Page 13 of Welcome to Ero-TEA-Ca: We’re Open!

Harriet

T he soft opening had been a roaring success, and Harriet had accomplished the seemingly impossible by getting Cassandra to step foot in the tearoom without passing out.

Then again, she’d run out of there pretty damn fast. That was disappointing. Harriet couldn’t understand what had triggered the flight response, or the icy attitude when they’d spoken outside. After meeting Mr Whiskers, Harriet believed they were getting somewhere. Clearly not.

As usual, though, Harriet had put a smile on her face and returned to the tearoom to celebrate with everyone. She couldn’t let Cass’s reaction dampen the rest of the evening. They’d all put too much work into getting Ero-Tea-Ca up and running. They deserved a night to honour that.

Instead of avoiding the café, which Harriet was sure Cass would prefer her to do, she’d toddled over for her usual Danish, where she had a weird conversation about a hip joint before Cass got the hump over something and ran away to the stockroom.

It was difficult to pinpoint all the things that set the woman off.

At this rate, Harriet would need to make lists of conversations and topics that were bound to make Cass lose her temper.

With the Danish consumed and tea drunk, Harriet set about cleaning the tearoom.

She and Nabi would have a confab later on.

Their friends and family had been kind enough to fill in a short form reviewing the service.

It was imperative Harriet and Nabi worked out any kinks before the grand opening on Friday.

“I’ve just had an amazing idea!” Nabi shouted, rolling into the room. Literally.

“Are you wearing skates?” It was an unnecessary question. Nabi was gliding around the tables, picking up trash and teacups.

“Yes. I was tidying my room and found them under the bed. I was so happy!”

“And you just had to wear them to work?”

After a rather impressive twirl, Nabi skidded to a stop. “Of course. Lolly?”

Harriet regarded the neon yellow blob of sugar. “No, thanks. It’s 8 a.m. I’ve not long cleaned my teeth.”

Shrugging, Nabi did another spin. “So, back to my wonderful idea, that frankly, I’m mad at myself for not thinking of earlier because it’s so good.”

“Hit me,” Harriet replied, sitting down.

“Book clubs.”

The thought had occurred to her, but she’d had more important things to think of at the time. Maybe they could organise it now. “Yeah, I like it. We could put a package together. Um…free sandwiches, or the second pot of tea half price.”

“Yes!” Nabi beamed, clapping her hands. “There must be loads of book clubs around here.”

“Let’s make a poster. How about Sunday afternoons?”

“I’m happy with that. It’s nice and quiet, and could offer people an alternative to sitting at home with the Sunday blues. Do we leave it to the group to decide the book, or should we be more involved? Like the book comes with the package deal?”

Tapping a finger against her chin, Harriet hummed in thought. “How about we offer several books to choose from?”

“That could work. What if the group already has a system they use?”

Harriet shrugged. “That’s cool. They can purchase the package, sans book.”

“Can we have queer nights, too? If we’re thinking of creating packages, why not look at offering different options? Once a month we could do a…oh, a Queer-Tea-Be Here.”

Laughing, Harriet bobbed her head. “Totally. We might need to mull over the name a little more, but the premise is good. Let’s not do too much too soon, though.

We still need to go through the reviews and work out any problems. I don’t want to overload us.

The next few weeks are going to be nuts.

As soon as we’re in a routine and comfortable, we can look at properly organising events. ”

Nabi stuck two thumbs up. “Oh, I went through the notes this morning. All good. No issues. The only complain—”

“There was a complaint?” Harriet all but shrieked.

Nabi held up her hand. “From Gogo. They complained there weren’t enough dildos on the shelf. Bear in mind, this was after their fifth glass of Champagne and not accounting for the fact we’d sold a bunch of toys.”

“Oh, well, okay then.” Harriet’s heart returned to its normal rhythm.

Chuckling, Nabi grasped Harriet’s face. “Honey, we rocked it. Everyone was happy. Even those Shop Owners’ Guild-y people.”

But not everyone was happy. Harriet’s mind naturally flitted to Cass walking out flustered. “Yeah. Okay, I’ll relax. That means that we have the rest of the week to do one last deep clean.”

Pushing away, Nabi rolled back a few feet. She tipped her skate, effectively putting on her brakes. Putting a hand on her hip, she wiggled the index finger of her free hand. “Nope! Not happening. I’m kidnapping you.”

“Nabi!”

“You know it’s the right thing to do. I get you want to make this place successful.

I do too, but I’d be a terrible best friend if I let you shackle yourself to it twenty-four seven.

