Page 24 of Ink & Snow
Elias came back to talk about cat toys and collars. I let him, ignoring the innuendos. He bought another wreath, and I overcharged him again.
The organic produce person, Jenny, struck me as a savvy business-minded woman, and she came with cheap labor in the form of a single unit of offspring who, very politely, asked if she might see the baby kitten, please. And since I kept Cherry in her—for the time—escape-proof moving box behind the counter where I could keep an eye on the little devil, that was an easy request to fulfil.
Sheriff Dwayne never asked so politely, but he came by to check on Cherry too, though he found excuses: did I need the alley behind my building cleared? Yes, if he had the right tools to make an ingress for my car. Did I need a copy of the town newspaper with the holiday schedule? No, because that was on the Internet. And so on. And of course when he showed up with a smaller plow to make way for my car, I had to invite him in for coffee, because that was what you did in a small town, apparently.
By the time Sunday rolled around, I had more or less gotten the place to look livable. And I was exhausted. I’d met too many people, and everyone,every single fucking one,wanted to talk, town gossip, flowers, the cat, anything and everything.
The only person who didn’t show up was Amory. Amory, who I really wanted to see, a situation made much worse by the kitten in my bed. I couldn’t jerk off with Cherry sleeping next to me, so there was a lot of pent-up sexual tension I was suffering from.
Dwayne, most helpfully, had informed me that I could bring out one of the camping tables, which did indeed exist in my storage room, for the Sunday Illumination event as early as noon.
So I did, stomping through the fucking drifts with all my shit, having to go multiple times. The rest of the townies—the city council—were still setting up, but the bones were there—a bonfire, lights strung up from all the snow-covered greenery to the gazebo and the large Christmas tree, plastic Santas and Rudolphs added to the candy canes that had been there when I’d arrived.
I put my camping table down on a somewhat cleared area of the park that looked like it was intended for the purpose and got busy unfolding the legs.
“Hi there,” someone said, and I turned around, a table leg in my hand.
A tall blond looked at me, his short beard flawlessly molded around generous lips. He waved.
“Hello. What can I do for you?”
“I’m Simeon. I own the Moonlight Café.” He pointed at where they had set up. They had an awning. That was smart. Knowing the weather here, it would eventually snow again sooner rather than later.
“Nice to meet you. I’m the flower shop guy.”
“I figured. Are you going to hate me if I give you a piece of advice?”
“Depends on what you’re about to criticize, Simeon.”
He waved that off, looking downright sheepish. “Nah. It’s just, Fran would usually set up next to us. City council won’t care, but people might expect to find their wreaths where they always are.” He winked. “And we make pretty good coffee and cookies.”
“Oh. Right.” I looked at my half-unfolded table and sighed.
“Want a hand?” Simeon asked.
He helped me carry the table over and set it up, our boots crunching on the dusting of white that had once more covered the cleared paths.
The Moonlight Café had a more elaborate setup, a coffee cart with the logo, a crescent moon and a steaming cup resting on the moon’s sickle. The awning matched the colors, pale blue and silver.
Apart from coffee, hot chocolate, and everything in between, they had a nice selection of sweets so delectable looking my mouth began to water. There were cookies, big as saucers and stuffed, delicate flaky pastry things with a cream filling, winter spice bars with berry filling, Rudolph cupcakes with a candied cherry for a nose. I was tempted, but for the time being, I decided to resist.
With Simeon helping me to straighten the legs, the table was up in moments, and I stood to suck icy air into my lungs and face the curious look of the guy selling coffee and baked goods from the Moonlight’s cart.
“That’s Garnet,” Simeon said.
The guy winked and waved at me. He was wearing makeup and wasn’t being subtle about it.
“Nice to meet you, Soyer.”
I said, “I feel the need to inform you that elsewhere on the planet, it is considered creepy that you all know who I am. It’s like I’m at a stalker convention.”
“Oh, we know.” Simeon smiled and put his hands on his hips, looked around. People were starting to walk into the park, and they weren’t just the council volunteers with the neon vests but families with children, older people, average people. All the town coming out to have some fun and undoubtedly exchange yet more gossip. “Want some help with the wreaths too? Garnet looks like he’s got everything covered here.”
“That’s very neighborly of you.”
Simeon shrugged. “It’s what we stalkers do.”
“In that case, it would be rude to say no.”
