4. Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Elise
T he bell above the door jingles, announcing a customer. Glancing at the time, I grimace. Quarter to seven. With only fifteen minutes to closing, my shop is pretty picked over. At least Jake didn’t show up today, maybe he will drop us getting back together.
Turning with a smile, it grows when I see Adeline. “Hey! Just finish work?”
“Yeah, we had a late intake and I stayed to help.” She steps aside, revealing Brynne. “I convinced Brynne to come get a treat, it was a rough one.”
I manage to contain my surprise when I see Brynne. Her auburn hair is pulled back in a ponytail, her tattooed arms covered by her leather jacket. Brynne tends to keep a low profile around town due to her family. Her brothers are in and out of jail. Her eldest brother is currently back in prison due to breach of parole. Her dad is an abusive jerk. And I’m pretty sure they have ongoing illegal activity on their run-down farm.
Despite living in town as soon as she could escape her family, I think she feels ashamed sharing the same DNA as them, typically keeping to herself. Aside from the shelter and grabbing necessities, she rarely ventures out.
“Hey, Brynne. It’s nice to see you.” I genuinely mean it. She’s a nice woman, a little rough around the edges, but her heart is warm.
She gives me a small smile in return. “Hi.” Her raspy voice takes me back to school, she would show up bruised and dirty. It took one boy to get his ass whooped by her for everyone to learn to steer clear and give Brynne as much space as possible. I never did though. It hurt too much seeing someone so mistreated.
“I don’t have much left, but I did save some things just in case.” While they sit down, I go to the back to grab the chocolate cannolis I made earlier. They are a test batch for the new menu items and I was going to bring them all home for Young Jae, but the recipe made way too many.
Bringing them out, I set them onto two of the hand-painted plates I picked up at the thrift store before delivering them to their table.
“Can I bring you some coffee too?”
“Oh wow! This looks amazing.” Adeline looks up at me. “New recipe?”
Tucking my chin down, I smile. “Yeah. I want to expand the menu. I just posted a position for an evening staffer who can cook too.”
“That’s incredible, good luck! These look amazing, and I’m always happy to be a test subject. I would love a latte please.” She glances at Brynne who is staring at the cannoli.
“I don’t think I’ve ever eaten anything so pretty before.” Her voice is soft. “I would love a hot chocolate. I remember how delicious yours is.”
She looks up at me, her green eyes shimmering with remembrance.
Smiling at her, I nod. “Coming right up.”
It makes me sad how much she has isolated herself. I’m glad Adeline thought to get her out. We should try to include her more in our activities. Brynne’s eyes carry the weight of loneliness that no one should feel.
After I make their drinks, I start to clean up, locking the doors when seven hits.
“Oh gosh, we should go.” Brynne starts to stand.
“No, please don’t. It’s nice to have company when I’m cleaning up. Besides, I live closer to you than Adeline does. I can drive you home,” I insist.
Adeline catches my gaze and nods.
The kitchen is already clean, so I go through my closing routine out front, chatting with them as I work.
“How is it going with Young Jae?” Adeline asks.
Brynne’s eyes widen and she glances away, but I’m pretty sure I catch her grinning.
“Good. I felt terrible this morning, I accidentally woke him up, and if I know anything about Young Jae, it’s that he doesn’t get out of bed a minute before seven, and that’s still early.” Giggling, I shrug. “He was a good sport about it. Though I won’t be surprised if he’s asleep when I get home.”
Adeline leans back in her chair. “You know, you are calling it home, but I think I only heard you call Jake’s place home maybe twice in the year I’ve known you.”
Avoiding her gaze, I clear the dishes from their table. “I didn’t realize.”
She bites back a grin, standing to stop me. “I’ve got these. Finish up in here.”
Brynne moves to help me lift chairs off the floor so I can sweep and mop. “It’s nice to see you smiling again like you used to.”
Her comment gives me pause.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have overstepped.” She backtracks, her cheeks vibrant.
Shaking my head, I hold her gaze. “No need to apologize. I just didn’t realize my unhappiness was so obvious.”
She licks her lips, her shoulder scrunched up a bit. “I’m an obsessive observer of people. I can usually tell how people in this town are simply by looking at them. I doubt it was obvious to anyone else.”
“Ah, yeah. I’m happy now. I’m not supposed to dread going home, and I finally don’t.” We finish picking up the chairs and she offers to mop after I sweep.
By the time we finish, I’m shutting the lights off a good forty-five minutes earlier than usual.
