Chapter 5

Willow

Now I remember why retail is hell. Honestly, higher education can have the same "customer" mentality, but at least I didn't have to remember everyone's orders, or get them to the right tables on time. I wasn't made to be a cashier or a waitress. I'd already almost spilled five drinks, and it had only been 30 minutes.

I glanced back at the hours sign, even though I knew what it said. I'd had it memorized for years, after all. 7 pm. Almost 2 hours left.

Looking back into the kitchen, I saw Winston cleaning pots. "Why are you cleaning already?"

"I have everything stocked already for the night. Just cleaning up now."

"Cleaning… I'll clean! You can come do this."

He raised an eyebrow at me and cocked his head to the side. "Do you know where anything is?"

"It really can't be that difficult to figure out."

"My kitchen. My system. I'll clean. Where's Tess, by the way? The pixie that's always with you?"

"She went out with some friends. She'll come back around this evening. She lives with me and has the territory behind my home."

He looked puzzled, but still didn't offer me anything else. The bell dinged.

I huffed and went back to the counter as another customer came to order.

"Professor Willow?"

Shit. I recognized her from one of my earlier morning classes. "Grace. How are you?"

"What are you doing here? Professorship not pay enough? Or just want a discount on the coffee?"

With a sigh, I shook my head, "Helping a friend out. The café was short. Now, what would you like?"

Fifteen minutes later, I had the orders out, and another tiny moment of air. I needed to make him let me clean. Carrying another tray might be the end of his café. Popping open the door again, I leaned against the frame.

He wasn't even cleaning.

"Seriously?"

With a look at me, Winston stopped reading the book he had in his hands at the table.

"What?"

"You aren't cleaning. You aren't doing anything. I'm drowning out here! I was going to switch you jobs."

"I thought I said no to the cleaning?"

I gestured around me. "Are you cleaning?"

"Oh, finished that in here."

I growled out, "Then maybe I should leave."

He snapped the book closed, then stood. "Look, I'm happy for the help. If I'd had to clean up after close, it would have taken that much more time before I could look at those recipes of yours. I could look now, if you wished?"

And with a jolt, I realized I'd left everything on my table when Charlotte had almost fallen.

"Oh!"

I took off out of the room without an explanation. I heard the door open again behind me, but didn't even bother looking around. He'd figure it out, surely.

No one had sat at the table. The café had been busy, but not packed and mostly with to go orders. I grabbed my bag, made sure my iPad and cord were still there, and my phone. I had missed texts from Piper, of course. Then I started shoving everything into as neat a pile as I could manage, and got it put up.

A hand, large and callused, landed gently on my shoulder. I felt warmth zing up and down my body. I stopped, slowly looking up at the man I knew it belonged to.

"It's okay. I'll cover the counter. You don't have to pack like someone is fixing to rip it out of your hands."

I stopped and breathed. Research could be a dangerous game. I was used to guarding my notes at the university. That and I had just left out expensive tech, with all my passwords on it, for a couple of hours unguarded. I was an idiot.

Nodding, I felt the sudden absence of his hand, and that warmth. Without it, I almost felt chilled. "I'm losing it. Maybe I am having too much caffeine," I mumbled, as I continued putting up my things, slower and with more care. Now that was crazy talk, and clearly the stress was getting to me.

Winston had walked off, talking to patrons, and greeting them. He was good at this, charming his way through his customers. I didn't have that ability. Even as a professor, I connected most with my fellow odd and quirky people. I envied his easy charm.

With my bag all messily packed, I walked behind the counter and took it into the kitchen. With a plop, I sat it on the table, and breathed in deeply. The whole room smelled like heaven. Rich spices, coffee, peppermint, and the smell of freshly baked bread. I could live in this place and never be happier. Though I suppose it would come with Winston, which might make it difficult.

Though that touch…

At that thought, the door opened again. Winston looked in and noticed my apron in my hands.

"Done for the day?"

"Do you need me? I could use the time to work more on this before I get your opinion."

Shaking his head, he said, "No. It's the calm before closing. A few more trickle in, but never in a rush. They head home with to go cups. You people and your coffee."

