Chapter 35: I Don’t Want You

Rachel had just cleaned up after the early morning rush for coffee and pastries and was about to take stock of things before the late morning break began. Then she became aware that she wasn’t alone. Henry had stopped in and was watching her. Who knows how long he had been there?

“What’s a guy gotta do to get some coffee around here?” he asked Rachel, while doing his best to make conversation.

“Oh Hi, Henry.”

“I’m joking. I didn’t come for coffee; I wanted to see you.”

“Henry, I thought our last conversation was clear: I don’t want to date you. And I have a boyfriend,” she repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.

“That tall bloke who came for you the other night?”

She rolled her eyes impatiently, “Yes! He’s the one.”

He complained, “Everywhere I go I see you two together.”

“That’s because I’m with Tres, so I can’t be with you, too, Henry. Understand?”

“But you have never really given me a chance. It’s like you already chose someone else.”

“I have, Henry. And that someone else is my boyfriend, Tres. Look, I love him. We have a future together. That’s something I can’t say for us, Henry.”

“Even though I sent you drinks and took you out for a real Italian dinner?” he asked.

“That’s right. Even though you sent me drinks and took me out for a real spaghetti dinner.”

Rachel was starting to feel that he was either doing that to piss her off or he really was completely unaware of how to socially communicate with another human being.

They both paused in silence for a minute, holding each other’s gaze.

Then he surprised Rachel by saying, “Ok.”

“Ok?”

“Yes. Ok. I tried with you and failed. I’ll set sail on other waters.”

“Really? Well, that’s good to hear.”

“I really liked that lady at the restaurant who came up to the bar when I went to check on you.”

“Who? Jane? Jane Jones?”

“Yes. I do believe that’s her name. I like her strength. I’ve been interested in her ever since.”

“Well, that’s wonderful, Henry. I know that a woman like that could really appreciate a man like you,” Rachel said as positively and politically as she could, trying very hard not to laugh at that unexpected situation, “And I wish you good luck.”

His new outlook on romance with a different object of his affection suited him and relieved her. Gone was his nervous laughter. He finally accepted the failure of wooing Rachel and left the bakery at the end of their brief conversation without causing a scene or making her feel uncomfortable.

For a moment she thought of him pursuing Jane and Jane’s bullying Henry around. He had met his match. She was his ideal woman. He might be too shy and quiet for Rachel, but he would make docile eye candy for someone like Jane. “There truly is someone for everyone,” she thought, while smiling.

She did not mean for Henry to be the first person that she told about her feelings for Arthur, but floating on a cloud of emotion accidentally let the cat out of the bag. She had not even told Arthur yet.

He was prone to surprising her, so she decided to surprise him. It was after the lunch rush and she decided to stop over at his home away from home, the library, and take him a hot drink and a warm snack.

# # #

“Hi Handsome,” she whispered, setting a large cup of coffee and a paper bag full of some hot glazed donuts in front of him. “How’s the day going?”

“Better now that you’re here,” he said, turning around to greet her face to face, then getting up from his chair, ever the gentleman, to acknowledge her entrance.

“Please sit. I thought you could use some sugar and caffeine to get you through the afternoon slump. I can’t stay long. I just came over to lift your spirits.”

“Nice surprise. Do you want a ride home today?”

“That’d be lovely. I have a real story to tell you on the way back.”

“Ah. Two surprises in one day. I might faint.”

She laughed, hugged him, and departed, not wanting to be too loud or leave Faye alone too long at the bakery.

# # #

Once back, the rest of her shift flew by, with her thoughts on Arthur. Even though they were not married, she knew that she never would have had one tenth as good of a relationship with Kurt as her husband as she enjoyed as a close friend of Arthur’s.

“Hey, Honey, were you out and about to visit that man of yours?”

“Something like that,” Rachel responded, with more than a little bit of embarrassment.

“And it all took off from the pub date at eight. I told you. He’s a keeper.”

Faye had put out an e-coupon to all of the regular customers’ whose phone numbers she had. All they had to do was pull it up on her phone and the bakery staff would scan the discount. The first day they had a line around the block and almost ran out of food. Days like that could be deceptive for a small business, making it seem as though they were doing better than they thought. After the last person in the line was served, Faye and Rachel had a relaxed business meeting before closing.

“Faye, is the bakery doing okay?”

“Sure is, Honey. Why are you asking? Did your direct deposited pay check not go through this week?”

“No. It’s just that...well, I wanted to make sure that I can count on the bakery and the modest income it provides me for a long time to come. We single ladies need to be able to take care of ourselves, right?

“Of course,” Faye replied, superstitiously knocking three times on one of the wooden tables in the bakery’s in-store dining area. “Leave the worrying to me, Honey,” she reassured, but avoided looking Rachel in the eyes like she usually did.

Rachel was grateful for what she had, and the ride home with Arthur that she had to look forward to in the near future. For the first time since she had been in Clovelly, except perhaps during the “fake date” she had with Arthur, she felt really good. She made a contribution to the town with her job. She had friends that cared about her welfare and not her father’s billions. She liked the life she had. It was simple and stable. She wished things could stay the same forever.