The Shopkeeper's Secret

really didn't need to be up until 7:00am. The light beginning to seep its way into her room made i

busy before everyone else in the house,

at 10 years ago, her mother Andrea h

ng," she

d willed for tears to come. The

ew Year. The 10th Christmas and 10th New Year

s, before surrendering to her wakefulness. Groaning with every move, she laboured out of bed, dragged

from the branch of an avocado tree not too far away from her bedroom window. She

f tree tops as baby monkeys played with each

fairly well hidden between the wide branches of a custard apple tree their grandmother had planted half

r mother was still alive came to life in her mind. She smelled the fresh bread bak

cate senses. If there's one thing her mother had

crowded town, fast food was unheard of. Only Paradise, her brother's s

led herself to come back to the present.

s well g

ck polo. With lace at every hem, of course. She had tens of these polos,

r mother made her fall in love with. They had to have pockets and they had to be roomy. Airy, even. Toda

hair, green socks to match the scarf and an old pair of black sneakers. They were pas

ead for breakfast, the way her mother used to. It was quick work for her. Only 4 mouths to feed. U

hef, chopping, measuring, sautéing, tasting. By the time she had set

d at it a

way mom

cold cup of coffee, grabbed one of the small buns she had baked and headed

ed him of course, but being the devious little shit he was, Darren would just ca

any calls from her ex and say whatever the hell he wanted to

r home, so unless she had boxes of produce to deliver to the shop, she always walk

ved in Cosgrove Plains. No one, not even newcomers, were strangers fo

e 1800s and early 1900s. He had named it Cosgrove Plains, because men being what they were at that tim

great-grandpa Cosgrove had divided the land

esign of their ancestor, the great Arnold Cosgrove. It was this v

things, they held meetings, watched outdoor movies, held birthday parties for t

l a little early, but as Paradise came into he

le

thought she recog