“Really? You mean that? I mean, of course you do. Those were good changes I made. Really good changes,” she said, as if convincing herself.
I didn’t know what to say in response, so I just nodded in agreement and sipped at my drink, hoping I looked properly encouraging and sympathetic.
She smiled self-consciously. “Sorry, that must’ve sounded strange. Those dinosaurs on the committee and board are afraid of change, so I’m not used to being praised for my ideas. More likely to be accused of meddling, as if I were a child with no sense.”
“Was it hard convincing them to change the rules and events?”
She snorted and threw her empty ice candy wrapper in the trash. “‘Hard’ is an understatement. They didn’t care that I had all these studies and interviews prepared as evidence of why the pageant needed to change if it was going to stay relevant.”
I handed her another ice candy. “So what changed their mind?”
“Rob. He told them they had to do it my way, or the Thompson family wouldn’t fund it. You should’ve seen the mayor practically falling over himself to congratulate Rob on being so ‘progressive’ and taking the pageant to the next level.” She shook her head, staring into her still-full cup of coffee. “So as usual, he got all the praise and I got all the blame. Not what he was trying to do, mind you. But still.”
The bitterness in her voice was stronger than the dark roast in her cup. I knew I had to keep her talking, but I felt awful poking at her sore spots. “Did that happen often?”
“All the time. No one ever takes me seriously.” She lifted the mug quickly to her mouth, but not before I saw her lips quirk as if holding back her words. Or tears.
Behind me, I could hear Adeena and Elena laughing with Sana, completely at odds with the gloomy vibes in our corner. I yearned to join them, but knew I had to keep pushing. “Why? You’re an intelligent, educated woman from a well-respected family. It doesn’t make sense.”
“I told you what my value was to my parents. And if I didn’t have my parents’ favor, then there was no need to pay attention to me, at least in the minds of everyone else in the company. They look at me and see some frail older woman, but I’ll show them.”
Adeena came at the tail end of that statement, but other than a quick glance at me, she showed no sign that she’d overheard us. “Either of you need a refill? Lila, is that gluten-free treat ready yet? Jae just texted me saying to expect company, so if you’ve got anything else to prep, now’s the time.”
I excused myself and hurried to the kitchen. Jae had truly excellent timing—the ube butter mochi was just about done, which allowed me enough time to toss more cookies in the oven while it cooled. By the time I had the ube butter mochi cut up in cute triangles and diamonds, the cookies were done and on the cooling racks and Jae had arrived with his entourage: Beth and most of the momtestants whose daughters were still in the running. No Yuki or Winnie, which was a shame. Those two were at least fun to talk to and way more interesting than the PTA Squad.
I couldn’t complain though. Not only was Jae bringing us a ton of customers, but all people I needed to pump for information about the case? I could’ve kissed him—figuratively speaking, of course.
“Welcome to the Brew-ha Cafe! As we’re a new business, we’d like to hear what you like best and what you think we should add to the menu,” Elena said as she guided the group to the counter. “If you have any questions about the plants or beauty products we have on offer, feel free to ask me. I’m going to let Adeena and Lila tell you about our drinks and sweets.”
While Adeena talked to the group about all the beverages she had on tap, I brought Valerie a serving of the ube butter mochi. “Here, before the pack descends on the treats, I wanted you to try this. I remembered you liked my ube chocolate chip cookies and mentioned a dessert you loved in Hawaii, so I thought I’d put my spin on their classic butter mochi.”
Valerie’s eyes lit up at the treat, and she seemed touched that I’d remembered her anecdote. “That is so thoughtful. I’m not used to people . . . Anyway, thank you.” She paused to take a bite of the dessert, and I chewed on my lower lip. I’d never had butter mochi before, but it had seemed easy enough when I’d looked up the basic recipe. It was made of ingredients that either I or Tita Rosie always had on hand, was naturally gluten-free, and seemed to fit with my Fil-Am fusion style, so I hoped it’d go over well.
I needn’t have worried since Valerie said, “This is one of the best desserts I’ve ever had! Most are too sweet for me, but this is perfect. And what is this chewy texture? I love it!”
The momtestants heard her exclamations and came over to see what we were talking about. I passed out the rest of the ube butter mochi as free samples, explaining it was a gluten-free treat the Brew-ha Cafe was thinking of offering.
“Oh, you have to keep it on the menu! I’d come every day just for this. Not that the coffee isn’t amazing as well,” Valerie hastened to add. “But this is something you can’t get anywhere else in Shady Palms, you know?”
“Your little shop is so cute,” Mary Ann Randall cooed, as she helped herself to another ube butter mochi. “Love seeing what you’ve done with the place. So much more personality than the previous cafe.”
She wouldn’t . . . not even Mary Ann Randall would be so tactless as to talk about what happened in the previous cafe, would she? Luckily, I was saved from finding out when Beth materialized next to us, her eyes dancing with delight as she took in the space.
“I would never have imagined finding a place like this in Shady Palms. I love it! The vibes! The snacks! The fantastic drinks,” she said, sipping at Adeena’s special of the day, a lavender chai latte. “Would you be able to provide the drinks for Rob’s memorial? I know it’s short notice, but the food is already taken care of so you don’t need to worry about that.”
I glanced over at Adeena, who was nodding so hard she looked like a bobblehead. “Sure, Beth. We’re honored that you’d hire us for such an important event. Do you have time now to talk over the details or—”
“Oh no, I’m much too busy now. I have another meeting with the board tonight and need time to freshen up. I’m sure we can chat after the event tomorrow, and if not, here’s my card.” We exchanged business cards, the quality and design of hers as expensive and elegant as its owner, and then she left the shop, not bothering to say goodbye to anyone, not even Jae.
“What an ice queen. You’d think she’d at least pretend to be sad about her husband,” one of the momtestants said, not bothering to lower her voice.
Mary Ann laughed. “Yeah right. She must be thrilled he’s gone. Leaves her free to find a new boy toy, after all.”