favor of my younger brother Bastien. If a human family had done the same, they’d have been ostracized and shamed for the cruelty of it. I was over it, but the old memories still burned bright sometimes.

“Shit,” I hissed as the stack of flattened boxes slid out of my hands onto the floor in the storeroom.

“Rough day?”

I glanced up and found Mary-Ann kneeling to help me pick up the boxes. She was a teenager who worked here part-time after school.

“Oh, hey,” I mumbled. “Clumsy, I guess. Are you already out of school?” I asked, glancing around for a clock.

“Just got here,” Mary-Ann said. “My final-period teacher let us go five minutes early since it’s Friday. I was able to get off campus before the rush.”

“That’s nice,” I said as I lifted the boxes.

Mary-Ann placed the final few on the top of the stack. “Do you need any help?”

“Nope. I got it,” I said, using my butt to push open the door to the alley.

Friday. Payday. I hadn’t even realized it, until Mary-Ann said it. I donated most of the money I made here to good causes like the neighborhood animal shelter, but each payday, I splurged a bit. A bakery down the street from my apartment sold the best chocolate cherry cheesecake, and I purchased one of their small sizes every two weeks. It was one of the few indulgences I allowed myself. It was a reward for working on myself mentally, physically, and emotionally.

I’d never been a skinny girl, and when my family sent me into an all-expenses-paid exile, I’d allowed my depression to get the better of me and turned to food as an escape. Being a latent shifter, my metabolism was higher than most humans, but it wasn’t enough to surpass the sheer amount of junk food I’d eaten in an attempt to comfort myself.

Around seventeen, I’d decided to change things, so Delphine and I had started going to the gym. I lifted weights, jogged, and swam. I was still plus-sized, but I was in a much better place emotionally than I had been. I no longer used food as a coping mechanism, and while some people would call me fat, I was stronger than ever, powerful even. Who gave a shit what people thought as long as I was comfortable? I loved my body. A little cheesecake here and there wouldn’t change that.

“Are you coming back in?”

I turned to see Mary-Ann frowning at me.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. Just a little lost in thought,” I said, tossing the boxes into the dumpster and heading back in.

When the sewing classes were over and Lorraine was getting ready to close for the evening, she pulled out a stack of envelopes.

“Paychecks,” she called, like an old housewife on the prairie calling the farmhands in for lunch.

“Thanks, Lorraine,” I said, taking my envelope from her.

She patted my hand. “You have a good weekend, sweetie.” She leaned in and lowered her voice. “Maybe find a hot guy to have some fun with.”

“Lorraine!” I gasped, choking out a laugh.

The old woman shrugged. “Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I don’t know things. If you don’t want to have a boyfriend, maybe you can find a boytoy.”

“Oh my god,” I moaned, rolling my eyes. “On that note, I’m leaving.”

“See you next week, love,” Lorraine called as I departed.

I zipped up my hoodie and tucked the check into my pocket, then headed for my neighborhood. Up beyond the city, I could see some of the mountains, and the leaves were starting to turn. Bright flashes of crimson, yellow, and orange marked the hills like splashes of pain smeared across a green canvas. The sights of fall always filled me with a deep sense of peace. Other seasonal changes happened slowly, each easing into the other and arriving almost by surprise. Fall, however, announced itself with a spectacular grandeur that I thought surpassed spring. It reminded me of the way my life had changed quickly when my family gave up on me.

Three blocks before my home, I turned down a side street toward the bakery. When I stepped inside, the aroma of baking bread, sugar, and cinnamon assaulted my nose in the most delicious way.

It was busy, but at the moment no one was at the counter, and I hurried up to place my order.

“Hi, there,” the cashier said. She grinned and gave me a knowing look. “Chocolate cherry cheesecake, right?”

Heat crept into my cheeks, but I smiled and raised my hands in mock surrender. “Yup. That’s me. I’m your girl.”

“We’ve got you. Hang on a sec.” She went to the large, refrigerated display cabinet.

“I’ll take the nine inch,” I said. “Not the twelve inch. I’m not looking to give myself a heart attack tonight.”

“Got it. The small ones are in the back. Give me a few seconds.”

While I waited, I glanced around. Most of the customers were sitting at the tables, sipping tea or drinking coffee and nibbling on croissants or muffins. A man in the back corner caught my eye. He was eyeing me unabashedly. For a second, I felt like a steak on a plate. He sat with a few other guys, all of them with the slicked-back hair and tailored suits that screamed finance bros—guys who probably only talked about stocks and mergers and got hard thinking about trading crypto. Ugh.

“Here you go,” the cashier said as she returned with a small box. “One nine-inch chocolate cherry cheesecake.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” I said. “Thank you so much.”

She shrugged and waved me off. “It’s my job. No big.”

“Well, either way, thank you. You guys work really hard, and you’re always nice when I come in here.”

I could tell she was a little embarrassed by my praise, but it was true. People in customer service worked their asses off and were rarely thanked. And really, it was the least a person could do when someone else was offering a service.

She rang me up, and I paid, but before she handed me my receipt, she pointed to the kitchen again.

“The team is testing out a new flavor of layer cake today. Salted caramel. Would you like me to set aside a slice for you? On the house. You could pick it up tomorrow and be part of our test group? Let us know whether or not you liked it?”

“Oh, that sounds amazing. Thank you. I’d love to be a guinea pig.”

“I got you. If I’m not up front, ask for Michelle when you come in.”

“Thank you,” I said, putting a ten-dollar bill into the tip jar—double what I usually put in. “See you guys soon.”