Walking to the pub to meet Jack, Aurelia felt a lightness she hadn’t experienced in some time: she was back in a rhythm with her writing, and her book was nearly finished; she and Oliver were back in sync; and their wedding was just days away.
Once she and Jack had their drinks and found a table outside, his face took on a very serious look.
“I’m so happy you and Oliver are on the same page again. I know things were… rough for a day or two.”
“I’m sorry we pulled you into it for a bit,” Aurelia said, frowning a little at the memory of dripping on his doorstep when she’d come to collect Oliver. “But I’m happy we’re on the same page again, too.”
She asked Jack for an update on the play his theater would be putting on the following month and sat back as he regaled her with stories about costumes, sets, and the backstage drama of the production.
Oliver arrived just as Aurelia and Jack had finished their drinks, so Jack got up to fetch them all a new round. Oliver sat next to Aurelia, kissed her, and gave a sigh of relief that she knew signaled his pleasure at wrapping up a day of work.
“Hey,” he said, taking her hand in his. “I’ve had an idea.”
“Elopement? Too late now,” she said with a sly smile.
He snapped his fingers and shook his head as though disappointed at the news, then laughed before leaning in and lowering his voice.
“I think I want to tell Jack about the shop—about the characters. Somehow, I think he might actually handle the news pretty well.”
Aurelia bit her lip, trying to hold back a gleeful smile. Oliver and Jack hadn’t been close for years, not until they’d found some common ground the year before. She loved that Oliver could have chosen to share the shop’s secret with anyone, and he’d chosen his brother.
“I think so, too,” she said, letting that smile loose. “You should tell him.”
Jack arrived back at their table with three pints clutched in his hands.
“Me? Tell me what?” he asked as he carefully set the glasses on the table.
Aurelia looked at Oliver and lifted a shoulder, as though to open the floor to him if he wanted it.
“Now?” Oliver asked quietly.
“If you’d like.”
Aurelia and Oliver exchanged a long glance as Jack sat down and looked expectantly between them.
“Where should I start?” Oliver wondered.
It was a good thing they’d planned to have dinner since Jack, understandably, had dozens of questions about Aurelia’s unique ability to see and talk to characters in the shop. Aurelia let Oliver take the lead, jumping in as needed but wanting him to share with Jack whichever details he chose. Since Oliver wasn’t one for practical jokes, it didn’t take Jack long to believe him. He asked if he could, as Oliver and Antonia had done, listen in at the door from the flat to the shop one evening, and Aurelia promised he could give it a try just as soon as they returned from their honeymoon.
As she and Oliver walked back to the shop, Aurelia noted with satisfaction that the lightness she’d been feeling of late was just as noticeable in her soon-to-be-husband.
57
Oncetheywerehome,Oliver suggested that Aurelia visit with the characters, and she didn’t hesitate to agree. Sharing the wonder of the shop with Jack had her looking forward to seeing everyone again, especially now that she was back to the ‘original set’ she’d met before Julia’s arrival.
The following morning, she woke with Oliver and told him about her conversations over breakfast. She held back a little at first, not wanting to gush too much about hearing Lizzy describe her new life at Pemberley, or Jane describe how she’d felt during her first days as a young governess at Thornfield Hall. But Oliver kept asking her questions, so she fully let her guard down. It was good not to watch her words or emotions around him, to be back to their normal even as she was telling him about fictional characters. They made a plan to have a quiet night in, and his kiss goodbye left her looking forward to it.
Once she was settled at her desk in the shop, Aurelia set to work on her book. Within a few hours—with a few breaks to help customers—she’d finished. Pulling her hands from her keyboard, she experienced the same sense of surprise she remembered feeling after finishing her first book with Vronsky. She felt elated, relieved, happy, but also a bit sad to have wrapped up her time with the characters and world she’d invented.
It was only noon, not exactly the hour for a celebratory cocktail, so after sending Louisa her final chapters, Aurelia walked around the block to get a celebratory coffee and slice of cake instead. Walking home again, she couldn’t help but reflect back on the past few weeks. Her mind could barely process it all. Had she really come clean to Oliver? To Antonia and Julia? Had she really just finished the book that had been consuming her for over a year? And was her wedding really only days away?
There had been so many changes in such a short span of time, it reminded her of her first year running the shop—when she’d discovered the shop’s secret, met Oliver, written Vronsky’s story, and worked toward publishing it. She felt relieved to know that Julia would at least have the secret under her belt by the time she took over the shop, which made her wonder—not for the first time—about her great-great aunt, Cristobel.
What had she discovered about the shop? Did she do something—work some magic—to make it dispense characters on a nightly basis? Or had the shop always held a possibility that she’d merely unleashed by bringing books in and setting them on a certain table? Had she ever gotten the chance to tell anyone, and had anyone believed her? Aurelia hoped that, as she’d just done, Cristobel had been able to bring someone into her circle, to be honest and open with someone about what happened in the shop after midnight.
After such a reflective morning, Aurelia felt ready for her afternoon plans: meeting everyone at the dressmakers for her final fitting. Fortunately, the weather was less aggressive than it’d been just weeks ago, so she managed to arrive flushed only with the effort of getting there on time rather than overheating.
Once again, Oliver’s mum Johanna was waiting for Aurelia and greeted her with a warm hug. Kali arrived soon after Aurelia and was followed in short order by Antonia and Julia. The shop set out champagne for the adults and sparkling juice for Julia, who looked pleased not to be left out. Poppy led Aurelia back to the fitting room, leaving the others chatting on a set of sofas while they waited.
