All That She Can See(22)

Despite all his Cynicism, Frustration and occasional Mischief, Patience and Resilience had quietly stayed beside him since he was sixteen. They had interlinked their fingers with his and rarely let go. They were the only things in the world he cherished. Patience made him breathe when Frustration poked at his back, and Resilience pushed him onwards when Cynicism tripped him up. It was the pair of them working together, gently pressing their warm hands against his shoulders, who took him back to Cherry’s bakery the day after he’d behaved so badly at her opening. As soon as he’d laid eyes on her, he knew she wasn’t normal. Not like everyone else in the town, who grated on his nerves each and every day. From the way she glared over his shoulder, as he so often did himself to passers-by, he knew she had a secret that closely resembled his own. He knew others like him existed in the world. Research on the deep internet had led him to cryptic forums filled with people claiming they could do what he could do, but it was hard to weed out those who were genuine and those who were trying so hard to make their lives more exciting than they were.

It was 5 p.m. and Chase had hoped the bakery would be emptier than it was. Sally Lightbody, whom he thought was the biggest crackpot he’d ever met, was sat in the corner deftly shuffling her black deck of cards from palm to palm. A couple were canoodling at the table round the corner, presumably thinking that no one could see them, and Bruce Bunting was perched on a stool at the counter. He was nattering away to seemingly no one until Cherry came out from the kitchen in a pair of duck-egg-blue linen pyjamas and a matching dressing gown trimmed with fur. Her gaze flickered to the door and their eyes met. To his surprise, she smiled and beckoned him inside. She’s nuts, he thought. I wouldn’t invite me inside.

‘How lovely to see you again, Chase.’ Cherry smiled, draping a pink tea towel over her shoulder.

Sally quickly directed her cards at Chase and shuffled them once again, unnoticed by the others.

‘Lovely? Are you mad?’ Bruce said incredulously, refusing to look at Chase.

‘Oh, Bruce.’ Cherry swatted his arm playfully. ‘I doubt anyone would return after a scene like yesterday’s if they hadn’t come to apologise, now would they, Mr… ?’

‘Masters. Chase is fine, though,’ he said, looking at the floor. ‘And no. They wouldn’t.’

‘See, Bruce? Now what can I get you, Mr Masters? Plain, of course,’ she added quietly, giving Chase a knowing look.

‘Don’t sell yourself short! Nothing you bake is plain! I’ve tried nearly everything you’ve got back there and it’s all bursting with flavour.’ Bruce swivelled his stool so that he was effectively blocking Chase from the conversation.

‘I bet it is,’ Chase sneered.

‘That Cynicism has you under its thumb, doesn’t it?’ Cherry gestured towards the Meddlum, waiting outside. It was shooting her such a foul look that she looked away quickly, with a shudder.

Chase frowned. ‘Eh? Cynicism? What are you talking about?’ He turned to the window, but could only see the subtle yellow light emitting from Patience and Resilience, who were stood in the doorway. Their feet had stuck firmly to the pavement when they’d tried to follow Chase inside. Bruce looked from Cherry to Chase, from Chase to Cherry and then to the window, where he saw absolutely nothing.

‘Maybe you have been putting something funny in those cakes,’ Bruce joked. ‘You’re both behaving strangely!’ He laughed as he hopped off his stool. He was about to leave when Sally beckoned him over and made him join her, mischief etched into the wrinkles of her eyes.

Chase took Bruce’s place at the counter as Cherry fetched him a plain slice of Victoria Sponge.

‘What do you see when you look out the window?’ Cherry asked, curious that he didn’t seem to know Cynicism was attached to him.

‘What do you see?’ he countered.

‘I asked first!’ she insisted.

‘Fine.’ Chase turned back to the window and pointed. ‘Patience and Resilience. They belong to me.’

‘Really?’ she said, remembering the way he’d yelled at her in the middle of the street after a rather small collision.

‘You can’t see them?’

‘Nope.’ Cherry looked away from the window and directly into Chase’s eyes. ‘Nothing good out there for me to see.’

‘So you only see the bad in people.’

‘And you only ever see the good. Lucky you,’ Cherry said, watching Loneliness panting at the window.

‘Gratitude has just arrived. Belongs to Bruce although looks to me like it’s aimed at Sally.’

Cherry looked over at where Bruce and Sally were sitting and sure enough, Bruce was beaming at his dreadlocked companion as she pointed to each of the Tarot cards she’d drawn for him and explained what they meant.

‘He’s also got Understanding,’ Chase continued, rolling his eyes. ‘Contentment is Sally’s. That’s what you get when you retire, I suppose. I see a lot of elderly people with Contentment. She also has Acceptance and Nostalgia on her side. Apparently, she and her husband were madly in love, the whole town could see it. They were the human embodiment of true love. Sweet if you like that sort of thing.’ He shrugged.

‘Apparently?’

‘He died long before I was born. Mum says a part of Sally died then too.’