Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
The next morning, TJ surprised Lila by showing up early with Pudding, Espresso, and Muffin in tow. He let Tilly’s three cats out of their crates the moment he stepped into the coffee shop. He stacked the carriers against the wall in the storeroom next before returning up front with a smile.
“They were very excited to come today,” he said. “I had no problem getting them into the carriers.”
Lila fiddled with the espresso machine. “Thanks for bringing them and for wrangling them yesterday. Not to mention, taking them home before movie night started.” She spotted a stray popcorn kernel, picked it up, and tossed it in the trash.
TJ laughed. “Have you found many more of those this morning?” He walked around to the other side of the counter.
“Only a few.” She rolled her eyes just as Cyrus came up front, cheerful as ever.
“Good morning, TJ! How are you? What can I get you?”
“Well, now that you mention it,” TJ said, “I wouldn’t mind a tall dark roast. Leave room for cream, please.”
“Certainly.” Cyrus went to fill his order.
Lila took in the peaceful hum of the morning. Polly was charming the customers, and Cyrus was full of bright business ideas. Suggestions she might pass along to Tilly and Jack.
Cyrus returned with the coffee and handed it to her. Lila passed it to TJ. “You know where the cream and sugar are.”
“Indeed I do.”
He moved to the condiment station. Lila tried not to watch him, but she couldn’t help herself. How could someone that handsome, smart, and kind still be single?
“Cuts a nice figure, doesn’t he?” Cyrus murmured beside her.
She blinked and turned to help the next customer. By the time she looked back, TJ had taken a seat at one of the tables, and the cats had followed. Muffin jumped straight into his lap and kneaded at his jeans.
“Ow,” he muttered as her claws dug in.
Lila laughed. “You can push her off, you know.”
“I know. But she likes getting comfortable and she keeps me warm.”
“Is it cold in here?” she asked, glancing around.
“It’s fine,” TJ called from his table. “Right, Cyrus?”
“Feels fine to me,” Cyrus said, chuckling. “Would you like a muffin or croissant to go with your coffee, TJ?”
“No thanks, I’m good.” He raised his cup in salute.
Cyrus waved back, still smiling. “Wonderful day, isn’t it?”
Lila eyed him suspiciously. Why was he in such a good mood? ”Cyrus?” she called, following him down the hall.
He turned. “Yes, Lila?”
“What are the others doing today? I noticed only you and Polly came in.”
“Oh, about that. I forgot to mention. They’re looking at that house on West C Street.”
“So you really are thinking of living here?”
“Is that bad?”
“No, not at all! I just thought you’d all want to be near your families.”
Cyrus gave a nervous laugh. “Well, none of us were blessed with children. But we have each other. We’re hoping to find a nice old four-bedroom place to fix up and call home. That way there will always be someone around when the others are off gallivanting.”
It made sense, and it tugged at Lila’s heart. “That’s wonderful, Cyrus. I hope you find something you like and you can afford.”
“We’ll manage,” he said. “If we all pitch in, we’ll be fine.”
“That’s wonderful,” she said again, and meant it.
Back in the dining area, TJ sat with Muffin curled in his lap, Espresso snoozing at his feet, and Pudding perched on the cat tree by the window. Customers drifted in, the espresso machine hissed, and the morning flowed easily.
After a while, she noticed TJ had an iPad. She wandered over. “What are you working on?”
“Just a little something for the research institute. I’m trying to get them to extend my contract.”
“I see. And if they don’t?”
“I’ve got a few other things in the works. New Zealand, Australia…”
Her heart sank. “Not back to Oregon?”
He shook his head. “No. Moving from Cornwall’s enough of a chore as it is. Besides, if I did come back to the States, it might be somewhere like Florida.”
“Don’t you want to come back one day?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Maybe. But I like living in Europe. If I want to spend the weekend in France, I can. Or take a train up to Scotland. Everything’s so close.”
Lila smiled, though her chest felt tight. “That does sound lovely.” She glanced at his empty cup. “Would you like another coffee?”
“Oh, sure, I’ll take a tall, if you don’t mind.” TJ said, nodded at the cat curled up in his lap. “Could you add a couple pumps of cream?”
“Sure.” Lila fixed his coffee, stirred in the cream, and brought it back. “Here you go. If you let Muffin get away with it, she’ll stay there through lunch.
“Yes, I know, and I have to head out soon. I told Mary and Paddy last night I’d take them to Stone’s Emporium. They want to buy their own air popper.”
Lila pressed a hand to her mouth to hide a giggle, then laughed outright.
“Oh, admit it, it was funny,” he admonished.
“Now it’s funny,” she said, shaking her head. “It wasn’t at the time. Good heavens, I’ll be finding popcorn kernels for the rest of the week.”
He snorted. “I’m sure you will. But everyone else thought it was great.”
She remembered the customers laughing and tossing popcorn at each other instead of complaining. Maybe TJ was right. Maybe she did need to lighten up.
