Sadie skipped over and looped her arm through mine, steering me toward the glass wall separating her bakery from the neighboring ice cream parlor. “Come on. Let’s grab a table on Bruno’s side.”
Bruno’s side—aka the Sprinkled Scoop—was the best ice cream place in the city. A row of stools accompanied the old-fashioned pink counter, where Bruno himself was filling cones for customers. We grabbed a table near the glass partition.
I set my backpack on the chair between us, turning it so Whiskey could look out from his scratched-up bubble window.
“I’m so happy to see your face,” I told Sadie.
“Ditto,” she said, giving Whiskey a little wave. He ducked out of sight. Sadie focused on me, and concern replaced her usual smile. “How’d it go at the vet?”
“Not great.” I took a deep breath, reliving the fear from when the vet had broken the news. “They said the tumor’s growing. Whiskey will need another surgery.”
Her face fell. “I’m so sorry, Ellie. How much will this one cost?”
“A lot, and insurance won’t cover any of it.”
That was another worry I couldn’t just shove deep down and stop thinking about. Money. Stupid money.
Sadie hesitated, biting her lip. “If you’re tight on cash, I can help?—”
“No.” It hurt to hide my financial situation from Sadie—she didn’t even know about the student loans or just how bad Whiskey’s med bills were, and I wanted to keep it that way. I felt like enough of a failure without also taking money from my friends. “I really appreciate it, but you and Davian have done too much for me already. I can’t accept handouts on top of everything else.”
“Who said anything about handouts?” she quickly dismissed. “It’s a friend helping a friend. We can call it a loan, if you want, but there’s no expectation to ever pay it back.”
“I can handle it,” I assured her. “Really. Business has actually been picking up lately.”
That was a bit of a white lie, but staying positive was all I could do now. It was the only thing keeping me from falling apart.
Bruno showed up at our table with perfect timing, stopping Sadie from pushing. He held two bowls out of our reach, and the fluorescent lighting reflected off his bald head as he frowned down at Sadie. “Where’s my godson? It’s been three days since I’ve seen him.”
Sadie shook her head, pressing her lips together to hide a smile. “Gladys insisted on watching Nico today, but I’ll bring him in tomorrow. You two can hang out while I do inventory.”
“Good answer,” Bruno said, finally setting the two bowls in front of us. “I’ve got a scoop of your favorites, plus two new gelato flavors I’d like your feedback on. Cherry Almond for Sadie, and Chocolate Heaven for Ellie.”
We both grinned at the heaping scoops.
“You can count on us,” Sadie promised him.
I reached for what little cash I had, but Bruno waved me off. “No, no. Sadie’s friends are on the house, Ellie. You know that.”
Some of the knots in my stomach eased, and I smiled. “Thanks, Bruno.”
“Don’t even mention it.” His gaze caught on my backpack, and he gave it a pointed stare. “There better not be a cat in there.”
Bruno walked off instead of waiting for an answer, and I shot a guilty look at Whiskey’s bubble window. His blue eyes peeked back up at me before giving a slow blink.
I blew him a quick kiss.
We dug into the gelato, and the burst of rich flavor was a soothing balm to my worries.
Chocolate made everything better.
“Oh, I made something for Nico.” I put down my spoon long enough to retrieve a blue crocheted penguin from my backpack. I gave Whiskey’s head a pat before zipping it back up, earning an unamused glance.
Sadie snatched the penguin with a squeal. “It’s too cute, thank you! He’ll adore this. I’ll add it to the zoo in his nursery from Auntie Ellie.”
My smile was a pleased one; I was totally honored since her baby received more gifts than could ever fit in a single nursery. And while Nico was basically an adorable lumpy potato at this stage—and oblivious to all his crocheted friends—I couldn’t seem to stop making more for the little cutie.
“How’s he doing?” I asked. “Is he still keeping you up all night?”