12. Chapter 12

twelve

By late August, the main floor's two special collections rooms were framed in, then covered with painted drywall, providing two windowless spaces in the middle of the shop. This created a large open space in the rear, with its south-facing windows, providing light that made its way up the wide hallway to the front. The two closed rooms added interest to the space and would provide cozy reading and study spaces for the most valuable books.

Toward the shop front, the area nestled outside the smaller room formed the perfect space for a children's nook. To decorate it, Harper had bought a large, colorful rag rug, small rocking chairs, and a bright red armchair and matching loveseat. The entire front section of the shop was painted a pale shade of buttercup yellow. The open back space was sky blue, while the smaller rooms were bright spring green. The displays Harper was experimenting with in the front windows were drawing a lot of attention. As she considered her progress so far, Harper was pleased and excited by how things were shaping up. But there was still a lot to do.

For the first few weeks after they met, the faeries had given Harper plenty of space. When she'd asked about the pills on her dresser after her trip to the brewery, they found it amusing.

Earl Grey stood up and patted her lightly on the arm. "Well, you see, Tarryfoot and me, sometimes we get a hankering for beer. We head up to the brewery to breathe in the fumes, so to speak. We were surprised, but delighted, to find you there enjoying a few pints with the neighbors!"

The thought of the Fae hanging about the brewery struck Harper as amusing. And at least she knew they weren't following her around.

Even so, as they got to know one another better, Harper became increasingly concerned about her privacy. She'd moved to Whippoorwill Gap to create a new life for herself, on her own terms. She knew the faeries wanted what was best for the shop. And they seemed sincerely concerned about her welfare. While they hadn't made any effort to influence anything she'd done, she wanted to continue having the freedom to make her own choices and live with the consequences. Though she knew it wasn't fair, she found herself increasingly wary and on the alert for incursions.

She was torn about letting them do so much for her. Their habit of popping in and out of her apartment bothered her most of all. They weren't terrible about it. Some of them, like Ivy and Ash, had never once showed up unannounced. But others, particularly the brownies and the sprites, seemed to feel entitled to show up whenever and wherever they wished.

One morning, when walking out of her bathroom wrapped only in a towel, she flew into a tizzy after almost tripping over Tiptoe and Tarryfoot, who were preparing to repair a bit of crown molding on the ceiling that hadn't been nailed into the corner to their satisfaction.

And more than once, when she had been ready to settle in to read on the couch at night, Alida and Lily had popped in, wanting her to read aloud to them. They brought along their favorite book, Folktales from Around the World. She was impressed that the small creatures had the strength to carry such a large book. Honestly, it was endearing in its way. But while she didn't mind reading to them, she wasn't entirely pleased at their showing up unannounced.

Harper understood that it was up to her to set boundaries. But she feared offending her new friends, and that kept her from being forthright. As the days went on, she became increasingly uneasy, and sometimes resentful, about their presence. But she didn't want them to disappear entirely. Not knowing what to do about the situation, she convinced herself it would sort itself out eventually.

Early on, Harper had learned that speaking up for her needs always proved more trouble than it was worth. When she was a small child, her parents became incensed when she asked for what she wanted. As she got older, it seemed her friends and classmates didn't care when she got upset. With Tim's affair, she cemented the habit of maintaining a polite veneer of acceptance over her rage. By now it felt like the normal course of events, and she regarded her own needs with icy indifference. Harper imagined that, like everyone else in her life, the Fae would do what they would do, regardless of how she felt about it.

While mulling over the situation one morning as she surveyed the window displays, Harper remembered a long-buried experience with her father.

She had always loved the dance classes her parents' first enrolled her in when she was five. Moving around while the music played made her feel free and lighthearted. In her mind, she was a princess or a graceful swan. While she danced, all was right with her world.

Sometime around age seven, she noticed that her friend Sharon was always picked up from practice by her dad. He'd wait outside their car in the parking lot until Sharon left the building. Then she would run up to him, and he would pick her up and swing her around. When he sat her back on her feet, he would look at her with love. Then he would say, "How did dance practice go, Princess? Are you ready for some ice cream?"

