Choking On Sapphires

65 Stuck In The Middle With You

You decide to spend a rather lovely spring day out with Claire and Aggie. You walk about the market, casual with your purchases, each of you with a wicker basket in hand, happy to be out of your winter dresses. You wore a sweater around you to shield from the still brisk breeze that passes through the late morning air. You stop in for early tea in a quaint little shop before bobbing in and out of stores and boutiques. By almost one, you're hungry again and wandering around Fortnum and Mason wasn't helping.

You see a charming Victoria sponge sitting in a glass case, raspberries and whipped cream both decorated on top, within it that catches your eye. You see the price is far more than the usual price of a Victoria sponge, raspberries aren't in season. You sit and stare at the cake, and wonder how they were getting raspberries this time of year, and if not from you, who? You ask a young man covered in flour and a worker's apron as he passes. He lights up, cheerily telling you they come from a small greenhouse that sells to them in the offseason. Thus the high price for it. You nod and thank him and bite your lip as you look over the various fruits in the case. It is then you decide to become preoccupied with the thought of building a greenhouse, bringing in more money in the off season. That would be your new project for the year and you could reap the benefits the coming season.

"Genevieve?" Aggie startles you out of the thoughts of where to put the greenhouse and how much it might cost to build and run.

"Oh yeah, sorry Ags." you shake your head. "Distracted by this cake." you smile apologetically.

"I'm beginning to tire, love could we possibly return home soon?"

"Don't be silly! Go on home, you don't even have to ask. I'm just dilly-dallying at this point anyway. Go on and call yourselves a car and have a bite if you'd like. I believe I'm going to take this cake to Alfie and see if he's available for tea. If not I'll head on home."

"Delightful plan. I'm sure he'd love to see you." she smiles big, always happy to hear about Alfie and anything to do with the two of you. She'd been so content the past months, knowing you were finally happy and on the road to what she saw as a proper life.

You purchase the cake and have it wrapped in a box and set it in your basket. You depart from Claire and Aggie to walk the few blocks to the car that is still sat in the starting position of where you'd began shopping that morning. You're back to being deep in thought about a greenhouse. How much yield of berries could you have, what other plants that required more delicate care could you grow and sell now? And this was probably why you hadn't noticed the gentleman that was following you. It was your fault really.

"Miss Greene." you hear a man's voice say. And you pay no mind as here, you were not Miss Greene. "Miss Greene!" you hear more intensely called, and again you ignore it. No one here should be calling you by that name. "Miss Greene!" you hear as you feel a hand wrap around your shoulder. Instinctually you turn fast and grab his wrist and begin twisting it before you even see who it is and as you face the man you don't recognize you continue to do so as he tries to conceal his noises of pain. "I'm not here to hurt you, only speak to you." he grits out. You read him quickly, the glasses, the well pressed and clean clothes. With a weak chin and slim shoulders you read him as only a minor threat physically, so you let him go.

You then proceed to grab him by the shoulder and yank him to the corner of a building, pushing him hard against the wall. "Who are you and what do want? What business do you have calling me Greene? It's not my name." you say with a dark tone, showing your seriousness.

"You are Genevieve Greene, yes?" he asks with a confused look on his face.

"I am Genevieve Durand. Not Greene. I no longer associate with that name." you answer coldly.