A Peculiar String of Bizarre Dreams

Chapter 42: Iced Tea

"Hello there!"

I swallow the bite of pie in my mouth and swivel around in my ink-bowl.

It's Hans! He seems to have just walked into the cafe. There's a line of sweat going down one side of his forehead and he's sporting an Incubus tee with some running shorts.

"Hi Hans!" I greet him with an easy smile.

"Are you working at Vazouk's now? Didn't I see you around here just yesterday?" His gray eyes squint at me as he tries to rein in his panting.

"Hey I could say the same to you!" I tease him back.

"Touché!" He takes an unoccupied table by the window.

"Touché," I repeat after him, "Mind if I join you?"

"Yes, I mind very much," he smiles at me warmly and then watches me moves my food to his table. I sit across him and ask, "How're you doing?" as I take another bite of pie.

"I've been well, Jemma, thanks for asking."

Vazouk shows up right then to take his order, "What'll you have, Hans?"

"I'll have a pitcher of iced tea, Vazouk," Hans announces.

Vazouk scowls at him. Possibly because he doesn't like Hans sweating inside his musty book-scented cafe, or maybe because the only pitcher he owns is sitting in the sink with other unclean dishes. Not many can decipher the enigma that is Vazouk.

"A pitcher of iced tea coming right up," he mumbles and rushes off to the kitchen.

"And how are you, Jemma?" Hans asks.

"I'm good, very good!" I can still see some semblance of well disguised sadness in his eyes. He might appear happy on the outside, but people who knew Hans personally, could sense that something was amiss.

Vazouk returns with a large pitcher of tea, sets it on our table with some straws and glasses, and disappears within the same second.

"I actually wanted to give you something." I remove Sachelle from my pocket and leaf through him looking for the gemstone.

"Hey, that's your mother's," Hans immediately points out.

I look up in surprise, "You know this belongs to my mother?" I hold up Sachelle for confirmation.

"Yea, I remember seeing her with it. I remember thinking it was something I would have liked to give Jen. She liked small jewelled bags, you know."

Jen, Hans' wife, was very dear to Avian Oaks. When she passed away, every person in town was seen sharing a sweet memory of her with a melancholic smile on their face. "She would indeed have liked this bag," I agree.

I finally find the infinite stone, grab it and fasten Sachelle's tassels close, "This is for you." Hans takes the stone from me.

"It's an infinite stone. It heals you," I say simply.

"It heals you?" He asks wide-eyed. I nod at him reluctantly. "But it's still okay to be sad, Hans," I say in a half-whisper.

The grief slips through, out of its strong tethers, it slips for a moment, only a moment. Hans slightly reddens with emotion and I brace myself for his words.

"Jemma," he begins softly. "You don't have to worry about me," he says, that sweet melancholic smile on his face, memories of his late wife filling him entirely.

"I'm not worrying, I promise. I'll be leaving soon. I wanted to get you something and so I did. It just also happens to be a healing stone." I smile like a clever school girl of eight.

"Just keep the stone, okay," I insist.

Hans nods. "I'll keep the stone. I'll use the healing it has to offer," he says kindly. "I wonder why your father never thought to give me one. The guy sells these for a living." Hans looks at the stone in his hand closely.

"Dad doesn't know everything about gemstones. He was telling me about it just this morning, how we have volumes about them gathering dust in the library."

"I don't blame him. I'm sure there are more important things on his mind."

"On that note, how're you liking the book?"

"It's going okay," he replies almost too quickly.

The last time we spoke, he mentioned something about the book not grasping his attention properly. The whole situation made me want to rethink the concept of lending out my books.

"You don't have to read it, Hans. If you don't like it, don't read it! There's no time to read books that you don't enjoy."

"I know, I know. But the thing is I am enjoying it, I just need more time," he confesses.

I consider him for a second. Do I believe him? "Okay, I believe you. I'll let you off the hook...for now."

This time, Hans grins at me.