Chapter 11 the spice of life
eleven
the spice of life
Liam
“Nana, I brought dinner.”
I found Nana on her favourite love seat in front of the enormous window overlooking Main Street.
I’d overheard her telling Maya something about it being the best spot to ogle sexy men as they walked down the street, but after the book club fiasco, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what that meant.
“I can’t believe Tony still calls it Pizza Place.
Why doesn’t he give it a real name already? ”
“Why mess with a good thing?” Nana asked, finally marking her place in her book and setting it aside. “Who cares what it’s called when it has such amazing pizza behind its doors.”
Despite its uninspired name, Pizza Place made the best pizza I’d ever had. Sharing it with Nana felt like old times.
She walked to the table and opened both boxes, her eyes lighting up when she spotted her favourite Hawaiian pizza.
I mentally patted myself on the back for thinking of such an excellent idea.
I’m sure whatever Nana and Maya had been planning to eat for dinner would have been great, but I knew sharing a pizza with me would be a welcome change. Variety was the spice of life, right?
“What’s all this?” Maya stood in the doorway, a box from the bakery down the street in her hands, an angry scowl on her face. Even irritated, she was stunning. Still, this wasn’t quite the reaction I’d been hoping for.
“Oh, Maya, dear. You’ve met Liam, haven’t you?”
Maya’s face softened as she smiled kindly at Nana. “Yes, Nana. I’ve met Liam.” She shifted her focus to me. “I was asking about the pizza. What about the casserole we prepared last night? Weren’t we having that for dinner?”
Maya pulled up a chair, shooting me a look I couldn’t quite decipher as she slid the bakery box onto the table. She was trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure it out. Was it about the pizza?
“I thought it would be a nice surprise to bring pizza for dinner. Or don’t you like Tony’s?” I paused, concerned. I might have to rethink my growing attraction if she didn’t like Tony’s. Some things a man could not overlook.
“Of course I like Tony’s. You can’t trust people who don’t like Tony’s.” She huffed before directing another pointed glance at me. “But Nana and I eat casserole on book club days. It’s part of her routine.”
Okay, she was definitely hinting at something. I wish she’d come right out and say it, though, because I was lost. She liked pizza, so what was the problem? The casserole wasn’t about to get up and walk away.
“Well, I think we can dispense with the routine this one time, don’t you, Nana?”
Nana nodded, making a noise that could be construed as a yes. In reality, it was hard to tell what she said with her mouth full of pizza, but the closed-mouth grin she gave me was all the confirmation I needed.
“See?” I grabbed a slice and tossed Maya a wink. “Spontaneous pizza parties are always a good thing.”
Maya leaned forward, tipping her chair to reach for a slice. “Let’s hope so,” she muttered before taking a massive bite.
Let’s hope so? What did she mean by that?
“That’s it. I fold, I’m done, I’m out.” I flung my cards onto the table and crossed my arms. “I never thought I’d see the day when my own grandmother hustled me.”
Nana and Maya both laughed and dropped their cards. Maya gathered them and put them back in their box.
“She’s not cheating,” Maya said with a laugh. “She’s really that good. And no matter how gorgeous your eyes are, they’re really easy to read.”
I snorted. “Nah. I know when something suspicious is going on. Nobody has that many good hands in a row. But please tell me more about how gorgeous my eyes are.” I folded my hands under my chin and batted my eyelashes, making her huff a laugh.
“I’m not the one you need to watch out for around here,” Nana said with a grin.
“That damn Alexander Allen is the dirtiest cheat I ever met. I’m surprised he didn’t try to weasel in on our game.
He can smell a sucker from a mile away.” She glanced around.
“Where is that old bastard anyway? He normally joins us for poker.”
Maya’s face fell. “Oh, Nana,” she said, her voice soft. She rested a hand on Nana’s shoulder. “Mr. Allen passed away last month.”
Nana blinked, confusion blanketing her features. “Oh. Oh, yes. That’s right.”
