Tea and Coffee, Vol. 8
Tea and Coffee, Vol. 8
Lily fumbled around in her pockets for the correct set of keys. The jangling sound agitated Tea and Coffee, so I crouched down onto the floor of the shop entrance and rubbed each of their heads.
I heard a click as the door unlocked. Lily gave a brief glance behind her as she opened the door and smiled.
"Brace yourselves" she said "We haven't managed to get the smell of pet food out of here ever since one of the bags opened".
She was right. As I entered, the pungent smell of meats, fish and grain hit me with full force. Reflexively I wrinkled my nose and closed my eyes. I held out my hand to steady myself and Lily took it. Surprised by the softness and warmth, I opened them. Lily was smiling, mischievously.
"I did warn you," she said, a twinkle in her eye.
"The bloody Queen of England could've warned me, I still wouldn't have expected this." I looked at Tea and Coffee who were springing about on the floor, visibly excited.
"Do you guys seriously enjoy eating this stuff?" I asked. They both looked at me as if they had entered a gourmet buffet, their ears pointed straight up and their nostrils flared.
Lily thumped me lightly on my backside. "C'mon, you'll get used to it."
I let out a sigh and rolled up my sleeves. As we began to move the boxes and bags to the storage room, Tea and Coffee, atop a high shelf behind the till, watched with curious intent.
It was a few days after our first date. We had continued to walk around the old streets of the city until our legs were sore and the air became unpleasantly chilly. We shared a kiss on a small stone bridge over a gentle, quiet stream that later grew to a wide river cutting across the centre of the city. Her lips were soft and warm, so warm in that cold and stinging air, and the shapes of her cheeks fitted perfectly around mine. After I dropped her home and was walking the brief journey to mine, I could remember those handful of seconds so incredibly vividly. As I walked over that bridge again, I could smell her summery perfume and hear her light, tender humming. But when I woke up it all felt like a distant daydream, like a memory only partially remembered. And it made me long for it so much more.
"Wakey, wakey mister". Lily was staring at me, a box of WhiskerSnacks by her feet. It took me two blinks to realise I was staring back at her, and probably had been for the past several seconds, lost in my own thoughts.
"Shit, sorry" I said, snapping to. "I didn't mean to stare like that, I just zoned out a bit."
Lily was smiling coyly, one eyebrow raised. "It's alright" she said, turning around to pick up the box on the floor. As I walked past the front desk to move some empty containers, Coffee gave me a dirty glance.
"Stop it Coffee, don't judge me like that" I hissed.
Although we started early in the morning, it was already lunchtime by the time we had moved everything into the storage room. It was a large-ish grey room with no windows and one measly energy saving light bulb, and there we sat, munching on sandwiches from the delicatessen next door. Tea and Coffee were with us, looking questioningly at their empty bowls.
"Okay. So here's the plan" Lily said to the cats, through a mouthful of BLT. "We start with the cheap stuff, and we'll work our way up to the expensive stuff. That way we can see if the gourmet food really is worth its price tag, and if so I'll put in an order for more."
"Wait, so you're using my cats as guinea pigs" I said, putting my sandwich down.
"I hope that's okay with you" Lily said, turning to me and pouting her lips, a box of Cheesy Cat snacks already open in her hand.
"You know, your puppy face would be more effective without a piece of lettuce stuck to your lips" I said, picking it off.
She giggled as she took the two bowls and placed them in front of her. She reached out her arm to pour the snacks in, but hesitated, and looked back at me.
"But seriously, you're fine with this?"
I smiled. It was a subtle thing, maybe something only certain people pick up on, but in her voice I could hear a slight tremble of hesitation. If the room wasn't so quiet or the air so still, perhaps I would've missed it, but I loved that about her. The way she treaded so quietly around the world, careful not to disturb or hurt anyone. It was kindness.
"Of course, I was just joking around. And Tea certainly looks like she wants to partake." I say, looking at the ocicat paw at the cardboard box in Lily's hand.
"Wakey, wakey mister". Lily was staring at me, a box of WhiskerSnacks by her feet. It took me two blinks to realise I was staring back at her, and probably had been for the past several seconds, lost in my own thoughts.
"Shit, sorry" I said, snapping to. "I didn't mean to stare like that, I just zoned out a bit."
Lily was smiling coyly, one eyebrow raised. "It's alright" she said, turning around to pick up the box on the floor. As I walked past the front desk to move some empty containers, Coffee gave me a dirty glance.
"Stop it Coffee, don't judge me like that" I hissed.
Although we started early in the morning, it was already lunchtime by the time we had moved everything into the storage room. It was a large-ish grey room with no windows and one measly energy saving light bulb, and there we sat, munching on sandwiches from the delicatessen next door. Tea and Coffee were with us, looking questioningly at their empty bowls.
"Okay. So here's the plan" Lily said to the cats, through a mouthful of BLT. "We start with the cheap stuff, and we'll work our way up to the expensive stuff. That way we can see if the gourmet food really is worth its price tag, and if so I'll put in an order for more."
"Wait, so you're using my cats as guinea pigs" I said, putting my sandwich down.
"I hope that's okay with you" Lily said, turning to me and pouting her lips, a box of Cheesy Cat snacks already open in her hand.
"You know, your puppy face would be more effective without a piece of lettuce stuck to your lips" I said, picking it off.
She giggled as she took the two bowls and placed them in front of her. She reached out her arm to pour the snacks in, but hesitated, and looked back at me.
"But seriously, you're fine with this?"
I smiled. It was a subtle thing, maybe something only certain people pick up on, but in her voice I could hear a slight tremble of hesitation. If the room wasn't so quiet or the air so still, perhaps I would've missed it, but I loved that about her. The way she treaded so quietly around the world, careful not to disturb or hurt anyone. It was kindness.
"Of course, I was just joking around. And Tea certainly looks like she wants to partake." I say, looking at the ocicat paw at the cardboard box in Lily's hand.
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