Sweet Escape

Thirty-One

"Elliot?" Charlize stood there in disbelief, staring at the two men that entered. Although Elliot looked glad to see her, Dimitri looked conflicted. His jaw was clenched and he was looking everywhere but at her.

"I haven't seen you in so long and this is all I get?" Elliot teased. She hurried around the counter and ran into his arms. She held him tight and he squeezed back.
"What are you doing here? How did you get here?" She stepped out of his embrace.
"We talked to Archie. We wanted some adventure as well." He shrugged. She narrowed her eyes at him, not believing it and he chuckled.
"You thought you were the only one allowed to get away? If I knew, I would have come with you." He said. "It is quite boring back home." She laughed and hugged him again.
"I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too."

"Um, Cookie?" They all turned to Gabriel who was still standing behind the counter in confusion.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Charlize said quickly. "This is my brother Elliot and my...Dimitri. And this is Gabriel."
"It is nice to meet you." Elliot nodded to him.
"You as well. Charlize has spoken a lot about you." Gabriel said, before glancing at Dimitri who now had an unreadable expression on his face. There was a heavy silence for a moment before the door from the kitchen opened and Demetri stepped out.
"Hey, Gabe – oh...everything good out here?" He asked, noticing the awkwardness between the four.

"Yeah, yup. Everything's good. Did you need me for something?" Gabriel asked.
"Uh, it can wait-."
"It's no problem, come on." He practically pushed his brother back into the kitchen and followed quickly. As much as Charlize was avoiding looking at Dimitri, he was doing the same. Elliot was about to speak to break the crushing silence, but the door chimed and a customer entered. Elliot and Dimitri stepped aside and watched Charlize work. This gave her a moment to catch her breath. She was stunned that they were there. Most of the shock came from seeing Dimitri. She didn't understand why he was there. Her first assumption was Elliot must have dragged him there. Despite their polite interactions at public events, he hadn't seemed as if he wanted anything to do with her.

Once the customer was gone, Elliot was quick to approach the counter again with a smile.
"A working girl. Could you imagine what mother would say if she saw you like this?" He said, gesturing toward her bright blue apron.
"She would throw a fit." Charlize laughed. "How is she doing by the way?"

"Losing her mind ever so slowly, but that is nothing new." Elliot waved it off. She missed his humor. He always knew how to make her laugh when she needed it most. "So how did all of this come about? And what have you been up to? I feel as though I have missed so much."

"You haven't missed much truth be told." Charlize sighed.
"I would still like to hear about it." He insisted. She glanced up at the clock.
"I still have an hour left." She frowned.
"We can wait." He shrugged. "How about we meet you at Paragon? We can have dinner and talk?" Her smile returned as she nodded.
"Okay." She agreed.
"Good." He said, satisfied. "See you soon then." Dimitri was the first one out of the door and Charlize waved at Elliot as he followed behind.

Once the door shut, she let out a heavy sigh of relief and rested her head against the counter. So many thoughts raced through her mind. What was the truth behind their arrival? When was it decided? Why hadn't Archibald told her? Did her mother know? Why, of all people, was Dimitri there? Why hadn't he said a word to her? Was he still upset?
"You alright Cookie?" Gabriel's voice brought her back. She slowly stood up straight and took a deep breath while nodding. "What was that?"

"I don't know." She answered. "I didn't know they would be here."
"I mean, clearly. But...what are they doing here?"
"Visiting, that's all." She tried, giving him a weak smile. He slowly nodded then bit the inside of his cheek.