Caffé Blossom

A.N. lmao i hate myself. i've been slowly adding to this idea for a while, and i'm too excited about it to wait until after i write Fate Forgone Virtue, so i guess i'm writing them simultaneously?? I used to live in Twain Harte, so i'm very excited about the setting of this one. each chapter will be named after a place within the town. i hope you enjoy <3

"When I was five years old, I met the love of my life. He saved me."

— Liliana Evans, age 15

__________

The clock— nestled in the overflowing bookshelf that was built into the wall of the living room— rebelliously ticked closer and closer to seven, even as Liliana begged it to stay stationary, for just a few more minutes.

"Val," she yelled into the dark hallway— they really needed to replace that lightbulb— "We're going to be late... again!" she called out as she began to pace the length of the room, a tight ball of anxiety seizing her gut.

"Chill," her friend called back, her voice slightly muffled from the distance, "The only person who shows up this early is Stacy and I hate that bitch."

"Jesus Christ," Liliana muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose, her sneakers shuffling across the carpet as she continued her pacing. It wasn't even light outside yet— she could still see her shuffling reflection in the big sliding glass door at the left of the room— and her cortisol levels were already spiking. Even if Thomas couldn't afford to fire either of them, it still felt like they were pushing their luck by being late to open more often than not.

Valentina finally exited her room with an impish grin tugging at her lips, looking more like she was dressed for a date rather than a morning pulling espresso shots.

"Why?" Liliana asked, gesturing to the little sundress her friend was wearing.

"You never know when someone cute might come into the shop!" Valentina blurted, throwing her hands into the air.

Liliana scoffed, "Right," she muttered, grabbing her keys from the kitchen counter and walking out onto the deck, Valentina close behind her, still working to secure her thick black hair into a ponytail. "Like we haven't already met everyone in town."

"Hey—oof," Valentina spat out, her exclamation dissolving into a grunt as the swinging screen door hit her elbow as she tried to step outside with her hands still working to tie her hair up. "Hot tourists are a thing, ya know."

"Tourists from where?" Liliana asked through a sarcastic sounding chuckle as she glanced over her shoulder at her friend. "Fucking Modesto?"

"I'll take what I can get," Valentina shrugged, closing the door behind her and following Liliana down the stairs to their shared Subaru— parked at the top of the steep driveway.

"We need to get a second car," Liliana muttered as she got into the driver's seat, starting the engine before Valentina was even seated. "Then you can be late and I—"

"Can uphold your reputation as resident goodie two-shoes?" Valentina interrupted with a sly smirk.

"Get fucked," Liliana exhaled, beginning to back down the driveway, which involved riding the brake until the tires hit the street. In the winter, when it snowed, they had to park in the bank off the side of the street, otherwise the ice that froze over the slanted drive would make it impossible to get down without hydroplaning. Getting down to the car was a whole other feat. Last year, they'd kept two pieces of cardboard by the back door and slid down the driveway on their butts, using the cardboard as a makeshift sled. It was still the height of summer, but Liliana was already dreading the first snow.

"I'm trying to," Valentina huffed, flipping down the sun visor to check her makeup in the mirror. "There's no one interesting in this stupid town," she said, her voice a little muffled as she used her thumb to wipe off a bit of lipstick from the corner of her mouth.

"That's not true," Liliana said softly, speeding down their winding street, her eyes flicking back and forth, from the road to the clock on the dash, which was already ticking past seven.

"Oh please," Valentina scoffed, "your weird little crush on that old man does not count."

Liliana felt color bloom on her cheeks, tingly and hot. She thanked the lack of sunlight for not doing more to expose her. "It's not a crush and he's not even that old," she whispered, more to herself than her friend, who had shut the visor and was now staring out the window at the towering pines that whizzed by, which looked like foreboding monoliths in the dark hours before dawn.

"Mentirosa," Valentina muttered under her breath.

"You know, if you wanted to insult me without me knowing, you shouldn't have taught me all that Spanish."

Valentina flashed her a devilish grin as Liliana waited to cross over Highway 108.

