Coffee for Two

Chapter 3: Back Again

   Moomin rested his head on his paws, surrounded by the smell of freshly boiled coffee and freshly baked bread. The cafe bustled with customers, most were his neighbors, along with the chatter of Snorkmaiden and Little My. His mind drifted to Snufkin, the cool breeze upon the mountaintop that ruffled his brown hair, the reflection of the moon in his eyes, and the golden fringe of hair that threatened to tickle his forehead.
   "Yoohoo~ Moomin~!" Snorkmaiden was inches from his face. "Little My couldn't help but notice you being so distracted. She says that you came home late and missed dinner." Little My hopped up onto the counter. "Aaand you haven't even said a word about it to me this morning!" She had her hands on her hips, foot tapping aggressively on the countertop. "O-oh! Well its nothing, I just went on a, a walk after my shift," stuttered Moomin. "Ugh," -Little My rolled her eyes- "You know how much of a terrible liar you are, Moomintroll, so just spit it out!" Snorkmaiden nodded in agreement, hiding a small giggle in her paws. Moomin sighed. "Well, if I must tell you, I made a friend yesterday, who so happened to take me up for a trip into Lonely Mountains."
"And the secret's out! Not a really good one, either. But hey! You didn't take me or Snorkmaiden or Sniff! What are you two doing, stealing off the Lonely Mountain like that?" demanded Little My. Snorkmaiden gasped, and very worriedly asked, "Oh Moomin! This new friend, he hasn't replaced us has he?"
   "No! No, not at all. I'm sorry, I suppose I got too excited about the trip."
   "Hmm, well, let's meet this friend after our shift's over. Whatdya say, Snorkmaiden?" The snork nodded eagerly. "Oh could we, Moomin? Pretty please?" He sighed and said,"Oh alright. But I'll warn you, he doesn't take to company most of the time."
~~~
   Snorkmaiden and Little My sat around the round table in the living room as they waited for Moomin to come down. He peered down at them from the landing, took a deep breath, and walked down. Once he reached the bottom of the steps, he cleared his throat and-
"Took you long enough, we're dying to see this friend of yours!" said Little My. Moomin frowned and replied, "Well, I think it would be a better idea if I went over and asked if he'd like to come to Moominhouse." "Hmph!" Here she crossed her arms- "Well you better make it quick, Moomintroll, we're tired of waiting!"
Moomin grumbled a response and sprinted out of the house. Once he was far down the path, he slowed to a jog. Scanning the horizon, he spotted the tent and looked down past the bridge. Sitting on the riverbank fishing, was Snufkin. He raised his arms and waved, and was about to shout his name before realizing that that would scare the fishes away. Moomin hurried across the wooden bridge and over to Snufkin, panting once he got there.
"Hello Moomin. What brings you here today?"
"Oh! Um, if it wouldn't trouble you any all- err! at all...could you, maybe, perhaps come over and meet my friends? They're really nice! Well, Little My can be nice, she's capable of it I'm sure-"
"Well," Snufkin reeled in his line and grabbed an empty bucket beside him before getting up, "Sure, the fish aren't biting today." He smiled at Moomin and walked past to put away his fishing equipment. The troll felt his ears go red and clamped his paws over them once Snufkin had passed. "Uhh, I'm sorry to hear that Snufkin!" Moomin called after him. "Oh, well it's alright. I suppose the fish need their sleep too," he replied. Moomin snorted, then slapped his paws on his snout. "Oops! Haha." Snufkin chuckled. They walked up to Moominhouse, and as they were about to enter - "Snufkin! You could have dinner with us! I- well I suppose you were fishing for your dinner but nothing came up, so how would you like to try Moominmama's cooking?" The mumrik scratched his chin thoughtfully for a while, causing Moomin to panic on the inside. "Alright! Thank you, Moomintroll." He held the door open for Snufkin, and let out a sigh of relief with his mission completed. Shutting the door, Moomin turned around to already see Snorkmaiden enthusiastically shaking his paw while Little My looked quizzically at him. Just as the two sat down, Moominmama called from the kitchen. "Moomin~! Could you be a dear and fetch some more firewood from the cellar?" He glanced at Snufkin, not wanting his new friend to be uncomfortable. Snufkin nodded and gave the same small smile to him. "Coming mama!"
Clambering down the trapdoor, the troll stopped halfway down the ladder. "I'd forgotten to tell you mama! My friend Snufkin is here! Sorry for not warning you in advance."
"Well that's quite alright, I've accidentally made a lot more pea soup than I wanted to. Say, why don't you take some of the lemonade I made yesterday out for our company?"
"Yes, mama."
He helped stack up more wood in the corner of the kitchen and added a few more under the stove. Grabbing a pitcher from the fridge, he hastily made his way back outside. "-is that so, Little My?" Snufkin was in the middle of a conversation with the small mymble, but glanced up when Moomin entered the room. "Oh! Yes, mama wanted me to take some lemonade out for us."
"Alright! I haven't had Moominmama's lemonade in ages!" Sniff was now sitting next to Little My, rubbing his stomach. "He failed at cooking for himself, didn't even make it to one week," said Little My, shaking her head. "Oh Sniff, you hadn't burned down your house have you?" He set to placing down glasses for everyone while Sniff told his three-day attempt. "Only on the first day! But the fire didn't get too far, the police inspector so happened to be carrying buckets of water for Mymble Jr's flower garden. I cooked very well, I just ran out of ingredients, that's all!" "He means he ate them all before the week was up," snarked Little My. The conversation continued on till dinner was ready, in which all five of the group ran upstairs to wash their hands. Sniff had surprisingly made it first to the sink, so now the rest of them stood outside waiting for him to finish. "Hey Snufkin, when you're in there, don't eat the soap," whispered Moomin softly into his ear. For a moment, the troll thought he heard a little thump on the floor before Snufkin quickly answered, "What?" He suddenly took great interest with his tail and played with the bristly end of it as Moomin explained. "We had a guest once who thought the soap was cheese. Where he comes from apparently keeping cheese in a restroom was a common thing, and Snorkmaiden had gotten into soap making. She'd given us so many, all different scents. So naturally with all the soap lined up on the shelves and counter, he grabbed one and chomp! Took a whole bite out of the soap bar." The mumrik listened attentively and laughed at the very end of it. In the bathroom, Snorkmaiden combed her fringe while Little My was occupied with scrubbing the dirt off her hands. Hearing laughter from outside the door, Little My grinned wickedly and said, "Looks like you've got competition, Snorkmaiden!"
   "Oh Little My! You mustn't say things like that! It's nice that Moomin's enjoying himself. You know, it'd be a nice change, away from Moomintroll."
"What?! But I thought you liked him!"
"Well that may be true, but it's nice to be around you too, Little My." Snorkmaiden adjusted the flower she tucked behind her ear and smiled down at her. Opening the door, she giggled, "After you!"