"You own a café. What could you possibly have against coffee?"

I heard a ding, and Winston grinned, then popped back out. With a groan, I pulled some of my papers back out of my bag, and the iPad. Loading up the pages didn't take long, and I scrolled through the grimoire until I found the last two.

I'd had some difficulty even translating the beginning spells and potions originally. For these two, the text was cursive, like the rest of the book, but written in a different hand. Loops, extra curves, and the curliest of writing. It was ornate, beautiful, and difficult. I'd wondered if maybe they had done that on purpose, a way to guard against someone who found it but shouldn't read it. The pages had seemed older, as if they had been rebound into this book. With all the time I had poured into them, I still didn't even have half of it translated, and what I had made out really didn't make sense.

I looked again at the borders of the pages. Hand drawn art surrounded every page in the book, and with careful examination, I'd discovered all the drawings related to the spells, whether it be the ingredients or the different effects. There was a heart in one corner of this page, and I wondered if this wasn't some kind of poison.

My notes sat in front of me, barely touched. My mind just couldn't find the missing details on these. I had so little time to finish these two chapters. I could publish my book without them… but they knew how many pages were in the grimoire source I had shown them, and that translated to a certain number of promised chapters. Academic publishing was a pain.

I suppose if all else failed, I could write two summary chapters on the history of magic… though some of that was already in the beginning. That was something to ponder and possibly start. There wasn't anything stopping me from even writing about what I had deciphered and the issues that lay within discovering old spells. That was actually a good idea…

My head fell back on the chair, resting against the cold wood. The warmth of the ovens and the scents were making my already tired head worse. I might just nap for a minute or two. I had time before Winston came back here…

"Willow? Are you seriously going to sleep in a wooden chair? Your neck looks cracked."

I jerked up, nearly whacking my head against the wood. Tess was flying in front of me, looking highly amused.

"Tess. Seriously?"

"What?"

Waving my hands in the air, I gestured at her. "Ever thought about letting someone know you are here without scaring them half to death?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

I leaned back against the chair. "No fun at all, I suppose. Did you have fun doing whatever you were doing?"

"Aye. Caused maximum mayhem."

"I don't doubt it for a second. Don't tell me, I best stay in the dark." Pixies were rather fond of mayhem, for mayhem's sake.

She laughed and flitted about the kitchen. "Nice place, this."

"Uh, huh."

I couldn't keep watching her fly in circles, or my head would try to beat out of my skull like Charlotte's earlier. Would Winston give me some of that potion?

My watch buzzed, showing me Piper had sent me a message.

Piper: Almost time! Good luck… and call me tomorrow with all the spicy details.

I clicked the button and said, "There will be no spicy details," pressing send, as Winston finished opening the door.

"Spicy details? Food?"

I blushed, winced, and said quickly, "It's a girl thing. Almost closing?"

Tess's cackle made me want to throw a spoon at her.

"Yep. Just have to close out the drawer and get the floor mopped, and the rest of the equipment wiped down."

"I can help with that. Just give me a minute."

With a smile, he nodded and closed the door behind him. I stretched and looked at Tess, who had settled on the table.

"Any chance you're good with a mop?"

"Got any Q-Tip sized ones?"

I flicked my fingers at her, knowing it wouldn't land, and stood. My legs nearly seized up under me, but with a few quick steps, I started feeling normal again. Maybe one last cup of coffee…

"Cleaned the coffee pot yet?" I asked as I came through the door.

Winston was stuffing some cash into a bag and turned around.

"Coffee? Really? This late?"

"Look, I had a … night, and I won't be coherent enough to help you out. I need something."

"As much caffeine as you've ingested today, you ought to be high on it for a year."

"There is nothing wrong with drinking coffee."

"There is if you overload yourself."

"What do you have against it?"

"Besides its awful taste, and mostly placebo effect? I mean, yes, witches enhance the beans, and imbue it with extra energy, but it's still just only a certain amount. And you can build up a tolerance for it."

I gasped. Loudly.

