London Harmony: The Pike (2 page)

I was snapped out of my dark thoughts when Harold said to me, “Earth to Zoey, you in there?”

I shook my head and offered the repairman a smile. “Sorry, I was just thinking about something.  What was that?”

He looked over from the huge industrial mixer he currently had in pieces.  “This one is beyond me.  These Swedish jobs are too proprietary.  Without the proper parts, I'm going to have to pronounce this thing irrecoverable.  Unless you know someone who can work magic.”

I frowned and pushed some of my red hair, which had escaped my loose braid, out of my eyes.  I nodded at the man.  Without that mixer, it was going to make things a lot more difficult here at the Pike.  I'd have to mix things in smaller batches in the backup German mixer.  And a new one would put a strain on the Bakery's finances.  I grimaced.  Not that it mattered anymore.

I fought back a tear.  Now that Mrs. Z was...  now that she wasn't with us anymore, I had no idea what was going to happen to the Pike.  I just came to work because I didn't know what else to do.  We were talking about setting up an equal partnership but she was called home by God before we could formalize it.  I couldn't stand the thought of the Pike closing its doors.  We lost Mrs. Z, and the Pike closing would just make it too... real?

I thought for a moment then grinned and said, “Thanks, Harold, if you could just get it put back together, I think I know someone with that magic.  I'll pay cash since I'm not sure how the finances and checks are supposed to work now.”

He shook his head adamantly. “Oh no you don't, no money exchanges hands here.  I just got out from under owing Crystal McKay a marker with this job.  I'm finally free until the next favor she does for me.”  His eyes twinkled in mirth.

I knew it wouldn't be long until he owed her a marker again.  Word on the street that there aren't many businesses in the city that don't owe that woman a marker.  It was pretty humorous, to say the least.  She was always doing things to help out Mrs. Zatta and people she chose to make her friends like this.

The customers today were pretty solemn, word had spread quickly and there was so much business that I had to call Eve up from Vancouver to help out.  My little sis was a godsend.  She worked at dad's diner so just stepped right in without hesitation to take the pressure off of me as I handled the kitchen.  I don't know how Mrs. Z had done this on her own for so many years.

I checked on my twins,  Maxine, and Teddy.  School is out for the summer and they wanted to come to work with me today.  I think they knew I needed the moral support.  They showed more maturity and empathy with that than I had when I was eleven.  They loved Mrs. Z too.  She had them call her Nana Zatta.

They were buried in some multiplayer games on their cellphones.  They glanced up in that freaky unison thing they do and smiled at me before going back to their games.  I glanced at my cell when it buzzed.  They looked back up as I checked it and smiled at them. “Our spies have informed me that the package has arrived.”

Max's pretty green eyes widened, she looked so much like the pictures of my mother when she was her age.  She blurted excitedly, “June's here!”

Her brother just beamed a smile at the news.  June always spoiled my kids whenever she was around.  They loved her so much and she loved them fiercely.

I had to grin, I remember changing June's diapers with mom and Aunt Anna when I was about five.  Now she's running one of the most influential record labels in the music industry and has attained as much fame as a singer as Aunt Mandy.

I asked them, “What say we go ambush June after we shut down for the day?”

This got me excited cheers from the peanut gallery.  I sent a quick text to my husband, Harrison, to let him know the plan.  He sent a platypus and a heart emoji back.  Platypus love?  What's that even supposed to mean?

I shook my head at my odd spouse.  That was one of the reasons I love the man, he was as strange as a porcupine in a kilt.  I grinned and bit my lower lip as I imagined him in a kilt.

I looked back at my phone and set it down as I started a FaceTime call.  A few seconds later a grinning face under an adorable shaggy pixie cut was on my screen.

She signed with her hands, “Hello Zoey.”

I signed back as I spoke, “Hi Ash.  I got a problem that needs your unique skill set here at the Pike.  Can you drop by Tuesday to see if you can get this Kok Stjarna mixer back up and running so I don't feel like I'm mixing dough and batter all day?”

She signed, “Not a problem lady.  I can be there before opening bell at the Market if that is ok.”  She looked away and smiled and squirmed.  I heard her wheezing in her giggle then she turned back and signed, “Sorry, some evil woman was poking my ribs.”

