Leaves [gxg]

35

35

River did the only thing she could rely upon. She made tea.

After the initial 'hello', Celeste had sat in the same spot where she had sat the first night that she and River had really talked. The night when everything had changed. River wasn't certain Celeste did that on purpose or not, but Celeste was a student of human nature. She could very well know that replicating those circumstances could allow a flood of emotions to smash their way through River's mind.

"It's just ordinary tea. Nothing special." She placed the tray upon the table wondering if Celeste would see some message in the choice of tea. "It was the first I grabbed. I'm not making a statement, or not not making a statement. It's just tea. I wasn't trying to ... I ... How was the flight? China?"

"It was okay." Celeste watched as River poured the tea from a standing position, delicate, long fingers playing with her spoon. "I don't think the Yellow tea is a viable option. The expense of importing it would be ... Sorry. It's automatic. I'm not used to uncomfortable emotions."

Celeste's hand rose to her chest, rubbing the place where the necklace and ring of her father usually dangled, her plum-coloured blouse unbuttoned to the top of her cleavage. She realised she had made the movement and whipped her hand back to the table, but River had noticed. She hoped Celeste hadn't stopped wearing the ring because of her.

Hesitating, River moved to sit down, stopped, stood again and berated herself before sitting down, her legs angled to the side allowing her the freedom to run for the door to the upstairs, should she need to. She hadn't looked at Celeste's face since the woman had entered the shop. Now, she glanced up and then away, pursing her lips as she caught sight of Celeste's eyes.

"I've come to a decision." She shuffled her legs under the table and then shuffled them back to the side before hunching her shoulders and picking up her cup of tea. "Then I changed my mind. And then I changed my mind again. And then ... Well, you get the picture. You know, if you'd said right away what you were thinking, it would have saved a lot of drama!"

The cup clinked against the saucer, tea slopping over the side. A tremor had begun in her hand as she started talking and she couldn't trust herself not to spill tea all over her skirt. She placed her palms upon the tabletop, spreading her fingers and trying to calm herself down. If only Erisa were here.

River could have used her calming influence. Her steadfast, no nonsense way of looking at things with her keen lawyerly mind. Her ability to slice through the useless elements of a conversation and come right down to what needed saying. River had none of that. She fussed and stuttered and obfuscated about everything, especially when flustered. As she was at this moment.

Now that Celeste was right here, sat only feet away, memories of that kiss flooded River's mind, clouding her thoughts and pushing aside concerns about her shop and the possibility of a franchise. Celeste's perfume drifted across the table, sending River's heart aflutter. She could see those perfectly manicured nails as Celeste held her teacup. Nails and fingers and hands that had held on to River. Soft. Warm. Comforting.

"You're right. Of course. I should have told you." Celeste ran a hand through her hair, that fell back into place like dark, soft feathers drifting to the ground. She sat back with a sigh, crossing legs encased in perfectly tailored trousers. "I don't know why I didn't. It started with just a thought and before I knew it, I'd started doing what I do. Spending hours working out how to make it work down to the tiniest details. And then ..."

"And then ...?" River filled in the silence as Celeste paused, her thumbnail tapping her front teeth in thought.

"And then ... You. And then you." Legs uncrossed, elbows rested upon the table and then Celeste sat back again, as though uncertain how to sit. Uncomfortable. "Through an interminable car drive, you were you the whole time. Bright, funny, blessed with life and happiness. I've never ... I mean, I've had crushes before, but ... I've been with men ... I ..."