"How dare you besmirch the name of coffee." I might have to rethink this entire endeavor. He might not be fit after all.

Tess flitted in at that moment, adding, "You've done it now."

Winston flicked his gaze at her and back to me. "What's the deal?"

"Coffee is sacred. It is life. It is the beverage of gods and Goddesses. You own a café and sell it in droves, and you don't like it?"

"I just don't see the point."

I stomped off, grabbing the mop and bucket he'd just set out. "Not everyone is a witch who can magic up a potion or spell, or afford it. There is no hope for you."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him raise his hand, then drop it. He shook his head and turned back to the machines. I pointedly ignored him. What good is coffee? How could anyone that hot think coffee was disgusting? Clearly, my body was betraying me.

With a sigh, I started mopping. He had already stacked the chairs on the tables. I was halfway done when the smell of coffee became stronger, and suddenly, there was a small cup of deep, dark, beautiful brown liquid floating under my nose.

Inhaling deeply, I propped the mop against the wall and took the proffered cup. As I took a deep sip, I looked up to see Winston watching me. The look in his eyes made me choke on my coffee.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry. Here." He ran to grab me a napkin, and I tried to recover myself. I was simply imagining things. There had not been heat in that gaze—we'd just been arguing over coffee.

Winston came back with a few napkins and handed them over.

"Was it too hot?"

"What? Oh, no. I just… breathed in funny while trying to take a sip. It happens." Yeah, that sounded so better, and didn't make me seem like an idiot.

His eyebrow raised at that, but he didn't object. I wiped the coffee on my hand, careful to hold the cup steady. I wrapped the remaining dry one around the cup and took another sip.

"This is delicious. Better than normal. Even if it is only a small cup. Thank you."

"It's from a slow roaster. I haven't added it to the menu yet."

I raised my eyebrow. "Maybe you shouldn't."

"I thought it was delicious." He growled back.

With a smile, I replied, "Yes, but I don't want to share it."

A laugh burst out of him, and he walked off, shaking his head again. "Come on. Finish mopping, and I'll clean this last machine. Then we'll look at that book of yours."

Sipping some more of the coffee, I walked towards the counter and sat down my very precious coffee, his quiet peace offering. Then I quickly finished the room, finding motivation from deep down. I had so many questions about that manuscript, and if he could even answer a couple of them, it would help.

Tess flitted about, watching me mop.

"Don't you have somewhere better to be?"

"Nah. It's fun watching you work."

I stuck my tongue out at her and finished the last line. Pulling the mop and bucket carefully behind me, I sat them by the counter. I'd let Winston take care of the dirty water and putting them up, since I wasn't sure where that was. Also, it was heavy, and I didn't want to do it. I had coffee to finish, which I promptly grabbed from the counter. Pushing the door open into the kitchen, I found Winston drying the last of the pots and pans and putting them away. Tess flew in behind me, landing on the table once again.

She flopped down, crossing her legs, and announced, "Let's get this party started!"

I shook my head at her antics, but followed her over to the table. I'd been working on my iPad, but grabbed my laptop out of my backpack instead. I punched in my password, and my screen filled with notes and pictures that I had been looking at.

There was suddenly a wall of heat behind me, and I knew Winston was standing there. It made every hair on my body stand up, and I felt an odd, hot sense of longing. Slowly, I turned around to face him, and found him very close indeed.

"Sorry." He mumbled, without moving away.

His intense amber eyes, the ones I noticed when he saved me from that car, were watching me. But not my eyes, they were focused a bit too low for that, more at my lips.

"Ahem," Tess loudly said from the table, and we both jumped. A freezing cold bath might be just the thing for her later. Or spoiled milk.

"Right, so, what exactly are you writing again?" He asked, moving away a bit.

I sat down, and he followed suit.

"It's a textbook, about old potions and spells. The first few chapters are generalized. About the kinds of magic witches possess, and the various ways we see them used in our society. About the history of witches, and how they have helped us throughout time. The rest of it is the evaluation and analysis of this specific grimoire. I found it years ago at an estate auction. I was always convinced they were potions and spells, but most thought it was just a cookbook."

