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
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