JC had woken up on his own, no alarm buzzing in his ear, at 10:00 the next morning, which just happened to be a Saturday. The house was quiet and it was only after he'd stumbled sleepily out of his room and into the hall that he heard voices coming from downstairs. The hallway connected to the balcony that looked below into the living room. He stood for a minute without being seen and watched Chad, clad in a pink boa over his pajamas and plastic crown on his head, playing with a little girl, who was also wearing a pink boa and had covered the coffee table with a pink tea set. JC assumed this must be Sutton, James' little girl that Chad had told him about on the drive home from the airport the night before. 

"No, Uncle Chad, remember Bunny Bear can't have caffeine. It keeps him awake all day and he has to have a nap at one with me," the little girl was telling Chad, as she moved a plastic tea cup away from a very oversized stuffed brown teddy bear, seated at the end of the coffee table.

"Oh, that's right! Well, what about Dolly?" Chad took the plastic tea kettle in his hand and went to pour fake tea into a cup that was in front of a doll with curly red hair and wearing a faded blue doll dress. 

"Yes, she can have some. She doesn't sleep with me," Sutton answered. JC was impressed. Although he hadn't been around many children in his lifetime, he figured most five-year-olds wouldn't know the difference in the effects of caffeine.

Just then, Chad looked up, his face turning red upon seeing JC looking at him in his dress up gear. He cleared his throat, "Oh, hi, Josh! We were, um, we were just playing tea party. This is Sutton. Sutton, remember I told you about my cousin who was coming to visit from California?"

Sutton looked up and smiled at JC, who was now leaning on the balcony banister. "Oh, yeah! Hi. I'm Sutton. Wanna come and have tea with us?"

JC tried not to smirk as hard as he knew he was, but instead just forced a smile and said, "Oh, um, sure. Be right down." He came down the stairs that emptied into the living room, which looked out onto the pool and beyond that the marshes. He awkwardly sat down at the coffee table and Chad didn't make eye contact at his cousin because they both knew JC would burst out laughing at how Chad was dressed. 

"Here," Sutton handed him a plastic teacup. "Would you like tea? Can you have caffeine?" she asked the question so professionally that JC almost forgot there wasn't any tea in the teapot. 

"Uh, um, yes, yes I would love some tea," he responded, and Sutton placed her tiny hand on top of the plastic top of the teapot and poured him some pretend tea. 

"What kind of tea is this, Sutton?" Chad asked, pretending to take a sip. "It's really good!"

"Strawberry tea," Sutton responded, not batting an eye as she placed the teapot back on the coffee table. "Be careful, Mr. Josh, it's hot."

"Oh, you can just call me Josh. Or JC. You don't have to call me 'mister'," JC told her. 

"Ok," Sutton shrugged, then looked at Chad. "When is Mommy coming home?"
Chad looked at the clock above the mounted flat screen television, which was above the fireplace.

"Not til after your nap, sweetie. Remember, she's working all day so she can take the day off to spend with you tomorrow. We'll go see her after Josh gets dressed." He looked over at JC. "I thought we could have breakfast there." Chad looked again at the clock, seeing it was nearing 10:30. "Or maybe an early lunch."

"Sure, sounds good," JC yawned. "Um, is there any, um, real coffee?" he asked in a low voice, while Sutton was fixing a bow tie on another stuffed animal.
Chad chuckled, "Yeah. In the coffee pot. I'll go grab you some. You want cream and sugar?"

"Just black, thanks," JC replied, as Chad stood to his feet and went into the kitchen.

"My mommy owns her own coffee shop," Sutton informed JC, which he already knew, but he pretended it was the first time he'd heard this bit of news. 

"Oh yeah? Do you like coffee?" he asked her, taking another sip of fake tea.

"No. I can't have any. Mommy only lets me drink stuff without caffeine. But one time Uncle Chad let me taste his coffee and it was yucky," Sutton told him. 

JC looked around the living room, which was a set of black leather couches and a recliner all set around the coffee table with a view of the pool and the television. The walls were a warm beige color and Chad had done his best to make the big space as homey as possible. It was quite cozy, JC had to admit. He had yet to see the entire house because he'd gotten in so late and with jet lag, was already craving to go to sleep as soon as he and Chad had gotten in.

