Was that English mystery for ‘tea’ down the wrong side a side street

 

      In the end, Faun did wind up in Grant’s….

 it’s best not to get ahead of things, certainly, but, with the amount of chaos two teenaged girls can create and having to unknot the damage —an overcharge that was fixed with a refund for six thousand dollars; a complaint from someone in Berlin Germany for a phone call about a book they didn’t order that woke them in the middle of the night (Jennifer was still not getting the dialing sequence must be cleared by hanging up the receiver, not by pushing the red light) —and a few confusing issues they seemed to be having with ….money—as in the physical kind. So, their total disregard for safe keeping the cash went right over their heads. Several times Faun had found the cash register drawer left open so….

By the time the mothers —Paula and Pamela of Jessica and Jennifer (respectively) came to collect the girls (Jessica at 6:03, Jennifer at 6:07) 

when Grant found Faun in the cash office counting down the drawer—and having problems making it balance with the estimated cash deposite ….

he found her looking disheveled with the frustration of the task in front of her; her glasses askew on her face and her hair standing up in places where it looked like she had pulled at it in a kind of frustrated fit, juxtaposing the teal colored tweed skirt and matching suit jacket otherwise smart ensemble, contrasted by a cream colored satin blouse that had a long ribboned tie and pearl buttons. 

Her little ballet pumps with the big buttons, he noticed, were kicked off by feet, outlined in opaque black tights 

“You look like you could use a drink,” Grant said as he, after the fact, tapped lightly in the door as if meant as a knock 

Faun looked up,

“Oh do you have one?” as she looked hopefully for this possibility 

Grant laughed,

“I know where Arthur hid his sherry but I was thinking more along the lines of going somewhere—would you eat fish? There’s a place I read about….”

Faun stared at him for a moment. She was still adding and subtracting in her mind. 

And wasn’t there something she was supposed to …. make him suffer for …. a little longer?

“Ummm—but—oh! My wall!” as it hit her just then what it was she had meant to be asking about 

Grant went over to the desk where she was, took all the cash and put it in an envelope—

“No wait—that’s not the deposit—that has the base fund; I can’t make it balance—“ she was saying as he was still removing the cash from her fingers

“You need to get out of here, I think,” he said this as he placed the cash and the till into the antique safe and quickly shut it.

He turned and looked for her coat, recognizing the dark green adirondak coat,

“Let’s go,” he said slipping a hand under each of her arm pits, and while holding her coat, pulled her up from the chair, “the deposit can wait—I’ll clear it with the boss, so, don’t worry.”

The sea food place Grant had read about seemed to be very good; it had a waiting cue. But Grant insisted they wait and order drinks. Faun would be willing to swear it was a margarita. At least the first one was. And she would be willing to swear the seafood was probably amazing.

What were they talking about?

The Bishops….the shop….his childhood, where he grew up….he made her laugh at things he talked about….

It was just a bit hazy. Except for his eyes—as she could not look at anything else as they sat at the table….and what he said….everything he said….and for the first time in forever, she forgot to be self conscious and relaxed next to him

There was that moment after the paying of the check when Grant was helping her on with her coat

“Oh no….” Grant suddenly had said as they headed out towards the door to go and now —watching how often Faun paused to study the textures of the wallpaper 

“Hmmm….?” she was, at that point running her fingers over the velvety texture as she walked and humming to herself 

“You can’t drive,” he said 

His meaning wasn’t clear until they were outside.

“It’s so hazy out,” but she was squinting and then dropped the car keys in the little snow drift by the car door. “Shit.” And fell down on top of the drift. 

It was when she decided she felt comfortable there that when Grant leaned over her and said,

“give me the keys,” the other thing he said finally made sense 

After that 

It was awhile in the car. How long was she staring at the glove compartment? And still in the restaurant’s parking lot.

Finally she thought to look at Grant. He seemed to be having a personal conversation with himself. The tequila was making it harder for her to grasp most of it—or was it the translation? 

