Chapter 9
‘People are admiring your window,’ Mary says, shaking her umbrella in the doorway. ‘It’s a good job you painted it inside or it would’ve washed off with all this rain.’
‘I don’t suppose you saw anyone going in?’ I ask her from the till. Mary volunteered to do the milk run to the nearest supermarket on the outskirts of town and also popped up to peer around the corner and spy on Leo’s window for me. I’m manning the till on the shop floor, but it’s so wet outside that customers have been few and far between.
‘Well, no, but I was only out there for two minutes and it’s a horrible day. I’m sure people have gone in too.’
I sigh. I want this to work so badly for Leo’s sake. Not that I expected hordes of people to suddenly appear overnight, but even a slightly promising upswing in coffee buyers would’ve been nice.
‘That’s one heck of a trek,’ she says, shrugging her coat off and going into the back room to dump her supermarket carrier bag before coming back out and smoothing down her wiry grey hair. ‘I remember when that lovely greengrocer was only three shops down. And then that silly supermarket opened up and put him out of business.’
‘And then the street died and put the supermarket out of business itself. You can’t say fairer than karma.’ I give her a wink. ‘And you only remember the greengrocer because you were head over heels for him and he used to flirt with you when you went in to get our milk and teabags.’
‘I’m 73, Georgia. I don’t flirt.’
I laugh to let her know I’m only teasing.
‘He was much too young for me, anyway. I was old enough to be his mother!’
‘He was 65 if he was a day! Maybe a bit of a toyboy but no more than a couple of years younger than you. I think the only reason you’re still working here is because you live in the hope he’ll come back one day.’
‘I don’t think there’s any chance of that. Oakbarrow is no longer a street that anyone would come back to.’ She suddenly realizes that she didn’t deny it and shakes herself. ‘I mean, that is absolutely untrue. He was a friendly gentleman and nothing more, and I’m still working here because I live in the hope that things’ll pick up one day and Oakbarrow will go back to how it used to be. If you carry on like that, you’re not going to get the cup of tea I was just about to make us.’
I grin and put my head down on my arms and let out a long breath. The late night is definitely catching up with me, despite the extra strong coffee this morning. Some days I’m grateful for the lack of customers because there’s no one to see me leaning on the counter and considering a nap at the till.
Instead of going to make the promised tea, Mary comes to stand next to me, her pink chenille jumper brushing my arm. ‘Speaking of flirting, why are you so worried about how many people are going into the coffee shop?’
‘Oh, I’m not, really. It’s doesn’t matter –’
The look she gives me is enough to stop me in my tracks. It’s that motherly, concerned look with a hint of fierceness that lets me know she will see right through me if I make something up.
‘It’s just supposed to get people into the Christmas spirit. It’s such a well-loved film, I thought it might inspire a bit of festive nostalgia in people, preferably over a coffee. Leo deserves better than this. I wanted the window to give people a reason to stop, rather than just rushing by without looking at anything but their phones in their hands.’
‘You know how quiet we are on rainy days ….’ Mary starts but she’s cut off by Casey.
‘George!’ Casey comes in from the back carrying two It’s A Wonderful Latte cups, which she plonks on the counter in front of me and Mary. ‘There’s been another Leo situation in the bank. He just came in looking for you. He brought us a tray of hot chocolates, two of which were definitely intended for you two.’
‘Oh God, what did he say? What did you tell him?’ I say, feeling my heart jump into my throat.
‘Relax. I told him you were on your break and offered to get you, but he said he couldn’t stop as they’re quite busy, and to tell you he’s looking forward to seeing you tonight. At which point, I nearly keeled over and died of shock because you’ve got a date. A date, George! Why didn’t you tell me first thing this morning? This is monumental news! This is “phone me in the middle of the night” kind of news! This is –’
‘It’s not a date.’
‘He’s single, you’re single, and you’re seeing him at night. Of course it’s a date.’
‘How do you happen to know he’s single, Case?’ I narrow my eyes at her.
‘I asked him, dumbcluck.’
