Chapter Twenty-Eight
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Finn
“Right, you’ve all got your tasks. Does anyone have any questions?” I looked around at the motley crew of friends and family I had assembled to help finish setting up Gem’s shop. Despite Gem’s insistence that he could do it himself—with the help of a multipack of Red Bull—I didn’t believe him. There was no way it was going to be possible for him to finish everything in twenty-four hours and still be standing at the end of it. So I had taken matters into my own hands.
Lewis stuck his hand up. “Can I take pictures and videos of all this for Instagram? Might be worth posting.”
“Yes, but if anyone has any objections to being included, please let Lewis know,” I said. “Anything else?”
“Do you have any materials in case I need to make signs?” Mimbles asked from the edge of the group. Since she was a school librarian and good at making things look eye-catching, I’d tasked her and Mum with setting up the window display.
“Yes.” I pointed at a large, plastic tub on the counter. “I’ve got a tub of craft supplies there, but if you need anything else, someone can always make a run.” Mimbles nodded and rolled up the sleeves of her jumper, ready to get stuck in. “Anything else? Good. Okay. Thanks for your help with this, everyone. I really appreciate it.”
“Let’s do it!” Eli called, and I laughed.
“Okay then, let’s go.” Everyone dispersed, and the shop was soon filled with chatter, laughter, and the sound of construction. Jules was helping Dad reaffix the last of the shelves to the walls while Lewis and Edward organised the storeroom. The stock had been delivered yesterday, and while Gem had made a start on sorting it, it wasn’t as organised as it could have been. Lewis had practically begged to be allowed to get his hands on it, as had Edward, who’d grumbled about dealing with Jay’s mess for years and that this would be different. Lewis had even come armed with stickers and Sharpies, and I got the impression the room would be ordered to within an inch of its life by the time they’d finished.
Mimbles and Mum were already working on the window display, and I watched as Mum pulled a sketch pad out of her large, sequinned bag and flipped through the pages, showing Mimbles various things. She must have drawn up some ideas last night after I’d messaged the family chat and asked for help. The fact that she’d done that made something clench in my chest because it was so typical of her and my family as a whole. We helped each other out whenever we needed it, no questions asked.
I turned and watched Richard and Ruby disappear up the stairs with dusters and cloths in hand to make sure everything was clean before the shelves were moved and filled. Oscar and Jason stood off to one side with their heads together, talking animatedly and occasionally pointing at things. I’d put them in charge of appearance and decoration since I wanted it to be tasteful, and I was pleased to see them getting on so well. Oscar came and went so much that it was nice to get to spend any time with him at all. I hoped before he jetted off on his next job we’d get to hang out and play games together, although I doubted his skills at Mario Kart had improved much.
The door opened behind me, setting off the newly installed buzzer, and I turned, frozen. Gem wasn’t supposed to be here for another hour at least because he was working his very last shift at The Lost World. It was only Leo, though, and I exhaled loudly at the sight of the giant florist who was cradling an enormous bouquet of brightly coloured flowers in one arm with a glass vase clutched in the other hand. Angie, his beautiful, brindle Staffie, was with him and doing excited little tip-taps at the idea of having a whole roomful of people to talk to.
“Hey,” Leo said when he spotted me. “I know the shop doesn’t open until tomorrow, but I brought these.”
“Oh my gosh, they’re lovely!”
“Thanks. It’s the same sort of arrangement I made Jay when he opened The Lost World. I figured they’d be good luck.”
It was such an adorably sweet gesture that I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. I didn’t know Leo as well as I wanted, but I’d always gotten the impression he was a kind, gentle man who just happened to look like an enormous, tattooed Viking. The flowers themselves were beautiful, and it was easy to tell they’d been chosen and assembled with care and attention. “That’s so kind of you. Gem will love them.”
Leo looked away and then around at the shop, watching the hustle and bustle. “Is he still with Jay?”
“Yeah. Jay promised to keep him occupied for another hour and then bring him up. I don’t trust Gem not to try to slide out early.” I grinned, and Leo chuckled.
“Probably for the best that Jay isn’t here too. I love him, but I don’t think Gem wants half his stock dropped. Although he is getting better.” From beside him, Angie let out a little huffed whine, and I bent down to fuss at her, laughing as she pushed into my arms. She was heavier than I expected and very determined to be cuddled. “Sorry,” Leo said. “Just push her down. Angie, you can’t climb on people.”
“It’s fine.” I laughed. Angie licked my face. “Do you want to put the flowers on the counter? They shouldn’t get knocked there.”
“Sure. What else needs doing?”
“Er, we’ll need to make a couple of displays and start stocking shelves. Eli and I were going to start on that since I have a rough idea of where Gem wants things, but it would be great to have another pair of hands. Especially because I’m not very good at making things look pretty.”
“I can do that,” Leo said. “What have you got in mind?”
Releasing Angie, I led Leo over to Eli, who’d joined Oscar and Jason’s conversation, and the four of them started talking about displays and decorations. I gently gave them some pointers and let them know Gem’s ideas for stock, but I soon got waved away. Despite my worries that this was going to get wildly out of hand, I realised that if Gem didn’t like it, we could always change it in the morning. It wasn’t as if we were gluing things down. This was more of a starting point to get us going.
The four of them moved towards the stockroom, only to be met by Edward. It appeared as though they had to negotiate for boxes.
I chuckled and turned away because I wasn’t getting involved. I’d said I was going to help stock shelves, but maybe I’d wait until they actually started putting things out. I knew that if I waited, I’d feel less anxious because trying to help and being rebuffed or talked over was just going to make me feel awful. Plus, this way I could keep an eye on everyone else as well as watch for Gem. A nervous feeling was bubbling away in my stomach, and I was worried I’d overstepped. Perhaps getting everyone involved was too much.