“Key…”he said under his breath and looked from the key to the areas of the antiquated steering wheel and dashboard. He tapped the spot when he located it with the key—but was not in a hurry to insert it. He let out a breath. “Right side….” he said aloud. Then looked at the key again. Another deep breath. “Two lanes —yellow lines….how do you turn right?”

“It’s two left turns,” Faun suddenly said

“Sorry?”

“Going back,” she clarified, “I mean from here.”

“Oh….that’s even better….”

But Faun did not remember the journey back.   

There was a moment she heard that terrifying sound of car horns being blown as they drove by some cars and someone yelled something that sounded like,

“pick a fucking lane—your other left asshole!!”

but it made sense with her dream somehow—so,

 it wasn’t until she was dumped actually into his bed       —quite similar as she had been the last time, as a matter of fact 

Side street bookshop girls first day scene cont

Sheila reappeared, emerging from the the stacks from her favorite genre,

“Well you told him,” she said watching Faun's face

“Huh?—who?” Faun asked her

Sheila rolled her eyes,

“mister artful dodger, isn’t he the nephew?”

Faun felt her face burn and stared mutely back at her

Finally Sheila said,

“Oh, don’t play dumb—I’ve been watching you guys for weeks but, don’t let me interrupt your orientation with our new employees—this should be interesting. Well, if you need me, you know where to find me.”

Deciding not to give much pause over that, Faun marched in the direction of the cafe 

~a bit later on~

Seeing as they had conquered the espresso machine, Faun decided after a store tour— that it was the right time for a few basics.

She waved Jessica and Jennifer to follow her behind the cash register area

“So,” Faun looked at both of them, “pop quiz—can either of you tell me what this is?”

The two girls, dressed similarly to each other wearing the latest trend in jeans with retro 90’s band name sweatshirts 

“Uhhh….” Jennifer stared 

Faun was pointing to the store phone 

“Oh! I know—my grandmother has one of those! It’s an adding machine—right?—no wait—I mean a calculator! See these are the numbers you press….” Jessica stopped  herself now wondering why there was no screen

“Actually, that is the store’s phone which you will be answering and so let me demonstrate,” Faun took her mobile phone out from where she had placed it in the cash area desk drawer, “I’ll call the store and one of you answer— ok?”

The two girls looked at each other as though they were terrified 

“What do you press?” Jennifer asked as it started to ring 

and it was about then when Faun realized that it would be awhile before they got to books.

Especially when, soon after this part of the training session someone came in with a donation of a complete set of the encyclopedia Britannia; copyright 1928 in mint condition

Jessica said,

“I’ve seen these before at the library—they’re like a Wikipedia but it’s on paper.”

So for a moment Jennifer just stared at the volumes where they had been placed neatly on the counter where the donator had dropped them off

“But—how does it update?” Jennifer finally asked 

This was about when Grant reappeared looking that way he looked when he woke up with that sleepy face. A much needed interruption from the time warp generation gap. The way he looked now made her remember their night together and caused her body to react from the memory 

“how are things going?”

“Well….” she shrugged “well….”

“So—was that a yes before about sharing my bed?” he asked, leaning to say this into her ear, “to be neighborly and all —I promise, like before—a perfect gentleman,” he said 

But it was because the shop’s phone rang, and with a look from Faun to the girls, it was Jennifer who picked up the receiver,

“Uhhh…hello….?”

Faun cleared her thrust, glanced up at Grant,

“I’ll get back to you—excuse me,” as she reached for the phone receiver from Jennifer’s hand, and said into the mouthpiece, “Side Street Book Shop.”

if walls could talk or text down a Side street

 

Faun didn’t have the chance to properly reply to Grant because Jessica and Jennifer arrived, bursting through the bookshop’s glass-windowed doors with excited enthusiasm. 

“Uhh….”was all Faun could say, glancing up at Grant and ….it was at that moment that froze for awhile between them then ….when ….he noticed that glimmer of helpless terror fleetingly cross her face—what was that? he wondered….because it was quickly gone with a quick, perhaps —forced— laugh as she said under her breath, instead to Grant, as if to make light of the moment, “remind me not to give them sugar and maybe we should skip the coffee today!”