I had to grin.  She could really get her exceedingly introverted girlfriend, Leigh, out of her protective shell.  Those two were meant for each other.  I chuckled out as I signed, “Sounds great Ash, I'll see you at the wake tomorrow and then on Tuesday.”

She saluted, looked off screen, and wiggled her eyebrows at her victim as she signed off.  She was a hoot.  I didn't really need to sign to her, but it was a force of habit.  Since she had to sign to speak or use a tinny sounding voice synthesizer to communicate, I always felt it was only polite.

When Ashley was a little girl, a dog attack had left her throat scarred and her vocal cords damaged beyond repair.  But that doesn't stop her from being one of the chattiest young ladies I know.  She brings Leigh with her to Seattle every time they have a break from the art school they attend in New York.  They were here now for summer break.

She was incredibly artistic and because she hung around at Silent Bob's all the time, she learned to use that creativity in helping Vernon over there fix just about anything.  That ability is a unique skill that makes her invaluable.  She can repair things anyone else would say are unfixable, in the most inventive ways.

Vernon's son Tim, who is a mechanical prodigy, says that she has an innate understanding of anything just by examining it.  He thinks she is a borderline mechanical genius.

Mrs. Z always called her whenever Crystal's people were vexed by the older import kitchen machines we use at the Pike.

The two girls are inseparable and Ash uses Leigh as her voice around people who can't sign while Leigh latches on to Ashley's outgoing nature to give her the bravery to step outside her bubble of isolation, her comfort zone.  I think they are juniors or seniors now at the New York Academy of Art.  The same college June went to.

I had been signing my whole life, growing up with my Aunt Anabella in the house.  She's deaf.  Mom says I could sign before I could talk.  My little sis, Eve, was a little slower on the uptake since Anabella had moved in with Mandy so she didn't have quite as much exposure to sign language as I did.

Teddy knocked me out of my musings while I prepared an order Eve had handed me. “T minus fifteen minutes,”

I told you that they loved June.  I smiled at him then went back to prepping the ham and cheese bake and slid it into the brick oven.

I looked over at the prep station from the oven and my heart sank again.  Without Mrs. Z there with me, the kitchen felt so... empty.

I sighed and went up front to the display cases and arranged the pastries to make the case seem fuller than it was.  Mrs. Zatta had this way of presenting things almost artistically that I could barely manage.

I wish that I knew what was going to happen to the Pike.  I have grown to love the place, I felt like I belonged here more than at any other time in my life.  I was in talks with Mrs. Z to become a full partner in the business, now everything was in limbo and McKenzie won't discuss it with me yet until... after...

I sighed again, Eve looked over from where she was refilling drinks at one of the small expanded metal tables and gave me a sympathetic look.  Her dark red hair flopped into her eyes, making me smile.  I swear she could get it to do that on command, just to coax smiles out of me when I'm feeling down or melancholy.

I stood taller and chastised myself. Ok, Zoey straighten up and get back to work.  I went back to the kitchen and pulled the bake out and brought it to the counter for Eve to deliver to the customer.  She whispered, “Chin up Zoo.”  Then she grinned and was off to deliver the item to the gentleman sitting at one of the tables we had outside in the courtyard of the building.

When she was little, Eve couldn't say Zoey.  So it came out Zoo.  She never really made an effort to change that even once she could pronounce it correctly.  I sort of liked it.  It was one of our special sister bonding things.  Like me always letting the shrimp know just how short she really was.  Insert evil grin here.

The kids helped us clean up when we closed for the night after the closing bell of the Market sounded.  We had a little assembly line going as we washed dishes.  It reminded me so much of dad's diner when the whole family helped him close up so he could get home sooner.  I swear that man is a workaholic.  The diner is extremely successful, especially after Aunt Mandy put in the Harmony Trax record label headquarters just a block away.  But he prefers to do everything himself instead of hiring help.

I had to smile at the thought of Aunt Mandy.  The rest of the world knows her as Mandy Fay Harris, rock legend.  Back when I was little, before she quit singing, she had set up trust accounts for Eve and my education with the royalties from a single song she wrote for Aunt Anna, ‘Oceans of Blue.’  She had no clue at the time that it would become the best-selling single in the history of rock.  It almost became a religion to her fans.

Most of the proceeds go to charities, but the portion that went to Eva and I was worth millions.  It not only put us through college but has made us set for life.  We didn't need to work but I would die of boredom if I didn't.  I funnel the bulk of it into trust accounts for the twins now.  Even after a couple decades, it brings in royalties in the mid six figures every year.