 
"Here you go," Chad came back into the living room and sat down next to Sutton, handing JC his coffee mug. "I thought we might have a small little cookout tonight. I invited Lane and a few of James' friends might stop by. We can swim and have some beer and just relax."

"Sounds good to me," JC sipped his coffee. He looked over at Sutton who was now going over to a basket by the window filled with coloring books and games. She retrieved a coloring book with Cinderella on the cover and then took out a box of crayons.

"Sutton, honey, are you finished playing tea party?" Chad asked her, as she came back over to the coffee table.

"Yeah," Sutton moved aside the tea party cups and plates and opened the coloring book to the first page. "I want to color a picture for Mommy."

"That's fine, babe, but we need to clean up the tea party first," Chad told her. 
Sutton didn't whine or retort. She simply said, "Ok," and helped Chad put the tea party things back into a pink box next to the recliner. JC had never been around such a well-behaved child. Not that he'd been around that many at all, but he knew enough that when kids were told to clean up, they usually refused and pitched a fit. 

"What did I tell you last night," Chad said to JC, as Sutton focused on her coloring. "She's probably the best kid in the world. And after what James had to go through with her scumbag of a father, she deserves to have such a wonderful child like Sutton." Chad whispered the last part so that Sutton couldn't hear. 

"Where is her dad-" JC started to ask, but Chad shook his head and mouthed, "Later." 

Chad and JC talked and caught up while Sutton finished coloring her picture, which was Cinderella getting ready to go to the ball. She tore the paper along the edges so it wouldn't rip the picture and proudly displayed her work to Chad and JC. "Do you think Mommy'll like it?" Sutton asked, hopefully.

"She's going to love it, sweetie," Chad assured her.

Sutton looked at JC. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's great!" JC smiled at her. "I think your mom's gonna really love it."
Sutton grinned, happy for this new stranger's approval. "Thanks!" she turned to Chad, "Should we go now?"

Chad stood to his feet. "Yes. I bet Mommy is gonna definitely want to see you and she hasn't met Josh yet. Go get dressed and we'll leave in a few minutes." Sutton scurried off up the stairs and JC could hear her padded footsteps above him as they ran in the opposite direction of his room.

Chad looked at JC. "I better warn you. James has a few teenagers that work with her at the coffee shop. One of which is obsessed with America's Best Dance Crew and was devastated when it was canceled yesterday. She definitely knows who you are so if she's there, just-"

JC cut him off, "Chad, I think I can handle a fan. I used to do this all the time. Except back then it was hoards of them. Besides, it's nice to know there are people out there who still know who I am." 

*****
Saturday was usually busy at Brewster's. Main Street in Grayson didn't have much, but during the summer there was almost always something going on. This weekend was buy one get one free at Morrie's Ice Cream Parlor, down the street from Brewster's. The small town had tried to keep their little Main Street as alive as possible, even though many local businesses had gone under in the last few years. It was a miracle that Brewster's was as popular as it was and that Morrie's, which had been opened in the fifties, was still around. But, as her mother had told James when the first anniversary of Brewster's had come and gone, "People will always want coffee and they'll always want ice cream."

Today, because of the usual Saturday crowd, James had Kaylie and Madison working again as Kelvin and Deane, two college students home for the summer, who were in the back doing inventory and coming out front when needed. By eleven, the crowd had somewhat slowed down and there were only a few people sitting in the shop.

James felt her phone vibrate in the back pocket of her jeans and quickly took it out just incase there was an emergency with Sutton. It was a text from Chad reading:

Stopping by in a few with Josh and Sutton. Might want to warn Kaylie. 

James bit on her lower lip and looked over at Kaylie, who was chatting with Madison about the latest Twilight book.

"...and I mean, obviously, I knew what was gonna happen with Bella and Edward, but I mean, after seeing Taylor Lautner in the movie, I was kind of cheering on Jacob, you know what I mean?" Madison was being polite in listening to her friend, but James could tell she was bored and had heard this before. 

"Kaylie, can I talk to you for a minute?" James interrupted them, and she thought she saw a bit of relief come across Madison's face. "Madison, do you mind checking on Kelvin and Deane and seeing if the inventory is going ok?"