“Too late,” Grant then said as he nodded towards where they made for, like a bee-line as—already they had the espresso machine going 

“Shit!” she whispered and without another pause ran over, “wait! let me teach you first how it works!” 

But clearly, they had watched her plenty of times by now that —Faun noticed they knew what to do so, then just shrugged and let them. 

“Quick studies,” Grant said as he had by now caught up with her and placed one hand on her arm, “well, I’ll let you get to it, then—I’ve got work in Arthur’s office—I’ll meet you after….”he started to turn as if to go just then but paused, “I’d meant to call but—it was rude of me not to, I’m sorry and there’s no excuse except that between the building renovation to repair your wall —and the funerals and the law….”

“Wait, did you say—repair my wall?” Faun asked, even as she slowly rewound his other words and weighed it in her mind whether or not to forgive him so easily or make him suffer but—the Bishops’ faces loomed in her mind, guilting her thoughts 

“Oh—yeah—right—you don’t know ….”he winced just then and scratched his sable-brown, bearded chin thoughtfully and looked around to see who was nearby. 

There were a few shoppers in the next section looking at the shop’s packaged signature coffee and gossiping about the shop owners’ mysterious deaths. 

Their voices carried over as one said, “I heard it was carbon monoxide!”

Grant absently touched her elbow through the grey cashmere turtle neck she wore, as he thought over what to say,

“erm—whilst it was not just the alarms that had to be installed —as it turned out ….well—it is almost complete and it’s a good thing that it was taken care of straight away —“

Most of what he said she could not understand because he was speaking rather fast —as he was trying to decide on how to tell her….

“What are you talking about?”Faun asked him finding herself lost 

“I’ll tell you later—“ he started to leave and walk away but she grabbed hold of his coat sleeve, and the sheer force of her action caused her to swing into him, as he caught her from colliding into him headfirst

“No—wait—so, does that mean I still have to stay at the inn?”she asked looking up at him and trying not to let herself be ….drawn in by his lush, spring meadow eyes and ….so she forced herself to just —hold her breath —as he caught her from colliding into him headfirst

with hardly a beat, he said,

“I’m told it’s to be completed by tomorrow but—there is more than enough room in my bed, perhaps I should have said so before….” and for half a second it looked as if he was about to kiss her. So close was his face to hers. 

Until the sound of breaking ceramic from the cafe area broke the mood  

“I think you may have your hands full here,” Grant winked at Faun and did a slight wave, “I’ll see you later.”

“But —what happened to my ….wall?” she asked more to herself as he was by now, too far from her to hear 

looking for a Side Street Sign

 

faun had been staying at the local inn; the cops put her up there while they investigated her bedroom and then ….they’d spoken to Grant about installing an alarm system 

Grant. 

Well, who else could the cops think to ask as he was the nearest thing to a relative or a legal responsible party. 

Anyway, that had been their last conversation and it was in front of the cops. And. Hardly romantic. 

There was a lot to do, anyway. So, every time she felt that heavy sense of loss, something came up. 

The inn helped; another impersonal place to be; a great escape from the self. That is the best part of leaving any place, the best part of finding somewhere else to go that has zero memories attached to it. 

At the shop there were so many customers. Or they were mostly curious about what happened to the Bishops. It even caused the local tv station news show to turn up and do an impromptu interview with Faun on the spot. But she had done that before anyway, for previous jobs, so, it was like automatic pilot for her on what to say….at least about politics and books….suspicious deaths of the well known local shop owners? Who were the suspects? Good thing she went with the somber black turtle neck and the serious long grey skirt with high boots that day.

Of course Pierre Reaux made another appearance. Officer Sullivan called him when they were dusting her bedroom.

