"you said I’m capable of so much more/than these people give me credit for/and I just need to show it”
Nicknames: Tia, T
Magic status: Mundus
Nationality: American
Ethnicity: Black (Half Jamaican)
Accent: British but has some Southern American slang sprinkled in
Height: 5′2″
Build: Short, curvy
Complexion: Dark brown
Eye color: Brown
Hair color/length/style: Long, box braids style, usually in a ponytail or sometimes a high bun if not down. Sometimes she’ll add beads or shells.
Tattoos/piercings/daily jewelry: She has her ears pierced and depending on the day she’ll wear hoops, big gold earrings, or just regular studs if she has to do a lot of cooking and running around. Also likes little gold jewelry (necklaces, bracelets)
What would you find if you Googled them? Tiana’s Place website and Squire article about Tiana’s Place, social media, has a cooking blog that she updates sporadically (Cooking With Tia)
What natives would know about them: Grew up in Swynlake, graduated Class of 2013 from Swynlake Secondary, used to work at Chippamunka and Remy’s
Other: Active member of Swynlake Cathedral and always helping with the fundraisers, usually walks around the restaurant and says hi to people, usually has a booth at town events like the Fall Festival or Farmer’s Market etc. Dated Cora Fenwick in summer/autumn of 2023.
Read the full timeline here!
"Yeah. It feels that way for me right now." Granted, the drama with the former Sheriff and things like that hadn't exactly been something she'd anticipated. But she was still happy to work where she did. Judy felt like she was really needed here. And that was a good feeling.
"I'm sure I could do good in other places too, but this place feels...special. I'm glad I can help here."
"It is special, yeah," Tiana agreed. "I know it's a bit woo-woo, but I think if you have a feeling like that, you gotta follow it. Probably means something."
She wouldn't have said so five years ago, when she'd first opened Tiana's Place. Back then, Tiana had been adamant that all life decisions should be made in a practical way. But a lot had happened since then. And now she was a little more open-minded.
It helped that Cass didn't have a go to order. If there was something on her menu, it was because she liked it. She'd learned how to build routine for herself in her business and her professional life, but it made it all the more necessary for her to change up what she ate and drank just to keep things interesting.
"Of course! It's a fun one." Coming over to that side, Cass quickly showed Tiana the way to pour in the tea and the flavoring, leaving more space at the top than you would guess. Then she pulled out the mixture of heavy cream, sweetener, and sea salt that she prepped throughout the day and poured a small batch into a cup. "And now, froth it up! I love the hand frother its fun to use. Once it's nice and thick and fluffy looking, scoop it onto the drink."
Tiana had also found she really liked the frother. It was just fun. It reminded her a little of one of her other favorite kitchen tools, the immersion blender.
"Can I try?" Tiana asked, picking up the little metal tool. "It is fun. And I could probably use the practice."
It all happened at the very last minute, flights booked and bags packed and passports tracked down. But nobody ever planned for a funeral to happen. You heard the news, you made arrangements, and you got there in time if you could.
Tiana, admittedly, did not know the deceased very well. It was her great aunt Anike, whom Tiana had maybe met when she was a baby and received Christmas cards from every year since. Great Aunt Anike had been too old and frail to travel even when Tiana was young, and Tiana was pretty sure she'd been close to a hundred when she'd died (apparently nobody really knew her exact age).
So, suffice it to say, she found Great Aunt Anike fascinating and wanted to know everything. When Mama started packing her bags up and explaining why she was going to New Orleans, Tiana insisted on coming with her.
"You're not going to know anyone there," Mama told her.
"Well, I'm gonna get to know them," Tiana replied, kneeling on her suitcase to get it to shut.
"You're not just coming with me because you're worried about me traveling on my own, are you?"
"What? No!"
"Because I'm not that old."
"I know, Mama," Tiana chuckled. She cheered when she got the suitcase shut. "I'm not opening that thing until we're on the other side of a ten-hour flight. So now I have to go."