Work-life balance, baby. It’s a thing. Now, I know you have dinner with the ’rents tonight, and for that, I’m truly sorry.

But tomorrow morning, we’ll be on a train to London for an impromptu getaway.

And before your blood pressure spikes, it’s just for two nights. ”

Harriet relaxed. The thought of getting away sounded pretty good, actually. “You’re the best, you know that, right?”

“I do.” Nabi grinned, twirling on the spot.

“But you still can’t wear roller skates in the shop, Nabs.”

Two hours later and without a skating Nabi, Harriet did one last sweep of the tearoom. She still had time to kill before she dragged herself to her parents for an evening of condescension, disappointment, and dried-out roast pork.

“What to do?” she murmured to herself.

The overwhelming urge to go back to The Oxford Beanery decided that for her.

Cass would absolutely scowl at her, but Harriet kind of liked it.

Was that weird? She’d never been attracted to someone so moody.

Harriet’s usual type had a sunny disposition like herself.

Cass was the opposite in every way, but for whatever reason, Harriet was very attracted to her.

She’d figured it out after that morning’s run in. It was somewhere between the confusion of her prophetic hip and the chat about their parents that Harriet felt it hit. The “Oh crap, I like this woman” zap, straight to the heart.

It was no longer about getting Cass to like Ero-Tea-Ca.

Harriet wanted Cass to like her . There were layers to Cass which Harriet wanted to peel back.

It was becoming clear her aversion to the shop and anything remotely to do with sex went deeper than a general stick up her bum, and Harriet wanted to know the truth.

She wanted Cass to feel comfortable enough to open up to her.

She was on an impossible mission, for sure. Harriet wasn’t convinced Cass liked her in any capacity. How was she supposed to get the woman to see her in more than a friendly light?

Exposure therapy. Harriet would make herself a part of Cass’s everyday life.

Sure, she could grab a bun from her own display case, but The Oxford Beanery really did have amazing pastries.

All Harriet had to do was make visiting the café a part of her daily routine.

As long as she didn’t make another faux pas as bad as the one this morning, Cass had no reason to stay mad at her.

She should’ve known better than to take her tea into the café.

The only problem now, though, was Harriet had already visited The Beanery today. What reason could she come up with to go back? Scanning the tearoom, she spotted the teapot Kendal had all but drooled over.

“That’ll do,” she said, grinning. Nothing wrong with a new neighbour offering a gift in the pursuit of friendship, right? Honestly, she and Kendal were already well on track to becoming great mates. That was neither here nor there, though. Not when Cass refused to get with the program.

Doing a rush job on the wrapping, Harriet tucked the newly gift-wrapped teapot under her arm and headed for the café.

Upon entering, she saw neither Kendal nor Cass.

There was, however, an older lady manning the counter.

Her hair was dark and short, styled into messy spikes.

She wore large, hooped earrings and bright eye makeup.

Her smile lit up the entire room as she chatted with a patron.

Waiting for her turn, Harriet strained her neck, trying to see through the door which led to the back of The Beanery. No luck.

“Hello and welcome to the one-and-only Oxford Beanery. Best coffee in all of England, guaranteed,” the woman exclaimed with vigour. Harriet couldn’t help but return the energy.

“Wow, that’s one hell of a greeting. I love it! I’m Harriet. New to the area. Is Kendal or Cassandra around?”

“They’ve just popped out. New to the area you say?” The woman scanned Harriet from head to toe. “You aren’t by any chance the owner of that fantastic new tea shop, are you?”

Harriet jiggled on the spot. It was so refreshing having a person praise the shop rather than bemoan its existence. “I am indeed.”

The woman clapped and shrieked. “Oh, you wonderful woman. I was over the moon when I read about it in the council’s newsletter. What a delightful idea. It’s about bloody time we got something new and invigorating in the area. When do you open?”

“Officially, Friday,” Harriet replied. “I’d be happy to give you a tour, if you want. Do you work here part-time? I haven’t seen you before.”

The woman waved her hand. “Oh no, dear. My daughter owns this fine establishment.”

Her daughter. Oh my God, the weird hip prophecy was real. “You’re Cassandra’s mum, right?”

“The one and only,” she replied. “I’m Lolita Beaufort.”

Harriet took the proffered hand. “Harriet Kirkwell. It’s lovely to meet you.”

“Mum, we’re bac— What are you doing here?” The tone was as lethal as ever. Harriet pasted on her sincerest smile and turned to Cass, who’d stumbled through the café door, weighed down with bags. Kendal followed soon after.