‘Casey! You can’t just –’
‘Of course you can. Men need directness. They don’t understand subtlety. You need to walk up to a guy in a bar and say, “You’re hot, I want to sleep with you,” otherwise you’ll be arsing around all night with buying drinks and trying to spot wedding rings and that sort of nonsense. Straight up and to the point, that’s what works.’
‘Yeah, but firstly you’re a bombshell and you can get away with that sort of thing. I cannot. And secondly, Leo’s quiet and shy, he’d run a mile at that sort of approach, and thirdly, I don’t want to sleep with him.’
‘You painted that Bedford Falls scene in his window because you don’t fancy the pants off him and want to get into his bed?’
‘It’s nothing to do with that. He’s a lovely guy and he needs customers. I’m just trying to help.’
‘The man thinks you work in a bank,’ she says. ‘How does that help him?’
‘It’s complicated,’ I say for the millionth time. I’d probably be better off just telling her it’s all a ploy to seduce him. She’d be over the moon. ‘And you can’t just ask him about his relationship status, it’s –’
‘Oh, relax. It was last week when you made me go in and get a coffee at lunchtime. I also made sure he wasn’t gay, just to put your mind at ease. Also not divorced, no kids, no mother issues, no crazy exes, and no unhealthy fascinations with alien porn or otherwise. You’re welcome.’
Mary chokes on her hot chocolate. ‘I’m not sure that’s something he’d admit to a complete stranger in a public place.’
‘Desperate times, desperate measures. It’s been so long since Georgia’s had a date that even alien porn is no longer a deal breaker.’
‘Oi! It’s not been that long!’
‘Oh, please. Last time you had a date, there were still dinosaurs roaming the earth and people went around shouting “yabba dabba doo” a lot.’
In all fairness to her, she’s not exaggerating that much. It has been a while. ‘I’m not interested in one-night stands. I want to fall in love. The guys that you try to introduce me to only want to fall as far as the nearest bed.’
‘Actually most of them are complete exhibitionists and would happily do it in the car park,’ Casey says with a wink.
‘Oh my goodness, you young people,’ Mary fans a hand in front of her face, blushing. ‘I’m glad there are no customers to overhear this.’
‘It’s all beside the point anyway because I’m not going on a date. I’m only seeing him to paint the next window.’
Casey’s forehead screws up in concentration. ‘What’s that a euphemism for?’
‘You have a one-track mind when it comes to men,’ I tell her fondly.
‘Ah, you’re no fun.’ She taps her hands on the counter like I’m a lost cause. ‘Why does Mr Coffee Apron think we all like hot chocolate, anyway?’
‘Because he’s the most kind and thoughtful guy anywhere.’ I smile involuntarily as I explain about getting hot chocolates for Mary and the volunteers the other morning and Leo being attentive enough to remember and think I meant my bank colleagues.
‘Yeah, well, on your date tonight, tell him I don’t like hot chocolate and next time he can bring coffee. Just plain strong coffee, none of that festive rubbish.’
‘How about I tell him to stop being so generous and bringing free hot drinks to people who don�
�t appreciate them? And that “festive rubbish” is the best thing you’ll taste all week if you’d give it a try.’
‘Snog him and I’ll buy one every day for a month.’
‘I don’t want to snog him.’
‘George, we’ve been friends since school. I know when you’re lying.’
I roll my eyes because I actually wouldn’t be opposed to snogging him but she’ll never let it drop if I admit it.
‘He wants to snog you anyway. Didn’t he ask you out once?’
‘What?’ I say in confusion. ‘Leo has never asked me out. Trust me, I’d remember.’
‘Yes, he did. You dragged me in for a coffee one Friday morning and he was talking about some play that was on in Gloucester and then he asked you what you were doing at the weekend.’
‘I remember, Case, but the two things were not connected.’
‘Of course they bloody were. You said you were working and he looked heartbroken. If you’d given him a more open-ended answer, his next sentence would’ve been to ask if you wanted to go and see it with him. I just thought you didn’t like him so I didn’t prod you about it.’
‘All the blokes you snog have stuck their tongues in the wrong hole and scrambled your brains. He was just being his usual friendly, conversational self. Believe me, if Leo had asked me on a date to the surface of the sun, I would’ve jumped at the chance.’