"I can't believe we live in the boondocks of the boondocks," Liliana exhaled, anxiously tapping the steering wheel as cars whizzed in both directions— people either commuting down to the valley, or higher up into the mountains. There wasn't much to do in Twain Harte in the way of careers. Most everyone either worked in the service industry or hopped around different seasonal jobs. The business degree hanging in Liliana's bedroom was nothing more than a dust collector unless she decided to move elsewhere.

But there were so many things keeping her tied to Twain Harte— her mother, Val, the familiarity of it all, him.

As soon as they crossed 108 and started heading into town, Liliana's phone began buzzing in the confines of her bag, which she had thrown onto the backseat. Her stomach twisted into a tight knot as the screen on the dashboard announced that it was her mother calling.

"Oh god, what does she want now?" Valentina groaned, slumping back against her seat.

Liliana reached to accept the call on the screen when her friend grabbed her arm, urgently shaking her head.

"Just let it go to voicemail. I don't need her putting you in a shit mood before we've even started our shift."

"I can't, Val, she'll just keep calling," Liliana breathed out, shaking her friend's hand off her arm and hitting the accept button on the screen. "Hey mom," she gritted out, a tense knot erupting at the base of her neck as her mother's voice blasted through the speakers.

"I just passed by the café on my way to the gym and I didn't see your car out front," her mother said in lieu of a greeting, her voice lilting into something almost condescending.

"Yeah, we're on our way right now, just passing the market," Liliana said, trying to keep her voice light when the tight, bouncing ball in her gut made her want to scream.

"You should really make it a priority to be there on time, and what about that Marketing job I sent you last week, the one in Turlock? That's only an hour and a half commute from here and I think—"

Her mother kept rambling on, each word she uttered twisting that knot in Liliana's gut tighter and tighter. Next to her, Valentina rolled her eyes, beginning to dramatically mock the woman on the phone by opening and closing her mouth like a fish.

Liliana mouthed the words, cut it out to her friend, then slapped the back of her hand against Valentina's arm.

"Look mom, we're about to park, we can talk about it at dinner this week," Liliana said, her voice a little pinched as she pulled into the empty row of parking spots next to Caffé Blossom.

"Alright," her mother sang out, "I'll probably stop by after my workout."

"Great, see you then," Liliana blurted, then ended the call and immediately cut the engine, slumping back against the seat and letting out a sharp breath, her eyes fluttering closed on their own accord.

"You've got to establish some boundaries with that woman, we are twenty-five years old, Lil, and she's still tracking your every move," Valentina urged, unbuckling her seatbelt so she could turn and face Liliana.

"I know," she muttered, sitting up and reaching back to grab her bag, exiting the car without diving further into that conversation. She didn't know how to explain to her friend, how to explain to anyone who hadn't experienced it, the dynamic between a single mother and her only daughter.

The two of them began the process of opening the café, Liliana focused on brewing the drip coffee and getting the espresso machine on while Valentina loaded the display case with fresh pastries and prepped the kitchen for the lunch rush later in the afternoon. As much as the friends bickered, they were a well-oiled machine when it came to working together. Valentina didn't like the precise nature of espresso drinks, so Liliana covered the bulk of the drink orders, and Liliana was too clumsy with the knives, so Valentina made the sandwiches. It wasn't what either of them really wanted to be doing, but it worked.

The sun was inching up to peek through the pine trees by the time they finished prepping, blaring in through the front window, painting the sky a light, misty orange.

"It's gonna be ninety-fucking-five today," Valentina groaned, leaning back against the counter and scrolling mindlessly on her phone.

"We need to get a portable AC unit or something," Liliana exhaled, trying to push a stray hair back into her ponytail.

"I feel like it didn't get this hot when we were kids."

"Climate change, baby."

Valentina nodded urgently, picking at her nail, then glancing up, out the window, a smirk materializing on her face as she pointed her chin in that direction.

"Your boyfriend is trying to get your attention," she sang out in a teasing tone.

Liliana glanced over, letting out a groan as Ricky waved as he approached the front of the building, pushing his fingers through his floppy golden hair which fell right back into his eyes. He pushed open the door just enough to stick his head inside.

