Chapter Three
Lulu
I needed more coffee, and not from that machine that Bruce was so obsessed with. I needed the good stuff, the kind that made my fingertips tingle and my brain do a full Riverdance before an audience of barely contained ideas.
I also, probably, needed sleep. But, the coffee was easier to obtain.
“Grandpa!” I leaned back in my chair, “I’m going to get some coffee from Joe’s place. Do you want anything?”
My grandfather had been locked in the back room, wrapping up final edits since breakfast. Surely the man needed coffee too.
But still, no answer. With a groan from my wheeling chair, I stood and made my way around my small desk.
The only other desk in the room, usually occupied by Bruce, was empty today.
Bruce was not only was my grandfather’s assistant but also doubled as The Salus Glen Posts' photographer and was oftentimes off-site getting pictures at local events.
I would text him on my way and see if he wanted anything.
“Grandpa?” I raised my voice as I walked down the narrow hallway to where his door was open with only a crack.
I knocked once, then pushed in, repeating myself as I did.
To my surprise, my grandfather was scrambling, standing, sliding, anxious, shaking hands over his face as he twisted to face the window away from me.
“Hey, sorry,” my stomach clenched. His reaction had been so dramatic, so strange. I wanted to ask about it, but it was clear by the set of his body that he wasn't interested in divulging more. “I was–uh–I was going to go to get some coffee. Do you want anything?”
Grandpa’s throat cleared once, twice, then a “No, thank you. Bruce is on his way back though, maybe pick him up something.”
I wanted to ask what Bruce's order was these days. The man was mercurial about his coffee orders, but something told me I needed to leave. That I wasn’t welcome here or now. I felt my throat get tight, the heat in my body rising as I stared at the back of the man who had raised me.
“Do you–.”
“I’m fine, Lu. Go.”
Point taken. I quickly made my way back down the hall, my heels clicking against the linoleum as I did. I barely slowed by my desk, grabbing my favorite trench coat from the tree by the door before exiting, the twinkling of our bell sounding overhead.
My heart was hammering as I made my way towards Cup o’ Joe, Salus Glen's most notorious coffee shop.
Located at the corner of the Mainstreet and, across from a small local park, Joe Reid had staked his claim as the town favorite even before I made it out of high school.
He and husband, Kenneth, had come to Salus Glen looking for a quiet place for Kenneth to compose his next musical masterpiece and never left.
There was usually a line of people waiting to slurp down their caffeinated elixirs, but I must’ve caught them in a slow moment. Which was, as I knew, a gift and a curse. No doubt, the absence of a crowd meant that Joe was going to bestow upon me the entire months’ worth of gossip.
And I was not sure that I could handle that right now.
Grandpa was still mulling over my piece on the External Trade Agency and I was feeling more than a little frustrated about why I had come home to Salus Glen.
Other than my brush with a certain tall, dark and handsome face, last week, my time at home felt stilted, uncomfortable.
Not at all what I’d thought it would be.
The interior of Cup o’ Joe was warmed by the sunlight that poured in at my back.
I stopped, inhaling the sweet scent of the coffee bean and array of goodies that Joe always stocked for hungry caffeine hounds, like me.
My eyes fluttered shut, and for a moment, I was the same girl who had come here with her study group in high school.
Or with Grandma on winter break, when we wanted to talk about my latest boyfriend without Grandpa listening in.
There was peace in it, this familiarity.
And, with my eyes shut, I tried to focus on that feeling.
The warmth. I was here for a reason, I knew it.
I hadn’t been wrong. My gut wouldn’t steer me wrong.
“Lulu Magoo!”
I cringed, but a smile grew on my face. “Joe Schmo, you are killing me with that nickname.”
The thick bodied man, whose dark apron read ‘I put the Joe in Cup o’ Joe’ marched around the counter and came to embrace me. “It’s good to see you, girl. Your Grandpa said you were here, but I haven't laid eyes on you yet. You look great.”
I returned the hug easily; the scent of coffee and cocoa beans permanently infused to the man and I smiled against his shoulder. “Thank you, so do you. And this place, God, it looks great.”
Joe released me with a grin, “You’re too nice, Lulu, but I appreciate it nonetheless. Make sure to tell Kenny when he comes down, he’s insistent on doing a huge renovation this year.”
Kenny, who would probably bite the head off any other person who dared to call him by that name, thundered down the stairs behind us. “Joe? Did you say Lulu Magoo?”
