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“Adam!” I give him a stern look. He’s confused, not seeing a thing wrong with his question.
“Heavens, no!” Nadia shrieks and giggles.
“Do you take cream and sugar?” I ask, breaking the awkwardness.
“Raw sugar, please, and easy on the cream.” She nods before turning back to Adam. “I’m twenty-eight.”
She is younger but not too young. It’s not like it’s important.
“I’m six! And my Dad’s forty-two. His birthday was last week.”
“Oh. I see. An Aries?”
I have no idea what that means, except I’m supposed to be a warrior or passionate or something. I give her a reassuring nod as I catch her eyes skimming me over. When she notices I see her, her tanned face turns fireball red; she quickly clears her throat and pulls out her phone.
“Excuse me.”
She says to Adam as she rises. Her phone to her face.
“Nonna? Hey. Yes, I’m at the Side of the Road Abode? Eastern Evergreen. The man here says it’s the first house in…yes. That place.”
I walk toward Nadia as she keeps her gaze low. She takes the mug with her free hand and mouths, “Thank you.”
I almost want to thank her for coming into my shop. Who doesn’t want to be in the presence of a beautiful woman, even if from a smoggy city?
I mouth right back at her, “I’ll be back.” Instead, I’m too focused on her mouth. Shit, I can’t give myself away. I don’t need her viewing me as an old creep?
I ask Adam if he wants to help grab candles with me. Surprisingly, he shakes his head no.
I consider locking the shop’s entrance, but I don’t want to frighten Nadia with the thought of keeping her locked in. I’m sure no one will be out on these roads unless there’s another clueless city girl on them.
I open the side door and head to the basement. Grateful I keep the flashlight at the top of the stairs. I collect all the candles I can find.
To my surprise, when I return with a filled candle crate including three solar lamps, Adam and Nadia are in a game of Connect Four. Nadia’s phone flashlight grants them plenty of visibility.
“Nadia, turn your phone off to save power.”
She looks up at me as if I offended her.
“I have a ton of power.”
“We can’t be sure how long this outage will last.”
“Well, I think I can leave in an hour or so.”
“Do you not see how many branches are in the way?” I point out the window.
She hops from her chair and gasps. Two trees lay haphazardly behind her Jeep. Two pine oaks lay in Laporter Road, outside the shop’s driveway. This is awful. I ignore my frustration in order to keep Nadia feeling safe.
“Oh no!”
“You can try and leave in an hour if you want, but I don’t see how.”
With her hands folded against her chest, Nadia sinks back into her chair. She peers up at me and gives me a frown. Odd.
“I’m not God. I don’t control the weather.” I snicker.
She flinches at my response by pouting her pretty mouth; her lips are strikingly proportional and round. God has his physical favorites, I tell you.
