AureliaandJuliastartedtheorizing almost as soon as they’d found each other in the kitchen the next morning. Aurelia had been making tea, and Julia joined her at the counter, popping slices of bread into the toaster.
“Did you see the look on Mrs. Jamieson’s face when Cuff said they were there because of me?”
“She was not amused,” Aurelia said, mimicking Mrs. Jamieson’s disdain.
“She kept saying I should apologize for ‘dragging her into my mess,’ but I just kept smiling at her and pretending I couldn’t hear her.”
“You can’t ignore her forever,” Aurelia cautioned, carrying their mugs of tea to the table as Julia followed behind with toast and jam. “You’ll have to talk to her and try to work out why she appeared for you.”
“It’s like homework,” Julia groaned.
“Think of it more like… a mystery you have to unravel.”
“You have to do this every time you meet new characters?”
“Well, no. Usually they’re just in the shop for a visit. But Sergeant Cuff was right about my first set of characters—I really did learn something from each of them.”
“Aunt Aurelia, how old is Sergeant Cuff? He looks seriously ancient.”
“He probably is,” Aurelia laughed. “In his novel he’s retired but he comes back to solve one last mystery.”
“He didn’t seem to mind that you put his book on the table.”
“No, I think he likes being someone people rely on to step in and sort things out.”
“It was funny seeing you with him. It almost looked like you were old friends.”
“We are,” Aurelia smiled.
Julia shook her head and let out a quick laugh.
“I still can’t believe this! We’re sitting here talking about people who aren’t real. You’re old friends with a character in a book… We were in the shop talking to characters last night!”
“I know! It’s hard to wrap your mind around, isn’t it?” Aurelia paused, then added, “Someone once told me—a character—that it helps to think of them as real people. They have thoughts and feelings, just like you and me. I’ve had fights with characters, made friends with them, cried with them, laughed with them… They feel like real people to me.”
“Me too,” Julia agreed at once. “I mean, you could see Kitty getting upset at some of the things Blanche said to her. It doesn’t feel like they’re made up or not really feeling things when you talk to them.”
Aurelia smiled, marveling less at the fact that they were discussing the fictional characters she’d met—she’d had a few years to get used to that—but that, for the first time, she could be open about it.
Julia looked up at the clock to check the time, then took a last sip of tea before standing.
“I’m going to get ready. We’ve got to open the shop soon,” she announced.
Aurelia watched as Julia skipped off to the bathroom, her steps light and her energy high, then took her own last sip of tea before getting ready for the day.
They worked in the shop for a few hours, each of them taking advantage of quiet moments: Julia to read, and Aurelia to work on her book. Within a short time, Aurelia’s writing was back to its usual flow. She looked up every once in a while—at the sound of a customer coming in, or a sigh from Biscuit as he rolled over on the floor beside her—but otherwise she was absorbed in addressing Louisa’s edits and polishing the final draft of her book. The deadline was still looming, but that was outweighed by the relative calm that had settled over Aurelia. Julia knew about the shop’s secret, which, for the first time in years, felt like final confirmation that the characters and the shop’s magic were real. Telling Oliver felt possible now, even if it would still be hard, since Julia could back her up and confirm everything she would tell him.
Aurelia’s focus started to wane toward lunchtime, as Julia’s frequent yawning made her yawn and broke her concentration. When Aurelia suggested that they go out to get lunch at a nearby café, she sensed that Julia was once again reluctant to leave the building, as though it might shift her back to reality and cancel out her ability to see the characters.
“I leave the building all the time,” Aurelia reassured her. “It won’t change anything tonight, I promise.”
“I know.” Julia’s tone was dismissive, but Aurelia could see her features relax a little.
As they walked back to the shop after lunch, Julia stopped in front of a stationer’s.
“Do you need something?” Aurelia asked as Julia hesitated.
“Yeah, I think I do. I’ll be right back.”
