Page 3 of Proof

It was a quiet start to the week. The center was open Wednesday through Sunday afternoon. Mondays and Tuesdays were devoted to meetings, paperwork, deliveries, and catching up. Luna opened the café for anyone in need of coffee, and The Flakey Tart delivered a basket of croissants for Luna to oversee. She fired up the De’Longhi La Specialista espresso machine and put out cups and plates. It was a self-serve situation on the days the center was closed to the public.

Luna fixed a cup for her brother and brought it into his workshop, her dog Wylie following behind her.

“Why the long face?” Cullen asked as she handed him his java.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Luna glanced up at him.

“I know that look. Something is on your mind.”

She shrugged. “No. Not really.” She was lying, and he knew it.

“Don’t give me that, little sister. What’s up?” He leaned against the long shop table.

“I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

“That could be a good thing or a bad thing.” Cullen was well aware of his sister’s feelings. “Things okay with Chris?”

“Yeah, fine,” she said mechanically.

“You sure?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure. Of course.” She furrowed her brow, then turned and went back into her café.

Cullen knew there was something bothering Luna. The problem was, if she couldn’t put her finger on it, then it was impossible for him to help. He also knew she would eventually figure it out.

Luna sat down at her easel. Nothing was coming to her. It was almost as if she were numb. Physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally numb. She closed her eyes, took her pen, and drew a large question mark on the pad. “So? What is it?” she shouted at the inanimate object staring back at her. Wylie also sensed Luna’s uneasiness and plopped his head on her knee. Luna looked down into his big brown eyes. “You got an answer, pal? ’Cause I sure don’t.”

She got up and made herself a cappuccino, then spotted a glorious work of art flowing across the atrium. It was Chi-Chi. She often dressed in vibrant colors that perfectly draped her five-foot-seven-inch frame. A matching head wrap held her long, black box braids in place as they cascaded down her back.

No wonder Cullen is in love with her. Luna sighed.

“E káàrò.” Chi-Chi gave her the morning greeting.

“E káàrò,” Luna replied. “Your usual?”

“Thank you. I can do it. This is your day off.”

Luna got up and moved toward the counter. She gave Chi-Chi a side hug. “What’s on your agenda for today?”

“I am going through all the papers my brother left behind. He is so disorganized. It is astonishing he can get back and forth from Nigeria without finding himself in Nova Scotia.”

“You don’t know that it hasn’t already happened,” Luna joked.

“You are right. He would never tell me if such a thing happened to him.”

“Because you’d never let him forget it.”

“Please. I cannot unsee the spectacle that was on display when I walked into my house and found him with Jennine. I do mean on display. It was a very unpleasant experience.”

“The thought is horrifying.” Luna giggled. “But not surprising.”

“We never should have left him alone.”

“He is a grown man.” Luna smirked.

Chi-Chi grunted. “I do not believe those two words go together: grown and man. They are just silly boys in larger clothes with bigger feet.”

Luna barely stopped coffee from escaping out of her nose. “Do you feel that way about Cullen?” Luna had a twinkle in her eye.

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