“My God, you’re taking care of an infant, finishing a book, and opening up your own bookstore…how do you do it all?” I ask, staring at her like she must have five clones in the car.
“I do it stylishly, of course,” she answers, gesturing to her Pizza slice T-shirt. It’s a Dakota T-shop original.
She laughs and turns to look at the boards again. I can’t help but pry further. “No, seriously. How are you getting all this done? Are you a ball of stress at home?”
“Are you kidding me?” Kate replies with another laugh. “Not at all! I mean, sometimes I have my little freak outs, but I’m living my dream right now. I’m doing something I absolutely love, and opening up this charity bookstore will be like…the thrill of a lifetime.”
I nod slowly. “So you think if you’re doing something you’re passionate about, it’s less stressful?”
“Definitely. And it might still be stressful but it’s fulfilling at the same time. I mean…how do you feel making charcuterie boards?”
“Horny usually,” I respond with an honest answer because if anyone can take it, it’s this woman. “And that was before I knew cocktuterie boards were a thing.”
“I love it!” She holds her hand up in a high five that I gratefully accept because I didn’t totally perv her out with my honesty.
“But I feel fulfilled too,” I add, digging in a little deeper. “Making these boards is like this strangely satisfying experience for me. After my stroke, they really brought me back to life.”
“I’m sorry, did you say stroke?” Kate’s eyes turn to saucers.
I nod and cringe. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to just drop that on you.”
“No…please,” she says, crossing her arms and staring seriously back at me. “If we’re going to be working together with all these hard cocks, I think it’s important for me to know you, Cozy. This sounds like a big deal.”
I exhale heavily, squeezing little Tucker to my chest for comfort. “It was but I’m okay now, thankfully. I used to work in a really high-stress job in corporate and it all became too much for me. I had a stress-induced stroke in the middle of a meeting almost eight months ago.”
Kate’s eyes widen. “Damn, that’s scary as fuck.”
“I know,” I reply with a self-deprecating laugh. “I’m doing great now, but what you said about doing something you’re passionate about really resonated with me. Making these boards helped me with my physical therapy. I gained back all I lost making these things and ever since then, when I work on them, it’s like an out-of-body experience. Like an adrenaline rush of gratitude every time I get to put this stupid leather apron on.”
“Sexy leather apron,” Kate corrects with a warm smile. “And good for you. It sounds like you made the right career change. Creative types like us are way more fun than the suited stiffs.”
She laughs but all I can do is picture Max in his suits. God, he wears them so well. And in the mornings when his hair is still damp from his shower, and he’s just applied his cologne…there is nothing hotter in the universe. I miss it more than I’d miss charcuterie boards.
“Well, I’m a clean bill of health now,” I respond, refocusing my thoughts. “And please don’t worry about my quality of work. I promise you that I am healthy as a horse and doing better than ever.”
“Cozy…you don’t have to answer to me,” Kate says, pressing her hand on my shoulder. “I’m not your boss. I’m your client. You’re your own cock-making boss bitch and you call the cum shots on your career. Got it?”
I giggle and nod. “Got it.”
“And the best part about being your own boss is finding ways to take care of yourself. Like for me, Miles and Tuck are my stress relievers. When I’m feeling the pressure of my passion…because don’t get it twisted, passion is not devoid of pressure…all I have to do is reconnect with them and it’s like the best natural medicine in the world.”
My eyes instantly begin to sting with her words that spear through a wall that I had built firmly up around myself as images of Max and Everly fill my mind. The three of us zip-lining, baking cookies on sleepover night, swimming, dancing, laughing, cuddling, kissing—all of it has been my own natural medicine all summer…and I didn’t even realize it.
“Whoa, whoa, what’s happening?” Kate asks, pointing at my face that’s now full-on ugly crying. “What did I say? I have a big fucking mouth and no filter, and sometimes I hurt people’s feelings without even knowing it.”