The four of us headed out the door, I turned off all but the night lights and armed the alarm then locked the door behind us.

I looked at my sis. “See you at the funeral tomorrow Shrimp Roll?”

She shook her head and gave a toothy grin.  “You're kidding right Zoo?  June is in town.”

I had to chuckle, those two shared cribs together and grew up thinking they had three moms and a dad who just happened to live in two different houses.  Those cousins were as close as any sisters could hope to be.

She exchanged shrugs with the kids.  They all acted like it was obvious and that I was dense.  I rolled my eyes at their antics and said, “Come along then 'children.'” Pointedly I looked at my sister, making sure she knew she was included in the children remark.

She stuck her tongue out at me and crinkled her nose.  Not many full grown adults can get away with something that silly, but alas, my little sister was one of them.  I just gave her a cross-eyed look then we headed to the parking garage just north of Pike Place Market.

Traffic wasn't bad and the twins were out of the car the moment it stopped moving at Samantha and Abbey's place.  They started for the door but paused as a familiar car pull up to park behind us.  My smile grew as I joined the kids.

I looked at the tall, graceful woman with waist length black hair that flowed like black gold as she moved out of the car.  Her imposing height of six foot two didn't look odd on the medium boned woman with her Pacific Islander features and complexion.  She always looked like some sort of Amazon princess to me.

As Lizzie pulled her little troublemaker, Fay, out of the child seat in the back of her car while her husband, Jeremy, got out of the passenger seat, I said to June's little sister, “Hi Lizzie.”  They always looked like such an odd contradiction.  The man was a little nerdy looking to me, but in a good way, I could see what Elizabeth saw in him, especially when he smiled.  The odd thing was that the man was only five foot nine and my cousin towered over him.

She gave me a dazzling smile that twinkled around in her eyes as she set her cute four-year-old terror down, who ran up to Maxine, who scooped her up and threw her over her shoulder like a sack of grain as the kids headed over to give their cousin hugs.

“Hiya, Zoey!  What brings you here?”

I rolled my eyes and gave her a hug as she chuckled.  Jeremy joined her by her side.

He greeted me. “Zoey.”

I smiled at him and replied, “J.”

As I answered her question, she absently grabbed Jeremy's hand, I swear they are still in the honeymoon stage of their marriage, and it suits them.  “We just came to use the restroom.”

She chuckled. “Brat.”

I grinned toothily at her and nudged my head toward the cabin.  “Shall we go corner June and the gang?”

She just nodded, scrunching her head to her shoulders like we were sneaky, and we all headed to the door.  Max swung Fay back to the door so she could ring the bell.

I winced in preparation and right on cue, the squealing began the moment June and Samantha opened the door.

Fran called out to me, “June, get a move on, some of us still need to get ready.”

I called back through the bathroom door as I brushed my hair,  “Then get in here Small Fry.  I'm just about done.”

She poked her head inside the door and looked around with a humorous look on her face.  I snickered at the girl.  She had walked in on me once at our place in London when I had just stepped out of the shower and now she was paranoid around closed bathroom doors.  She says I had scarred her for life, the stinker.

I looked at her and nodded approval.  She was in a modest, long black dress that hit just below her knees.  It was quite proper for a funeral.  “Could you?”  I asked as I held out a wide black ribbon and turned my back to her.

She took the ribbon without a word and deftly tied back my hair loosely as I took in my appearance. I shrugged at the girl with so many glaring flaws in the mirror and smoothed my own black dress down.

Francine shook her head at me as she pushed me playfully toward the door.  “How can the unstoppable June Harris-West have such a poor self-image?  I'll never understand you woman, you're gorgeous.”

She had the door shut and locked behind me before I could protest.  She just said that because we are sisters now, it is in the sister contract somewhere isn't it?  Right between holding a sister's hair back when she is vomiting, and kicking the ass of anyone who hurts your sister.

I turned from the door, just to be caught in the gaze of the love of my life.

I sank into the depths of her eyes as Nessie reached out to touch my arm lightly before she let her hand drop back to her side.  It pained me every time she did that.  I knew it was to check to make sure I was really there.  Even though her new meds kept the voices and visions away better than ever, she still had this seed of self-doubt.

I couldn't stop the smile slowly spreading on my face as she started swaying almost imperceptibly to the music she says she sees in my eyes.  I whispered, “Hi.”