Winston was studying the cover, looking at the different pages.

"Some of these I recognize."

"Some are really common. The last few in the back were not. I think it was a witch who married into a family that didn't approve and tried to hide it. That was common, for a time. For both sides."

Winston huffed and let out a little laugh. "Oh, don't let people fool you. There are still some issues there."

I wondered at that—Piper never seemed much bothered with anything that was going on—but I knew there was an issue with witches having children. I turned my mind back to this, though. I had more pressing timelines to pay attention to.

"So, do you think I am right?"

"Of course. This was very much a spell book, and this was an easy way to hide them if you needed to. No one reads recipes very often. If you figured these out, why are you having issues now?"

"They don't follow the normal guidelines for spells. They match no others, and the writing is so faint - as well as all the drawings. I wonder if she didn't add them into the book binding to hide them. Witches pass down spells, after all."

"They do, yes. Though orally is more common."

"Oh, I know."

Winston quirked an eyebrow at me.

"Sorry. I mean, I am a professor specifically on the history of magic. I know it isn't the same—but I have some knowledge. Quite a bit, actually."

"Right. Of course. It'll be a battle of wits over something else, then."

I smiled, shaking my head.

"I understand that not all witches like the fact that I teach your history. Trust me, there were many who hated me at school. Some of my students still resent it. But I proved myself time and time again. I'm an outsider looking in. I've got a unique perspective on things you wouldn't get otherwise, right?"

"Hey, I wasn't arguing about your place here. Just trying to understand my role in it and share what I know." He smiled sheepishly at me, and I felt guilty for projecting my fears onto him.

"Right, sorry. Okay. So I have great knowledge of many spells, but what is listed here—or well, what I can make it—makes no overall sense. And they are things I haven't heard of before. I cannot make heads or tails of its purpose or the drawings.."

I looked back up to see Winston smiling at me.

"And so Piper thought of you." I was still trying to decide whether I wanted to thank her for that.

"I'm honored. We hadn't even met."

"I might have shared the story of being saved, and then finding you as the new owner of the coffee shop with her yesterday."

"Glad to know I made an impression. So baking, potions, it's all the same in terms of mixing ingredients and getting something out of it. That's always been my take on it."

Smiling, I looked around. "It can be. And it seems to be in your case."

"Shares a lot of the same practices." Winston looked around. "Some spells have been banished. It's hard to imagine that my Mother let any spells slip outside her control. Or any of the former council members."

Winston peered closer at my notes. He nearly touched them with his nose. It was funny to watch him almost go cross-eyed.

"And these are going in a book?" He asked after a few minutes.

"Ah, a textbook. It may be reformatted and shared more widely, but mostly it's something you could use in a classroom setting."

"And… do they?"

"What? Oh, yes. I have another out already."

"Why?"

"Why, what?"

"Why do you write them?"

I stopped for a second and looked up from the computer. He sat with his elbows on the table, and his hand on his face. Just watching me. It brought a smile to my lips.

"Professors have to get published for most positions in order to attain tenure. I didn't know what else to write for the first time. And I enjoy the research."

"You don't seem to enjoy this one."

"Let's not talk about that. You're tired, right? I can leave you a couple of copies. I'm usually here on weekends, anyway. I'll come in and work here tomorrow instead. If you get a moment, we can talk."

"Or you can come back tomorrow evening. I'll have help, so we won't be working. Sorry, things got messed up tonight."

"You helped Charlotte. No apology needed. Then I'll leave these here and see you tomorrow evening."

At this, I heard Tess snort. We both looked at her.

"And morning. You know you'll come get coffee."

I was staring daggers at her when Winston barked a laugh again. That sound…

He helped me clean up my mess on the table, and I handed him some scans. He walked me out the door as Tess flew into my hood on my jacket.

"It's dark. Do you need a ride home? Or someone to walk with you?"

Winston was looking around carefully.

"I walk this all the time. No worries. I'll pay more attention to fast drivers too. Night."

"Good Night."

I could feel his eyes upon me as I turned the corner, and decided to put a little more emphasis in my walk. Make a good show for him.