"Morning ladies," he crooned with a wink that made Liliana stifle a gag.

"Morning Ricky," they both uttered in response, their voices twisting together into a monotonous lull.

"Should swing by Ed's after you're off, I'll be there from three to ten," the man said, his eyes now entirely focused on Liliana, who was staring past him, to the street and pines beyond the shop.

"We'll try," Valentina answered for them, pushing off the counter and pretending to be preoccupied with the register.

"Cool, I promise to make it worth your while," Ricky called out, winking once more before he ducked out of the door and continued walking up Fuller toward the Post Office.

"God, he can not take a hint," Liliana groaned, shaking her head as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her apron.

"He's not that bad, he's definitely the hottest man in town, even though that isn't saying much," Valentina shrugged, plopping back against the counter, "I don't know why you won't give him a chance."

Liliana scoffed, "he is definitely not the hottest man in town, and I did give him a chance, remember? He spent the entire hour yapping about his truck."

Valentina waved her off, "Oh please, that wasn't a date, I was there."

"Well, it was enough for me to know I definitely don't want to go on an actual date with him."

"You're impossible," Valentina muttered, shaking her head.

By seven-forty-five most of the usual suspects had come and gone.

Stacy, who worked at the post office and was the town's most notorious gossip, ordered her white mocha and whispered some news over the counter about Gary— he owned Mountain Liquors down the street— who was— according to Stacy— quietly separating from his wife Lisa after she slept with Arthur— the guy who owned the miniature golf course across the street.

Frank, who owned one of the only clothing shops in town, The Walk-In Closet Boutique on Twain Harte Drive, ordered his cappuccino and gave Liliana and Valentina some Dandelion Chocolate he'd picked up during his last trip to San Francisco, which was much better than Ghirardelli according to him.

Melissa, who worked at the hardware store, got her usual caramel latte, exiting the shop without speaking so much as a word to the two women.

"I'm already exhausted," Valentina groaned as the clock on the wall ticked to eight.

"We haven't even been here an hour," Liliana scoffed.

"Doesn't change how I feel," Valentina sang in a cheeky tone.

Liliana shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips, but when she turned her head to glance out the window that smile quickly fell from her lips, replaced by a slack-jawed expression that she quickly rectified by snapping her mouth shut.

"Oh my god," she muttered under her breath, her cheeks flaming with heat as she tried to remedy her messy ponytail by frantically tucking loose strands of hair behind her ears, her reflection slightly warped by the glossy espresso machine she was trying to use as a mirror.

"What?" Valentina breathed out, her eyes bouncing over her friend, then out the window, her lips then pulling into a brazen grin as soon as she caught sight of the man who was approaching the shop.

He never came to the café. In the three years Liliana had been working there, she hadn't served him coffee once.

Her heart slammed, fast and offbeat against her ribs, a manic fluttering sensation starting to whirl in her gut as his wide, towering form approached the door and pushed it open with his big palm splayed against the glass.

The bell on the door chimed his arrival, but Liliana could barely hear it over the sound of blood rushing through her ears.

"This is gonna be good," Valentina whispered, leaning back against the counter and crossing her arms over her chest.

Liliana flashed her a quick glare over her shoulder, then turned back to the man as he stepped up to the register, her head having to crane a bit on her neck to meet his gaze— deep, warm brown, those eyes flickering over her for just a moment, but enough that it felt like her entire body was engulfed in flames.

"Good morning, Joel," she squeaked out, grimacing a bit at her pinched tone. She hadn't spoken to him... directly like this in so long. Despite the fact that they both lived in a town where everyone knew each other's names, Joel kept to himself, which both worried and infuriated her.

"Mornin'," he nodded, that Southern drawl wrapping around her like a caress. She felt her cheeks burn even brighter. "Just a large drip, please."

She nodded, punching the order into her register, busying her bottom lip with her teeth as her heart kept up its rapid pounding. "That'll be $3.75."

"Jesus," Joel muttered, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket and flipping it open, his calloused fingers scraping against the worn leather. "Steep for a cup of coffee," he said as he pulled out a five-dollar bill.

"S-Sorry, I— I don't make the prices," Liliana spat out, fully gnawing on her bottom lip now.

