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He whispers back, causing me to grin.
Mr. Gaston was always a diamond in the rough and, for some reason, held a soft spot for me. I could always score a few sweets from him when my mom’s back was turned, and I enjoyed our chats when I used to help him with his deliveries. It’s sad when my only friend in town is old enough to be my father, but I always thought of him more in that role than my own.
He jerks his head and calls to his wife. “Martha, I’m heading out back. Cover the counter.”
Martha nods, a small smile on her face as she watches us go, and it strikes me that I feel more at home here than in my own. Martha was no different to Mr. Gaston and always slid a warm bun from the oven my way, or a mug of cocoa when I most needed it. I loved my time with them, and it was inevitably the next place to visit on my list.
“Take a seat, Jonny.”
Mr. Gaston points to the faded couch and reaches for a bottle in the cupboard.
“Is that …?” I say in surprise, and he winks.
“I think you could use some.”
I watch as he splashes a shot of whiskey into a glass and pours one for himself.
“To reunited friends.” He raises his glass and I nod. “Friends.”
We down the shot in one and he sits beside me and says in a low voice.
“We missed you, Jonny.”
His words are unexpected and for some reason cause a lump in my throat that I wasn’t expecting. I can’t even answer him, and he slaps me on the back and chuckles softly. “What’s up? You lost the power of words, son?”
My eyes water as he calls me son because I always wished he was my own father. If I could choose anyone I would rather be raised by, its Mr. Gaston and his wife Martha. Two warm-hearted people who exist surrounded by souls of ice.
“Then you’re the only one.” I say with a hollow laugh, and he sighs heavily.
“You understand how it is here. This town is so steeped in the past, it has no room for progress.”
“Why do you stay here?”
I’m curious and he shrugs. “I have Martha and my store. Business is good and we get by. Life isn’t always greener on the other side, Jonny, when you have everything you want.”
“Do you?” I stare around me at a relic from the past, picturing my own modern living that is several generations away from this one.
“I have love, Jonny. I have Martha, and everything else comes second to that.”
“Then you’re the lucky one.”
He hesitates before he says with a guarded tone.
“There is something I think you should know, but before I mention it, why are you really here?”
“Unfinished business.”
His deep sigh follows, and he groans. “I thought so.”
“So, what do you want to tell me?”
I lean back and stare at him with interest, and it appears he is struggling to decide what words to use.
“Faith came back.”
I say nothing, but my heart lurches at the mention of her name.
He carries on. “She needs you.”
