They needed to get a place of their own. By now, it was pretty obvious that she wasn't going anywhere, and that Din wasn't going back to Scotland, and that they were going to be together for the foreseeable future. Well, there was the excursion to Egypt, but after that, they should get a place of their own.
Fenella was no longer scared of committing to their relationship.
"Maybe we could just go to the café and order coffee," she suggested. "I could use a cappuccino, and before you ask, yes, I know I already had coffee at Fernando's, but that was a while ago, and not that good if I want to be honest."
"I wasn't going to say anything." He took her hand. "The café sounds lovely."
The place was mostly empty in the late afternoon lull, caught between the lunch crowd and the dinner rush. Wonder wasn't there, and Aliya was all by herself because Arezoo had to stay home and watch her cousins while her mother and aunts went shopping.
After the chaos of the day, Fenella appreciated the quiet.
They claimed a corner table by her favorite tree, and Din unwrapped his sandwich with the reverence it deserved. The first bite made his eyes close in appreciation.
"Good?" she asked, though his expression had already answered.
"Excellent," he managed around a mouthful. "Can I offer you the other half?"
Always so considerate, always such a gentleman. She was really lucky to have the Fates choose him for her.
Look at her, being spiritual and all.
"I ate at Fernando's." She waved to get Aliya's attention. "Can we get two cappuccinos, please?"
"Of course," Aliya called out. "Coming right up."
As they waited for their coffees, Fenella enjoyed watching Din eat the sandwich with the focused attention of someone who'd learned not to take good food for granted. There was something endearing about the way he savored each bite.
When her phone buzzed, she expected it to be Kyra for some reason, but when she pulled it out of her purse, Atzil's name flashed on the screen.
"That's a surprise," she muttered. "Hello, boss."
"Fenella!" Atzil's voice boomed through the speaker with enough enthusiasm to make her hold the phone away from her ear. "I have a proposition for you."
"If it involves me learning to cook, the answer is no."
His laugh was rich and warm. "Nothing like that. I want you to work every night until you leave for Egypt, if you can. I'vebeen getting calls and texts for the past two days with customers begging for it, and the bar has never been so busy as when you're performing your readings."
Every night was a lot, but it was also exactly what she needed—structure, purpose, and money.
"Do you want me to run it by myself?"
It would have been impossible to do during the weekend, but on weekdays the place wouldn't be as busy, so maybe she could pull it off by herself or with a little bit of help from Din.
"I wouldn't dream of leaving you to handle everything on your lonesome. I'll be there with you from opening to closing."
"What about your duties at Kalugal's?" she asked. "You cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for his entire crew. That's a lot of work."
"It won't be the first time I've pulled double duty," Atzil said. "Ingrid keeps telling me that if I want to grow the business, I need to seize opportunities. And you, my dear, are the best opportunity the Hobbit has seen since its opening."
The compliment warmed her more than it should have. "When do you want me to start?"
"Tonight?" The hope in his voice was almost comical. "If you're available, of course. I was thinking of opening at nine in the evening and closing at one in the morning. That's only four hours. I can manage that in addition to my cooking duties during the day."
Fenella glanced at Din, who was watching her with an unreadable expression. "Tonight works."
"Excellent! I'll post it on the bulletin board so everyone knows. And as we agreed, you get to keep all the tips."
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him for a better hourly rate as well, but she didn't want to be greedy. The tips alone were enough to cover most of her needs. After all, it wasn't as if she had to pay rent or utilities.