****

And now standing in the middle of the bookshop’s first floor behind the cash register area, gazing out towards the windows that were the views of the street side. The shop, you see, was off a side street of the Main Street of town. So, often there were people passing by; kids going to or leaving from school; some people walking dogs, or there would be the postal delivery person; passing cars or trucks would go by intermittently 

It had been several days at the inn. And the impersonal sense forced her to go about her days like a robot. When she got to the shop, each day had been a day of catch up—and with the excitement of the town being so present every day there, she was so busy occupied talking to curious people that the moments in between she had to straighten the books; put things away; clean the shop and balance the daily funds (the owners deaths were very profitable for their shop) before running to drop the deposit in the evening…. 

So by the time it was time to drive herself towards the inn ….and wonder when she last ate….and what there was to find to eat anywhere ….each night became an exhausted affair of sunflower seed butter and apples, as she soaked in the bathtub listening to Buddhist meditational music from her phone, before crawling into one of the two giant beds the impersonal but beautiful room the inn was furnished with. And the slick warm colored walls (ochre with a few abstract paintings) echoed. 

The girls (Jessica snd Jennifer) would be on their way soon, Faun noted the time on her watch, aware of how the sun light was dimming on the street. The girls’ mothers had signed the consent forms and both came in at separate times to drop off the slips, as the two mothers seemed to not like the other but the two were both almost indistinguishable from the other. 

Already exhausted as it was Friday, now of a long month of this— so, Faun was looking forward to the idea of having the girls to take the pressure off her feet—and do some catch up with her own life…. at least for a day and a half ….finally one day to do laundry; something to look forward to ….

So, as she stood there, she thought about this ….and decided she needed another day off.

It took less than five minutes to get the sign set up once she found something to write it on. She wrote “New Shop Hours: Monday-Saturday 10-6, closed Sunday”

But she only had it up about less than five seconds when someone came walking in and tore it off the door where she had stuck it

“Now, that’s not happening!” the culprit exclaimed 

“Sheila!” Faun gasped 

“I’m sorry, Faun, but you cannot be closed on Sunday—any other day, but not Sunday!”

Sheila was a regular. A six foot two lovely and striking trans woman who had an astrological clientele that often met her at the shop. By now, Faun had noticed that Sheila was practically a fixture at the shop; the back table was where Sheila conducted her business, and obviously considered/assumed Sheila’s domain as she was so often planted there among piles of astrology books and papers —and usually left neatly behind awaiting her pending return.

But Faun was at this point just too worn out to take her on and could only limply shrug,

“I have the girls starting tonight, and tomorrow—but it’s just me every other day here —I just need another day off, Sheila!” she tried to appeal reasonably

“Sunday is the only day when Gary leaves me the car—well, besides Saturday but Saturday is mostly shopping—but Sunday is my only day! You can’t do this to me, Faun!”

That was when ….she looked up and saw Grant walking across the street. Looking smart in his winter coat ….

“What?” she whispered looking up at Sheila

“You can’t close on Sunday’s!”

Faun moved to turn away from the door so as not to seem to notice ….as she did notice ….that he was walking to the shop’s door 

Why now? Where had he been all week? Why had he not said hello since the last message she left him days ago….

“I just need that day to be able to come here and not have to worry about meeting Gary when he comes to pick me up here—I mean….”

Sheila glanced at the man who walked in and then back at Faun,

“so—here’s an idea, why don’t I work your Sundays from now on?”

That was the moment Grant stood in front of Faun with the cash register counter between them with Shiela leaning on the counter casually watching the both of them 

Grant—with the decency to look sheepish— looked from Sheila to Faun and then smiled,

“I think that’s an excellent idea —then I could ask you to see a film with me Sunday—erm— unless Saturday works better.”

hit and run down a side st

 

She found that his silences made her sad

she had not heard from him since the other day —the day after ….and a lot of things had happened that day —but….

and she berated herself for feeling this way….how his silences made her sad….this was just something she never encountered before that sense of loss of —being locked out; ostracized and why should she care? who was he to her anyway? and it served her right that she learned the same lesson again for ….falling for all the things he claimed to promise ….she was exhausted of being a dumb pawn object to some guy who really didn’t care about her

it felt like a rock in her stomach ….the sad feeling of betrayal ….why didn’t he call?—send a message? after everything, she deserved some acknowledgment ….but as the busy days at the shop followed, 

   And the new strange evidence that they had missed due to witches brew 

What strange evidence, indeed. As it had happened Faun had said that next morning, rushing to get ready for the shop, leaving his bed,

“how embarrassing! I’m sure you and our cop friend had a good laugh over how my bedroom looked? All my underwear everywhere—I was in such a hurry!—I overslept, you see—so that’s why my clothes are all over the floor like that! I usually make my bed too.”

