to open as she fumed about the selfishness of other drivers.
When her part time employee and good friend Pam came in at ten, Tess decided to treat herself to a coffee. Tess didn’t usually drink coffee as it didn’t like her much, but today she had a definite taste for some java. There was a coffee shop just down the street that she occasionally patronized when the mood struck.
The Udder Place was a very traditional New England small shop - definitely not a Starbucks. They didn’t do foam or pumps or ventis and just had three or four different flavors of good, real coffee – none of that fancy stuff. And although Tess was accustomed to getting exactly what she wanted, she figured she was probably the most demanding customer they had.
The line was nearly out the door when she arrived. She was immediately assailed by the smell of strong coffee offset by the enticing aromas of various baked goods. The line moved quickly, and before she knew it, she was up.
The owner of the shop was working the counter herself, as usual, and recognized her on site. “Hi, Tess! How goes the flower business?”
“It’s going pretty well, if I do say so myself,” she smiled back at Helen. “Well enough that, though. I thought I deserved a bit of a reward, so here I am.”
“Well, what can I get you?”
“I think I’ll succumb to temptation and get a large decaf, three splashes of skim and three Equals, please, with just a slight shake of cinnamon.”
Helen had strategically located a huge display of luscious pastries right in front of her customers so they would have to look at them while their drink was made. When she handed Tess her coffee and saw the glazed look in her eye, she laughingly asked, “Anything else?”
Tess whimpered audibly, still staring at all the homemade delights and trying to decide just how good she wanted to be. Finally she groaned, “You are cruel and unusual, waving all of these goodies under my nose. I’m starving, and I’ll have an apple-cider doughnut, warmed, with cream cheese frosting, please.”
Helen deliberately left the frosting off of some of her wares, only to later slather a generous dollop of some delicious flavor onto the top. With the doughnut warmed just slightly, all of that frosting would melt onto and into and over, and Tess could barely wait to sink her teeth into it.
As she took her coffee and the small box containing the confection, Tess warned with a smile, “I’m going to blame my first heart attack on you, you know.”
“It’s been done already,” Helen deadpanned back, already moving on to the next person in line who happened to be Sean Maddox, the man she knew was responsible for the puddles of drool already forming on her good tiled floor. The quiet owner of a local auto shop, Sean was the kind of man whose modesty about his good looks made him even more attractive. Even now, the majority of Helen’s mostly female clientele was either eyeing Sean or trying to catch his.
Sean wasn’t paying them any mind at all. His eyes were on Miss Martin, who had taken only a few steps away from the counter before she had the donut out of its case and was sinking her teeth into it with a moan of pure pleasure. He found her oral display quite interesting; certain parts immediately stood at attention, forcing him to use his morning paper to try to maintain some level of decorum in a public place.
Sean knew he should stop staring at her – especially considering his overreaction - but he just couldn’t seem to drag his eyes away. She was enjoying her treat with such unabashed delight that all he could do was wonder if she’d be quite as vocal – or enthusiastic - when he had her beneath him in bed. The pastry had been so generously slathered with frosting that a bit of it remained just above the vermilion border of her full lips, as if daring him to lick it
When her part time employee and good friend Pam came in at ten, Tess decided to treat herself to a coffee. Tess didn’t usually drink coffee as it didn’t like her much, but today she had a definite taste for some java. There was a coffee shop just down the street that she occasionally patronized when the mood struck.
The Udder Place was a very traditional New England small shop - definitely not a Starbucks. They didn’t do foam or pumps or ventis and just had three or four different flavors of good, real coffee – none of that fancy stuff. And although Tess was accustomed to getting exactly what she wanted, she figured she was probably the most demanding customer they had.
The line was nearly out the door when she arrived. She was immediately assailed by the smell of strong coffee offset by the enticing aromas of various baked goods. The line moved quickly, and before she knew it, she was up.
The owner of the shop was working the counter herself, as usual, and recognized her on site. “Hi, Tess! How goes the flower business?”
“It’s going pretty well, if I do say so myself,” she smiled back at Helen. “Well enough that, though. I thought I deserved a bit of a reward, so here I am.”
“Well, what can I get you?”
“I think I’ll succumb to temptation and get a large decaf, three splashes of skim and three Equals, please, with just a slight shake of cinnamon.”
Helen had strategically located a huge display of luscious pastries right in front of her customers so they would have to look at them while their drink was made. When she handed Tess her coffee and saw the glazed look in her eye, she laughingly asked, “Anything else?”
Tess whimpered audibly, still staring at all the homemade delights and trying to decide just how good she wanted to be. Finally she groaned, “You are cruel and unusual, waving all of these goodies under my nose. I’m starving, and I’ll have an apple-cider doughnut, warmed, with cream cheese frosting, please.”
Helen deliberately left the frosting off of some of her wares, only to later slather a generous dollop of some delicious flavor onto the top. With the doughnut warmed just slightly, all of that frosting would melt onto and into and over, and Tess could barely wait to sink her teeth into it.
As she took her coffee and the small box containing the confection, Tess warned with a smile, “I’m going to blame my first heart attack on you, you know.”
“It’s been done already,” Helen deadpanned back, already moving on to the next person in line who happened to be Sean Maddox, the man she knew was responsible for the puddles of drool already forming on her good tiled floor. The quiet owner of a local auto shop, Sean was the kind of man whose modesty about his good looks made him even more attractive. Even now, the majority of Helen’s mostly female clientele was either eyeing Sean or trying to catch his.
Sean wasn’t paying them any mind at all. His eyes were on Miss Martin, who had taken only a few steps away from the counter before she had the donut out of its case and was sinking her teeth into it with a moan of pure pleasure. He found her oral display quite interesting; certain parts immediately stood at attention, forcing him to use his morning paper to try to maintain some level of decorum in a public place.
Sean knew he should stop staring at her – especially considering his overreaction - but he just couldn’t seem to drag his eyes away. She was enjoying her treat with such unabashed delight that all he could do was wonder if she’d be quite as vocal – or enthusiastic - when he had her beneath him in bed. The pastry had been so generously slathered with frosting that a bit of it remained just above the vermilion border of her full lips, as if daring him to lick it
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