"I know ya don't, darlin', not your fault," his brassy baritone rumbled through her core as he flashed her a hint of a smile, holding out that five-dollar bill.

Darlin'

She felt like she was one minute away from melting into a puddle on the floor, flaming cheeks and all.

She didn't melt though, by some miracle, grabbing the bill from him and stuffing it into the register, beginning to count his change.

"Keep it," Joel said, and Liliana's eyes bounced up to him just as she was digging her fingers into the quarters. "Like I said, s'not your fault about the price."

"Thanks," she said, flashing him a soft smile, stuffing his change into the nearly empty tip jar on the counter, then whirling around to grab a cup and walk back to fill it with coffee, taking the moment to try to calm her heart, to try to will her cheeks back to a normal temperature. She purposely avoided looking over at Valentina, who she knew was smirking at her.

"You uh— I don't normally see you in here," Liliana said, glancing over her shoulder as she grabbed a lid, her breath getting caught in her throat when she caught his gaze snapping back up to her face from somewhere south.

"Coffee maker broke on me this mornin'," he said, reaching up with one of those big hands to rub the back of his neck, which had grown a little red, though surely not as red as she knew her cheeks were.

"That's too bad," Liliana said, even though it was not bad at all. She slid a sleeve onto his coffee then turned back around, willing her voice to come out steady as she said, "But it's nice to see you, though."

Joel flashed her a soft smile, a barely there smile, his warm gaze bouncing over her face. "Nice to see you too, uh—"

She watched his expression twist into something a little confused, or maybe pained, and her heart fell into her gut, to sit heavy and laden there. Had he forgotten her name? That wasn't unlikely... this was the most she had gotten to speak to him in years, and yet... He really forgot her name?

"Liliana," she breathed out.

Joel's eyebrows pinched together even tighter, carving a knot between them, his head tilting slightly to the side, "I know your name, darlin'."

If she thought her cheeks were burning before, now they were aflame.

"Dios mío," Valentina muttered under her breath.

Joel's eyes bounced over to her for a second and Valentina flashed him a wide grin, then stepped forward to pretend to busy herself with the pastry display.

His gaze slowly drifted back to Liliana before he spoke, "I'll be seein' ya around, then."

If only that were true.

"Yeah, see you," she said softly, her gaze glued to his wide back as he turned to leave, clad in a worn green flannel that she itched to touch.

She let out a sharp breath, collapsing back against the counter just as soon as he got into his truck.

"You are obsessed," Valentina barked through a laugh, "God, I will never get tired of watching you try to interact with that man."

"Shut up," Liliana groaned, bringing her hands up to bury her face in her palms.

She wasn't obsessed, she was something worse than that, and she had been since the fall of 2003, twenty years ago.

__________

October 2003

Liliana swung her feet back and forth as she waited for her mom to come out of the restaurant across the street, clutching her Lisa Frank backpack to her chest and humming that song they had learned in class last week, the one that went skiddy-mer-rink-a-dink-a-boomp, skiddy-mer-rink-a-doo.

That part didn't make much sense, but it was her favorite bit to sing.

It was Halloween next week and her mom had promised her that they would go get pumpkins at the market after she was off work. She already had her costume; she was going to be a matching witch with her best friend Valentina. They had pointy hats and cloaks and everything!

Liliana was about to open her backpack and pull out her notebook so she could draw one of those pointy witch hats, when a man she had never seen before waved at her. He was tall, and had a weird patchy beard, and his eyes were bright blue, like the aquamarine crayon she used to color in the ocean.

"Hi there," he said, crouching down in front of her, close enough that she could smell him, he smelled worse than her mom did when she got off a double shift at the restaurant.

"Hi," Liliana said softly, glancing across the street, but her mom still wasn't out yet.

"Your mommy told me to come get you," the man said then, smiling at her. One of his front teeth was missing, just like Vivian in her class, Vivian was the first one in her grade to lose a tooth, and she got two whole dollars from the tooth fairy! But Liliana didn't think that grown-ups lost their teeth like kids did.

She would have to ask her mom.