Grant had looked at her blankly for a moment. 

As she noticed that his morning sleepy face was so appealing; his bed head hair a sexy mess that it made her want to ignore facing the day outside and just stay here in bed with him. 

“What?” she had missed what he said—was it the accent or her thoughts?

“I said, don’t be silly— that your room looks very tidy—the bed was made, as it happens, it looked like a hotel, to be honest—that’s what Officer Sullivan said anyway.”

“What?” she just had her arms back through the burgundy dress to go back downstairs and then back up to her own room next door to get ready for a day at the shop 

Grant looked blankly back at her,

“which part?”

“I didn’t make my bed,” she said this like someone trying to reassure the other person that they were not insane 

“What?—you….but no—we saw—it was—because it even had the hotel edges—that’s why he commented, we were impressed at your bed making skills.”

“Shut up!” she blurted this out. It was just insane what he was saying. Clearly he was teasing, ‘having her on’ as he’d say ….she looked at him sideways, “are you teasing me?”

“About….?”

With arms still half pulled through the dress, she systematically collected her strewn belongings as she walked to and through his bedroom door, down the stairs, through the kitchen doorway(still left ajar) and then up her stairs to her bedroom.

She stood outside her bedroom door. She stared into the room. After a few moments she walked to her antique and battered up Victorian dresser with the layers of paint peeling away; now pink; now blue; now gold; now white….and in three neat stacks done with professionally laundry style attention to care, were all the clothes she had left in rejected piles on the floor!

She remembered this vividly ….and she didn’t know how to fold that way …..

Someone had been there

If that didn’t give it away, who was there decided to leave a calling card —across the pillow lay one of her camisoles; this one black lace with tiny satin ribbons 

a private investigation exploration Undercover on the side st

Suffice it to say—something did happen between them. 

King Leopold soon craved his bone and left them, eventually settled by the door of Grant’s bedroom and fell asleep there. 

And maybe it was the warmth of the room or the sudden absence of warmth from the departure of the regal canine’s chaperoning body —she moved toward Grant in sleep, seeking his warm body, and then, so close against him there, her back spooning up against him, she fall back asleep. In her sleep she was dreaming about being tangled in a giant spider web and turned instinctively into the curve of his arms as she slept. And because it felt so good, eventually she turned to face him while she was sleeping ….it seemed in a hazy, round about place in her mind about then that she might be over dressed in her burgundy dress, as it caught her up in it tangling her legs and trapped her so when he said,

“here, let me help you,” against her ear

in her sleepy mind, it was perfect timing to be rescued ….and after the zip down, he pulled it all over her head in one vast move, released her, “here, and this,” he said releasing the hooks behind her

In her sleepy mind, it slowly dawned upon her, 

            this part wasn’t the dream….

moving into the warmth of him —and it was some time after dawn when this private investigation, exploration was momentarily satisfied 

dog eared comic sutra

 

He had promised to be a gentleman. 

And for a moment he did think about having said this even as he was confident of his ability to withstand any great and off-limits temptations ….but this was not really the issue at the moment as ….as Halloween drew to a close with the departure of Aunt Fiona and Arthur ….here he found himself a stranger in a strange land and having to figure out what should happen next with all the legal details ….that Faun was there —it seemed something the Bishops might have done —getting themselves killed even if it got them together ….Aunt Fiona secretly loved her romance novels —he’d recently found her secret horde of Barbara Cartlands and there had been one she had beside her on the bedside table when he —found her

This was hardly a bad incidental outcome and he thought about how Faun looked earlier that day as he was watching her at the shop. 

