We text while he’s at work, in between his duties at the fire station, while waiting for a call. We talk when he’s driving home and I’m setting up the kitchen for the morning shift. We even had dinner on Wednesday night when he brought over submarine sandwiches and my favorite guacamole dip from the local deli. It’s almost noon when Erin blows into the bakery, bags of food in hand. “Hey, girl,” she says with a friendly smile. “Hi. What are you doing?” I ask as I wipe the glass display case down with a wet rag. “Well, it wasn’t that long ago that I was the new girl in town. So, I thought I’d bring by some lunch and chat,” she says as she heads back to the table in the corner that the family uses as their table. I throw the rag up on the back counter and follow the spitfire little redhead towards the table. “I’m sure Avery would be okay with me taking a few minutes,” I politely reply. “Don’t you worry about Avery. She knows I’m bringing lunch.
