Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

Khaat had gone into Sparks early on a Saturday morning. It was an overcast, chilly Autumn day. Khaat had worn a pair of dress jeans, a deerskin blazer, her boots, and a plaid cotton shirt in blue, red, white, and green.

She had arrived at about the time that Lizzie, her cook, did, and together they turned out a whole new list of pumpkin favorites to add to the breakfast menu. Her customers were getting into the hang of fall, and so Khaat and Lizzie had decided to give in to their requests and add some new seasonal offerings.

Pumpkin waffles with a creamcheese toping. Pumpkin scones and muffins, and of course, the new Sparks favorite, Pumpkin Spice tea. Since she had introduced it, the tea had been so heavily demanded, they had to constantly be brewing a pot. She had even been playing with a recipe for Hot Spiced Pumpkin Juice for the kids. Her regulars were delighted.

The place filled up early on Saturday mornings, and today was no different. Her servers were pratically flying, delivering orders as fast as Lizzie could turn them out. Khaat had expanded the dining room twice already this morning. It was one of the busiest mornings the bistro had ever had. When she was sure that things were running along at a smooth and pleasant buzz, she took her cup of french roast and sat at an empty table near the kitchen and decided to take a break. It was barely 9, and she had put in several hours' work already. She was starting to realize that she might be hungry herself.

Khaat noticed an old schoolmate come in. She hadn't seen Luna for ages. She had always liked Luna and her gentle spirit. Her ecentricity back then didn't bother Khaat a bit. Khaat took time out to get up and go speak to her.

"Luna? Is that you?" Khaat asked. "I havent' seen you in ages. How are you? Oh, and have the servers taken your order yet?" The last thing she wanted was for any of her friends to go unattended. She was anxious to hear about Luna and what had become of her since they left Hogwarts. Khaat had been gone for so long that she found it hard to find her old Hogwarts mates.

It seemed odd that she hadn't been back in the area not more than a year herself and here she had so many changes in her life. Not to mention the fact that she had two babies, a soon to be ex-husband, a new boyfriend, and...well, so very much. She had come back here, virtually unknown, and now, she often had to hide away if she didn't want to be recognized. How time could change things! But Luna looked untouched by tiime, and it appeared things might have gone well for her.

"I'll take your order then," she said. "Our pumpkin spice tea is all the rage right now. I think you'd like it. And how about breakfast? We have all the standard breakfast dishes." She handed Luna a menu. "And we have a full line of all sorts of breakffast pastries. The scones are wondeful. I love the scones, no matter what flavor they are.

"I'm good," she answered Luna's question. "I'm working one full time job and a part time. I own this place, but its more of an investment for me now. I just don't have the time to be here as much as I'd like. And I' have a daughter almost 6 months old. And an adoppted 16 year old daughter, and I'm the legal guardian of a couple of teenage boys. So, yeah. my calendar is always full. How about you? What are you doing these days?"

"Congratulations," she smiled. "Let me get that order for you and I'll be right back." She went and got a pair of cinnamon scones for her and honey butter, and then got her pumpkin spice tea. She delivered them back to her, with her own cup of French Roast coffee.

"My mother and father are back working again too. Mom own the art gallery and gift shop next door, and Dad helps me at St. Mungos. Oh..and he works at the ministry too." She wasn't going to push the fact that her father had just been made the Minister of Magic, but she was proud of him.

"I don't know if you remember Brian Quinn? He was a Gryffindor in our class. Well, I'm living with him right now. Him and my girls. Believe it or not, I have a granddaughter that's only 5 months. My adopted daughter had a baby, and well, the last I knew they were not allowing babies at Hogwarts, so I have custody of my granddaughter right now. It seems we always have kids around somehow, but I wouldn't have it any other way. So, are you working?"

"I'd like that. Thank you. I'm not surprised you've chosen to work with animals You always really shined with that. You'd like my mother. She talks with animals of all kinds, and my parents' barn is full of all sorts of magical creatures. She's always taking care of something or another. They have a hippogryff named Percy. He's a little hyperactive. They have a pair of unicorns--Zeus and Hera. They always have countless owls and somehow my mother got a weird litter of rainbow colored pygmy puffs. Now they're mass producing. Well, you know how they do that. My father is a bit irked because the things are everywhere in the barn now," she laughed. "Oh, and I have a bald eagle that does all my owl duties. His name is Archangel. You'd like him too. He's a great friend to me. Very loyal and protective."