An hour later, as their waiter brought dinner to the table, Aurelia had run out of small talk and found herself thinking back to the night—and nights—before.She grew quiet, which her father couldn’t fail to notice since she was normally a chatterbox.
“Something on your mind?”
“Me?No.Well… Yes.”
“Let’s have it.”
“It’s nothing, really.”
Her father gave her his patented ‘out with it’ look.
Aurelia thought through how best to say what was on her mind since she couldn’t exactly tell her fatherCount Vronsky annoyed me last nightorI’ve been having chats with a man from the nineteenth century.
“There’s this… customer, an older man,” she began.“I’ve had a bit of an argument with him.”
“Is he bothering you?”Her father’s protective instinct jumped in and he set down his fork.
“Oh, no—not at all.It’s just that we’ve had a disagreement and I can’t figure out how to… well, how to convince him that he’s wrong.”
“Give it time.I’m sure your stubbornness will wear him down,” her father said, chuckling.
“I amnotstubborn,” Aurelia insisted.
“You see the problem?”her father asked, tenting his fingers in a professorial pose.
She rolled her eyes at him but couldn’t hide her smile.
“Alright, I’ll give you ‘strong-willed.’”
“I’ll take it.You get that from your mother, by the way.”
“I know.”
They were both at risk of growing misty-eyed, so they focused on their food for a moment.
“Is he a regular customer, or someone you won’t have to worry about seeing again?”her father eventually asked.
“Who?Oh, right.I’d say he’s become a regular.”
Although she supposed she could try taking his book off the table, that seemed like a petty way to avoid him.Not to mention the other characters likely wouldn’t appreciate thinking she’d pull their books off the table any time they said something that might annoy her.No, she’d just have to try to get Vronsky to see reason—or avoid him so she could keep chatting with the others.
“Aurelia?Have I lost you?”
She shook her head, returning to the present.“Sorry, I was just thinking of something else.Someone else.”
“Someone I know?”
She blushed.
“No, no one you know.”Just a few characters that’ve been materializing in the shop, she added to herself.
“Really?Someone new, then?”
The sudden memory of her date with Oliver turned her cheeks redder still.
“Oh, Dad, not like that.Not a boyfriend.Just… some new friends.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear you’re out meeting people again.”Her father turned serious.“I do worry about you, Aurelia.It’s a lot of pressure on you to run the shop, and living and working in the same spot can be very isolating.”
