Page 16 of Take Two

Callie sighed. ‘Don’t, please. I need a break. Ilovehim. But I need a break.’

‘I’m just saying, I wouldn’t have minded. He’s a nice kid. I like him.’

‘Yeah, and he likes you so much he struggles to speak in your presence.’

Mae paused. ‘Oh.’

‘Yeah,’ Callie said with a grin.

Mae and Callie headed towards the café.

‘Remind me why we didn’t just stay under the tree?’ Mae asked.

‘Because we need to live bigger,’ Callie replied. ‘And you said the bakery coffee tastes like socks.’

‘It does,’ Mae conceded. ‘And not clean ones.’

‘Then let’s drink the coffee of the adjoining village just because we can.’ Callie nudged her shoulder. Mae didn’t return the gesture, but the corner of her mouth hitched.

They pushed open the café door; inside, the air was somehow hotter. A ceiling fan squeaked its way through each rotation, barely moving anything.

Then the waitress looked up.

Pretty. Light eyes. Neat eyeliner. Her smile brightened the moment it landed on Callie.

‘Hi,’ she said warmly. ‘It’s boiling today, isn’t it?’

Callie blinked, thrown off by something she didn’t yet understand. ‘Yeah. Like walking through soup.’

The waitress laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

‘Can I get you two something cold?’ the waitress asked.

‘Two iced coffees,’ Mae said crisply.

The waitress started up the machine and handed Callie a loyalty card. ‘Gave you some extra stamps.’

Callie looked down. The stamp card was already halfway to a free drink. ‘Thanks, but we don’t live here. Not sure we’ll be able to utilise it.’

The waitress took the card back and stamped across the finish line. ‘Now you’ve got a reason to come back.’

Callie smiled shyly. ‘Oh. I guess so.’

The waitress smiled again, eyes lingering on Callie. A faint flush climbed into Callie’s ears.

That was new.

They took a table by the window. Callie sat slowly, processing.

Mae watched her across the table. ‘Are you all right?’

Callie blinked. ‘She was… nice.’

‘She was flirting,’ Mae said in that way she had of saying things that felt like they contained no opinion. Just a fact machine.

‘Yeah, maybe,’ Callie said.

‘Callie, she wasveryflirting,’ Mae said.