She shrugs. ‘You’ve been single for so long that your dating handbooks are probably written on cave walls. You don’t understand modern men.’
‘He knows I work Saturdays, so he always asks me what I’m doing on Sundays. Whenever I say “nothing”, he doesn’t ask me out.’
‘Well, no, obviously he doesn’t now. He thinks you’re not interested, you rejected him.’
I shake my head, losing patience because of how much I wish she was right, but she absolutely isn’t. Leo is the last person I’d reject.
She rolls her eyes at me. ‘I’d best get back before Jerry comes looking for me. He was super impressed with the hot chocolate. He’s still not keen on those tinsel and holly garlands you put up in our window though. Says they’re a fire hazard and if anyone from Senior Management comes down, they’ll have to go.’
‘What is it with people being grinches around here?’
‘I know, I know.’ She holds her hands up. ‘I told him it was to “lubricate the path of true love running smoothly”. He said that sounded like one of his wife’s saucy novels and good luck to you.’
‘Thank him for me again, will you? He’s being amazing to let me wander through the staff-only areas every morning. It’s really good of him.’
‘He’s a sappy old sod, really. Still believes in twue wuv after being married for some godawful number of years.’ She taps the counter as she walks away. ‘Enjoy your date tonight. Wear something slutty! And do your make up!’
‘It’s not a date!’ I call after her just as a customer comes in and stands dripping on the mat inside the door.
‘Date or not, your fancy man makes a fine hot chocolate,’ Mary says. ‘But don’t wear anything slutty, it’s too cold, you’ll catch your death.’
‘Although if you wear a thin top, you’ve got an excuse to borrow his coat,’ the customer says as she wanders past the counter. ‘Men like being made to feel all macho and protective.’
‘Thanks,’ I say, wondering if there’s anyone in the entire universe who hasn’t got the last time I went on a date marked on their calendar.
* * *
‘Hello, lovely.’ Leo’s smile lights up the darkness as he opens the side door of the coffee shop that night. ‘I was going to call you my favourite Georgia again but after last night I think you’re my favourite human in general. Kettle’s on. Have you had a good day?’
It’s infinitely better since he called me that. My heart is suddenly hammering and my palms have gone sweaty. I’ve never been anyone’s favourite human before. ‘Er, yes, thanks,’ I stutter. ‘Busy with, er, money. As expected in a bank. Lots of money and financey things.’
I want to stab myself in the eye. Why couldn’t I just have said ‘yes, thanks,’ instead of getting into the technical world of ‘financey things’. One day he’s going to ask me for financial advice and the limit of my knowledge is putting your card into a machine, entering four numbers, and abracadabra, things get paid for. ‘More importantly, how was your day?’
‘It was good. Better than expected.’
‘Thanks for the hot chocolate earlier,’ I say. ‘Sorry I missed you.’
‘I seem to have a knack for turning up when it’s your break time.’
‘That you do,’ I say with a nervous giggle. Trust him to blame himself and not realize I have an abnormal amount of break times because I don’t flipping work there. ‘Casey said you were busy?’
‘Compared to recently, yeah. I’m not exactly turning customers away due to overcrowding, but I gave away ten candy canes and raffle tickets, and that’s not bad for the biblical rain we had. There was a bloke going around earlier looking for two of each animal he could find, if that’s any indication of how bad it’s been.’
I try to stop myself laughing as he meets my eyes and his expression changes from a wide grin to a secret smile that feels like it’s just for me. ‘And yet, as if by magic, tonight the skies are clear and there’s no rain in the forecast. Mother Nature’s way of supporting the spreading of Christmas cheer?’
‘That sounds quite saucy. Spread your legs and let me sprinkle my Christmas cheer around …’
I dissolve into a fit of giggles. ‘Oh my God, Leo, that’s terri –’
He holds up a hand. ‘It’s okay, I’m embarrassed for myself.’ His cheeks are red but every time he meets my eyes, his grin gets wider. ‘Getting away from the spread of Christmas cheer before I embarrass myself beyond recovery … how tired are you on a scale of one to ten?’
