Page 8 of The Midnight Book Club
“Me?I’m fine.”
“That’s not what Antonia says.”
“What did she say?”Aurelia felt defensive even though she knew Antonia had plenty to report about her—like questions about ghosts and worries over burglars.
“She said you’ve been weird and need to get out of the shop.So, you’re going on a date tonight.”
“No, I’m not,” Aurelia insisted before her curiosity took over and she added, “With who?”
“With Oliver.He works with James at his publishing house.”
Aurelia bit back a smile; David loved calling the publisher where his boyfriend worked a ‘publishing house,’ even though James insisted it was a tiny company that was more like a publishing closet than a house.
“I’ve never heard James mention someone named Oliver—and I’m not going.”
“That’s because Oliver just started working there a few weeks ago.Listen, I can’t raise my voice right now because my students are filing in, but you’re going,” David informed her.
“Have you even met this man?”
“Of course I have.”
“How old is he?”Aurelia challenged.
“Mid-thirties?”David guessed.“He’s our age,” he added defensively.
“What’s his surname?”
“Just call him Oliver.”
“You don’t know it, do you?”
“Look, I’ve got to go,” he whispered urgently.“I’ll text you the details later.”
David hung up before she could keep arguing, leaving her to shake her head indignantly.
“I’m not going,” she muttered to herself as she sipped her tea.
A date was the last thing she needed after sleepless nights and strange happenings in the shop.Antonia was just meddling and, as one of Aurelia’s closest friends, David was only too happy to join in.His parents had moved to the outskirts of London from Kenya when he was in primary school and the two of them had bonded after an eventful school outing when they discovered that they both became carsick on buses.Their long friendship meant he knew her sister well since Antonia was only two years older than them, and they’d spent plenty of time together over the years.It was fun when they were all plotting something in tandem but far less fun when Aurelia was the one being plotted about.She would just have to ring him back during his afternoon break and tell him to call the date off.
Aurelia was still grumbling to herself when she spotted an older man walking past the square and heading for the shop.The sight of him instantly lifted her mood and she smiled as he opened the door and set its bell ringing.
“Good morning, Mark!”
“Morning, Aurelia.”
He walked slowly toward her, favoring an old injury in his right knee, and greeted her with a wistful smile.Mark was in his late sixties and had rumpled salt-and-pepper hair and stubble that was less an aesthetic choice than a sign that he wasn’t taking particularly good care of himself.He wore an old tweed coat and a maroon scarf that had seen better days, but Aurelia knew he wouldn’t part with it for the world.Marigold had knitted it for him many years ago after tutting to see him underdressed for midwinter.Mark quickly became a regular visitor to the shop, but it had taken him years to confess his feelings for Marigold.She had let him down gently, but they remained friends, with Mark ever pining for her.
“How’ve you been?”Aurelia asked, sliding the extra mug of tea across the counter.
“Oh, doing alright,” Mark said, pausing to take a sip.“I was wondering how you were doing, since… Well, it was a year ago this week, wasn’t it?”
Aurelia blinked hard and only just managed to keep from crying again.She hadn’t expected Mark to remember, though he’d witnessed Aurelia and Marigold struggling through the difficult days and weeks after her mother’s death.
“It was, yeah.Thanks, Mark.”
He reached out a tentative hand and patted her arm.
“It’s been a hard year, but you’ve come through just fine,” he said encouragingly.