We say goodbye to Adeline and get into my car.
“I’m in Poplar Grove.” Brynne buckles herself in.
“Okay.” I pull out of the parking lot and head toward her place. We’re quiet, but it doesn’t feel weird. It’s nice.
Brynne’s apartment is in the oldest part of town. It’s one of the few buildings that hasn’t been upgraded in the past few years and the wear is obvious.
“Thanks for the ride. I could’ve walked.” Brynne shifts, uncomfortable at accepting help.
“It was no problem at all,” I reply, my voice emphatic.
She doesn’t move to get out of the car. “I meant what I said. I’m happy to see you happy. You deserve it.”
She doesn’t wait for my response, letting herself out of my car and shutting the door with a wave.
Smiling as I drive to Young Jae’s, Brynne’s brusqueness takes me back to the times I would talk to her at school. She wouldn’t say much and held herself at a distance, but by the time we graduated there was a grudging friendship.
I’m sad it faded away, but seeing her tonight reminds me that it’s never too late.
I park on my side of the driveway, a knot forming in the pit of my stomach. Turning up the music, I sit through a couple songs just like I used to. What if I walk in there, and it’s exactly the same as at Jake’s?
Shaking my head, I mutter, “Young Jae would never.”
As the song ends, I turn off my car and grab my purse. The door is unlocked, so I let myself in.
Kimchi greets me at the door, her scruffy body wriggling in excitement. I laugh, greeting her as I put my shoes away. And only my shoes. I pop into the garage to put the cannolis into the spare fridge Young Jae keeps there, that way I can surprise him later.
Wandering toward the kitchen, I smell something delicious and the anxious pit in my stomach unravels. I don’t make it past the dining area, my stomach grumbling. The table has a covered dish on it and a huge bowl of rice. Everything is set and ready for us to eat.
“Perfect timing! I just finished cooking.” He sits down, waiting while I quickly wash my hands in the bathroom before he starts dishing up. As I take my seat, he says, “I hope you don’t mind, I was craving kimchi jjigae.”
Breathing in deeply as he takes the lid off the serving dish, I sigh in anticipation. “You know this is one of my favorites. Thank you for cooking dinner.”
Serving myself, I take the first bite and it’s just as good as I remember.
“It’s nice and easy after a long day.” Young Jae grins, his voice teasing.
“God, I still feel so bad, I know you’re not a morning person.” Making a mental note to go wide as I leave my room, I give him my best pouty face. “In my defense, the table attacked me.”
“So you said.” He laughs. “It’s all good. I got more done this morning than I usually do in a day.”
We finish eating, laughing and chatting. I shoo him to the living room when he tries to clear the table. “What did I say about cleaning up when you cook?”
“Okay, okay. You win.”
Stacking the empty dishes, I mentally prepare myself for the kitchen. I avoided looking at it when I saw the table so I could enjoy my meal, but as I turn and see the clear counters, I falter. Not only are there no dishes, but everything has been wiped down.
I load the dishwasher and see it’s ready to run, so I turn it on before joining Young Jae in the living room. “You didn’t have to clean the kitchen.”
He’s lounging on the couch, Kimchi on his lap, as he picks up some spy novel. “I always clean as I cook, I hate eating with a dirty kitchen. Besides, it’s my routine and I’m not going to change it just because I know you’ll pick up my slack.”
His tone is a bit pointed. I feel guilty and know my reaction could be interpreted as comparing him to Jake. A huge offense in Young Jae’s eyes.
“I know that. Thank yo…” Trailing off as I see the bookshelves on either side of his fireplace. Before they had his novels spread out with a few decorations in between, but now my books fill the shelves beautifully laid out with a bunch of my trinkets from past trips. “Oh my. Did you do this?”
Biting my lower lip, I look up at the ceiling to stop the tears I can feel forming. All of my books are visible, series together and arranged alphabetically by author, just how I like them.
“Well, Ari helped. I couldn’t get them to look the way I wanted so I called her.” He grimaces. “She said more in the hour she was here than I typically do all day.”
Biting back a laugh, I grab the most recent book I was reading and settle into the corner seat of his sectional. “She was probably just thrilled you asked for her help for once.”
I can tell by the look on his face I’m right.
“Apparently, Ji Hoon is moving back to town with a buddy. They’re re-opening the old auto shop.” He doesn’t hide the hurt from his voice. “He never mentioned it to me.”
Crossing my legs, I lean toward him. “He probably wants to surprise you and Ari didn’t realize.”