I laughed, my head flopping backwards as Kenneth, a wiry man with slender silver spectacles perched on his nose swung around from the stairs that led from the cafe to their apartment above. “Hi Kenneth,” I said, moving forward with my arms extended.
Kenneth moved into them, dramatically shoving his husband out of the way before embracing me. Something poked me in my arm, one of his rogue pencils he kept stashed in various pockets. You have to always be ready, he’d told me once, inspiration doesn’t wait for you to find something to write with.
“Lulu, you look absolutely wonderful,” he set me back, a bit forcibly, “Do you have a man? A woman? My nephew is still single, and as long as you don’t mind cats, he’s a total catch.”
I laughed, my heart feeling lighter by the moment. “No man, and while I love cats, I’m not really sure we’d be a match.”
“And why not?’
“Probably because while he’s a catch, I’m a hot mess,” I whispered.
Kenneth swatted the air between us, “Baby, get this girl a coffee. I need to hear about why she’s single.”
I knew a dangerous situation when I saw one and while I would love to catch up with these two, I didn’t need to get my calendar filled up with blind dates before I even figured out if I was staying in Salus Glen. Cart before horse, right?
“I’m so sorry, Grandpa had me get Bruce something, I should probably get that back to him.”
Joe was already behind the counter pulling out a to-go cup and beginning what I hope was Bruce’s latest order. “Can I get something too? Dealer's choice.”
Kenneth wrinkled his nose at me, making his lens flash, “You don’t have a coffee order.”
Something in my gut jerked. “I mean, I do. I just like things–I mean–I like hearing what others are drinking. It’s a great way to try new things.” I sounded defensive. Oh God, I was defensive. I opened my mouth to explain more, but Joe was already jumping in.
“I know just the thing.” And, then, the man was gone.
I asked Kenneth about his latest work as his husband bustled around the steamers and pots behind the counter.
His warm, steady chatter was a pleasant hum in my mind.
I was absorbing his words, but more than that, this place soaked into me, making my heart slow, my mind clouded with the quiet pleasure of the space.
That was, until Kenneth ended his update with a sharp little look at his husband and a “Have you met the new family in town? The Emersons?”
I swallowed, refocusing in on the male “Yes, I actually interviewed–”
“Something is strange with them,” Kenneth said, raising a brow, “I can feel it.”
“What do you mean?” I sat down at one of the small high-topped tables that were scattered across the room.
“Well, the couple, that’s Tim and Bailey.”
“Traum,” I corrected, smiling at Joe as he placed the two to-go cups in front of me.
“Oh, yes, sorry. Traum. And then, Bailey is the pretty blonde,” Kenneth continued, “Don’t you find it strange that they got here, talking so big about buying up the empty places in town, getting a whole organization off the ground in weeks? And don’t even get me started on the brother.”
“The brother? He has a brother?”
Something tugged at my subconscious, a white smile and strong hands against my hips. I shivered.
Kenneth’s eyes widened, eagerness seeping from his every pore. “That’s the thing. He’s been here two weeks and, basically, no one knows anything. He doesn’t seem to exist outside of their house. Mysterious huh?”
Joe dropped a small box with a blueberry muffin in between us, breaking up the conversation. “Well, I think you’re just looking for a distraction from work, Kenny. Traum and Bailey have been nothing but kind, and if their brother is shy, then he’s shy. He’ll come out of his shell, eventually.”
Kenneth narrowed his eyes but shrugged after a long moment. I smiled, sensing that I was suddenly a third wheel.
“I should be getting back,” I stood, reaching for the still steaming cups. “Thank you Joe. Kenneth, good to see you.”
“Come back around soon, Lulu,” Kenneth said, also standing, “And send your best to your grandpa, I know the Times has been having a rough go of it this year.”
I tried not to flinch as his words settled on my skin. Because I had no idea what he was talking about. I’d only been back a few weeks, but the paper–it was in trouble?
“Yeah, of course.” I choked out, pretending that I was just double checking the cups.
“Don’t forget the muffin, Magoo,” Joe shouted from behind the counter. “That’s for Lennon.”
Carefully, heart still hammering with anxiety, I picked up the box.
I needed to talk to my grandfather.
Now.
***
Zaldi
“If you keep sitting around here all day I’m going to get you a desk and put you to work,” Traum quipped, brushing past my legs as he made his way across the reception area of the ETA.
I grunted at him, torn between begging my brother to follow through with his threat or giving in and telling him that I didn’t even know why I was still in the living world.