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“Oh, hey,” Oliver Harlow stood grinning in the open doorway of the coffee shop’s little backroom, his long, freckled arms wrapped around several large bags of unbleached flour and sugar. “What’s up?”
“I’m really glad that I wasn’t a burglar,” I snorted at him, shaking my head at my brother in disapproval. He wore an old, red plaid, flour-stained apron over a thick, cable knit sweater. His curling, fluffy auburn hair had grown long and was tucked behind his ears under his fuzzy winter hat. The pale freckles dusted over his short, straight nose echoed my own, though his warm brown eyes were completely our mother’s, while my hazel eyes came from our dad.
“Well, if you had been a burglar,” Oliver replied, still grinning to himself while he stocked the shelves behind him. “you would be a pretty bad one, I think. Announcing yourself to your victims? Not great.”
“You really do need to start locking the doors when you’re cleaning up in here, Oli,” I told him in warning, warming my hands by the flickering fire. “It’s really dangerous to leave it open to anyone like that.”
“I keep telling him and he just doesn’t listen,” Oliver’s wife, Rose, said as she came out of the bathroom in the back, shaking her head. Rose rubbed her hand over her swollen belly under the thick sweater she was wearing and let out a long, tired breath. “He’s too trusting of people, even here in the city. Though I guess I should’ve expected as much from a Virginia farm boy.”
Oliver laughed fondly at that, reaching over to kiss his wife’s cheek and then her rounded belly. “Well, now you have two farm boys, huh.”
I hurried over away from the fireplace excitedly and then crouched down low in front of Rose, cooing at my sister-in-law’s rounded belly. “And just how is my little nephew doing today? How’s our boy?”
Rose blew her inky black hair out of her eyes, sitting herself down heavily in one of the leather booths with some difficulty. She let out a huff of breath. “I’m just ready for him to evacuate the premises, he’s overstayed his welcome.”
I laughed softly, sitting down in front of her in the booth. Oliver brought three steaming mugs of rich, hot chocolate, and as we sat in front of the crackling fire with the colorful, twinkling lights of Christmas all around us.
I thought sadly about my own bland, dull apartment, devoid of any real life but my own. Maybe after Games of Love, that would all change for me. I might have enough money to actually fix the place up and make it my own. Maybe I would invest in some potted plants. That might be a good way to keep the place bright. It needed color and love, and I was keen to fulfill that need. The urge to tell my family what I had just signed up for earlier was almost overpowering, though I forced myself to keep it a secret. I wanted to win the game. I needed to win it.
“So, how’s vet school treating you, little sister?” Oliver asked lightly, looking over the rim of his hot chocolate mug at me with his eyebrows raised, and blowing away the billowing steam.
“It’s completely kicking my ass, that’s how it’s treating me,” I sighed. The hot chocolate was rich and sweet on my tongue, and I sat back thinking over my day. “I’m glad to be out for the holidays.”
“You want to work here tomorrow? 8 - 3?” Oliver asked, putting his arm around Rose gently, who sank into his side with a tired sigh. “It’s totally up to you.”
“Just me?” I asked him, thinking of the groups of caffeine-starved customers that would most likely be crowding the doors tomorrow. At least it would give me time to be with my thoughts, never mind the orders I would have to take in between.
Oliver nodded at me in assent. “Rose has a baby appointment at the hospital tomorrow and I really want to be there. You can close it all up early if you want to, though.”
I shrugged. “Okay, that sounds good I guess. I need the money anyway.”
“So, you going to see Dad for the holidays?” Oliver asked me quietly, sitting forward in his seat with his hands on the table. “We had originally planned on it, but Rose isn’t in any shape to be traveling—
“I’m pregnant, Oli, I’m not an invalid,” Rose huffed, punching Oliver lightly on the arm in disagreement.
I looked over at the fireplace, smiling a little at their antics and watching the flames flicker and dance. “I hadn’t thought about it, though I would like to see the farm again soon.”
“Once you get your degree, you’ll be out of the city and living on a farm of your own,” Rose told me softly and when I looked at my sister-in-law, her pretty face was lined with sympathy.