May 1
According to the church ladies, Great Aunt Anike once danced with Louis Armstrong (or possibly a man who looked very much like him). She wore outlandish hats and hated cooking and snored like a freight train. The church ladies knew this because Great Aunt Anike was known to occasionally fall asleep if a service wasn't lively enough, which was motivation enough for the pastor to step up his game. In short, Great Aunt Anike was nothing like Tiana.
Tiana desperately wished she'd gotten a chance to talk to her, just once.
And though she laughed and begged for more stories as the plates of funeral sandwiches, Tiana was strangely quiet when they got back to the home of the cousins they were staying with.
"What's up with you?" Mama asked, finding Tiana on the porch of the shotgun house around dinner time.
Tiana smiled and set her phone down. "Nothin'," she said. "No one's answering their phone."
"Probably 'cause it's the middle of the night, Tia," Mama smirked, siting down in the other chair. "Really, though, you've been quiet. You okay?"
"Yeah," Tiana said, and then, sensing that her mother didn't really believe her, decided to elaborate. "I wish I could've met her, you know?"
"Ah." And then Mama went oddly quiet too. Tiana glanced at her. That was weird for her— Mama was always talking. "You know, I was thinking that too. Well, I knew her. But I wish I'd visited her more at the end. She couldn't travel, and I could never really find the time, and being here... it does remind me how much I missed."
"You think you'd ever come back here?"
Mama shook her head. "No. Your daddy wanted you to grow up in one place, in Swynlake, and that's home now."
"Okay, but... I'm grown up now, Mama," Tiana pointed out.
"You are, aren't you?"
And when Tiana met her mother's eyes again, she could see there were tears in them.
"Aw, Mama." And now Tiana was crying too.
"Don't get me wrong, I don't have any regrets!" Mama said quickly. "I love my friends in Swynlake. But it's different. I mean, being here, you don't realize how much you miss it until you're here."
"Yeah, I get that," Tiana said. "I'm serious, Mama. If you're thinking about it, you should think about it. I'm not a factor. I'll be okay. I'd come visit you all the time. In fact, I'd love an excuse to come down here more. Especially now that I'm not running the restaurant anymore, now I can."
"I'll think about it. Now stop nagging me." She smiled, though. Tiana reached over and squeezed her hand.
May 3
Saturday was their last full day in New Orleans— Sunday would be all travel. And Tiana knew exactly what she wanted to do.
BBQ Shrimp. Muffulettas. Gumbo. Beignets. Yes, lots of beignets.
She picked up a few souvenirs for her friends too, and American snacks and products for the Americans of Swynlake. But mostly, Tiana was here to eat. And there was nothing like it. She considered her own recipes pretty good, but this was the real deal, restaurants that had been standing a hundred years.
She was slowly making her way through the line of a famous bakery when someone called her name.
"Tiana? Is that you?"
Tiana's head whipped around and she had to do a double take. "Neen?!"
"What the hell, T? Why didn't you tell me you were gonna be in town?! Asshole!"
"I'm sorry, it was really last minute, I'm here for a funeral, I- fuck it!" Tiana launched herself at her former roommate, wrapping her tightly in a hug. "God, it is so good to see you!"
They stayed like that, jumping and squealing like they were students all over again, until finally Nina broke apart from her.
"Wait, did you say you were in town for a funeral?"
"Yeah, my great aunt. It's okay," Tiana said.
"Sorry, now I'm the asshole," Nina said apologetically.
"No, it's really okay. What are you doing here?"
"I live here. Remember?" Nina smiled, but Tiana could tell she was a little annoyed.
It was true, Tiana had fallen out of touch lately. Especially since the restaurant had closed down. Maybe a small part of her was embarrassed to tell her culinary school friend about that when, for so long, she had been their class's big star. A restauranteur at twenty-five.
"Sorry. Right. Yes," Tiana said quickly.
Tiana bought them both coffees and beignets, and they caught up. Nina was working as an instructor at a couples-cooking-class and some private chef work on the side, but mostly she was saving up to open her own place. The more Nina spoke about it, the more she seemed to shine with that glow of someone who was really excited about a project. Tiana remembered when she'd felt that way about Tiana's Place.
