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'Such a charming cafe,' Bryern observed from his high chair at the counter. 'A pity I might die of thirst here.'
Jude made a point of scraping a pair of outdoor chairs along the floor, cutting him off mid-complaint with a screech of wrought iron on polished wood. The phooka had offered a dozen of these unhelpful observations since his sharp arrival at five.
'Sorry for keeping you,' she called on her way outdoors again. 'I got a late rush.'
Not long after Nicasia had left, a loud line of students had poured into the cafe, stretching from the counter to the door and well beyond. Hot chocolates did well in the after-school hours, and Jude had a free marshmallow deal going with the regular kids who remembered to bring their loyalty cards. They had such bright faces and such tired eyes. They made her think of Taryn, small and huddled over a sickly-sweet mocha at the food court, waiting with their bags of bras, comics and sanitary items. Waiting to go home to Faerie.
The image lingered with Jude as she untied the knot in her outdoor umbrella. It collapsed in her hands, showering her head in buttery ginkgo leaves that had gathered on the top of it. She deposited the umbrella on the floor of the cafe and locked the door, causing Bryern to jump a little at the heavy click. She moved swiftly behind the counter to face him. To face another fragment of her past.
Toad was clean and sleeping, and she would not disturb him to offer the phooka a coffee. Tea was much better suited to uncomfortable encounters like this anyway.
'Pick one,' she said, offering him a tea menu.
'Chai,' he decided. 'Sticky and spicy.'
'Naturally.'
She lifted a bell jar and invited him to make a selection from a full plate of oat cookies. He considered one, then took the plate. Fine by her, the creep could have the lot if it would keep his focus off her back while she turned away to prepare his drink.
'These aren't terrible.' He said through a crunch, his goatish jaw working in circles as he chewed. 'How well do they sell?'
'The cookies do okay, but the muffins do better. I like to alternate between the two every week to give the muffins a sense of limited availability.'
'Then my timing is regrettable, I should have arrived on a muffin week.'
Jude nodded over her shoulder. 'That's the idea.'
'I didn't realise the hospitality trade could be so tricksy.'
He eyed her boxes of loose-leaf tea suspiciously. Jude moved her hip to eclipse his view.
