Coffee and Spice | Harvey | Stardew Valley

-22-

As soon as I step into the bar, I feel Harvey watching me.

That familiar physiological response kicks in, rocketing my pulse and making my whole body flush as my eyes find his from across the room. The reaction is instinctual. Visceral. As if the very chemical makeup of our bodies are in sync and our atoms are conversing instead of just our eyes. As if the time apart didn't change anything. And I hadn't expected it to.

For a long moment, Harvey and I are completely still as if subjects in a painting. Me at the door, one foot in. Him standing by the bar, frozen in the act of lifting up a bottle. Others move around us, some talking, some laughing, some complaining about the cold seeping in from the open door. But I can't move. I can't breathe. It doesn't matter how many times I see him. Each time is a shock wave through my body, threatening to blow me over. And I missed him. I didn't realize just how much until now.

It's been one week since I've seen him. One long week that dragged by endlessly.

What started as a smattering of colds escalated into an aggressive outbreak of respiratory illness cases that kept him and Maru confined in the clinic as waves of residents came through the door seeking treatment. He told me over the phone that a sickness of this level usually happened at least once a year. Luck was evidently on my side; I was one of the few spared.

Now, the chaos was finally winding down just in time for another mandatory town meeting. Mayor Lewis had learned his lesson from the last one and decided that requiring our collective presence at the crack of dawn was not in his best interest. Not unless he wanted to provoke another round of protests. He and Harvey had gone back and forth about postponing the meeting until all vestiges of sickness were gone, but Mayor Lewis was dead set on this date. On the plus side, Harvey did convince Gus not to serve food and to only allow for the consumption of bottled alcohol out of an abundance of caution.

Despite this, I imagine that the majority in attendance tonight will be content with this new time and location. And I'm sure the access to alcohol won't hurt either. Mayor Lewis is obviously banking on this outcome; he's somewhere to my right loudly announcing that drinks are on him tonight. Since his public persona doesn't lend itself to overt generosity, I suspect bribery is his motive.

Harvey and I are still frozen. Still staring at each other. I break first. Only because another latecomer is entering through the door behind me, crowding into my space and forcing me to move forward to make room. As if I've broken some kind of spell, Harvey begins walking towards me too. Something in his expression thaws my chilled skin from the inside out.

When he's almost to me, however, Mayor Lewis swoops in and herds him towards a table a few feet away from the bar, shooting me a look resembling irritation. I gawk at him as he urges Harvey into a chair and begins speaking to him. I can't catch his words, but his hand gestures appear agitated. Since when did Mayor Lewis have beef with me? Or Harvey for that matter? I'd been hoping to sit next to Harvey tonight, but I don't like the thought of approaching while Mayor Lewis is having his hissy fit. I scope out the rest of bar for my options.

Extra tables have been brought out and pushed closer together to fit everyone. Leah is sitting on a barstool with Emily. I could join them but on closer inspection, they're both looking a little flushed. Possibly lingering symptoms from the virus. I don't want to risk it in case either of them are still contagious so I decide to keep my distance. Shane is nowhere to be seen, but that's probably a good thing. He doesn't need to be anywhere near free alcohol. I consider sitting with Alex and Hailey, but they're pretty absorbed in each other at the moment and I would definitely be third-wheeling if I intrude.

With a sigh, I settle for one of the booths far away from everyone else. Gus brings a beer over to me but doesn't stick around long to chat. I can't blame him. He's clearly not recovered from his bout of sickness yet.