Read Online The Owl & Moon Cafe: A Novel (No Series) by Jo-Ann Mapson - Free Book Online
Authors: Jo-Ann Mapson
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expensive bars of cocoa she’d splurged on, added raw sugar, the sweetest butter, and natural vanilla, ingredients that really made a difference. She’d filled two of the restaurant baking trays and kept an eye on them the whole time they cooked, so they would come out perfectly, with a nice crusty edge and a flaky top. As she was letting the trays cool before she cut them into squares, two old friends popped in. Reilly Wildflower and his old lady, Hannah. They made their living selling import jewelry, incense, and hemp products at the Farmer’s Market.
They had just gotten in a shipment of Maui Gold. “Take a hit,” they urged her. “This stuff is incredible.” Never one to turn down primo bud, Allegra had done just that, said good-bye to her friends, and then carefully cut the brownies into squares.
She loaded the brownies into her VW bus, stood up, and the world spun. Oh, no! She was lit up like a Christmas tree. They called it stoned for a good reason, because all she wanted to do was lie down on her bed and listen to “Sugar Magnolia” over and over again. She drove ten miles under the speed limit, arrived late, and nearly dropped the brownies as she stumbled through the cafeteria doors. “Whoa!” she cried out, maybe louder than she should have, but a clumsy move like that deserved an “oh, shit,” and for Mariah’s sake she’d held her tongue. “Who’s got the munchies?” she called out, and Mariah, her little girl in knee socks, blazer, and a wrap-around skirt, looked at her, ashamed. Allegra was twenty-nine then, surrounded by parents who’d waited ten years longer than she had to give birth. She’d never cared what people thought of her, but she wanted her own flesh and blood to like her a little. By the end of the night, even the store-bought Chips Ahoy sold out, but no one had bought a single brownie. When the parents and kids started packing up, Mariah dropped both trays into the garbage can.
“What are you doing?” Allegra sputtered. “Those are perfectly good brownies. We can sell them in the café tomorrow.”
Mariah turned to her. “Do you even get why nobody bought the brownies? Are you so stoned you can’t see yourself in the mirror? Everyone in this room thought you put marijuana in the brownies. You reek of it. God, Mom! I might as well drop out of school.”
“Honey, I swear I didn’t put anything in them except chocolate and sugar—” Allegra had said, trying to put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. But Mariah shook her off, pulled on her jacket, and started walking home. Some free bud! Allegra’s buzz was a distant memory, and now her daughter despised her. After a few blocks, Allegra convinced her to get in the car. “Mariah,” she said, “what can I do to make this up to you?”
“Gee, I don’t know. How about stop smoking pot? How about wearing normal clothes once in a while? How about wearing a bra?” And then she burst into sobs and rolled down the window as if breathing the same air as her mother was too awful.
Allegra thought of nothing else that night while Mariah cried herself to sleep. Gammy asked what was the matter. Cramps, Allegra said. Never again had she smoked pot. Allegra would have done anything to make up for it, but Mariah had turned away from her for good. Allegra concentrated on Lindsay. She’d sell her signed Janis Joplin poster on eBay to maintain that little girl’s happiness. Allegra blinked back the tears that threatened to spill onto her cheeks.
The door opened, and the doctor, notebook computer in hand, said, “Good afternoon there, Alice Moo—”
And that was as far as he got before his face froze in surprise.
Allegra stared at the six-foot-tall bear of a man in a white coat that was one size too small for him. She’d know the curve of his jaw anywhere from all the times her fingers had traced it. He had the same toothy grin. He was simply an older version of the man she’d known thirty-four years ago. “Oh my
They had just gotten in a shipment of Maui Gold. “Take a hit,” they urged her. “This stuff is incredible.” Never one to turn down primo bud, Allegra had done just that, said good-bye to her friends, and then carefully cut the brownies into squares.
She loaded the brownies into her VW bus, stood up, and the world spun. Oh, no! She was lit up like a Christmas tree. They called it stoned for a good reason, because all she wanted to do was lie down on her bed and listen to “Sugar Magnolia” over and over again. She drove ten miles under the speed limit, arrived late, and nearly dropped the brownies as she stumbled through the cafeteria doors. “Whoa!” she cried out, maybe louder than she should have, but a clumsy move like that deserved an “oh, shit,” and for Mariah’s sake she’d held her tongue. “Who’s got the munchies?” she called out, and Mariah, her little girl in knee socks, blazer, and a wrap-around skirt, looked at her, ashamed. Allegra was twenty-nine then, surrounded by parents who’d waited ten years longer than she had to give birth. She’d never cared what people thought of her, but she wanted her own flesh and blood to like her a little. By the end of the night, even the store-bought Chips Ahoy sold out, but no one had bought a single brownie. When the parents and kids started packing up, Mariah dropped both trays into the garbage can.
“What are you doing?” Allegra sputtered. “Those are perfectly good brownies. We can sell them in the café tomorrow.”
Mariah turned to her. “Do you even get why nobody bought the brownies? Are you so stoned you can’t see yourself in the mirror? Everyone in this room thought you put marijuana in the brownies. You reek of it. God, Mom! I might as well drop out of school.”
“Honey, I swear I didn’t put anything in them except chocolate and sugar—” Allegra had said, trying to put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. But Mariah shook her off, pulled on her jacket, and started walking home. Some free bud! Allegra’s buzz was a distant memory, and now her daughter despised her. After a few blocks, Allegra convinced her to get in the car. “Mariah,” she said, “what can I do to make this up to you?”
“Gee, I don’t know. How about stop smoking pot? How about wearing normal clothes once in a while? How about wearing a bra?” And then she burst into sobs and rolled down the window as if breathing the same air as her mother was too awful.
Allegra thought of nothing else that night while Mariah cried herself to sleep. Gammy asked what was the matter. Cramps, Allegra said. Never again had she smoked pot. Allegra would have done anything to make up for it, but Mariah had turned away from her for good. Allegra concentrated on Lindsay. She’d sell her signed Janis Joplin poster on eBay to maintain that little girl’s happiness. Allegra blinked back the tears that threatened to spill onto her cheeks.
The door opened, and the doctor, notebook computer in hand, said, “Good afternoon there, Alice Moo—”
And that was as far as he got before his face froze in surprise.
Allegra stared at the six-foot-tall bear of a man in a white coat that was one size too small for him. She’d know the curve of his jaw anywhere from all the times her fingers had traced it. He had the same toothy grin. He was simply an older version of the man she’d known thirty-four years ago. “Oh my
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