Delilah barely got sleep after that first meeting. It ended at 3 in the morning and she had to be at the bakery for 5:30 to make sure everything was made and prepped for open at 8 AM sharp. She ran the day as normal. Sunday's regulars came through and most apologized about what happened Friday morning.
"It's been one hell of a weekend," Anakoni Kamalei Iona- AKA Dill- stated. Dill is a non-binary barista at Abraco- as well as Delilah's best friend. They leaned in to whisper to Delilah. "I heard about that murder of the officer that happened outside, some 19-year-old recruit or something. Poor kid. He had to be good if he was dealing with the Foot." Delilah smiled slightly.
"He was. I met two of his brothers. Talked very highly of him."
"Really?" They asked. Delilah nodded.
"Yeah. Chief Vincent thought it would be good since I went through the Collapse of Columbus Place." Their eyes widened.
"Really?" Dill asked before taking an order. "That was near you?" They asked when they started making the cappuccino. Delilah had started making herself an espresso-filled latte.
"That was me, Dill. I live there." Dill stopped and looked at Delilah.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't... I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"How are your parents? And Mark and Bean?" Delilah sighed.
"They're fine. A bit bruised but... Fine."
Dill didn't need to know.
♦️♦️♦️
Delilah just wanted to sleep when she closed the shop. But she remembered she was expecting another meeting with Raph, so she made herself a latte with as many espresso shots she could drink safely.
(That number was 8, by the way, though the average human can only drink 5 usually.)
She didn't care. She did, though. draw the blinds and shut off the lights before getting a text from Raph.
Red_Sai: Just saw your lights turn off. Safe to come in?
Hey_There_Delilah: Oh, yeah. Where are you?
Red_Sai: A minute down the block.
Hey_There_Delilah: Gotcha. I'll have a cappuccino with 4 espresso shorts ready for you.
Red_Sai: You're fucking awesome
Hey_There_Delilah: I try.
She had worked on 2x speed and had the cappuccino finished by the time Raph had snuck into the Abraco.
♦️♦️♦️
"You're awesome, by the way. I was on that roof for two hours because I didn't know when you closed," Raph laughed as he and Delilah sat the table they sat at the night before.
"8 AM open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 AM open on Sundays. 10 PM close every day," she smiled.
"What about Mondays?"
"We're closed."
"On a weekday?"
"Business is slow because people would rather dine at home after a weekend," Delilah explained. Raph nodded.
"You know everything, huh?" Raph asked with a smile.
"A lot, but not everything. Like, what the fuck are taxes?" Delilah laughed.
"Damn," Raph laughed. "Maybe you can talk Vincent into having them canceled, or at least lowered."
"I wouldn't do that," Delilah stated. "She's already done so much for me, I don't want to bother her about something I can cover."
"But, what about paying for college?" Raph asked. "Which is expensive. You won't be able to cover that and taxes."
"I'm not going to college," Delilah whispered. "I have to at least stay in New York state for 2 years to officially transfer ownership of the shop to my name." Raph had never seen someone look so sad.
Raph wanted to respond, but she wasn't in a good place to hear his temper. Though, neither was he. Instead, he said something that would have surprised Mikey.
"I'm sorry."
She hugged him.
♦️♦️♦️
Chief Vincent notified the city hall Monday morning to lower the taxes on the Abraço. They declined her offer and made a better one.
She knocked on the door of the Abraço. After a few moments, Delilah opened the door. Her hair was wildly curly, and she looked like she woke up on the wrong side of the bed and hadn't had her coffee yet.
"Oh... Hi Chief. Come in." Delilah opened the door for Chief Vincent but she politely denied.
"Just came for a quick conversation."
"Anything I can help with?"
"I just wanted to give you this."
Chief Vincent handed over the official document from the city hall. Delilah looked it over, and her jaw dropped as she got further down.
"The nearest church would pay the taxes for the Abraço?" Delilah asked.
"The Middle Collegiate Church, right around the corner. The people of the city hall told them about your situation and they will gladly do so."
"When do they start?"
"12:01 tomorrow morning." Delilah smiled.
"Did Raph talk to you about this?"
"No, Mikey did. Raph had talked to him and a secret is almost never safe with Mikey," she laughed. Delilah did, too.
"Thank you, Chief Vincent," Delilah said earnestly.
"Rebecca." Delilah looked confused. "Rebecca Vincent." Rebecca smiled as Delilah nodded slightly. "But you're welcome, Delilah. Have a good day off, alright?"
"Alright."
♦️♦️♦️
Mikey and Delilah were on a phone call, as it was Raph's turn to go to the NYPD to help look for the truck that took Donnie. Mikey was sitting on the couch, eating another pizza. Delilah was sitting on a couch in the corner of the shop.
"Good! I'm glad Vincent was fast about that. You deserve to save up for school," Mikey said.
"Yeah. I just wish I could go to where I wanted. I got accepted into a really good school in California but can't go because I have to stay in New York state for two years," Delilah whined slightly.
"Where were you going to go?"
"Stanford University, majoring in computer science and minoring in creative writing. Then their graduate school for business," Delilah leaned back onto the couch and groaned. Mikey looked for and found his laptop and started looking online.
"There's NYU. New York University. Have you looked into them?" He asked, putting Delilah on speaker so he could keep searching. "I know it's not Stanford, but they offer computer science and creative writing. They don't have a business course but have an Entrepreneurship and Innovation course and allow you to double major." Delilah went to the shop's desktop to look for herself.
"Really?" She looked on NYU's website and found it true.
"Yeah! That way, you can go to college and stay in New York City to run the shop." Mikey was smiling.
"I can send you the links if you want them," Mikey offered.
"No, I found it, but... That might be... Possible... And since the church is paying taxes, I can use all of my personal earnings to college. As well as the fact my parents already had close to $15,000 in a bank account for my education, as well as I could probably ask my grandparents, and maybe even get a small job here and there-"
"That is something I will not allow," Casey stated as he entered the lair. "I get paid fair at the NYPD, so I can help as well, Delilah. I know how important an education is," he added. Delilah was beaming.
"I'll start the application."
♦️♦️♦️
When Raph found out about Delilah applying to NYU that night, he immediately went to the shop. He knocked quickly and was glad the door opened a moment later.
"Raph, what are you doing? Get in here!" Delilah exclaimed, practically dragging him into the shop and drawing the blinds.
"Mikey and Casey told me about you applying to NYU. Is it true?" he asked.
"Yeah, it is. They offer computer science, creative writing, and entrepreneurship, which is exactly what I want and need." Raph was smiling.
"That's fucking awesome. I told you that you're a damn genius."
"It was Mikey's idea," she blushed.
"So? You're the one who's going to go and do big things." Delilah smiled up at him.
Delilah felt it again, and so did Raph. She felt her cheeks heat up and looked away. Freddie meowed from the nearest table. She picked him up and swung him around.
"Want anything to drink?" she asked Raph after a while.
"The usual."
♦️♦️♦️