Stumbling Into the Spotlight - Tom Hiddleston FanFic

11 - Eliza

Afternoon passed and then evening with no word from Tom and though I tried to keep myself occupied it was ever present in my mind. I'd thought the market had gone well but maybe I'd missed something that had upset him. It annoyed more every time I replayed it and came up with nothing.

I'd given Gerald my business card and a key to the shop and told him I'd have some coffee he could take down to the cast and crew, remembering what Chris had said about the coffee they had on set. It was going to be pretty cold tonight and it was something simple I could do.

Though now I was agitated enough I'd wished I hadn't. The cameras had all disappeared from outside the shop at least. So I brewed several pots in the large thermoses I used for the harvest fest booth. They'd be easy enough to carry and set up since they each had a handle to carry them and if by chance they used the same ones on set mine had the name of my shop on them. Gerald could bring them back in the morning some time.

I was finishing labeling them as Gerald let himself in.

"Hey Gerald, you're just in time. I just finished labeling them. Need help loading them up?"

"I've got it miss. This is very nice of you."

"Please call me Eliza and it's nothing. Bring them back in the morning and I can do this again for tomorrow. It's gonna be cold out there the next few nights."

"I've known Tom for many years and though he's my boss he's also my friend."

"He said as much. It's nice getting to work for and with people you can trust and get along with. Do you travel everywhere with him?"

"I do. So believe me when I say I think you're good for him. You challenge him and don't just treat him like he's a celebrity."

"He's an amazing man. I just want him to be happy." I answer honestly.

There wasn't anything else I could say. I didn't know what he knew and I certainly wasn't going to slip up and tell him that it was all make believe if Tom hadn't.

"You love him."

He wasn't asking a question, he said it as a statement of fact. It startled me that he had come to that conclusion and realized that maybe Tom had realized it too and that was why he'd acted so strange on the ride back here. I wasn't ashamed to admit it to Gerald, though I knew I'd never be able to say it to Tom.

"I do."

"Don't give up on him."

Did that mean he'd noticed the strange behavior too? Of course he had, he'd known him far longer than I had. But what did he mean don't give up on him? I was too tired and far too annoyed to ponder any of it tonight.

"I'm going to head on up and go to bed. If you need more coffee tonight you can use the key and refill them. There's instruction on the front of the machine and the coffee is in the counter below the station."

"I'll lock up after I get them loaded. Good night Eliza."

"Good night Gerald. Thanks."

I quickly climb the steps up to my apartment and shut the door behind me, leaning my back against it. It'd been a long and emotionally exhausting day. I wasn't good at dating, never had been, so why I thought I could pull this charade off was a mystery. I'd gone on dates over the last fifteen years, mostly because Katy badgered me about it, but there had been very few second dates.

It was earlier than I'd usually go to bed but I was officially and completely done with this day. I changed into my pajamas and got ready for bed. Padding out to the kitchen I plug my phone in only to notice a missed text. I open it and let out a huff of annoyance.