AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Look at those chunky hands…
I bet their specialty is to hold things that are rounded.
“Ah… um,” I say, calming myself down, as well as commenting on the bear’s arm.
The severed arm is out of shape and limp from the leaked stuffing. I know the man is in a rush to get the teddy repaired, but the way he’s agonizing about the sorry state of the bear makes me wonder if he needs a pair of listening ears before I bend and mend the precious toy. It looks like he has a lot to get off his chest. Besides, I want to know who this Matthew is to him.
“He’s upset, huh, this Matthew?”
“That’s an understatement. It’s… you know, Amber-Rose, Matty was in an accident. He’s still in the hospital now, asking for his mother. The bear is his favorite thing in the world. It was from her.”
The revelation pinches at my heart. His mother didn’t make it? And now I notice a few brown specks on the bear’s belly—they’re likely dried blood.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Mama comes and serves Rob his coffee.
“Thanks, Paola.”
“Prego,” Mama says, and disappears again.
Rob takes a sip of the coffee and gives me anooh-la-laexpression. No one is ever unimpressed with Mama’s coffee. People often joke that she puts cocaine in it, it’s so good.
Then he says, “I know I’m coming out of the blue, throwing my problems at you this late at night. I was going to visit your shop earlier, but Matty kept crying and screaming, I couldn’t leave him. He kept asking for his mom and his bear.” He pauses. “And I promised him that he’d have Bjork back tonight. I don’t want to break that promise.”
My heart melts like a pink marshmallow in a mug of hot chocolate. My embarrassing date might have left me feeling like a wounded cheetah, but looking at Rob, hearing his plea, is turning me into a Munchkin kitten who simply wants to purr next to her human.
“I understand,” I say. “Bjork, that’s the teddy’s name?”
“Yes. His mom bought it from Bern, Switzerland.”
“Ah, isn’t that the name of one of the bears at the Bear Park?”
His cupid’s bow lips move as a smile spreads slowly across his face. The fact that I know about the bears of Switzerland seems to delight him.
“You know the park?” Rob asks before sipping more coffee.
“Yeah. Bjork, Finn, and Ursina. I believe those are the three bears.”
He shakes his head in disbelief while maintaining his grin. He must find my knowledge of the Bear Park mildly childish for my age. But hey, bears are my business!
“Alright,” I say to Rob. “Let me get my coat, and we can go to the shop. I’ll mend Bjork there if you want to wait. It will take me a few hours, though.”
Elation lifts his tired face. “However long it takes, I’ll wait.”
I reassess my earlier impression of his resemblance to Stephen Amell. Those aren’t Green Arrow’s eyes, those are Rob Hartley’s eyes—beguiling, iridescently benevolent, and soulfully needy.
“I’ll get Mama to make us more coffee.” I wink, reminding him that Mama’s latte macchiato will make everything better.
Mama agrees. She kisses me on the forehead, and then she shakes Rob’s hand. “Everything will be okay. Rosa will make it okay, trust me.”
Rob nods. The man looked so calm when he saved me earlier, and then he showed me a glimpse of his hurt and desperation. Now he looks to be in control again.
We leave with a thermos. Outside, the crumpled side of Rob’s car stares me in the face, jogging my memory about what happened earlier on this street. “Geez… I’m so sorry, Rob. That’ll be one hell of a repair bill.”
“It’s my friend’s car,” he says, his lips twisting to the side. “I’ll work it out with him. Don’t worry about it.”
* * *
