Leaves [gxg]

12

12

As she waved goodbye to the seventh interviewee, River tried to peel away the pleasant smile she had held on to throughout the interview. The young man stayed outside the door to the shop for several moments, doing something with his phone, and River wished he would simply walk away. She doubted she could keep smiling for much longer without causing permanent damage to her cheekbones.

"Not him." Erisa nodded at the man as she passed by, carrying a tray of mugs. She curled her nose, pursing her lips, and shook her head. "It sounded more like he was interviewing you. And did you see him looking down his nose at our little shop? I don't like him."

"I thought he was nice." Turning, her long skirt flaring out as she reached out for the counter to steady herself, River rubbed at her cheeks with her other hand. "A little ... forthright, perhaps. But he seems ... nice."

Placing the mugs on one of the other tables, smiling sweetly and hoping the customers enjoyed their tea, Erisa looked out of the door. The young man put the phone to his ear and started talking, very loud, as he began to walk away. He gave one, quick, glance back at the shop and looked as though he laughed. Erisa scowled at him.

"You think everybody is nice." Returning to the counter, Erisa placed the tray on top and stood with a fist upon her hip. She scowled at River, now, and River almost withered under that look. "He would take advantage of you. I won't allow that. No-one takes advantage of my River."

"You can't tell that from listening in to an interview! Can you? You can't. I think." River leaned across, picking up the pile of interview papers and curriculum vitae. "He could have been nervous. I was. People act differently when they're nervous. I act differently. A bit. I talk too much. I mean, I talk too much anyway, but, when I'm nervous ..."

"He wasn't nervous, he was a dick." Now Erisa had that half-amused look that she wore when River had said something funny. Or strange. Or strangely funny. She wore that expression a lot. "Speaking of being nervous, are you going to tell me what was in the e-mail, or what?"

River's head dropped and she looked away. Then she looked the other way. There seemed no escape. In the small confines of the shop, River had no way of scurrying away from Erisa, unless she made a mad dash outside. But she didn't want to take the chance on meeting the young interviewee.

She considered the old trick. Pointing at something and saying 'Ooh, look!' and then pirouetting around Erisa before she caught on, but Erisa was far too clever for that. She opened her mouth, then closed it. Finding herself lost for words was not something she had much experience with, even if those words had little to do with the conversation at hand.

"It was an itinerary." Glad that the shop's custom had calmed down for the day, River felt her smile-pained cheeks begin to burn. A bright red beacon of embarrassment, blazing out like the lamp of a lighthouse. "For Scotland. Scotland! I've never been in the North! I've heard of it. I know it's there. But ... but ... Scotland! What if I upset people by not understanding a word they say, even though they're talking English? I'm English! Will they hate me because I'm English? I don't want to be 'That ignorant English woman'. I'd be mortified!"

"An itinerary? For what." Erisa side-stepped River's other worries with ease. Her law training taught her to focus only on the important facts. "Is she asking you to go on another trip?"

"Yes! To Scotland!" Covering her mouth, River realised she had almost squealed that last part. Making a little cough, she shuffled past Erisa, back behind the counter. "Apparently, there are a couple of tea estates, farms, whatever, up there. I've created a monster. She's gone tea mad! I can't go to Scotland. I just can't. She's worked out three days of things to do. Three days! Alone. With Celeste! Gaaahhh!"