Chapter 21 #2
By the time the reader and his book left, Rae and Kasey were well into posting things. I had no idea where they were leaving these posts. All over, most likely.
“I think Ben needs pancakes,” Rae said to me from the kitchen side of the passthrough where they were “helping” Kasey.
Ben had already had our leek soup and some sweet potato fries and had valiantly posed with them while eating. He sighed. “I suppose I could do pancakes.”
I rubbed my face. “Fine, but then stop force-feeding Ben dessert.”
The bells above the door twinkled, and I turned. “Welcome to the Moonlight Diner.”
The newcomer was sharply dressed, like a lawyer or a businessperson. He brushed snow from his neatly coiffed hair.
“Good evening.” He had a British accent, very posh, and looked around, then smiled at me before taking a seat at table three.
That made me ever so slightly nervous. If Soyer was early and wanted his table… Then again, he was a co-owner now, and if the patron was just a regular human, Soyer really had no reason to scare him away from his table. So I hoped.
I grabbed a menu and made my way over to our sole customer.
“Here you go. Would you like some coffee?”
The man peeled off his gloves—they looked like leather in an unusual shade of pale green and fit him like a second skin—and took the menu. “Would you happen to have tea? I like a nice black tea with a touch of cream, no sugar, if possible.”
I nodded. “I can make that happen.”
“Splendid. What else is good here?”
“Depends on whether you’d like sweet or savory, a real meal or a snack.”
He turned the menu over. “So many choices. You know what, I think I’ll have a nice big slice of your cherry pie. Could you make that happen, do you think?”
I smiled. “Absolutely.”
“Cream on top too, please. Bit of a sweet tooth, I’m afraid.”
“Nothing wrong with that. I’ll be right back with that pie.”
I went about making some black tea. Unlike the one Soyer and I had shared at Rose’s, the Moonlight’s just came from a bag, but since I had nothing else that needed taking care of, I made sure to give it the whole two minutes it said on the box. While it was steeping, I plated his pie.
I took my time to get the little cream cone on top of it perfect, and then I went all out and topped that with a candied cherry. When I was done, his tea was too. It went on my tray along with the pie and the cream, no sugar.
“That looks absolutely delicious, thank you,” he said while I placed everything in front of him.
“Let me know if you need anything else.”
He gave me a polite yet bright smile. “That I will. Excellent service here, Amory.” He nodded at my tag. “Interesting name, that.”
“I guess. It’s French.”
“Ah, les francais. Have you ever been?”
I shook my head. “Afraid not, but I hear Paris is beautiful.”
“Very much so, though crowded. I’d rather suggest Nice. It’s right by the ocean, a beautiful place to be.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Please enjoy your pie.”
“Mm-hmm.”
The next twenty minutes were busy again—or distracting, at least—with Rae bringing out Ben’s pancakes and then forcing him to smile at the camera while showing off the admittedly very beautiful display.
I watched them while I straightened the small mess I’d made with the pie and the tea, then went about looking for other things to do.
There wasn’t much of anything, really. Thaeros had left things pristine, and I could only rearrange the napkins, plates, and cutlery behind the counter so often.
When I saw that the businessman was done with his pie, I headed over there.
“Hey, we have to let Ben have a slice of pie, right?” Rae asked, stopping me on the way.
I looked past them at Ben, who was still busy with his pancakes, given he’d only been allowed to start eating after Rae was done with him five minutes ago.
“Ben, if you want some pie, sure.”
They leaned in. “You make it. Make it pretty like you did for Mr. Fancypants over at the forbidden table.”
I glanced over at him, but Rae had whispered, and he was glancing at his phone.
“Fine. Just give me a moment, okay?”
“Likes and reposts wait for no man, but fine.”
I rolled my eyes, then made my way to table three.
“Can I get you anything else?”
“Ah, would that it were so, but I’m afraid I’ll have to brave this snowstorm out there once more.” He got his wallet from his inside pocket and dropped three tens on the table. “Keep the change. And thank you for the hospitality.”
“Sure, anytime.”
I watched as he pulled on his gloves, then his coat, and let him stand before going for the plates.
“Au revoir, Amory,” he said, then headed for the exit.
A gust of icy air blew in as he left, making me blink. As soon as the door fell shut, I could barely see him anymore. The snow took care of that.
Kasey had hidden his snakes under his scarf and joined us about an hour ago.
The Post-it stuck to his forehead read Marilyn Monroe.
