Sunshine On A Snowy Night - On Hold

Chapter Two - Pumpkin Spice

By the time the store closed for the night I was exhausted.  Between the unexpected appearance of Nanna Sherry and the influx of customers because of the Christmas In July Festival, I was had it.

I'd let Bentley out the back and promised I'd walk him in the morning if he just let me sit on my couch and do nothing and surprisingly, he seemed to agree.  Or at least he was too tired from all the excitement to care either.

Bentley spends a lot of his day next to or behind the counter in my shop.  He really doesn't cause much trouble and other than drooling on my shoes if I keep my feet still for too long, he's the perfect work companion.

I hadn't heard from Will since the arrest and I wasn't sure if he would be staying the night or not.  We've decided when we do get married he'll move in with me since he only rents his cottage, but we're not planning on moving in together until we're married.  And we really haven't planned when that will happen.

I love Will but I feel like we already have a life together and we've agreed that we're happy to take it slow - much to the disgust of our parents.

Will's parents surprised us by taking a pause from travelling around the world to visit us and wait around for the wedding.  When they realised it wasn't likely to happen any time in the near future, they gave up and continued on around Australia promising they'd return closer to the date - whenever that might be.

My phone beeped next to me and I picked it up, my feet propped up on the couch and Bentley snoring at my feet.

I'd expected it to be from Mum asking if I could have Nanna Sherry stay with me - which we both knew wouldn't work since I live in a one bedroom apartment above my shop, but saw it was Will and smiled.

'Did you know Nanna Sherry is back in town?'  The message said.

Word spreads fast around Sunshine and I wondered if Dad had decided to work extra hours once Nanna made an appearance.

'Yeah.  She came into the shop tonight.  Should have seen Mum didn't tell me she was here.  Think it was a surprise.'  I wrote back and smiled.

Mum loves her mum, but despite their completely different styles and senses of humour, they're more alike than either of them wants to admit which means they tend to clash and drive each other a little bit insane.

My phone beeped again and I patted Bentley's head as I read the message, 'She's at the station.  One of the guys brought her in.  Should I message your dad?'

I sat up and reread the message to make sure I wasn't dreaming. 

I decided a phone call was easier.

Will answered on the second ring.

"Hey."  He sounded tired.

"What's happening?"  I asked, afraid Nanna had somehow ended up getting mugged or fallen over or... I paused and knew none of those things were very likely.  Nanna is a toughy and it's unlikely she would let anyone mug her, she's steady on her feet and the chances were high she was just looking for Dad.

"So like I said, Nanna Sherry is here."  I could tell by his tone that Nanna was within earshot.

"Okay."

"Yeah she got caught shoplifting."  Will sounded resigned to the fact he was marrying into a slightly weird family, but also sounded like he wanted nothing more than to go home, have a hot shower and fall asleep.

"Shoplifting what?  Oh never mind.  I'll be there as soon as I can.  Don't tell Mum or Dad yet okay?"

"Okay but hurry."