"Yep," Madison nodded and went to the back.

Kaylie looked nervously up at James. "I'm so sorry. I thought we weren't busy and so-"

"You're not in trouble, girl, chill out," James giggled at her. "Now, listen, Chad and Sutton are coming over and they're bringing Josh, or I guess as you know him, JC-" Kaylie squealed. "-which is why I'm telling you now before they walk in. You cannot make a scene. You can't squeal like that or jump up and down. Just act natural. Can you do that?"

Kaylie nodded and swallowed hard, "Um, but James, what if he orders a coffee from me?"

"What do you normally do when someone orders a coffee from you?"

"I mean, I know, but it's him. And I just don't wanna spill it or something,"

James sighed and took both of Kaylie's hands in hers. "Kaylie, you'll be fine. You're one of my best workers. And he may not even order anything so you might be worrying for nothing."

"O-okay, yeah. I can do this," the way Kaylie responded, James felt as though she'd just asked her to join the Army and go fight for the country.

Just then, the bell chimed on the door and in walked Chad, Sutton, and JC. James had forgotten how attractive she'd thought JC was back years ago when she and her friends had met him backstage at an Nsync concert. Because Chad had been her best friend, he'd managed to score her four backstage passes at a concert in Atlanta. She hadn't been the biggest fan of the group, but her friends had and it had just been a fun thing to do.

"Hello, hello!" Chad said, as he walked up to the counter. Sutton immediately ran behind it to jump into James' arms.

"Hi, Mommy!" James picked Sutton up and kis

sed her cheek. "Mommy, that's Josh. He's staying with us, remember?"

James laughed softly, "Yes, baby girl, I remember." She turned to JC. "Hi, it's nice to meet you."

JC took her hand and shook it, "It's nice to meet you, too." he replied. "You've got a great place here."

"Thanks," James smiled. "It's been a fun thing to have here." She put Sutton down and the little girl ran from behind the counter back over to Chad and JC. "So, do you guys want anything? I just put some scones in the oven."

"A scone sounds lovely," Chad answered. "Josh, you want anything?"

JC looked up at the menu, which offered a variety of coffee, obviously, as well as different pastries, soups, and sandwiches. "How's the tomato bisque?"

"It's the most popular lunch item," James told him. "Want some?"

 
"Sure," JC went to get his wallet out, but James stopped him.

"Are you kidding? You don't have to pay. Friends and family discount," she winked at him. "Kaylie, can you please get a cup of tomato bisque for me?" Kaylie, who had been gawking the entire time at JC, shook herself out of her trance.

"Um, yeah. I can," she scurried over to the pot of soup next to the espresso machine and nervously dipped out a ladle of soup into a small soup cup. She brought it over to JC and before she could say anything, JC said, "So, you must be Kaylie."

Kaylie gasped. "H-how did you know?"

"I told him you were a big fan," Chad replied. 

Kaylie blushed. "I, um, er, I mean, yeah, yeah I am!" she cleared her throat nervously. "And I'm so sorry your show is canceled! I think it's so dumb that they wanna do game shows again or whatever. And I heard on Twitter this morning that Christina Aguilera is getting her own reality show. She is such a -"

"Thank you, Kaylie. That's enough," James shot a look at her. 

"Oh, I'm not upset. I mean, the show was great, but it's nice to be able to get away whenever I want now. Like I couldn't have come here if I was still doing the show. So it works out, you know?" JC smiled at Kaylie, who blushed even harder.  He turned to James and Chad. "Now, I'm gonna go sit and enjoy this soup that smells so good." He nodded at both of them and then went to retrieve a table by the window.

"I am so embarrassed!" Kaylie shrieked into her hands. "James, I'm so so so sorry! I don't know what got into me, I just-"

"It's okay," James patted Kaylie's shoulder. "But he'll probably be in here a few more times before he leaves. Just practice acting natural. And please don't insult other celebrities in front of him. I think he's friends with Christina Aguilera."

"No, not since she insulted one of his friends on The Voice-" Kaylie started to say, then saw the way that both Chad and James were looking at her. "Okay, yeah. I got it."