His face clears a bit. “That does sound like something he would do. She didn’t mention who he’s opening the business with, Mom probably didn’t say.”
Reaching over, I pat his thigh. “Exactly.”
Young Jae relaxes, picking up a paperback from the side table and flipping to a marked page.
Squirming as I try to get comfortable so I can also read, I set my book down and run upstairs to change into my yoga shorts and T-shirt before rejoining Young Jae. Sighing as I sit down, I pick up the book I abandoned and start reading.
As I devour the love story on the pages in front of me, I try to remember the last time I was able to relax after dinner. The house is tidy, and nothing demands my attention. There’s no constant background noise of videos and I actually got to enjoy a fulfilling conversation.
Living with Young Jae is going to be a breeze. I know he’s in no rush to push me out, which works because, so far, there’s nothing in my price range available unless I want to move to Thistle Creek, which isn’t convenient for work. So I settle in, happy and content.
Young Jae groans loudly, stretching, causing me to startle. I just got to the scene where they are finally about to admit they’re in love too. “Damn, you scared me.”
“I can’t sit anymore, I’m going to fall asleep. Want to take Kimchi for a walk with me?” The dog jumps up at the word, wriggling and happy.
Closing my book, I shove up from the couch. “Yes, I would love that.”
We get Kimchi into her harness and head out. The evening is sunny and the sound of lawn mowers fills the air.
“Ugh. It’s like a challenge. Now I need to mow the lawn.” Young Jae groans jokingly.
Laughing, I tease, “It’s the eternal cycle.”
My smile doesn’t fade as we walk. My chest feels light and I can feel my shoulders resting lower than they have, the years of tightness easing.
Glancing at Young Jae as he stops to let Kimchi smell a fire hydrant, I’m reminded of our days studying when he first moved here. He always managed to make me smile even on my roughest days. I had the biggest crush on him back then but was too shy to ask him out and figured he wasn’t interested when he never made any attempt at flirting.
Now in his thirties, he’s still wildly attractive and the fact that he is so considerate enhances it so much more.
My heart flutters a little bit as he crouches down to give Kimchi a treat. Shit. No. I locked that down years ago. Every so often I can feel the attraction flare, but the last thing I need is to lust over my best friend.
Looking away, I stretch out my neck.
“Elise?” Young Jae’s hand rests on my shoulder, making me jump. The heat of his hand sends shivers through me.
“Yeah?”
“Ready to keep walking?” He looks at me, concerned. “Are you feeling okay? We can turn around.”
Clearing my throat, I start walking. “Sorry, I was just thinking how nice it is to spend my evening relaxing.”
It’s not completely a lie, but there’s no effing way I’m about to tell him I was thinking about how attractive he is.
He falls in stride beside me on the outside of the sidewalk. Somehow I never noticed until now that he always does this…and Jake never did.
“Did you set up the help wanted ad?”
“I did. I posted it for only a week. We’ll see what my inbox looks like when I go in tomorrow. I did test out chocolate cannolis. There are some in the garage fridge for you.” We loop around the neighborhood, waving at neighbors working in their yards as we walk.
“Seriously?! You tell me this now? We’re going home for dessert.” He starts walking faster, his six-foot-one frame creating distance as I try to keep up.
At only five-foot-five, it’s hard to manage. “Hey! I’ve got shorter legs than you. Your fast walk is a jog for me.”
He slows down. “Okay, okay.”
“Anyway, I haven’t interviewed anyone before, so this will be a new experience.” We round the final corner, his house in sight.
“You will do great. I’m proud of you.” He bounds up the steps, Kimchi following on his heels, and opens the door. “Now you go get those cannolis and I’ll boil water for some tea.”
I quickly grab the box and join him at the table, opening the lid and setting it before him.
His eyes widen. “You’ve never made these before?”
Shaking my head, I grab one and take a bite. “No, but I think it will be nice to add some new things to the menu and remove some others that just aren’t as popular as they used to be.”
“Good idea. The big chains cycle through a few things, offering only specific items at certain times during the year. Have you considered doing this? It might help create buzz for those items,” he says as he takes another one. “This is delicious.”
We stay up, polishing off the box before I realize how late it is.
He follows me up the stairs. “I don’t know how you wake up that early every day. I’m wiped.”
We pause outside our doors. “You get used to it. I will try to be quieter in the morning.”
Saying goodnight, I cross the hall to give him a hug. “You’ve made this transition easy. Thank you, Oppa.”
He smiles at the Korean term. “Goodnight, Roomie.”