‘Not a big enough scale,’ I mutter. ‘How about you? You were up just as late as I was.’
At least he doesn’t look like he’s just got out of bed today. He looks insanely good actually, in faded jeans and a loose black turtleneck jumper with lines of grey ribbing running through it. It’s not quite as endearing as the plaid pyjamas and dressing gown but there are definitely some benefits to the way the soft knitted material curves over his biceps.
‘I actually got some sleep once I got back. I was knackered but … I don’t know … kind of less worried than I have been lately. Usually I lie down and my mind starts whirring about all the “what ifs” and things that might happen when I lose this place, but last night, I closed my eyes and didn’t wake up until Mum knocked on the door to start her shift. The adrenaline rush of having to get my sleeping bag and stuff put away before I let her in was enough to make me forget about tiredness for the rest of the day.’
‘That’s good.’ I want to hug him so badly. It shouldn’t be like this. ‘She really doesn’t know you’re sleeping here?’
‘Nope. I stuff my essentials in one of the staff lockers every morning. She just thinks I start early and work late. It’s fine. I don’t usually sleep as late as I did this morning.’ He awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. ‘Thanks for listening to me last night. I haven’t been sleeping much and I think just getting it all off my chest, finally saying aloud what the situation is … it really helped.’
‘You don’t have to thank me for that. I’m always here to listen. I love talking to you, Leo.’
His cheeks go red but his smile looks brighter than it has for a while. ‘I ordered a massive hamper and put a picture of it on the chalkboard in the window so people know what the prize is, and there’s another chalkboard ready to write something about finding the new picture of the day. What’s the plan for tonight?’
‘Nothing more than I was saying last night, really. We leave Bedford Falls up and let people carry on identifying it, and I’ll go and paint something festive on a different shop window, and you do the whole “raffle ticket and candy cane” thing for a
nyone who finds it and tells you where it is.’
He nods slowly. ‘I had an idea …’
‘Go on,’ I say, feeling myself light up at him getting involved. I like seeing him smiling and enthusiastic instead of as despondent he was the other night.
‘Why don’t we do something fun and cheeky? Something like Santa trying on a dress on the clothing shop window, Santa picking out a nightie for Mrs Claus on Aubergine’s window …’
I couldn’t stop myself from giggling if I tried. ‘There’s cheeky and there’s cheeky, but I love where you’re coming from. Something that ties in with the theme of the shops.’
‘Exactly. Let’s remind people of what these shops used to be. And if you want to keep it strictly non-X-rated, we could go for, like, Santa reading a book on the old library building, Santa building a bear on Hawthorne’s, Santa writing his Christmas cards on the old card shop window. You know what I mean?’
‘Yep,’ I say, grinning. ‘But mainly I love the way your mind works. And the first thing you think of is Santa crossdressing and buying sexy lingerie.’
‘You don’t want to know what my first thought for the old Blockbuster’s was.’ He winks at me and I know my face has gone red from laughing so hard.
He’s laughing too and I find myself watching him. He seems different tonight, lighter somehow, not as weighed down as he has been. The laughter reaches his eyes in a way his smiles haven’t lately.
‘This is brilliant, Leo.’ I can’t resist the pull of seeing if that jumper is as soft as it looks so I reach out and put my hand on his arm.
He smiles and rests his hand on top of mine and my fingers tingle as his rub across them softly.
It would be so easy to kiss him. We’re close enough and he’s just the right height that if I pushed myself up on my tiptoes, our lips would perfectly align. There’s something intense in his eyes too, and the thought that he wouldn’t be opposed flickers across my mind, but it’s closely followed by remembering why I’m here.
Kissing Leo would be taking advantage when I know he’s vulnerable. I know he’s got more important things than relationships on his mind at the moment. Trying to get him to open up and helping him to save the coffee shop is one thing, but kissing him now, with what I know and he doesn’t know, would feel too much like some underhanded way of tricking him into a relationship. It’s bad enough that I’m doing this, but if One Light ever found out that I’d not only taken a phone call that wasn’t meant for me, but used it to get myself into a relationship with the caller … I could definitely be arrested for that.
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