The fog was so low that it skimmed the ocean waves as Lucinda jogged along the shoreline. Even the houses that bordered the beach were hazy as they stood there consumed by the mist. There was a faint cast of sunlight behind the clouds, hinting at the sign of it rising and giving the morning a grey hued sky. As Lucinda jogged along, she noticed that there weren't as many people out on the surf, or on the beach taking in exercise, but it didn't bother her. Rain or shine, she would be out there, inhaling the scent of sea salt, listening to the cawing of seagulls overhead and the crunch of her sneakers against the sand.

Just as she was thinking about how nice the chilly air was feeling across her skin, her ears twitched at the sound of her name being called. She slowed down her pace as she searched around for the voice, but there was no one in sight. As she sped up again, she heard her name being shouted yet again. Then, out of the fog a woman appeared and was waving to her from one of the properties lining the beach. Lucinda waved back, unsure who the middle aged woman was but she seemed nice enough with her huge bright white smile.

"Hey, you're Lucinda, right?" the woman shouted as she jogged out to the beach with a knitted emerald green scarf wrapped around her shoulders.

"Yeah, how'd you guess?" Lucinda asked as she stretched her legs by pulling her ankles up and behind her, one at a time.

"I'm Emma." The woman extended her hand and looked Lucinda up and down approvingly. "Hector's wife. Your landlord."

"Oh!" she exclaimed and immediately took Emma's hand. "It's great to meet you."

"Likewise," Emma replied, tucking loose strands of chocolate colored hair behind her ears. "So I hear you're working with Raif over at the cafe?" She bobbed her brows. "How's that going?"

Lucinda tried to hide her smile by looking off into the distance and cleared her throat. "It's going great and all of the customers are so friendly, so I couldn't be more grateful that he offered me the job."

"Plus it's not so bad having a hunky boss, huh?" Emma bobbed her brows again.

"He's... nice," Lucinda replied.

"Funny, cause he said the same thing about you." Emma grinned. "Anyway, enough about him." She batted her hand. "The reason I flagged you down is because I wanted to make sure you got the invitation for our party this weekend?"

"A party?"

"Oh gosh, don't tell me!" Emma covered her face with a groan. "I bet Hector forgot to mail yours out! What am I going to do with that man?" She shook her head and brought her hands back down. "Anyway, it's our twenty year anniversary so we're having a big party at the house Saturday night and it's going to be a blast. Food, drinks, music, dancing... you need to come!"

"Oh..." Lucinda furrowed her brows. "I'm scheduled to work Saturday night, otherwise I'd love to be there, but I'm closing the cafe."

Emma frowned. "But Raif told me he was closing the cafe early on Saturday? I hope he didn't forget... I swear that man works too hard! You know what, I'm calling him right now and giving him an earful! Come on Lucinda."

Suddenly Lucinda found herself being dragged by the hand toward Emma's home. She guided her through the white picket fence and up the stone walkway, tossing a smile over her shoulder at her. There were wooden anorak chairs surrounding a fire pit on one side of the yard and on the other was a vegetable garden. Emma reached down as they walked and picked up a small basket full of fresh veggies she must have been plucking before spotting Lucinda. The woman chatted the whole way about how she was going to wring Hector's neck for not sending out the invitation and how she was going to pulled Raif's ear for forgetting about the party.

"I swear, men are so forgetful!" She huffed as she pushed the backdoor open and walked into a mudroom. As Lucinda looked around she took in the bench seat made out of driftwood against the wall and the matching pairs of sandals tucked under them. One set clearly belonged to Hector since they were larger and the smaller set undoubtedly belonged to emma. Potted succulents sat in a row along the screened in windows, which brought out the cool minty green color of the walls. Emma proceeded to slip off her gardening clogs and then walked through another door, so Lucinda did the same. "Are you thirsty? Hungry? I can make you something?"

"Maybe just a cup of coffee?" Lucinda replied as they walked into a large kitchen. Everything was so crisp and clean looking as her eyes bounced over the white cabinets, white marble counter top, white accent tiles, seafoam green walls and sun bleached plank wood floors. Off to the side of the kitchen was a dinning table that looked like a giant slab of driftwood with cream colored high-back dining chairs. Even the centerpiece, which was a glass bowl, had stones that were different shades of white. "Or maybe nothing at all since I'm afraid I might spill it and stain your beautiful furniture..."

"Hah! As if I'll let you leave here without trying Hector's famous omelette!"

"Did I just hear my name?" Hector said as he rounded into the kitchen. "Lucinda! Pleasure to see you. Is everything alright at the duplex?"

