Nina didn’t want to interact. She smiled and lifted her chin but didn’t say anything.
‘I’m guessing Birdie took you under her wing when you first arrived.’
Nina just nodded as she put the tray on the counter.
‘How long do you think it will take you?’
‘Not sure. Look, sorry, I need to get on.’
Just as Nina turned, Millie interrupted from the other side of the counter. Her face changed as she saw Lindsay. ‘Everything okay?’
Lindsay grinned, ‘Yes, thanks. Can I get a coffee and a salted caramel truffle for one of the tables in the window there?’
Millie didn’t smile. ‘Sorry, we’re just about to close.’
Lindsay frowned. ‘Oh, it says five on the door.’
Millie’s face was like stone. ‘The machine is off.’
Lindsay clapped her hands together, ‘No worries. I’ll have a tea then.’
‘As I said, we’re closed.’
Lindsay’s face dropped. ‘You’re closed?’
Millie didn’t miss a beat. ‘We are just closing now.’
‘So I can’t get a tea?’
‘No.’ Millie’s tone closed the conversation.
Nina felt awkward as she went to step around Lindsay to head out the back. Lindsay turned, yanked open the shop door and closed it with a bang behind her. Nina turned to Millie. ‘What was that all about?’
Millie grimaced. ‘Not having the likes of her in here.’
‘What’s wrong with her?’
‘Best we just leave it at that.’ Millie replied as she turned a few knobs on the coffee machine, then started to spray it with cleaner.
‘Birdie didn’t like her either.’
‘No one around here does.’
35
It was a sunny, windy day without a cloud. Nina stood at a pedestrian crossing and looked up at the red man. She wondered how long the blue sky and sunshine would last, hoping that it would be a similar day on the day she got married, although without the wind, would be good. As she crossed the wind whistled around her legs as she watched a man with fins in his hand and a small bodyboard under his arm come the other way. Another man with a backpack squeezed between pedestrians to cross the other way and Nina found herself hurrying along towards the riverboat.
Once she’d arrived at the jetty, she sat on the edge of the bench waiting for the riverboat to come along, musing quite how she was going to finish the chocolate shop job before the wedding. She looked down towards the river path where a woman in a purple running top, hat, and bright pink trainers ran along. Her mind flicked to her own running journey where she’d gone from hardly being able to put one foot in front of the other to now running, if badly, a few times a week.
As the familiar putter of the engine filled her ears, she gazed out at the riverbank sliding by. The sunny weather matched her upbeat mood. She mentally went through all she had left to dofor the wedding. She had to go to have the final fitting for the bodice and make sure everything was okay with the skirt of the dress. She had to pop in to see Beauty by Bianca to check the booking for having her makeup done, and she needed to check that the drinks were sorted. She felt a flutter of butterflies at the thought that all the meticulous planning was nearly complete. Soon, she’d be walking into a registry office towards a totally different next chapter of her life. With a start, she realised Colin was talking to her.
'How are you?' Colin asked.
'Good thanks, how about you?'
'Yeah, fine. Ready for the big day coming up?’
‘We've still got a bit of time to go,' Nina said with a smile.
