Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Serena Campbell opened her own coffee shop 6 months ago. Why? Because she loved coffee, it was her addiction. She was in her 30s and wondered why she was working a mundane job at a call center when she could do something that she loved. It wasn’t easy starting up the coffee shop, finding a location was the hardest part and finding staff to help run it was trickier than she thought. She was happy with the people she hired, except this blonde woman that started last week.

Bernie Wolfe desperately needed money. She needed to get out of her parents’ basement. She was 34, single and unemployed, some things needed to change. She applied for jobs at nearly every place that was hiring but never heard back. 2 weeks ago while she was walking down a new area of town she spotted a ‘help wanted’ sign and nearly ran inside to apply. She got the job immediately mainly because the place was short-staffed and really needed the extra help.

Serena learned her first lesson as a business owner, don’t hire someone to work at your coffee shop unless they have some experience. The woman she employed, Bernie, wasn’t what she had hoped. She thought that hiring a woman close to her age would be perfect. Bernie drank coffee and was eager to start right away. What Serena didn’t know was that Bernie had no experience with coffee machines. Sure, it was fancier than a standard machine, but it didn’t take a genius to run it. Bernie’s inexperience didn’t stop there, the poor woman was a mess.

Serena needed to let her go, but she just couldn’t because she felt sorry for her. But she also needed to keep her coffee shop afloat. It was her pride and joy and she put some much hard work into it that she couldn’t bear the thought of losing it so quickly. Something else had to be done.

One evening when the shop had closed, Serena decided to have a little talk with Bernie.

“I messed up a lot today. I’m so sorry,” Bernie sighed when she saw Serena walking towards her.

“You did. I think you just need some training. You’ve got potential and you’ve got more enthusiasm than any other worker,” Serena smiled.

“I do? I really need this job. I can’t live in my parents’ basement anymore,” she chuckled.

“Oooh yeah, you need to be here,” she replied. “I was going to go get a bite to eat, do you want to join me? I’d like to get to know you a little better since I’ll be the one to train you.”

Serena had no idea where that came from. If she was honest with herself, she did feel something with Bernie, but she just figured it was because they were close to the same age while everyone else was in their late teens or early 20s.

“Are you sure?” Bernie asked with a furrowed brow.

She didn’t know what to think. Yes, she needed this job but was it wise to go out to eat with your boss? Was Serena playing some game and instead of saying she was going to train her, she was going to fire her? Bernie had to be careful with her words. She did admit that she thought Serena was nice. She’s the nicest boss she’d ever had and the youngest. This was the first job that she enjoyed even though she made several mistakes during every shift.

Maybe Serena wasn’t just being a nice person. She cared about her shop and was proud of it, Bernie could see it in her eyes and in the way she ran it. Bernie guessed if she was going to continue working there, she would have to get her act together because the employees couldn’t continue picking up her messes and covering for her for much longer.

Bernie agreed to the dinner and the training. What was the worst that could happen with it? Maybe she would gain a friend in the end, she always needed more of those.

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Family

Family was so important to Bernie. Ever since she almost lost her wife and children in a car accident, she vowed to not let anything hurt them.

The night of the accident was one of the worst days of Bernie’s life. They were heading home from dinner at Bernie’s parents when a car T-boned them as they were going through a light. Serena’s side, the passenger side, was hit head-on which meant she suffered worse injuries than the rest.

Bernie sobbed as she sat by Serena’s hospital bed that evening. The emotions of not knowing if her Children’s’ head injuries were severe and if Serena was going to recover from internal bleeding overwhelmed her. At that moment, she prayed to whoever would listen to her to not take her family from her. She needed them more than they needed her.

A week after the accident, everyone was well enough to go home. Bernie couldn’t express how happy she was to be able to take her family home. Serena needed a little more time to recover, but Bernie was more than willing to do whatever she needed to feel better.

With the help of Bernie and the kids, Serena recovered completely. The crash frightened everyone in the Wolfe family, but it also brought them closer together and showed them that they were strong and could get through anything.

Taste

Serena had said that Bernie tasted like chocolate and honeycomb. It was said as Shiraz was flowing through her bloodstream, but she still meant it. Bernie was embarrassed to hear that remark but was curious to know if it was true.

The night Greta gave birth, Bernie & Serena spent the night in each other's arms getting reacquainted. 5 months apart was wreaking havoc on their erogenous zones, but they quickly solved that problem.

After several hours of kissing, tasting, moaning, and climaxing, the two women held onto each other and never wanted to let go.

“Okay, do my kisses still taste like chocolate and honeycomb?” the blonde asked to break the silence.

“Yes, and your juices taste like honey,” Serena purred into her ear that caused a shiver to run down Bernie’s spine.

“Kissing you tastes like bliss and your juices taste like heaven,” Bernie sighed.

“Bliss and heaven aren’t flavors, Wolfe,” she chuckled.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t describe the way you taste. Amazing. I don’t know,” she said and buried her head in Serena’s neck.

“Fine, I’ll let you have that.”

Bernie was honest, she couldn’t describe it, but she knew she never wanted to stop tasting her partner.

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Elinor died in January, during the cold months. It made Serena feel numb physically and emotionally.

When Spring finally rolled around, Bernie came up with the idea to plant symbolic flowers in Serena’s garden. She did a lot of research to figure out which ones would be the best and help Serena the most. Serena didn’t care for much of anything, which was a normal thing to experience during grief, but she loved flowers and she tried her best to feel happy about Bernie’s idea and was willing to help plant them.

Bernie kept the flowers a secret because she wanted the planting to be like a special ceremony for it one. She knew she wouldn’t be able to keep much from Serena because the woman knew more about flowers than Bernie, but it was still going to be special.

Bernie & Serena found the perfect spot in the garden for flowers, right outside the kitchen window where Serena would see whenever she was at the sink. In the mornings, the sun would hit them just right, making them shine.

The first set of flowers Bernie chose were daffodils, they were a symbol of new beginnings, a start to Serena’s new normal.

The second set were lilies, which symbolized loss. Serena had been through a lot of loss in the last 3 years; losing her mum and losing colleagues--not just to death but to other life opportunities--had been brutal on her.

The third and last set were gladiolus, they symbolized strength. For Serena to begin the healing process, she would need a lot of strength. Bernie knew she couldn’t give Serena all of the strength she needed, she would have to find her own deep down.

After the flowers were planted and watered, Serena stayed sitting there. She stared at them as if she was lost in a trance. Being in the garden and digging in the dirt brought back memories from when Elinor was little. The little girl would try to help Serena pull weeds and plant flowers, but would just fling dirt everywhere, covering herself and Serena with dirt. They would both laugh for several seconds before Elinor screamed because a worm had crawled on her.

Bernie hoped that these flowers would help Serena heal from the trauma and accept what life had thrown at her. They weren’t going to bring Elinor back, but maybe they would bring Serena some peace.