We’d all gathered at the corner of the counter Ben usually claimed, and we were enjoying Kasey’s quick version of an apple cider.
Each of our cups was decorated with a cinnamon stick, and Kasey had added star anise and an apple slice as well.
“Am I dead?” I asked the group.
Rae nodded. “So dead.” According to their Post-it, they were Neil Armstrong.
“Am I fictional?”
Rae and Kasey exchanged a look.
“Nope,” Kasey said.
“Although, sort of,” Ben said. He was Santa.
I nodded. “I’m famous enough to have been made into a fictional character. Got it.”
Rae straightened. “My turn. Am I Madonna?”
“No,” Kasey and I said together. Ben just huffed at them.
The bells above the door twinkled, and all of us turned.
There, his black coat sprinkled with white, stood Soyer.
“What in the name of fuck is going on here?”
I pointed at the Post-it stuck to my forehead. “I’m winning.”
Ben tsked. “Says who? That was last round. This round has barely started.”
“Let me get this straight,” Soyer said, taking the seat next to me. “You decided to play party games, given that there are no customers, likely due to what I can only call inclement weather?”
“To be fair, Rae, Ben, and Kasey did PR before we had to resort to this. Would you like your cherry pie?”
“Yes.” He stole my cup from me, smelled it, then took a sip.
“We were menu-testing the cider. We were totally working, technically.” I rounded the counter and went over to the case to get his pie and coffee. I then paused, shrugged, and plated the remaining cherry for the rest of us.
“Uh-huh.” He gestured at the others. “Don’t let me interrupt. Try keeping my lover from winning.”
I chuckled. “Soyer, don’t sound so mean saying that. You can join for the next round.”
“Ugh.”
Ben cleared his throat. “Am I dead?”
“Yes,” Soyer said.
I laughed as I brought the pie back. “Soyer, you Grinch.”
“Oh, come on,” Rae said.
“Oops.” I gave everyone their pie. “I didn’t actually mean to say that.”
Ben looked excited. “I’m Christmas? A concept?”
Kasey patted his shoulder. “My guy, you really tried, but no. My turn! Am I dead?”
Soyer looked at me. “Can I tell him?”
I made sure his coffee was within reach. “Go for it.”
He nodded. “You were murdered, but it was a pretty good cover-up.”
My laughter was noisy in the mostly empty diner.
Soyer had made us close after I’d won that round, after I’d found out I was Cleopatra. He’d parked out front, and the very moment we got in the car, he turned up the heat.
“So none of you considered closing early?”
“No. Work is work.”
It was pretty dark, despite the snow reflecting the light, but I was sure he was rolling his eyes. “Next time, you call me and get permission to close early from your boss.”
“Well, we were bonding. And don’t forget, Rae and Kasey also did marketing. They used Ben.”
“I have no words.”
I leaned over the middle console. “You liked his cider, didn’t you?”
“Hmm. I’ll make some for your Feast-giving.”
“Soyer?”
“Yes, my heart?”
“You’re looking forward to that too, right? At least a little bit?”
“Well, I rented a table.”
“Come on, say it. Say you’re looking forward to hosting our friends for Thanksgiving, and you can have all of my cherry ice cream when we get home.”
He glanced at me, but he was pretty focused on the road. “Blackmail, huh? I didn’t think you’d have that in you.”
I put my hand on his forearm, careful not to get in the way of his driving. “If it’s about you, Soyer, I think I have a lot of things in me. Are you looking forward to next week?”
He took a deep breath. “I’m not dreading it. As far as these things go, for me, that is as good as saying I’m elated.”
I felt warm and fluffy, rewarded. But also giddy, unfortunately for Soyer. “Is that a yes? Yes, you’re looking forward to it?”
He groaned. “Fine. Fine, you win. I’m looking forward to having your friends over next week.”
I squeezed his arm, almost pinching him. “They’re our friends, Soyer. Yours too. I won’t tell anyone if you’re afraid about your evil reputation being ruined, but they are coming to see both you and me.”
The muscles in his jaw tensed before he glanced at me. He opened his mouth, but then said nothing, turning his attention back to the road.
I watched him as he thought about it. The city’s lights were flickering, painting his face yellow and orange, the colors of a phoenix flame.
“I’m looking forward to it, Amory. I am.”
Shivers like the feathers of a giant bird ran over my back. Perhaps loneliness was oily, stubborn like a grease stain on a fine shirt. If so, I figured I’d just have to be more stubborn than a stain, and that couldn’t be so hard, not when it was for the man I loved.