"I want to serve the stuff I grew up eating but in my own way," Nina said, her eyes blazing. "Like, traditional Ethiopian food, yeah, but put my own spin on it. I just need to figure out the business of it all."
"No, that sounds really cool. Text me any time. I will answer, I promise." Nina raised an eyebrow. "No, I mean it. I know I haven't been doing a good job of keeping in touch. But my life is a lot different now. And this is important to me. I wanna see you get to do your dream."
That was something Tiana was realizing, working with Cass. It was important to have a dream. But it was rewarding, sometimes, to be a part of other people's dreams too. If everyone only focused on their own success, their own dreams, nothing would ever get done. And she wanted this for Nina.
When she checked her phone again, there were a lot of messages this time. Shit had, apparently, hit the fan again in Swynlake.
Once Tiana had made sure everyone she knew was okay, she put her phone away again and went to find Mama. You never knew when things were about to change, Tiana reflected. And she didn't want to waste a minute.
"Well... I saw an opportunity to make more of a difference," Judy admitted. "My cousins are a great reason to be here too of course..." They just weren't the only reason she had chosen this. And she could be honest about it. "I... you know where I worked before they stuck me on parking meter duty and it's not... I mean I was glad to be working, but I know that I can do more than that. You know?"
"Ah. Yeah. Sometimes it's better to be the big fish in a little pond," Tiana mused.
Although, lately, she was feeling less that way. Being a big fish came with a lot of responsibility, a lot of eyes on you. It was harder to feel like you could make mistakes when you were the big fish.
"I me-mean sure. I d-did a test a few months ago... to see if any-anyone would want professional holiday c-c-cards done. That w-w-went okay. But... I do-don't know. I tend to see all the w-w-ways things can go wr-wrong," Finn admitted with a sigh. "B-But I know there are so-so many things I c-c-could do if I got the opportunity."
"Well, there are a lot of ways things can go wrong," Tiana said honestly. "But that's no reason not to do it. Especially in Swynlake. You can't live your life scared. Then you'd never do anything."
In retrospect, Tiana thought maybe she could have used a healthy dose of fear before going ahead and barrelling into opening a restaurant. She'd always been so sure she could do it as long as she'd worked hard, but so many problems had snuck up on her.
But Tiana didn't have any regrets. She couldn't. She'd learned a lot from all of that.
"No- but I love this house too. Gives me an amazing garden." Sure her job would be very attached to gardening no matter what, but she wanted something purely personal too.
"What are you thinking about doing if you're not staying here?" Enough about herself, Tiana was making huge moves.
Tiana shrugged, an only-slightly-panicked smile on her face. That was the big question.
"Moving in with my mama for now," Tiana said. "And after that... I don't know. Trying not to get too in my head about it and just... let the right thing find me."
That didn't mean, of course, that Tiana was going to wait around for an opportunity. But she'd spent the first thirty years of her life working relentlessly toward one thing.
What would it be like to take her time for once? Maybe she'd discover she wanted a whole new path. For the first time, Tiana was okay with that.
"Yeah..." Aurora didn't want to give it up. Not when she had built that garden from scratch. Not when this was their home full of memories. "Let's see if we can find someone first. Last resort is I move into the room above the shop."
It won't come to that, Aurora was sure of it. She could probably carry this place on her own.... Maybe
"Don't do anything that doesn't make sense just because I'm being stupid and sentimental," Tiana said quickly. She was usually so practical and clearheaded. What was with her lately? "It's fine, really. It's probably more convenient for you to live above the shop anyway. Cuts your commute down to, like, nothing."
That was a good note to have. Finn had good friends. He was sure that they would look out for him and try to help him. He was confident in that. And he'd rather work with people he loved than try to do everything on his own.
Finn nodded. "Those are re-really g-g-good pointers. Thank you. I.. I'm not afraid of w-w-working hard. I mo-mostly just do-don't know for sure if p-p-people are go-going to w-want what I have to offer. But I think it's a g-g-good idea."