Maya stood and wrapped Nana in a hug. “Why don’t we get you ready for bed? Can you believe how late it is already?”
“‘Night, Nana.” I kissed her cheek, confused at this turn of events but trusting Maya knew what she was doing. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
She patted my face and smiled weakly before shuffling to the bathroom, her slippered feet scuffing against the floor the whole way.
She was so subdued compared to how animated she’d been a few minutes before.
I was missing something, but what? Was something going on with Nana? Whatever it was, I bet Maya knew.
When Maya joined me in the living room moments later, her shoulders slumped under the weight of something I didn’t understand, no matter how desperately I wanted to. Without another word, she grabbed her coat and walked out of the apartment.
“Hey, wait up.” I jogged after her. I needed to know what had happened with Nana, and I was pretty sure Maya had the answers. “Can we talk?” I stopped her at her door.
She glanced back at me, rolling her eyes.
“We should talk. But it’s late, and I’m exhausted.
Come to the shop tomorrow. We can talk then.
” She hustled inside, shutting the door before I could do much more than nod.
“And lock up on your way out,” she yelled through the closed door. “See you tomorrow.”
Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.
“Well, look who the cat dragged in.” Sierra greeted me as I walked into the bookstore first thing in the morning.
She leaned back, elbows on the counter, sipping some kind of iced coffee monstrosity that she raised in greeting.
“I didn’t think you’d have the guts to come back after that book club meeting yesterday. ”
“You’re evil, you know that?” I shook my finger at her. “I can’t believe you didn’t warn me Nana would be here. You told me about the alien porn. How much harder would it have been for you to give me a heads-up about Nana?”
Her face scrunched up, and she shook her head. “The thing about that is, if I’d told you, none of us would have gotten to enjoy the way your face distorted in horror every time she spoke.” She straightened. “It was hilarious, for your information. I did not know faces could get that red.”
“Ha, ha. Hilarious.” I glanced around. “Is Maya here?”
“She’s dealing with some gifts Harold left by the back door. She wants to get them cleaned up before today’s delivery arrives; the delivery guy will wheel the hand truck right through the pile of dead mice if she doesn’t.”
I choked back a laugh. “What is wrong with people?”
Harold, the oversized feline, sat perched in his usual spot atop the antique register. I had to hand it to him; he knew his boundaries. Despite his love for the register, I’d never seen him near the coffee area.
“What’s your deal, champ? Is one mouse not enough? You have to leave a pile? Do you love Maya that much?”
I could swear Harold rolled his eyes at me before answering with a yowling meow. Typical cat, acting like he runs the place.
I gave Sierra a half-hearted wave before disappearing through the door to the storage area. Maya shouldn’t have to clean up Harold’s “gifts”, not when I was here. How bad could it be? I handled the litter box like a champ, I thought to myself, and this can’t be much worse than that.
Except it was so, so much worse.
Halfway to the back door, I caught sight of a skyscraper-sized tower of dead mice, and I gagged before I could stop myself. Why were cats so cruel? He hadn’t eaten them, only stacked them like he was playing some twisted game of dead-mouse Jenga.
“Hey, Liam,” Maya said with a smile, though when she saw me, her expression quickly shifted. Her garden trowel clattered onto the cement, scattering mouse corpses as it bounced.
My mouth flooded with saliva, and my vision tunnelled with a murky blackness that crowded my peripheral vision. I swayed on my feet as I tried, and failed, to fill my lungs with air.
“Oh, oh my. Here. Why don’t you take a seat, Liam?”
Inky shadows closed in as Maya’s fingers wrapped around my wrist. She steered me backward with a firm grip. My legs hit something solid, hands pressed firmly on my shoulders, and I dropped into a sitting position.
“Sierra! We need water and a cold cloth.”
Maya’s voice floated farther away as my vision narrowed to a pinprick. The last thing I remember was hearing someone’s muttered, “Oh, shit. That’s not good,” as the floor rushed up to greet me.