“Cassandra Beaufort, you don’t speak to people like that!” Lolita admonished.

“Oh, hey, Harriet,” Kendal called, ignoring the tension between mother and daughter.

“Hey. I wanted to give you this,” Harriet said, ignoring Cass’s scowl, which was firmly aimed at her.

Kendal waddled past with her mountain of bags, dumping them behind the counter. “You’ve brought me a gift?”

Harriet shrugged. “It’s a thank you for being so welcoming gift.” Her eyes flitted to Cass, who had the decency to look guilty.

“You daft sod. I don’t need a gift.”

“Well, you’re getting one. Take it.” Kendal took the box and began unwrapping it. Shit, Harriet didn’t think she’d open it in the café. Great, Cass was going to throw another fit. “Um…maybe save it for later,” Harriet quickly added.

“Nonsense, I want to open it now.” And that was what she did. Harriet expected Cass to start growling, but she was suspiciously quiet. It was Lolita that made all the noise. As soon as she spied the teapot, she whipped it out of Kendal’s hands to inspect it.

“Oh, wow, look at this! That’s just gorgeous. The artwork is sublime.”

“My brother is in charge of sourcing local artists to paint the pots. He also adds his own art.”

“He’s done a fine job. I’ve never seen doggy-style look so fancy!”

Lolita brought the teapot closer for a more thorough inspection. Harriet noticed several customers were looking over. This was not what she’d envisioned. Risking another peek, she looked at Cass, whose eyes were firmly on the ground, her face red. Crap.

Kendal took the pot with a chuckle. “Harriet was right. I can look at it later.”

Harriet saw Kendal look at Cass. Something flitted over her face. “Sorry, I should have waited until you were ready to close.”

“Oh, don’t be silly,” Lolita interjected. “Everyone here is an adult. It’s only a bit of erotica between friends.”

Harriet cringed. Lolita wasn’t being exactly quiet. Waiting for Cass to finally lose her temper, Harriet was more than surprised when she simply passed by them all and went into the back. Kendal closed her eyes briefly. Yeah, Harriet had fucked up. Again.

“Don’t worry about Cass,” Lolita said. “She’s always been a big prude. I don’t know where she gets it from. Certainly not me.”

Now that , Harriet could believe.

Pointing to the backroom door, Harriet caught Kendal’s attention. “Should I…”

“No, don’t worry. I’ll talk to her later.” Kendal was speaking at a fraction of her usual volume. Was she hoping Lolita wouldn’t overhear?

“I’m sorry,” Harriet replied just as quietly.

Shaking her head, Kendal placed a reassuring hand on her forearm. “Don’t be. She’ll be fine.”

“I’m going to head out for an hour, girls,” Lolita called, entirely unaware of the tension. “I’ll meet you at the pub later for dinner, Ken. Let Cass know, would you?”

“Of course, Lolly.”

“Harriet, would you care to join us?” Harriet would’ve loved to have dinner with them, but after this, Cass definitely wouldn’t want her there, and her parents would only give her more grief if she bailed on them.

“Thank you for the offer, but I have a prior engagement.”

“Next time then. I’ve got so much I want to talk to you about. Maybe I could pop by the shop tomorrow? Are you there in the day?”

Harriet smiled. “Not tomorrow. I’m going away for a few days before Ero-Tea-Ca opens to the public. A bit of a recharge.”

“Good thinking. You must look after yourself. Okay, well, if I’m still here next week, I’ll come in.”

“I look forward to it.”

Kendal and Harriet watched Lolita leave the café. “She’s…something,” Harriet murmured.

“Oh yeah,” Kendal replied with an affectionate grin.

Turning from the door, Harriet looked Kendal square in the eyes. “How badly have I just messed up with Cassandra?”

Kendal’s face softened. “It’s not you.”

“It seems to be,” Harriet replied, her shoulders slumping.

How did she keep messing up? Maybe the universe was sending her a very clear signal that what she wanted to happen with Cass would never materialise, no matter how much Harriet tried to manifest it.

Maybe she should have Nabi do a reading for her.

Tarot was a reliable way to decide if Cass would eventually stop hating her, right?

Sighing, Harriet gave one last look towards the back door. “Okay. Well, I’ll leave you to it. I need to get over to my parents.”

“Please don’t let it get you down, sweetie. Cass will come around.”

“Is it sad I want her to like me?”

A glint of something sparkled in Kendal’s eyes. Was that a grin she was trying to hide?

“Oh, don’t worry. I think you’ll win her over.”