I was rewarded with an almost shy smile back from her as she blushed and said, “Hi.”

Tasha rushed to the bathroom door as she tied the sash on her own black dress and thudded into it face first when she found it locked.  She grinned back at us and asked, “How can such a huge place only have three bathrooms?  Sam and Abbey are in the other two.”

We grinned and shrugged at her.  She was always late to get ready even back in London.

She started knocking on the door repeating over and over in a droning voice, “Open up, open up, open up, open up...”  Until the door opened a bit, a hand reached out and grabbed her, tugging her in as she giggled.  We couldn't stop our own chuckles at that.

I absently thought about last night.  I had expected Lizzie to pounce with Fay, my favorite niece.  Fine whatever, my only niece.  But it was a pleasant surprise to see Zoey and the twins. I simply love all the children.

We planned on visiting after the funeral, but I hadn't realized just how much I had missed them until they showed up at Hank and A.J.'s door last night.

I can't believe how much Fay has grown since I saw her six months ago.  She is going to take after her mother with her black hair, big chocolate brown eyes, and her height.  She was already taller than most four-year-olds.

And the twins were telling me all about their latest adventures in school.

Somewhere in between, us grownups were able to get a few words in as we caught up on happenings since we all last saw each other.  We carefully steered clear of any talk about what prompted our visit.  I think we all felt that if we voiced it, it would make it true.  And none of us wanted to face that particular truth at that time.  Reality would be standing right in front of us the following morning at the funeral.

So I took the time to enjoy the company of friends and family.  Spending as much time with the children as possible.  A longing inside of me twanged as I did, which coaxed a thoughtful smile from my wife.  She knew we were going to have the talk soon.  I really loved children and was wanting so much to have one of our own.  My maternal instincts kicked in every time I was with Fay or the twins.

I snapped out of it when Nessie waved a hand in front of my face as she prompted, “Earth to June.  We lost you there for a moment.”

I smiled at her and said offhandedly, “Just thinking about the kids last night, it was really good to see them again.  We're going to have to spend some more time with them before we go back to London.”

Vanessa just nodded and gave me a knowing look. She sighed and gave me a sad smile, she understood what I was really saying.  We had discussed this once before.  I wanted to carry our first child, using one of her eggs.  She is so paranoid that if we did, the child might develop schizophrenia or another mental disorder like her.  All of the doctors say that that there is only a ten percent chance that that could happen.  It scares her.

A.J. came down the hall and she poked her head into the room.  “We should get moving or we're going to be late ladies.”

I opened my mouth but the door to the bathroom swung open and Fran and Tasha came quickly out, Small Fry saying, “We're ready, we're ready.”

Natasha hopped behind her on one shoe, with her hand on Fran's shoulder to steady herself as she slipped on her other shoe on.

She stood quickly and smoothed out her dress and grinned like a loon.  “Ready.  What took you all so long?”  This got a raised eyebrow and a barely concealed grin from Abbey.

We all filed out of the room and dragged Sammie to her feet from where she sat on the couch sketching in her ever present sketchpad.  A habit she picked up from her adoptive mother, Kimi.  I had to blink, except for her blonde hair with that pink lock she favored, she looked every bit her other mom, Skylar Roth.  It was sort of spooky.

She gave us all a smile as she was herded to the door.  Abbey said in her best narrating voice, “And then the intrepid group of sojourners headed to their trusty mounts.”

I had a quick vision of us all hopping up onto horses and riding slowly into town.

Natasha asked Sammie, “Is she always like that?”

Sam rolled her eyes. “It isn't the only thing she narrates, trust me on that.”

Abbey grinned down at her. “Hey!”

I chuckled as we got to the car. “I swear I'm the only normal one of our group.”  It was less than two heartbeats before they all burst out laughing.  I grinned at the surly crew and defended in a refined manner, “Shut up.”

Hank said in her singsong voice, “Yes J-Dub.”

I knew why we were being silly, so we didn't dwell on the reality of the day.  The mood dampened quickly as we got into the car and Abbey started driving us toward the funeral home.

When we arrived, we had to park two blocks away.  It looked like a feeding frenzy of reporters around the funeral home and there were police barricades.  I sighed and put on some large sunglasses and Sammie handed me a stylish hat that she had brought to the car.

