55
In spite of packing her things the night before, the next morning Julia ran through the flat and shop in search of items she suddenly remembered having tucked here and there during her visit.
Meanwhile, she’d picked so many books to take with her that they wouldn’t fit into her suitcase, but Aurelia gave her one of the shop’s canvas bags so she could tote them all back home to Paris the following week, after the wedding.
Antonia and Max, and their sons Owen and Hugo, arrived at the shop just after eleven.
Julia immediately took charge of her brothers and showed them around the shop as though they’d never been before, pointing out her favorite spots and scolding them when they touched or moved anything.
After watching them for a minute, Aurelia relaxed, trusting Julia to keep the shop’s secret as she’d promised.
Max joined Aurelia and widened his eyes at her as he pointed around the room.
“Antonia told me, but… is it really true?”
Aurelia checked to make sure the boys were out of earshot before nodding. “Strange as it sounds, it is.”
“They appear here—right here?” he asked, tapping the floor with his foot.
“Well, they appear at the table,” Aurelia said quietly, pointing. “But once they arrive, they wander around.”
Max’s eyes widened still further, but he was distracted from asking more questions when Oliver walked in and set the bell over the shop door ringing. He was carrying two overflowing bags of groceries, and Max rushed over to take one.
“Good to see you!” Oliver said, greeting Max with a friendly thump on the shoulder and a smile.
“And you! Thanks for having Julia. I’d say, ‘I hope she wasn’t any trouble,’ but—well, I know better.”
“Did she get into trouble?” Owen asked hopefully as the three children joined the adults at the front of the shop. “Is that why Mum had to come here, before?”
“She didn’t get into trouble,” Aurelia said with a shake of her head.
“Caused trouble, maybe,” Antonia joined in, “but far less than we might ever hope from you two.”
“Unfair!” Owen said, though a smile broke across his face.
Julia’s face held a little smile, but she kept her peace.
Aurelia began marshaling everyone up to the flat for lunch, grinning to see them spiraling up the stairs to her home, Biscuit following eagerly in their wake.
Everyone was in high spirits as they scattered around the living room to eat. After lunch, Julia went back to the shop with Owen and Hugo to show them how the register worked, and Max immediately turned to Aurelia.
“Did you see them last night?”
“‘Them’?” she asked, confused.
“The characters—were they here last night?”
“Oh, yes. They were. Julia came down with me to say goodbye to them.”
“And you were here? In the flat?” Max asked Oliver.
“I was, though I’m sure I was fast asleep by the time they arrived.”
“You were. I checked in on you before we went down,” Aurelia said with a smile.
Max began asking another question about the shop, and this time Antonia answered him.
As they talked, Aurelia looked over at Oliver.
Here she was, able to talk about her secret with Max, Antonia, and her dad, and she wondered: was it fair that Oliver didn’t have someone of his own to talk to about the shop’s secret?
Her family would be happy to talk to him about it, of course, but she thought there might be someone in his circle of friends or family that he’d want to share it with.
Aurelia’s thoughts were interrupted when Antonia stood and said they’d best get going.
Julia looked tearful as she realized it was time to shift over to the flat they’d be renting for the next week, but she didn’t beg to stay.
Again, Aurelia was grateful to her sister, thinking she must have warned Julia to go without a fuss.
Aurelia wasn’t sure she’d have had the will to turn her down if Julia had asked to stay, but knew she and Oliver needed time on their own.
She reminded Julia that they’d see each other at her dress fitting in just three days’ time, which seemed to lift her mood.
As Antonia conducted her crowd downstairs and out of the shop, Aurelia and Oliver followed, Biscuit at their heels.
They stood in the open doorway and waved while her family moved through the square, then Aurelia turned to Oliver.
“Just you and me again.”
“And Biscuit and Fezz. And the characters you’ll be seeing tonight,” he teased as they passed the Recommended Reads table.
“Oh, that’s not for hours yet,” Aurelia said airily. “In the meantime, I have you all to myself.”
She kissed him and then started to lead the way up the spiral staircase when she remembered what she’d been thinking about earlier, when Max and Antonia were talking.
“Do you want to tell someone?” she blurted out as she stopped walking and turned to look at Oliver on the step below her.
Oliver frowned, trying to make sense of her question, and she went on to spare him the effort.
“We’ve told Antonia, Max, and my dad, but is there someone you want to tell about the shop and what happens here after midnight?”
Oliver’s frown deepened as he considered her question, then he reminded her, “We wanted to keep the circle small. We didn’t want to tell too many people.”
He put a hand on her hip and gave a gentle push, signaling that they should head to the mezzanine to continue their conversation, and she started walking up the stairs again. At the top, they both leaned against the railing.
“We could widen that circle by one more person. Or two. It doesn’t seem fair that only my people know. I mean, they’ll be your people soon enough, and they’d probably take your side if you needed them to right now—even without you being an official in-law just yet.”
He nodded with a soft chuckle, knowing that was true.
“You can talk to Antonia about how frustrating it is not to be able to see or talk to the characters, but sometimes you might want to talk to a friend. If there’s someone you want to know about it, then I think you should tell them.”
“That might be nice… I’ll think about it.”
Oliver took her hand as they walked up the stairs to the flat.
She gave his hand two squeezes, and he gave hers two back, and she almost blushed at how happy that simple call and response made her.
She felt proud of them for not trying to stick to a strict plan and for realizing early on that they wouldn’t be able to figure out how to incorporate the shop’s magic into their lives after just one conversation.
They would still have good days and bad days, but she felt comfort in knowing they’d be able to manage both as long as they kept talking and checking in.
At the top of the stairs, they stood and looked around the flat, which was a bit of a mess after their family lunch and having three children running through it.
“What was I saying before? Right—we’ve got the place to ourselves again. No Julia, no customers, no family… However shall we fill the time?” she asked with a wicked smile.
“Cleaning up?” Oliver asked with a lift of his eyebrows, his innocent suggestion an echo of the phone call they’d had just weeks ago.
“That’s one option.”
“Last-minute organizing for the big day?”
“Another viable option,” Aurelia agreed. “But I was thinking of something a little different.”
“A way to fill the time that doesn’t involve cleaning or organizing,” Oliver said slowly, pulling her into his arms. “I’m almost out of ideas, but—” He paused for a long kiss. “Maybe if we put our heads together, we can think of something.”