So….no. The idea of being alone on a creepy night —with ….someone ….who just happened to be the person who had caught his eye ….days before they had met, actually—was not a bad unexpected development. He had seen her from Arthur’s window as she was leaving after an afternoon tea with Fiona. He had been with Arthur in his office, going over ledgers and ….computer files ….but who was she —?had been on his mind just days before they met. And they had told him about her when he finally got to ask—which was only the day before ….the carbon monoxide poisoning 

The gruesome memory of finding his aunt —now made it clear why …. why should this attraction be so strong now with events going on now?—the connection he felt with her; their odd timing —how they always did things at the exact same times —or spoke, sometimes it was like they’d identify too close to the other’s move ending up walking into the other, like senses hyper aware of the other’s….every move

But she lay at present, like dead weight. Staring up into space. As though utterly spaced out. As if the mattress had sucked her into it. Her limbs felt they weighed a ton. The ceiling …..

“The constellations ….” she said looking up at the slanted ceiling and above where she now recognized the plastic pieces that were green, phosphorescent and star-shaped were all grouped like the Milky Way which had to be another Grant trademark thing that —made her at war with her now tangled burgundy dress because this new exposed detail about him made her body crave him more than ever, and so she pressed herself to him as she moved over him to press herself to him there

He said,

“yes.” 

But to what was he answering?

And moving her into a better angle whilst solving the dress malfunction, he bit her neck and said into her ear,

“I keep my word ….just to cuddle—as a gentleman….” even as his hand pressed the backside of her burgundy dress, and flattened his hand as he moved it lower, suggesting otherwise, “or king Leopold will have me sent to the dungeons….”

And that is why another, with perfect timing, by the namesake, made his presence known 

with a round of invading barks and an unceremonious and very clumsy, earth-quaking jump onto the bed 

what’s to come with that brew? on the side st

 

And so, it was due to the Witch’s Brew that had the effect of putting a soft fringe around the reality of life as seen through the burgundy color; alizarin crimson 

as he ascended the stairs, she had almost forgot all the wild events of the last few days. It was something about his scent and the textures of him; how she couldn’t help herself from putting her hands on him; in his hair and fingers running down his face, the sharpness against her fingertips as she felt along his jaw, she was drawn to touch him everywhere at once, like an innate subtle craving

She stopped thinking —when ever ….he was near her. And as soon as she could sense his thoughts when he looked at her that way he had. He had such a look about him, and that was usually enough to make her mind go to putty….the day?—a murder?—or two?—some intruder?….but he could make it all disappear 

And when they reached upstairs to his room —it smelled like him, not in a bad way, but besides his scent, it felt clear his presence lived there; was it something in the slant of the roof above the wood framed bed that had no headboard? Or….. the wall against it which was exposed red brick and where there was a kind of Mexican blanket nailed above where a headboard would be —and this had brown and red designs, like the brick behind it. 

The colors were all dark shades in there. The other wall was painted a lush, dark rich brown that went with the colors of the rag rugs on the floor, as well as the antique quilts on the bed; no doubt from one of Arthur’s finds.

It was like stepping into another dimension—beyond the trappings, those other things laying about that were clearly Grant trademark of him —she had come to pick up on him, about him. 

It was too dark to see whatever he moved around to quickly remove from sight but she was looking, instead at the colorful boxers (Pokémon) that had not made it into the thing posing as a laundry basket, but it was the strewn video games and the array of junk food evidence which were left in odd places, even as it was otherwise, fairly neat —but it was this which strangely burned into her senses. In fact, she found herself drawn to the spot upon the bed he clearly favored as the outline impression of his head was still in the pillow there, so when he dropped her there, her face fell into it and witch’sbrew, be damed, she inhaled it. 

It was something inexplicable but there about him—and it was this very thing that she became aware of now, freed of all reserve and previous reservations. What were they about agsin? She couldn’t remember, and slinking and coiling into his scent filled sheets, she undulated, unaware as she did —as the brew hit that ….other level