“Fine,” he finally agreed, and Emma relaxed. “But I’ll wait outside for you,” he said and moved towards the door. A moment later, the bell jingled and he was gone.
Emma just stared at him. “What in the world is wrong with that man?” she asked out loud.
Helen hearing her, laughed. “It seems hiring you was a smart decision. Business from handsome young men apparently seems to be picking up,” she said.
Emma felt her face heat up as she clocked out and walked towards the back. Strangely, even though he was practically harassing her, she didn’t feel any danger from him. It was a weird feeling, and she wasn’t really sure what to think about it.
Cynthia came in as Emma dropped her apron in the laundry basket. “How did it go today?” she asked Emma as she put on an apron.
“It was good,” Emma said with a smile. She wondered if Liam was still waiting for her. The last thing she wanted him to know was that she was homeless.
She was trying to figure out how in the world to avoid him when Helen said nonchalantly. “There is a back door, should you ever need it.” Emma looked at her. Helen winked and motioned for Emma to follow her. When Helen showed her the door, Emma turned to her.
Helen smiled. “Go on before he figures out what you’re doing.”
“Thanks, Helen,” Emma said before quickly exiting the back door. Emma walked in the direction of the library and found she was able to still get to it from this street. With a huge smile on her face, she entered the library. She felt giddy with her small victory. She made her way to her favorite reading section and settled in to read before it was time to head back to Hope House.
That night, Emma had her second lesson in sign language from Olivia. After dinner, she visited the free room to see if there were any more clothes she could borrow. Disappointed not to find any, she made her way back to her room.
Her roommate came into the room right after she did. Emma turned to greet her. “Hi, I’m Emma,” she said putting out her hand.
“Don’t care,” the girl said as she pushed past Emma, nearly knocking Emma over. The girl flopped onto her bed and put her headphones on. Emma blew out a breath of frustration.
Just let it go, Emma. It doesn't matter, she told herself. Emma sat on her bed. She wasn’t sure what to do with her time now. She looked out the window and wondered how her mother was doing.Does she miss me? Does she even know I’m gone?She wondered—not for the first time—what it would be like to be a part of a normal, loving family. She pushed those thoughts aside. Nothing good came from wanting something she couldn’t have. She decided to focus on getting ready for tomorrow. She walked over to her dresser to set out her clothes for tomorrow.
When she opened the dresser drawer, she saw only one pair of leggings, the ugly cat shirt, and her underwear and bag of toiletries. She pushed everything out of the way looking for her other shirt and leggings. Had she put them somewhere else? She looked around the room, trying to think of what else she could have done.
Her roommate stood up and took the jacket she was wearing off and smirked at Emma. Emma looked down and saw the t-shirt she had received when she first got here. While it wasn’t anything amazing, it was better than the cat shirt. Emma opened her mouth to say something but paused when the girl crossed her arms and pinned her with a glare. Emma closed her mouth. It wasn’t worth it. Any fighting got you kicked out of here, and Emma couldn’t allow that to happen. She turned away, pushed in the drawer, and went and sat on her bed. She didn’t look her roommate’s way again.Well, at least the cat shirt’s ugly enough she probably won’t steal it,Emma thought with a smile.
Emma sat on her bed and wrapped her arms around her legs. She just needed to kill an hour or two before she could go to bed. She allowed her mind to drift to the events of the day. She thought about the man that had captured her attention. She could envision him now. Even after only seeing him one time, she could see every detail of him. She wondered again what had happened with his eyes. Had she imagined it or had they really changed color?
Chapter7
Emma arrived at work the next morning wearing the cat shirt. She was so grateful for the apron she would be wearing all day. She and Helen got to work. While they were working, Emma brought up one of the things that had caught her attention yesterday. “Hey, Helen,” she began carefully.
“Hmm,” Helen said as she set out supplies for the day.
“I don’t mean to be nosy, but is the shop struggling?” she asked. Helen turned to look at her. “I’m sorry. I just heard what you said to those police officers and I... I’m sorry it’s not of my business.”
Helen waved her hand. “Not at all. You’re a part of this now. I love this shop,” she said looking around. “My husband and I started it nearly thirty years ago now. It’s always done well, but once he passed...” She trailed off for a moment, and Emma felt horrible.
“I’m so sorry,” Emma said softly.
Helen smiled at her. “It’s okay. He’s been gone five years. I miss him so much. We had an amazing life together. We built this business from the ground up. It was always successful, but he was the people person. He knew every person that came in here—knew where they were from, what their favorite drink was, and the name of their pet. I swear people came in just to talk to my Bob,” she said with a smile. “After he passed, I got so busy just running the place that I kind of lost that connection and it shows. Business isn’t what it used to be,” she said sadly. “Cynthia helps me as much as she can, but she has a family of her own to focus on.” She brightened and looked at Emma. “But now that you’re here, we seem to be drawing some attention again.”
They both worked silently for a little while. Emma’s mind was wandering. She wondered what she could do to help business pick up. Customers trickled in once they opened and Emma got to work, but her mind was still on the shop and what she could do to help. An idea started forming in her mind. During her break, she spent her time looking at business books and what they could do to grow the business.
On her way back to the coffee shop, she was so lost in thought she didn't see Liam until she was almost on top of him. “Liam,” she said in surprise. “You surprised me.”
“Cat girl,” he said, less enthusiastically than the last two times he had called her that. She looked up at him and noticed his arms were crossed. “Nice walking you to your car yesterday,” he said.
Emma grimaced. “About that, I...” her voice trailed off.
“No explanation?” he asked with one eyebrow cocked.
Emma crossed her arms. “Nope. I don’t have to explain myself to you. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need to get back to work.” She stepped past him and into the shop.
“Rawr,” she heard from behind her. “The cat’s got claws. I like it.” He followed her into the shop.