a Tail of Two Cities

Chapter Nine- Cammie SNEAK PEEK!

I don't like doing sneak peeks, but I wanted to show that I'm still alive:) Here's part of the newest chapter!

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    I spent the next few days either preparing the café for the festival with Nick or staring at my phone, waiting for Ben to call. Melrose became frantic as the day of the festival drew nearer, constantly muttering to herself in German and nervously baking. Often, she would be covered from head to toe in flour, causing me and Nick to cover our mouths in stifled laughter whenever she came into view.

     Though I’d only known him for a few short days, it became plain to see the warm friendship growing between the two of us. Because Melrose didn’t want to train me as a waitress until after completing all of the work for the festival, Nick and I spent hours together either harvesting plants from Melrose’s secluded garden or collecting from the animals. Nick loved nothing more than to fill those tiring hours with stories about his home life. He spoke endlessly of his wife, who worked as a nurse at the town’s only hospital, or more often, his one-year-old daughter, the obvious pride and joy of his life. To me, Nick seemed less like the 26-year-old father he was, but rather a close friend as if from my own high school.

      “High school boys,” he said haughtily when I brought this up, “have nothing on their minds but what girl is the hottest and which party to hit next.” He shook his head with a snort, causing some hay and dust to shower out from his messy hair and onto the barn floor.

      “Ah, I see. You were just perfect when you were in high school, then?” I laughed, pausing to look up at him from sweeping up the mess his hair had just created.

      “Well… I never said that.” He snickered, a blush creeping up his cheeks and a toothy, sheepish smile taking over his face. “Which is why I know that high school boys will always be trouble. You know, you should just stay away from dating in general until you’re at least thirty, Cam.” His fatherly arm slid around me and he began to ruffle my already wild curls lightheartedly.

      “You know, I’m not totally joking though,” he mumbled as he knelt to help me sweep.

      “What do you mean?”

      “That Ben kid, Cammie! I see the way you’re constantly staring at your phone. It’s not going to ring.” Uncomfortably, he swirled the dust on the floor around with his index finger. “Things haven’t changed since I was in high school, if it’s been four days since you gave your number to him, he’s probably not going to call.”

        “How do you know? He could’ve lost his phone, or maybe he’s too busy, or-” Suddenly, I was cut off by the feeble beeping of my phone. I flipped it open to see a call from an unknown number and my heart skipped a beat.  “Nick! I think it’s him! I told you so!” I squealed, sticking my tongue out at him and eagerly flipping open the quietly buzzing phone.

        “Cammie!” A man’s voice bellowed. “Don’t tell me you missed me too much.”

       “Uhm. Who is this?” I mumbled, quickly turning around so that Nick couldn’t see the surprised look on my face.

       “Carson! You know; the incredibly strong, handsome, and well-dressed one that you met a few days ago?”

      “Oh!” I exclaimed, trying to keep the disappointment in my voice from becoming evident. “How’d you get my number?”

      “Details, details. What really matters is whether you are free on Saturday or not.”

      “Saturday? But that’s the festival, isn’t it?”

      “You bet! Wanna go with me? I can introduce you to the people here, show you around. What do you say?” His smooth voice sounded confident.

      “Well, I was…” I awkwardly searched for an excuse, but nothing could come to mind. Scanning the room, I locked eyes with Nick. “I was planning on going with my friend Nick!” I blurted, happy to have a reasonable explanation.

       “Great! He can hang out with us. I’ll pick you up at the pier around seven, okay?”

       “Wait-” I tried to interrupt, but the only response was the ringing of the empty dial tone. He had hung up. I spun around to face Nick, not bothering to cover up my shocked expression.

        He didn’t bother to cover his amused expression either. “So. How was your chat with Ben?” He snorted, chuckling at the end of his words.

        “Shut up!” I yelled and grabbed some hay from the bale near me, rubbing it into his hair. He shook his head, spreading the mess onto the floor again. “You’re a real pain, Nick.”

        “Yeah?  Maybe you should be a bit nicer to me if you expect me to rescue you from whoever just called you.”

        “It was Ben’s friend, Carson.” I slid down the wall of the barn until I was sitting on the ground. Burying my face in my hands in frustration, my muffled voice repeated Ben’s words from a few days ago. “It’s a date.”

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