Page 59 of A Wonderland Wish on Ever After Street
‘We’ve had some complaints about The Wonderland Teapot.’ Mr Hastings scuffs the toes of his shiny shoes against the gravel, looking uneasy. ‘There are reviews talking about salty muffins. A complaint about brownies. Even a case of food poisoning, so I hear.’ His eyes flick to Bram. ‘It all seems to be coming back to you, Miss Jordan. I’ve tried my best to help, but this really can’t be ignored any longer.’
I’m surprised Bram told him about the food poisoning. I don’t blame him, but considering how often he’s taken responsibility for things that were my fault, I didn’t think he’d rush to tell his father about that.
‘The council’s food safety team will send an inspector to have a look around. While I’m sure it’s not your doing, we have to take these things seriously and handle them with empathy. If youaren’tdoing anything wrong and these complaints are merely fictionalised, you’ve gotnothingto worry about.’
‘You can’t blame Cleo,’ Bram says. ‘Things have happened thatare beyond anyone’s control. It’s a new business. There are gremlins sharpening their teeth.’
His father gives him a scathing look and Bram rolls his eyes. ‘Metaphorical gremlins. I don’t think there areactualgremlins.’
At least he clarified that because there are times when I haven’t been sure. Mainly, I appreciate the way he sticks up for me, no matter what.
‘Gremlins or not, Abraham, I don’t appreciate having my ear chewed off by the head of the environmental health department, or the insinuation that I am not keeping on top of the eatery establishments in my jurisdiction.’
‘It’s impossible to prove,’ Bram says.
‘Impossible or not, the establishment must take full responsibility, financial liability, and learn from mistakes made. If you’re not willing to comply, Miss Jordan, maybe you don’t belong on Ever After Street after all.’
‘I’ll comply.’ I pull myself up taller and puff out my chest.
‘Jolly good. I wouldn’t have expected anything less.’ With one final look at Bram, he walks around to the driver’s side of his car. ‘My apologies for interrupting your evening. As you were.’
I hold the letter out in front of us. ‘You can’t make that disappear with an abracadabra, can you?’
‘No, butyoucan make it into a paper rose, and one day we’ll display it inyourtearoom when this is nothing but ancient history.’
Mr Hastings gets into his car and starts up, giving us a wave through the windscreen as he reverses with a spray of gravel.
‘Don’t take it personally. If there’s one thing people are always going to do, it’s complain. What we need to do before that inspection is find a way to prove Tabby tampered with those cakes and that it wasn’t something we did.’
‘And if we can’t?’ I sigh. ‘And even if we can, whatdifference does it make?Ishould have been overseeing things. Having a staff member tampering with the cakes is just as bad. I’m the one who’s taken my eye off the ball. And either way, does it stopmebeing shut down? Does it change the fact that people have been ill after eating atmytearoom?’
‘Yes. Yes, it does. Because she’s notyourstaff member. She’s employed by the council. She’shisresponsibility. Lie down with dogs and… you have a great time. Dogs are brilliant. Who wouldn’t want to lie down with them?’
It makes me laugh even though laughing is the last thing I feel like doing. He’s said it in his nasally Hatter voice, just high-pitched enough to let me know he’s bothered by this too.
Maybe it’s a sign from the universe. I feel like everything has been against me from day one, apart from Bram. Maybe this was never meant for me. Maybe I was stupid to attempt to take on my own tearoom with no experience. Marnie still needs an assistant at the bookshop and I bet Bram could get his job at the carousel back… I sigh because the thought spiral is getting me down, and I step back until I can nudge his arm instead. ‘Areyouokay?’
‘Yeah.’ He glances down at me. ‘I have a suit for Sunday. A perfectly normal grey one with a tartan waistcoat and a tie. He won’t find anything to complain about. But I’ve been winding him and Laura up by threatening to wear wild outfits and they don’t realise that the more wound up they get, the more I wind them up. He doesn’t understand the concept of teasing.’
EvenIknow that about Bram, and I’ve only known him for two months.
‘He doesn’t mean any harm, not really. He’s just trying to make sure I don’t look like me. He bought me a box of dark hair dye last week. I’ve heard the “that hair is going to be in your sister’s wedding photos for the rest of her life” speech three times in the past two weeks.Ioffered to not be in the wedding photos if it offends them that much.’
We’re standing underneath the magnolia tree and still watching Mr Hastings’ car reversing slowly towards the gate. I reach up and stroke Bram’s hair back from where it’s covering his ear, and then whisper into it, ‘Never change.’
I hear his breath catch, and his arm goes around my waist, low on my back, his fingers curl into my hip on the other side, and he holds me against him. I let my hand slide over his shoulder and then rest my head on it as we watch Mr Hastings’ fancy car reverse through the gate.
‘You mean that? My life is full of people who wish I was different.’
‘I think he’s trying, in his horribly misguided way. I think he wishes he understood you better, but he doesn’t know how.’
He lets out a sigh and his head drops to rest against mine and it feels like he simply breathes for a few moments, and I appreciate the calm stillness because any meeting with Mr Hastings is always fraught with tension forbothof us.
‘How long before Marnie and Darcy realise we’ve been out here canoodling?’
‘No canoodling!’ I smack his arm and he laughs, making that single dimple dent inwards, and without giving myself a chance to second guess it, I use my grip on his shoulder to pull him down while I push myself up on tiptoes and brush my lips across it.
His fingers touch his cheek like he isn’t sure what just happened. ‘That was definitely canoodley.’