"Everything's great, actually," she replied.

"I saw Lucinda jogging outside and just had to say hello!" Emma explained as she began working the Kureig and then stopped to glare at Hector over her shoulder. "And what a surprise it was to find out that she had zero clue about the party."

Hector's eyes widened and he began nervously patting down his shirt. "Did I not give you an invitation?"

"Hector..." Emma arched a brow. "I don't know why you're searching your pockets as if the invitation is magically hidden in one of them."

"Ok, ok, so I forgot! But at least now you know it's this Saturday and starts at seven right here at our place."

"Except for one little problem." Emma sighed and turned to lean against the counter while the coffee brewed. "Raif scheduled her to close the cafe on Saturday."

"Oh, well we definitely can't have that." Hector rubbed his chin in thought. "I tell you what, you leave that little issue to me and as for you, Lucinda, you just think about what dress you're going to wear, since I know women like to spend hours planning the perfect outfit." He winked.

"A dress?" Lucinda squeaked. "How gussied up should the dress be?"

Emma clapped her hands excitedly. "Well, since it's our twentieth anniversary I wanted the party to feel special so we're doing semi formal attire."

"Oh... well I don't really have anything semi formal, so it looks like I'll have to do some shopping."

Emma gasped and clapped her hands again. "You HAVE to go to the boutique on Main street!! They have the cutest dresses. Just make sure not to buy the black lacey one with the sweetheart neckline that flairs out at the waist, cause that's the one I got for the party."

"You're going to look beautiful, Baby," Hector said to Emma as he leaned over the counter to press a kiss to her head. "Now what do you say I make us some omelettes with the delicious looking vegetables you've got here in this basket!"

"I even picked a few peppers." Emma smiled lovingly at him.

"Oh, now you're talking!" Hector shook his head in appreciation as he examined one of the jalapeños and then went in for another kiss.

As Lucinda observed their sweet exchange, her heart fluttered with the hope of one day having a marriage that could last just as long as Hector's and Emma's.

After leaving their home, she decided to head down to Main street and check out the boutique Emma was talking about. Since she didn't have to be at the cafe until ten, she figured she had enough time to shop. On her way there she stopped at the farmers market to browse for some fruit. Some of the sellers had come to recognize her face over the weeks and a few waved at her from their stands. She greeted them with a smile and a wave before settling on a fruit stand with an array of berries.

"Hey." She smiled at the merchant. "Henry. Am I right?"

"Yes and your name is..." the man brought his fingers to his temple and rubbed. "Oh don't tell me, I know I remember!" Then he snapped his finger as his face lit up with joy. "Lucinda!"

"Yep, you got it!"

"So tell me, what are you looking for today?"

"Oh just a few berries to add to my protein shake in the mornings. I was thinking blueberries," she replied.

"Well I've got some juicy ones right here," he said as he motioned over a wooden crate full of them. "Oh and definitely don't miss out on these gorgeous strawberries."

Lucinda leaned forward to take a look and her mouth practically watered at the sight of the ruby red berries that were double the size of regular strawberries. "I'll definitely take those too!"

As she looked up at him, she noticed his attention was pointed somewhere behind her and then he said with a smile, "morning Isabel."

"Morning Henry," chirped a soft yet firm voice. When Lucinda glanced over her shoulder she spotted a short and petite middle aged woman with long black glossy hair. Her cheekbones were high, her jawline was sharp and her almond shaped eyes could've looked harsh on anyone else, but on this woman made her look exotic. "Do you have any of those lemons I love?"

"Oh yes, right here," Henry replied as he busied himself with lifting up a crate. "Issy, have you met Lucinda?" he asked, his voice a bit strained as he brought the crate up.

"Lucinda?" Isabel turned to her as recognition spread over her face. "As in the one Raif hired?"

"Um, yes, that's me..."

"Well what a pleasure." Isabel smiled and extended her hand. "I'm Chuck's wife."

"Oh wow!" Lucinda exclaimed as she shook her hand a little too enthusiastically. "Chuck talks about you all of the time, I feel like I already know you! It's so good to meet you!"

Isabel tossed her head back with a laugh as Lucinda continued to vigorously shake her hand. "Yeah, I can see how excited you are..."

"Oh! Sorry!" Lucinda replied with wide eyes as she let go of Isabel's hand.

"It's ok," Isabel chuckled. "It's nice to finally put a face to the name I keep hearing come up in conversations between Raif and Chuck."

"Oh..." Lucinda blushed, surprised by the remark.