“Are you okay, darling?” Mum asked when she spotted me lurking. She was carefully sticking some large dice transfers to the windowpanes, making it look like they were cascading down one window. I had no idea where they’d come from, but they were wonderful.
“Yes, just… nervous.” I smiled, hoping it would make me feel better. It worked but only for a moment. “I like those.” I pointed to the transfers. “Where did you get them?”
“Oh, I found the design online last night,” she said. “And I found someone to print them this morning. I thought it would look rather sweet and whimsical, but in a good way, and I think it’s worked.”
I chuckled because that was so like her. Mum was the dreamy, impulsive one who only seemed to think things through afterwards. Luckily, Mimbles had always been there to catch her and check her ideas through before they happened. Mimbles watched her now, a soft smile on her face—the Disney smile, Chantelle called it. The one they always gave the hero when he was watching the princess when she wasn’t looking. It was also the same look both Tulio and Miguel used various times during The Road to El Dorado , but that was a different can of gay worms.
Something inside my chest pinched, and it was both comfortable and not at the same time. I loved that Mimbles and Mum had found each other, that they’d made a life together after my dad’s death and Mum’s divorce—and it was obvious how much they loved each other even now. But sometimes I wondered whether Mimbles had ever looked at my dad in the same way and how different my life would be if he hadn’t died.
I shook my head, and the moment of melancholy passed, just as it always did.
“I think they look beautiful,” I said, clearing my throat with a little cough. “Thank you.”
“You’re so welcome,” Mum said. “We’re so happy for the two of you. We always said you’d be great together, didn’t we Ellie?”
“We did,” Mimbles said. She’d acquired a pile of games from somewhere and was carefully arranging them on some shelving in the window so the cover art could be seen through the glass. “When you talked about Gem, you always seemed… happier. We just had to wait for the two of you to work it out.”
“Th-thanks?” I stammered as I wondered just how long my parents had been taking bets on my love life.
“You’re welcome,” Mum said. She peered out the window as she stuck another die to the glass and smoothed it with one hand. “I think I see them. Gem has a tweed jacket, doesn’t he?”
“Shit.” I glanced at my watch. They weren’t supposed to be here yet. The store wasn’t nearly as ready as I wanted it to be. But we’d just have to roll with it. There wasn’t time to tell everyone either. All I could do was hover awkwardly by the door and anxiously wait for Gem to appear, crossing my fingers that he didn’t hate what we’d done and that I hadn’t massively overstepped.
The door buzzed as it swung open, and behind me, I heard everyone stop moving to stare at the new arrivals. Gem had known I would be here since I’d asked to borrow the key earlier on the premise of making a start on the stockroom, but everything else was a surprise. And the stunned expression on his face as he looked around told me it had worked.
“What the… What’s all this?” He took a step inside, leaving Jay lurking in the doorway with an enormous grin on his face and Rupert at his feet.
“Surprise!” I smiled, trying not to let my worries show, even if all I wanted was to twist my hands together to calm the swirling storm of doubt raging inside me. “We thought you might like some help.”
“This is… It’s… Wow.”
“Is it okay?”
“It’s more than okay,” Gem said. “I can’t believe you’re all doing this.”
“You know,” said Jules, twirling a screwdriver in her hand, “we didn’t do anything. It was all Finn. He just told us when and where, and here we are.”
“I didn’t tell you,” I muttered. “That makes it sound like I forced you.”
“You didn’t force us, you daft banana,” she said with a wry smile. “We’re here because we love you, and we wanted to help.”
“Plus,” added Jay from over Gem’s shoulder, “we all know how tough this is and how hard you’ve worked. We wanted to make your life a little easier.”
“You didn’t do anything,” Edward called from the stockroom door.
“I was running distraction,” Jay said.
“He’s not allowed to help,” Lewis said, appearing at Edward’s elbow and holding a roll of labels. “Not if Gem wants the stockroom to be usable.”
“Mine’s not that bad,” Jay said. “I’ve not broken anything.”
“Yet,” Gem said. I chuckled quietly. “Seriously, though, this is amazing. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He stepped close to me, pressing a gentle kiss to my lips. Someone made a whooping sound. Someone else aww ed. And I felt like I’d never be able to look most of them in the eye again.
“Thank you,” Gem whispered. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
“I can’t believe you did this for me.”
“You’re amazing, Gem,” I said. “I can’t believe you can’t see it. I know you don’t think you’re special, but to me, you’re the most incredible person in the world.”
“You’re going to make me blush.”
I grinned. “Good. It was either that or tell you I only did this to stop you from drinking twelve cans of Red Bull and attempting to do it all in one night. I really don’t think that amount of caffeine is healthy.”
“It’s not,” said Eli, who’d suddenly appeared beside me. “Trust me—I tried it once at university to write a last-minute essay. Didn’t sleep for three days. Never again, although I did get a first.” Gem laughed. “Now, while I’m here, I’m just going to borrow your boyfriend. We want his opinion on our display ideas.” Eli put his hand on Gem’s elbow and began to casually steer him towards Oscar, Jason, and Leo. “By the way, if you felt very generous, you could order us all some pizza. I’m starving.”
I watched as my boyfriend was stolen away, knowing I wouldn’t get him back any time soon. I shook my head, a smile playing across my lips as I reached for my phone. “Okay,” I said as loudly as I could. “What does everyone want?”