"You don't know if people want what you have to offer? I mean, someone must have along the way, if you're doing this," Tiana pointed out. Maybe it was a little blunt, but she had a hard time really believing that. It sounded more to her like Finn was doubting himself.
Luisa's smile wavered. Why wouldn't they tell her something important like that? Didn't they want to reassure her that she'd see her family again? That would be the first thing that would come up once this matter was brought to the rest of the Madrigals.
But if there was one thing she'd learned on the job is that nobles worked with completely different rules.
But the smile returned, softer this time, as she said, "I would miss you too. I really like this job. Don't think I would enjoy being reassigned to someone else."
There was something in Luisa's smile that made Tiana feel like maybe she'd said too much. That if she wasn't careful, she'd spill how she really felt— like Luisa was a much better companion to her than Prince Jeremiah could ever be.
"Luisa..."
TOOOT TOOT TA TOOOOT!
Before Tiana had a chance even to say the wrong thing, a cavalcade came galloping down the path, a curiously small carriage in tow. Tiana sighed. "I suppose that will be the prince, back from his afternoon splash," she said. "I should be getting back."
It was evident on her face there was nothing she wanted to do less.
Tiana's expression turned somber at that. Aurora moving out of here too. This house empty for the first time in five years, or maybe home to another little group of roommates, another little family.
"Wow. That's... a weird thought," Tiana said. "I mean, you should do what makes sense for you. If I'm not gonna be living here anymore... it's just weird to think of this place going to someone else, you know?"
"Yeah, I think I do. I feel like I can make better connections with the people I serve here too," Judy replied with a smile. "I do miss Toronto of course. That's still my home but... it's been really nice to get a feel of Swynlake better. When I used to come during the summers uh...." Judy wrinkled her nose. "I was not exactly eager to come. I was so fixated on wanting to become an officer I didn't want to visit."
Here he was, in a beautiful house that he and his wife (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) had just bought, with his closest friends, loading up their lives together.
He had a stack of boxes and he turned into the room —
And then immediately turned 90 degrees on his heel to place the boxes where Vixey directed him.
“Oh — Jun, over here! This group’s in the corner of the living room.”
Was there anything more miserable and annoying than helping your friends move?
Yes, okay, there were. But in the moment, as Jun huffed and puffed and grunted and his arms ached underneath the box he hauled through the door, he did not think so! Bah, he wished he had come up for some excuse for today. Tomorrow, he'd pay for this too, his whole back would ache - didn't he get enough of that, working on his feet all day at the market, lifting things here and there?!
(To be clear, Jun would have never actually made an excuse. Helping friends move was a duty he took seriously, if he complained every step of the way.)
"What is even in this thing?!" he griped. "Ach! My back!" With another huff, he finally set the thing down, then gave his back a good old crack!
Tiana brought up the rear, carrying a considerably-less-heavy though still-cumbersome bundle of Al's framed posters. "Where do you want this?" Tiana asked, and then she saw Jun looking like he was in need of a chiropractor or something. "Is Jun okay?"
Of course she did, it's what she had to do to survive. A day with bad tips could mean a day she was going without dinner.
But the UK didn't do the whole "tip" thing. She got a (semi) livable wage here. It didn't matter how good or bad she did her job, her pay would turn out the same anyway. It wasn't like she was vying for a promotion or a manager position.
She didn't completely shirk off her work, she liked Cass too much for that, but she was certainly meandering through the day, taking her time with people's orders and checking her phone under the counter.
Unfortunately for her, she was surrounded by busy-bodies who seemed to have something to prove. This latest one was especially bossy, having already come from the restaurant industry. When she called out an order, Angel replied with monotone boredom, "Yeah, working on the drink now, just give me a sec."
Tiana did not think Angel worked hard. And that annoyed Tiana, who was always extremely on. Yes, she did see Angel checking her phone under the counter throughout the day.
And there was the proof! Zero urgency! "Okay, I have another coming in a second, so maybe be a little speedier with it!" Tiana called. She turned her attention back to the customer to ring them up.
