All That She Can See(43)

‘Really?’ she asked, wiping away her one single tear and smiling all too easily.

‘Really.’ Chase nodded, slipping his hand over Cherry’s relaxed fingers, which were still resting on his thigh under the table.

‘Wonderful!’ Velina ran round the table and put her arms around his shoulders, planting a kiss on his cheek. Danior snatched up the bottle of little blue pills in her talons and started to unscrew the cap when Cherry said, ‘So shall we talk about payment?’

Chase’s heart stopped, Velina’s smile vanished and Danior almost dropped the bottle.

‘Payment? My dear, what on earth for?’

‘The pills. I think it’s only fair. Those pills will do wonders for your business so you should… reward us.’

‘You little —’ Danior switched the bottle to her other hand and quickly raised her free hand but Velina quickly took it and placed it over her own heart.

‘Now, now, Dani. Fair’s fair. Cherry does make a good point. After all, we’d never do anything for free.’ Velina disappeared through the beaded curtain and Cherry heard the till open, the rustle of money and the ding of the till being slammed shut. Chase hadn’t said a word and when Cherry slid her eyes towards him, he was chewing the inside of his lip with great concentration.

‘Here. Take it and leave.’ Velina handed over a wad of notes. Cherry took it quickly and put it in her pocket and stood to leave. When Chase didn’t stand with her, she pulled at the shoulder of his jacket until he stood up.

‘I suggest you hold an event and charge a little less per person than you normally would. Give them each a small mug of tea on arrival and they’ll be putty in your hands. Guaranteed to keep returning,’ Cherry said as she backed through the curtain and into the shop’s waiting room, her sweaty hand clinging to Chase’s shoulder as she dragged him to the exit. Velina and Danior herded them out, Danior still clutching the bottle in her red pointed nails.

‘I hope you get all you deserve,’ Chase said through gritted teeth and without so much as a goodbye, the door to the shop was closed in their faces. Cherry and Chase took a moment to exhale but then quickly made their way back to the port and onto the empty ferry boat that was leaving shortly. As soon as they sat down, the waves gently bobbing them up and down, Chase took Cherry’s hand.

‘You know they were lying, don’t you?’ she said, keeping her gaze fixed ahead of her on the waves, rising and breaking.

‘Oh, I know,’ he said, also looking forward.

She squeezed their interlinked fingers. ‘I could see Danior’s Deceit and Velina’s Uncertainty.’

‘And I could see my aunt’s Glee and my mother’s Excitement.’

‘Even though they were doing something bad? You can still see the good?’

‘It doesn’t matter if they’re good or bad people. I see what they feel. Bad people feel good about bad things.’

‘Oh,’ Cherry said, understanding.

They wore silence like a warm blanket around their cold shoulders all the way back to Royal William Yard. They walked hand in hand back to the bakery and once inside Chase went behind the counter, like it was the most natural thing to do, and flicked the kettle on. He busied himself making tea, rearranging Cherry’s handwritten signs and dusting crumbs off the counter into his hand to put in the bin.

‘Do you want to talk?’ Cherry asked tentatively.

‘No. Well, yes. But no.’ He shrugged, stirring the tea hard.

‘I know you’ve found it difficult. Seeing what everyone else has and wondering why you don’t have it yourself, but… I didn’t really think about bad people getting pleasure from the bad things they do. That’s got to be a hard thing to see,’ Cherry said, edging her way towards him slowly.

‘I don’t trust anyone,’ Chase admitted. ‘I don’t know how.’

‘I understand that. But maybe… maybe, the only person you need to trust is me?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘What if we stick together from now on? Team up? If someone’s bad, I’ll know just by looking at their Meddlums and I can tell you about them so that you know, despite all the good things you might see.’

‘… and if someone’s good, I’ll know just by looking at them too, despite all the bad things you see… ’

‘It’s perfect!’ Cherry was at Chase’s side now and she smiled up at him.

‘It’s not perfect, Cherry.’

‘What? Why?’

‘If you decide to leave, to… join the Guild, you’ll have your feelings removed. Your actual, literal feelings… whatever they may be…’ he stirred his tea again, ‘… will evaporate. You won’t be you any more.’ His voice was sad and he reached out a hand and stroked her warm cheek with the back of his fingers. Once upon a time Cherry may have flinched, pulled away or maybe even left altogether at this kind of close contact. However, for the first time, she didn’t want to move away. She welcomed it, because she’d finally found someone who understood the complexity of who and what she was, someone she could talk to freely without having to edit out the monsters.

‘I don’t know what to do.’

‘What do you want to do? Stop listening to everyone else’s feelings and listen to your own.’