"All good things of course!" Isabel added quickly. "Raif works so hard that it's tough getting him to step away from the cafe every once in a while, so with you helping him out he gets a bit of a break. I know Chuck is looking forward to having a few drinks with him at Hector and Emma's anniversary party. Have you picked out a dress yet?"

"No, not yet." Lucinda paused as she thought about what Isabel had said. Maybe Raif hadn't forgetten about the party after all, like Emma thought? Then it dawn on her. She was scheduled to close the cafe on purpose... probably so Raif could leave early and go to the party. For some reason it felt like a betrayal, but Lucinda couldn't pinpoint exactly why.

"Well, you still have a few more days to find something nice," Isabel said as she squeezed a lemon, testing it's ripeness.

"Right," Lucinda replied, forcing on a smile. "I was actually thinking about checking out the boutique to see if they have something I might like."

Isabel gasped with delight as she touched Lucinda's arm. "They have the best dresses there! Annie, the owner of the boutique, used to work in New York city for some hotshot fashion designer so she still has connections and they send her clothing that you won't find anywhere else. Or at least not at any department stores. You'll love her boutique. I got a really pretty red dress with embroidered flowers on the bodice. I can't wait to wear it!"

"Wow, you and Emma sound like you'll be the belles of the ball." Lucinda smiled and then thought to herself how she would never get to see their beautiful dresses because she wouldn't get to be there.

"Well, it was great meeting you, Lucinda. I can't wait to tell Chuck how I ran into you." Isabel squeezed Lucinda's arm lovingly and then walked off with a bag of lemons.

"So have you decided on what you're taking?" Henry asked.

"Just the strawberries, please." Suddenly Lucinda had no desire for blueberries.

As she walked away from the farmers market her heart felt heavy. Why did it hurt so much that she wouldn't get to go to a party that, prior to her jog, she had no clue about? And why had Raif not breathed a word about it to her? She didn't mind closing for him, after all, he deserved a break, he worked hard... yet it still stung.

By the time she got to the cafe her mind was swarming with mixed thoughts. Part of her felt ridiculous for being upset and wanted to get over it. There would be plenty more parties for her to attend in the future. On the other hand, the rest of her still felt betrayed. Raif had been so honest with her so far and they had been getting along great, so why had he kept the party a secret from her? As she went behind the deli counter to begin working, she mumbled a hello to Raif and started tying on her apron.

"Morning to you too..." Raif bunched his brows.

"Uh huh," she replied as she fastened a knot on her apron strings in quick and rough movements.

"If I didn't know any better I'd think you were tightening a corset with how hard you're tugging those strings." He nodded toward her with his hands still working the espresso machine. "Everything alright?"

"Fine," she replied and turned to face a customer waiting to place an order. "How may I help you Mr. Sperry?"

"Just some hot soup for this cold day. I'll take whatever you got," Mr. Sperry replied.

"You've got it!" She smiled and slid over to the soup station. Within seconds she felt Raif at her side, passing her an empty bowl to fill.

"Would you like a regular bread roll to go with your soup?" Raif asked the man. "Since today's special is Tomato Bisque, it comes with a slice of garlic bread and I know you hate garlic bread."

"Oh, gosh! Good thing you told me. Definitely NO garlic bread." He shook his head, looking disgusted.

"He's kind of picky," Raif whispered, leaning into Lucinda's ear. Normally she loved having him in such close proximity, but she was still confused about how she felt.

"Ok."

"I don't want him chucking garlic bread at your head." He teased with an elbow nudge as he began buttering up a bread roll.

"Ok."

"Lucinda..." He paused and set the butter knife down on the counter. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm great," she replied as she looked up and smiled to Mr. Sperry while passing him the bowl of soup. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No sweetheart, this is enough for me." He gestured to his head, tipping an imaginary hat with a nod and then reached for the bowl.

"I'll ring you up over at the register," Raif said to him and the two of them shuffled on down the line, away from Lucinda.

She wiped down the counter and scanned her surroundings. The cafe seemed to be off to a slow morning with only a few locals sitting by the windows while nursing cups of coffee and staring out onto Main street. It was a good opportunity to go into the kitchen and prepare some of the veggies that would be needed for the lunch hour, so Lucinda did just that.

For a few minutes her mind was completely focussed on the slicer as she winded the handle for the blade. The cucumbers in the machine spilled out perfect eighth of an inch slices that landed in a container with soft thuds. Sometimes as Lucinda prepared the veggies her mind would become so lost in the process. Her favorite was watching slices of red onions spiraling out of the slicer, even if it made her eyes burn. This time, however, her concentration was interrupted. She didn't even have to look over her shoulder to know that Raif was approaching her. She could just feel it.

