Just Like Home | Charlie Weasley

Chapter 23

The next day was complete chaos. With it being a Saturday, and only 12 days until Christmas, Eleanor and Darcie were rushed off their feet with the abundance of customers and incoming Christmas orders. Despite barely having a moment to think, Eleanor was never without a happy smile on her face, always taking the time to speak with her customers. Each time Darcie glanced at her, she noticed the huge change in demeanor from previous days. Whatever happened last night clearly had a huge impact on how Eleanor was feeling.

It was around 2pm when the two girls finally received a break in the wave of customers that had been flooding them all morning. Darcie dramatically flopped her head back and let out a sigh of relief whilst Eleanor poured herself a large coffee.

"I wasn't expecting that," Darcie laughed, wiping a non-existent bead of sweat off her forehead.

"Honestly? Me neither," Eleanor replied. "I'm starting to think we ought to hire somebody else for times like this,". She didn't notice it herself, but Darcie's heart warmed at the way that Eleanor had said 'we' ought to. It was one of the most wonderful things about her, how she always made everybody around her feel important without even trying.

"I dare say you're successful enough to afford it," Darcie responded with a shrug. "But I'm not sure how we'd fit 3 of us behind the counter here,". They both took a moment to peer round at the miniscule amount of space inside the tiny shop, and she realised that Darcie was right.

"Maybe I could focus more on the production rather than the serving?" Eleanor suggested. "I've got tonnes of ideas that I haven't had time to experiment with yet, it would give me the opportunity to do that,". As she spoke, she absent-mindedly pulled her wand out of her hair, releasing her wild mess of brunette waves loose around her shoulders.

Darcie went to respond eagerly, her mouth already open and ready to form the words, when they were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Eleanor noted that the man who entered was not familiar to her, but evidently he was to Darcie. She let out a shrill shriek, bolting out from behind the counter and running to engulf the man in a hug. She began to wonder what sort of relation this was to Darcie, but the slightly terrified expression on the man's face told her that it was likely a family relation and not a romantic relation.

"Finn!" Darcie gasped. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't getting in til Wednesday!".

"Change of plans," the man, evidently Finn, spoke with a deep voice laced with a thick Irish accent. "It's just me though,".

"Oh! Ellie!" Darcie announded, spinning round to address Eleanor once more. "This is my cousin Finn, remember, I told you about him?". Something finally clicked in her brain, and Eleanor nodded in recognition.

"Hi! It's good to meet you," she smiled. She found it hard to look the man in the eye as she spoke to him, because he was intimidatingly, magazine-cover-worthy type of attractive. He was tall, like really tall, with neatly-cropped light brown hair and turquoise eyes that resembled the colour of the Mediterranean Ocean. A light shadow of stubble covered his cheeks and chin and he was dressed in a pair of dark-grey chinos and a similarly coloured shirt, the top few buttons hanging open to reveal a silver cross necklace.

"Ah! So this is the famous Ellie, is it?" he grinned, stepping forward slightly. "I've heard a lot about ya, feel like I know ya already!".

She felt herself unwittingly blush, and she had no idea why. Sure, he was attractive, but she knew her heart already belonged to the captivating red-headed man down the road. Perhaps it was because she found him somewhat intimidating, although his greeting told her the complete opposite.

"Finn lives in Londonderry but is staying with us for Christmas," Darcie babbled excitedly. "He's a chef, would you believe it? Has his own restaurant in one of the little wizarding villages back home!".