"That's okay, my mom said to just wait right here for her," Liliana said, clutching her backpack tighter to her chest.

"But she just told me to come get you, you wouldn't want to disobey her, would you?" the man asked, tilting his head to the side a bit.

Liliana shook her head, "No, but I— I always wait right here for her after school."

And she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers.

Even though she was already talking to him.

Her mom was going to be so mad at her.

"Well, I'm your mommy's friend, and she said she's working late tonight, so she wanted me to come take you home," the man said, his voice getting a little angrier.

Something twisted in Liliana's tummy, the same feeling that sometimes happened when she heard weird noises at night, even though her mom always said that was just the house settling. Whatever that meant.

"No, I— I'm going to stay here I think," Liliana whispered, hugging her backpack tight.

The man stood up then, shaking his head, then he said a bad word and reached out and wrapped his hand around her arm, dragging her off the bench, her Lisa Frank backpack falling onto the ground as he began tugging her down the street.

Liliana screamed, hammering her other fist into the man's arm, trying to dig her heels into the asphalt.

Her mom had told her about this, about bad men who stole children and did mean things to them. That's why she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers.

This was her fault.

"Little fucking bitch," the man muttered even more bad words. His hand around her arm hurt and her throat burned from screaming.

"Hey!"

That was a different man's voice, and both Lilian's head and the bad man's head snapped over to watch as the owner of that voice stomped toward them.

He looked mad, but Liliana had seen this man before, he wasn't a stranger, even though she had never talked to him before. He had moved into the house Mr. Benson used to live in before he went to a retirement facility (whatever that was). They drove by him on the way to school when he was moving in last week, and even though her mom had said she thought he was weird, Liliana thought he had warm eyes, warm eyes that looked sad.

Right now, they looked angry.

"Sorry man, this is my niece, she's just being a little brat right now, aren't you kiddo?" the bad man said, squeezing Liliana's arm even tighter.

The sad man kept glaring at him, until his eyes dropped to her.

"Do you know this man, sweetheart?" he asked, and his voice was warm too, and it sounded kinda funny, like those guys in the Westerns her mom watched sometimes.

Liliana shook her head, her eyes pinching hot with tears as she tried to pull her arm out of the bad man's grip again.

"Alright," the sad man muttered, his eyes going angry again as he looked at the bad man. "You have one second to get the fuck out of here," he growled, stepping so close to the bad man that he grabbed the front of his shirt.

The bad man finally let go of her arm, and the sad man shoved him, sweeping Liliana behind him as he watched the bad man get in his truck and drive off down the road.

The sad man turned to her then, crouching down so they were face to face. His eyes were dark brown, like the sepia crayon she used to color tree trunks. "Where's your mommy, sweetheart?" he asked in that funny Western voice.

"Over there," she pointed across the street, "in the restaurant, she works there," Liliana sniffled, reaching up to wipe her eyes with her little fists. Her arm still hurt from where the bad man grabbed her. "She said to wait here for her."

"Alright," the sad man said, nodding, "I'll sit and wait with you, then."

She sat back down on the bench, next to the sad man, who picked up her backpack for her and placed it between them.

"What's your name?" she asked, turning toward him, because she didn't want to keep calling him the sad man even though he did still look sad.

"Joel," he said, smiling at her. He wasn't missing any teeth like that bad man. When he smiled it made her tummy flutter like there were little birds inside it.

"I'm Liliana," she said, and her cheeks felt hot like when she would get in trouble in class for talking to Valentina too much.

"That's a very pretty name."

"Thank you!" she beamed, kicking her feet again.

Joel's eyes flickered over to the restaurant, and then he sat up straighter, pointing in that direction.

"Is that your mommy?" he asked, glancing over at Liliana.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, jumping off the bench.

Joel stood up with her, walking a few feet behind as she sprinted across the street to her mother.

"Honey," her mom said, sounding a little scared as she caught Liliana when she pummeled into her legs. "What did I tell you about talking to strangers?" she whispered, leaning down to speak into her daughter's hair.

"He's not a stranger, mommy, he's Joel. He saved me from the bad man," Liliana said, staring up at her mother, then glancing back over her shoulder at Joel, who flashed her a warm smile that made her belly flutter again.