I thanked her, she was used to this sort of thing, her parents being Satin Thunder.  They would be here, and my moms as well.  None other than Mandy Fay Harris and Congresswoman Anabella West.  We should have known this was going to be a circus.  Mrs. Z had a knack for befriending so many famous people before they became famous.  The media was disrespecting the woman by shining the spotlight on the names in attendance instead of her.

The girls formed a sort of phalanx around me as I kept my head down as we approached the paparazzi.  We stopped at the barricades and Samantha showed our invitation to the funeral and someone blurted out, “It's J8!”

Then all hell broke loose as everyone turned cameras on our group and started shouting questions about how I knew 'The Deceased.'  I ground my teeth and growled to myself as the officers let us past, “Her name was Emily Zatta, not the deceased.”

Nessie's hand found mine and drew some of the anger out of me.  I smiled at her in thanks and she just nodded once and we made our way to the entrance.  Just as we arrived, we heard another commotion.

We looked to the barricades on the other side from where we came through to see a familiar woman in a black dress and army boots, being mobbed by reporters.  One of my personal heroes, Mia Jacobs, Abbey's mother, one of the most influential artists of this century.  Her head was down and she was fidgeting visibly as she shied away from contact with anyone.

A short blonde woman almost growling and hissing at the paparazzi as they made their way to the officers.  I had to smile at Vicky Davenport.  She was small but fierce.

Abbey peeled off from us immediately, her amber eyes glowing in fury.  “I'll see you guys inside.”  We all nodded and watched her head off to give her mother support.  We waited for her to escort her mother and Vicky to us before entering the funeral home.

The women hugged Sammie then acknowledged us with sad smiles we shared with them.  Victoria was glaring back the way we came.  Mia stuttered nervously, “D-down girl.”  She was rewarded by a loving smile from the little blonde.

The place was crowded, which didn't really surprise me, Mrs. Z was well loved.  It looked like a veritable Who's Who in the Seattle Elite and the music world.  We said our hellos to people we knew as we passed, like Crystal and Jane McKay, and Hank veered off from the group to sit by her parent's, Kimi Solomon and Skylar Roth.  They were with Bobbie and Blake.  We waved at them all.

I paused near the front and smiled at my parents who were sitting with Lizzy and Fay, next to Reese Qualls in her wheelchair, and Sarah.  We slipped into the seats they had saved for us and I made the introductions of Natasha to Reese and Sarah and signed to my parents as I introduced her to them.

Fay was busy signing to mom about preschool until we sat, then she hopped down and ran to me for a big hug then she sat on my lap.

This was one of the few times the usually loquacious Mandy Harris was quiet.  It was odd to see mother in a somber mood.  We looked around.  This row was mostly populated by our family.  Zoey was there with Jeremy and the twins beside Aunt Serina and Uncle Dave.  Eve was just coming down the aisles to sit by them.

When the minister came in to stand at the podium by the casket, everyone went silent.  It was a beautiful service that brought me to tears more times than I care to admit to.  After the minister had spoken, then McKenzie gave a heartfelt eulogy.

People were asked to come up and share their experiences with Emily.  Sandra Callahan brought us all to tears again and Penny Franklin stepped up to console her and bring her back to their seats.

Mia Jacobs, who was terrified of public speaking, insisted on sharing her heartfelt interactions with Mrs. Z.

There was nothing I could say that wasn't said, but I felt I needed to say something.  So when I went up, I looked around and distilled it all down to simply saying and signing, “Kind words, loving meals, an inspiration.  Emily will be missed.”

This got murmurs of agreement and that was all I could say.  I sat down quickly before I cried yet again.  Mom reached over and laid a hand on my arm.  I gave her a little smile.

After everyone had said their piece, the service concluded.  I paused and looked back as everyone filtered out, to see McKenzie standing at the casket, a hand resting on the lid, with Katie resting her own hand on McKenzie's shoulder.  I seriously couldn't imagine her pain.  That was the last of her family from what I was told.  I was happy that she at least had Katie.

I feel blessed that I haven't had to go to a family member's funeral in my life yet.  Though Mrs. Z still felt like family.

With promises of seeing them down in Vancouver for a few days after we spent some time with friends here in Seattle and dealing with the business of the reading of Emily's will, we all braved the paparazzi again to head to the wake at the Pike.  I was grateful that the location of the wake was a closely guarded secret.