“As long as they don’t burn the place down, I guess these little mishaps are okay.” She gave him a crooked smile. “Running the festival booth will seem boring after all this.”
“It’ll be fun, and a nice break. I can handle selling coffee if you want to wander and see the other booths.”
“Oh, trust me, I will.” She hesitated. “Still feels wrong leaving everyone behind to run the shop while we’re off having fun.”
“They’ll rotate shifts. And remember, there’s two days of festival.”
She nodded. He was right about that too. “So, you like cats?” she asked, trying to keep the conversation going. Good grief, what am I doing? Get back to work, Lila.
“Yes, I do,” he said. “But with all my traveling, I couldn’t give a pet the attention it deserves. I’m a cat-less cat lover, I suppose.”
She smiled. “What about a bird?”
“No, but I do have fish. When I’m gone, my neighbor feeds them.”
“That’s nice.” She fidgeted. “Well, I’d better get back to work.”
She turned on her heel just as more customers came in. She was going to have to watch herself; she was perilously close to falling for this man.
Lila helped a few customers and let Cyrus chat as long as he liked. The old man had donned a bow tie and tweed jacket that morning. He looked quite dapper as he struck up conversations with everyone. Lila marveled at how easily he talked to strangers.
At the hotel she had to work fast. There was never time for talk. This place was different; here, people lingered.
When the crowd thinned, she washed dishes, wiped counters, and brewed more coffee. The pies sold out… again. Polly had baked this batch. She told Lila she usually let Mary, Irene and Grandma do the baking while she enjoyed the goodies. But she thought they needed a break so pitched in.
Lila finally sat down to eat her lunch and noticed TJ was still there. She walked to his table. “You’re free!” she said with a grin. “Muffin’s gone.”
He laughed. “Well, what do you know? I hadn’t noticed she left.”
“Are you hungry? I can fix you a sandwich.”
His face lit up. “Could you? What do you have?”
“Turkey croissant’s good. I had Tilly’s pastry vendor add them to our usual order so we could try them out.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Lila glanced at his laptop. “Still working on your emails?”
“No, now it’s a report.”
She smiled and forced herself to walk away. For crying out loud, get over him, Lila. He’s leaving. Do you understand? Leaving!
“What’s the matter, Lila?” Polly asked. She walked up the hall with knitting needles and a half-finished project draped over one shoulder. A ball of yarn was in her sweater’s pocket. “You look down-trodden.”
“I do?” Lila said. “I don’t mean to. I’m just… confused about something. But I’ll figure it out.”
“Oh, I’m sure you will, dear. When I’m confused, I knit.”
“That’s great,” Lila said with a laugh. “I’ve never knitted or crocheted in my life. My mother loves it, though.”
“Of course she does, it’s relaxing! You could start a knitting circle here. Say, in the evenings, with coffee and goodies.”
“Polly…” Lila began carefully. “You forget this isn’t my shop.”
“Oh, that’s right. It’s Tilly and Jack’s. But if you ever have your own place one day, you should. Knitting and crochet nights, would be a big hit, I promise.”
“Maybe so.”
“Of course they would. You could also serve tea and cookies, maybe add painting or quilting classes… the sky’s the limit, dear.” Polly smiled, kept knitting, and ambled down the hall.
Lila watched her go, amused and thoughtful. Maybe she should take up knitting. Then she’d have something to do if she became an old maid.
Lila watched Polly disappear down the hall, the steady click of knitting needles fading with her.
When the shop finally emptied for the night, Lila turned off the lights and stepped outside. The air was crisp, the street quiet except for the soft hum of a car passing by. She locked the door, pocketed the key, and started the short walk home.
Her little rental sat several blocks away, a tidy two-story cottage with lace curtains and flower boxes she never remembered to water.
Inside, everything was neat. Her sofa was draped with a crocheted throw her mother made.
A single lamp glowed on the side table. Her favorite books were stacked in little piles here and there.
Ulysses was curled up on his favorite rug near the radiator.
It was cozy. Peaceful. And achingly quiet.
Lila kicked off her shoes, hung her jacket over a chair, and stood in the middle of her living room.
The silence pressed in around her. For a long moment she just stared at the worn rug, then the teapot on the stove in the nearby kitchen.
After that it was an untouched stack of magazines on the coffee table.
Is this it? If nothing changed, she could very well end up content but alone. Trying to fill evenings with knitting and memories.
Her thoughts drifted, unbidden, to TJ. His easy laugh, the steady confidence, the way he looked at her when she got flustered. Ridiculous, she scolded herself. He was leaving. He belonged to another world. A bigger, broader one she’d never even seen.
And yet the image of him lingered.
An emptiness settled low in her stomach, heavier than she cared to admit. She exhaled, turned off the lamp, and whispered to the dark, “You’ve got to stop this, Lila.”
But she wasn’t sure she could.