"The bad man!" Her mom exclaimed, standing up straight and shooting Joel a concerned look.

"Could I— Could I speak to you for a second, ma'am?"

Her mom told Liliana to wait in front of the restaurant, then stepped to the side with Joel, and they spoke in those hushed whisper voices grown-ups use when they don't want kids to hear. But Joel kept glancing over at her as they talked, and each time she smiled at him even though he only smiled back at the end, when her mom stomped over to her and picked her up.

"Bye Joel," she waved over her mother's shoulder.

Joel didn't say bye back, but he did wave at her.

And from that day, Liliana never stopped thinking about Joel with the sad eyes, who saved her from the bad man.

__________

Joel exhaled sharply, passing his palm over his mouth as he pulled out of the parking spot next to the café and back onto Fuller, stomping on the gas and heading toward his house.

How could she think he forgot her name?

Ever since she was a kid, she was the only one who hadn't treated him like the town pariah.

He hadn't really spoken to her over the last few years, not since she graduated from Stanislaus State and started working at that café.

Fuck, she had gotten pretty.

But that wasn't a thought he would allow himself to harp on. He'd known her since she was a kid, any thought about her in that way was vile and corrupt and wrong. He was just lonely, the last time he had gotten laid was two summers ago, when one of the out of towners from the valley or the city approached him at Ed's.

He'd taken her back to his house and fucked her and two years later couldn't remember her name.

He remembered Liliana's name, though.

He would never forget that afternoon in mid-autumn, only a few weeks after he'd moved to California.

Joel chugged half of the coffee in that to-go cup even as the scorching temperature of it burned his tongue.

He needed to go down to Sonora and buy a new coffee maker today, or Sunday at the latest, he could not afford to see her at that proximity again. Not when he still had the vision of her cheeks flaming red rattling around in his head, her pretty hazel eyes that were more brown than green now that she was grown, the way her ass filled those tight jeans...

Joel shook the image from his head, his gut rolling with nausea.

He tried to call forward the image of her face when he first met her, twenty years ago, instead. But found the vision was too blurry and warped from age. And trying to think of the woman he had just spoken to and that little girl he met twenty years ago as the same person made him feel even more sick.

He pulled into the rounded drive at front of his house, taking a deep breath that rattled his ribcage before he got out.

He lived at the very end of Manzanita Drive, right behind the town center, surrounded by the same towering pines that dotted the entire county. This place had felt remote enough, when he first moved here two decades ago, far enough away from his nightmares in Texas. But now, after living here for almost half his life, he thought that no place would ever be remote enough, there was nowhere in the world that he could hide, no place he could run to escape the nightmares that still plagued him twenty years later.

Joel's boots stomped up the steps to his front door, nearly tripping on the loose board on that last step, muttering a curse under his breath as he dug his house keys out of his pocket. He needed to fix the stairs, but he could never seem to find the energy at the end of the week, after building other people's houses all day.

Some fancy development company from the city had hired him and about two dozen other contractors to build apartment buildings up in Mi-Wuk. The money was good, so he wasn't about to tell them that the entire project was a waste of time. No one in their right mind was going to buy a luxury apartment in the middle of Tuolumne County. This wasn't a place people moved to, well, besides him. This was the kind of place you inherit, the kind of town you are born into and never seem to escape. Out of towners that tried to stay here for more than just a pit stop on their way further into the mountains were quickly designated as outsiders, they were looked at with cautious glances, spoken about in hushed whispers, and even though Joel had been here for twenty years he was no exception.

Except for when it came to Liliana.

She had never treated him like an outsider, but maybe that was because she was too good for this place herself, and everyone in town knew it.

Too good and young and sweet for him to be thinking about at all.

He didn't know what was coming over him, he'd always thought she was sweet, cute maybe, but never once had he noticed just how full her bottom lip was, how pert her ass was, how pretty it was when the apples of her cheeks filled with color.

Jesus fucking Christ he needed to get a grip.

He was disgusting, horrible for entertaining any thoughts about her.

And so, he promised himself he would never go to that shop again.