“They all wanted to come here to witness you ask me the same question over and over again for the entire shift. There are bets going for the hourly number, as well as the total, for the day. They’re turning it into a game of bingo and everything,” Toni barely made it the end before breaking down laughing.
Ivy stopped for a beat and scowled, glad it was Mollie that she was serving, but not too glad as she noticed that she too was laughing with Toni.
“Oh, how hilarious you areMs. Marshall,” Ivy deadpanned. Then turning to Mollie, “and you, encouraging her like that? Just as I was about to make your double-shot Americano? *Tsk-tsk-tsk* I might just forget to put any coffee in your drink at all.” With that, Ivy couldn’t help but smirk.
“Ah c’monMs. Copeland, don’t be mean to the poor girl. Her project is due on Tuesday, and she needs all the caffeine her little body can handle,” Toni said through the tears in her eyes from all the laughing.
“Yeah Ivy,” Mollie said, giving her the largest puppy-dog eyes humanly possible, "think of little old me, working through the night, trying to answer all the deep philosophical questions of life. Unable to keep my poor eyes open because you wouldn’t give me my coffee after laughing with Toni, which will probably be the only smile I’ll manage all day.” Toni winked at Mollie and Ivy caved.
“Fine.” She turned and pulled a medium to-go cup, calling over her shoulder, “But I want it known that I’m doing this purely because I’m a good person, not because I caved to the peer pressure,” Ivy turned to Toni as she spoke this time, “or the wink that you thought I missed.”
With that, Toni and Mollie burst out laughing again.
Chapter 9
Cleo
They had spent the last hour and a half walking along the river path with the metal detector, and a bag to carry Sophie'streasurehome in. They were talking the entire time. Cleo was in her element.
Sophie had gone through a gambit of emotions when it had taken them twenty minutes before the firstreal treasurehad been found, instead ofanotherbottle top. It was at that pointthey had decided to search closer to the water’s edge (Cleo had ensured to get a waterproof metal detector for this very reason), in the hope that maybe the water itself would have washed something more exciting to the riverbank. Sophie then squealed sporadically for the next hour upon unearthing several coins, a small bracelet, and something that Cleo was sure was a keyring loop, but Sophie insisted was a ring. For a very,very, large finger.
That being said, they had also managed to find four squashed cans, seven more bottle tops, a pair of very rusty sunglasses, twelve ring pulls, two lighters, and one very panicked conversation when Sophie pulled out the underwire of a bra and asked her aunt what it was. While Cleo had vowed never to lie to her niece the day she was born, this was one conversation she figured she could avoid for now. She convinced Sophie that it must have been part of a handle from a kid's sand bucket. Sophie accepted the response, and Cleo stifled a considerable sigh of relief.
They separated their findings into two bags, one to keep and the other to recycle or discard. After making sure they had everything turned off, packed up, and sorted into the two bags, they started on their walk back to Cleo’s house.
“Did you know that the world is a giant magnet?” Sophie asked.
“I did know that,” Cleo replied, her niece’s shoulders sinking a little. “Did you know you can power a lightbulb using a potato?” Their favorite thing to do was try to ask the other a question they didn’t know the answer to. Almost exclusively science themed.
“Yes! We did it in class last week!” Sophie’s eyes nearly bulging out of her head as she realized her aunt hadn’t beaten her with the fact either.
“OK then smarty pants.” Cleo stopped walking, turned to face Sophie, placed her hands on her hips, smirked and narrowed her eyes at her niece. “What type of food is a bell pepper?”
Sophie tried to mirror Cleo’s stance but struggled to do so while holding the metal detector in one hand. “That’s easy Auntie Cleo, it’s a fruit! Everyone knows that if it has seeds on the inside and grows from a flower, that it’s a fruit.”
“How do you know so much about science? I mean, you’re only six—”
“Eight!”
“Sorry, eight,” Cleo said with a smirk, knowing full-well that her niece would correct her, and knowing she’d said it wrong on purpose.
“It’s because we got a new project teacher this term, and science is herthing. It’s great! We do different experiments every Thursday after lunch!” Sophie’s face lit up with excitement as she continued. “Next week we’re doing the Volcano Eruption experiment! There’s another eight weeks of experiments after that, then she moves to another school... and does it all over again with new kids! That's what I want to do when I grow up!”
Cleo could practically feel her niece vibrating beside her as she explained the various experiments she had completed. However, something about the description of the project teacher’s job rang a warning bell in the back of her mind.
“Soph, what’s your project teacher’s name?” Cleo asked lightly, though her pulse quickened.
“Miss Megan. She’sawesome!”
Cleo’s stomach dropped to her toes. That explains why her mom had run into her, but at least she knew the timeline for when she’d be leaving.
“That’s great,” she replied shakily, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible.
“Auntie Cleo, I’m thirsty, can we get a drink on the way to your house? Could we get a hot chocolate, maybe?” Sophie asked with puppy dog eyes, oblivious to Cleo’s inner torment.
“You know what Soph? That sounds perfect.”
Cleo walked along the same street she took every day from her house to work and back again, only this time with her niece by her side, she took the time to walk a little slower and actually take in the shops surrounding her.
