A Summer's Dream

Chapter 23~Overdosing on Summer

The work at Cynthia’s was light and having the two girls around made for an eventful day. The majority of it was spent daydreaming about Terrence; he was like kryptonite for productivity. But I managed to keep my head out of the clouds long enough to make a couple sales and restock some items. Eleanor was mostly in charge of ringing the customer up because I was so unfamiliar with the currency. But that would change. Lucy was making a chart with all of the equivalences between the two foreign moneys and I would have them memorized in no time. I may not know every joke out there or fix things like a pro, but I can memorize numbers and facts like a wiz.

“What’s that?” A tuft of blonde hair filled my vision and my beloved handkerchief was ripped out of my hands.

“N-Nothing!” I quipped too quickly and she eyed me with a strangely familiar look. How long have Lucy and Eleanor known each other?  

“T.H.? What’s that?”

“T.H.?” Lucy shrieked from somewhere horrendously close and snatched the patch of white away from Eleanor. “Is this Terrence’s? Is this the handkerchief??”

“Um-Well-It-Uh-It’s Terrence’s. He gave it to me when we were on our way home last week.” I fumbled out. The look in Lucy’s eyes screamed disbelief and I hadn’t the faintest idea why.

“You mean Terrence gave this to you?”

“Well I was going to give it back but he said to keep it! Why? Is there something wrong?” My heart was stammering and I found it hard to breathe. I didn’t want to do something wrong; especially to Terrence. But he said to keep it. Shouldn’t I have?

“Nothing’s wrong I just can’t believe he would give it to you. He won’t even let us touch it.”

“Why? Is there something wrong with it?” My gaze ran back and forth between the piece of cloth and Lucy’s blemish free face.

“No. His grandmum made it for him when he was young. She died years ago and since then we barely get to see it. It’s so special to him; I can’t believe he would just hand it over nonchalant.” The redhead’s eyes were glassed over, like she wasn’t even in this universe.

All at once Eleanor carefully grabbed it and handed the delicate article back to me. I smiled thankfully and stared down at the pastel blue letters stitched into the corner. T.H. My thumb grazed over them gently and I folded it back up and pocketed the fabric before something happened to it. I don’t think I could ever look Terrence in the face if it got ruined; especially now that I know how special it is to him. Why he decided to trust something so valuable to a klutz like me I don’t know.

The hours ticked on and the sales got slower and eventually at 5:30 Lucy flipped the open/closed sign over.

“Well my little cherry blossoms, it’s been nice knowing you. But this little girl needs to take a hot bath and paint her toes.” Lucy stretched dramatically for emphasis. We had spent the past half hour booking all the sales and money count for the day, putting the profits in a pouch and locking it under the counter. Things were a little old fashioned here, but to be honest it was refreshing. I felt like I had stepped back in time and I didn’t have to worry about the high traffic and busy bustle of Chicago. The air was clean and the grass was green. Did that rhyme? Anyways, we locked up and went out the back way, parting paths immediately.

I glanced down at the refurbished bike Terrence was letting me borrow for my commute. It saves me 20 minutes on time and I can put those precious moments somewhere needier; like sleep. It had a pretty mint color painted on to the curvy bars connecting the white walled tires. Apparently this was one of his first big salvages when he was in secondary school; the equivalent to highschool. Terrence tried explaining the school system to me but it was so complicated in my eyes that all I gleaned was that one phrase.