"Are you sure everything is ok?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"I dunno... I'm not buying it." He appeared at her side and folded his arms as he leaned against the prep table. "Something's bugging you. It's not like you to be so monosyllabic."

Lucinda snapped her attention to him and shook her head as if he had just said something insane. "Mono-what?"

"You know... one word responses."

She sighed, bringing her focus back to the slicer and mumbled. "Just having a bad morning."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

As she watched the cucumber slices spilling out into the container, she thought about ignoring his question, but then, what would it solve? So, she sucked in a breath, let go of the slicer handle and turned to him.

"I met Emma this morning and she told me about the party this weekend." As she continued to spill her guts, Raif backed up and slapped his hand to his mouth. "And I guess I'm just disappointed that I won't get to go, but it's fine because I'm sure there will be plenty more parties for me to go to in the future."

"Crap. Crap. Crap!" Raif said from behind his hand as he shook his head with panic in his eyes.

"What?"

He dropped his hand. "I completely forgot about it! I got the invitation weeks ago and I even RSVP'd..." He began pacing in a small circle as it dawned on Lucinda that he really did forget about the party. "And just last week Chuck was telling me how he was getting a bottle of scotch for Hector... yet I still forgot!"

"So you didn't schedule me to close so you could go to the party?" Lucinda asked, wanting to make sure, but Raif was still pacing and not listening.

"Emma is going to kill me for forgetting!" He groaned. "Ugh, and the party is at seven and I told the Senior Chess club they could use the cafe on Saturday for another tournament! What was I thinking? It'll take them forever to get out of here, which means I'll miss the party..." He started running his fingers through his hair in a panic. "This is great. Just great. How could I have forgotten something so huge for one of my best friends?"

"Well, you're a very busy man Raif, so I think everyone will understand..." Lucinda stepped in front of him, forcing him to stop in his tracks from pacing. Gently, she placed her hands on his shoulders. "Besides, there's no need to worry. You scheduled me to close, remember? You can still make it to the party. I've got this!" She smiled up at him.

He stared down at her, his eyes searching hers as the panic in his expression softened and there was a flicker of something else in his eyes that Lucinda had seen before but wasn't sure what is was. What she did know, however, was that it made her heart beat faster.

"No, it's not fair to you." Raif shook his head. "You should go to the party. You'll have fun and you'll get to know people, make friends. It'll be good for you."

Lucinda bunched her brows and shook her head as she stepped back. "No. They're your friends and it's their anniversary, YOU need to be there. Not me. I'll close the cafe. Ok?"

She turned back to the slicer, ending the conversation, but Raif wasn't having it. "Well, I'm your boss and I'm changing your schedule. I'm closing on Saturday and you'll go to the party and have fun for the both of us."

"Excuse me?" Lucinda whipped back around. "You can't just change my schedule."

"Yes I can."

"No, you can't!"

"My cafe. My rules, so if you want to keep working here, then you'll just have to work the new schedule and go to the party."

Lucinda drew her head back, completely enraged by his words as she held up a hand. "Excuse me? Now you're threatening my job? You CAN'T do that! I already told you that I'll close so you can go to the party and now you're taking it away like some boss on a power trip!?"

Raif let out a light chuckle but then composed himself when Lucinda glared at him. "Listen, it's not that big of a deal. Like you said, everyone will understand."

"But I'm-"

Raif pointed to himself, cutting her off. "I'm going to close on Saturday and you're going to get off early and enjoy yourself at the party. This isn't up for further discussion. My cafe, my rules."

With that, he ignored Lucinda's protests as he walked back out to the front to continue helping customers. She stomped her foot with a frustrated growl and balled her fists before raising them into the air and shaking them with another growl. The nerve of him, pushing his authority around and changing her schedule... not knowing how else to release her frustration, she stomped her foot again. He was trying to be sweet by letting her go, so why did it make her feel so crummy? Hector and Emma were his friends, yet he was volunteering to miss their anniversary so she could go. Lucinda let out another frustrated growl.

"Mind keeping it down?" Raif popped his head though the kitchen door with a grin. "I'm trying to work out here."

"Oh you hush!" Lucinda barked as she chucked a few cucumber slices at him, but he ducked his head away just in time.

The cucumber slices slapped against the door as it swung shut and then slid down the stainless steel surface, leaving wet streaks. With a sigh of defeat, knowing Raif wasn't going to change his mind, Lucinda decided she would need to look for a cocktail dress after all.

"Ok Raif, you win," she sighed to herself.