After Harper wistfully watched this a few times, she convinced herself the same thing would happen with her dad if only he would pick her up from practice. Usually Harper's mom came to get her, always in a hurry to drop her off at home so she could go back to the office. Harper told herself that if her dad ever picked her up, she would run up to him, like Sharon did to her father. Then, she just knew her dad would look at her the way Sharon's dad looked at Sharon. And while the ice cream afterwards would be nice, Harper wouldn't ask for it. Instead, she would be happy with the swing and the smile.

Then one spring day, she got her wish. It was less than a week until the school's recitals, and everyone was excited. Harper was dancing the lead part in her class's performance. She had practiced the part over and over, alone in her room, and she was electric with pride and excitement. Her teacher had been especially pleased at her performance that day.

As she left practice, she scanned the parking lot for her mom's sedan. The sedan was there, but instead of her mom, Harper saw her dad standing beside it. Her heart leapt. This was going to be her perfect day. He looked so handsome in his leisure suit. To her eyes he looked better than the Six Million-Dollar Man. Standing beside him was a lady with blonde hair who was wearing a red minidress. Harper didn't recognize the woman, but that didn't matter. She knew her time had come.

She took off running toward him, but her father never turned to look at her. So she yelled, "Daddy! Daddy!" But instead of stooping down to pick her up, he frowned and held up a hand to stop her.

His jaw tightened, and he looked at her the way he did when she accidentally knocked over her milk. "Harper! Show some manners."

Then he dropped his hand, gripping her shoulder firmly. "Marie, this is my daughter Harper. Please excuse her, sometimes she gets carried away with herself. Harper, this is my new business associate, Marie Boone. We were just finishing up some business. Get in the car and wait—quietly. I'll take you home when I'm done."

Harper was mortified. From that point on, she expected nothing from her father. Life was less painful that way. A few years later, he moved out of their house to live with Marie Boone. Harper's mom, having gotten a big settlement with generous child support, was mollified. She quickly began dating again, herself. His absence made little difference to Harper at all.

Looking back, she could see why, early on, she had decided it was best to be quiet and put up with whatever presented itself. The only problem was that, sometimes, she lost her temper without warning and would inevitably embarrass herself. Along the way, she became convinced that, with social interactions so painful, she'd be safer alone. And now that she'd finally secured a refuge, it looked as though she wasn't going to be completely safe here, either.

After involuntarily screaming at the sight of Tiptoe and Tarryfoot, she had calmed down and asked them to let her know when they planned to fix something in the apartment before they came in to fix it. They had agreed to do so, although they seemed puzzled by the request.

But the two small sprites didn't just pop in unexpectedly to her apartment: they also frequently loitered about, chatting with her while she worked. Sometimes Harper didn't mind, but sometimes she needed to concentrate, and their prattle was distracting.

But, she also reflected, in some ways it was great to have them around. She still appreciated never needing to clean or to hire a housekeeper. She especially enjoyed Piper's occasional gifts of fresh wild berries and herbs, all neatly labeled for her. On a few especially busy days, Harper had come upstairs to find a loaf of homemade bread, cheese, and fruit waiting on the kitchen table. How could she object to that? But then another disturbing thought intruded. Since they could make themselves invisible, how did she know they weren't spying on her when she thought she was alone?

But with the grand opening only two months away, she had too many other claims on her attention to devote much time to this one. Harper decided to handle situations with the faeries as they came up. They clearly meant well. With luck, everything would settle on its own without too much fuss.

What she really needed now, she thought, was a trusted friend to talk to. Olivia had neither the time nor interest to be that person. She didn't really know Deanna that well yet. But there was one person who fit the bill. For the past decade or so, Gina had been her only confidant. Generally cheerful and a sympathetic listener, Gina never became overly involved or told Harper what to do. And while Harper couldn't talk to Gina about the Fae troop, she could get her friend's reactions to the shop … and Quinn … and Bryan Greene. She wasn't sure if she wanted Gina's thoughts on Walt.

But before she invited Gina for a visit, she wanted to discuss her concerns with Piper. It wouldn't do for them to flit in and out during the visit. Even if Gina only saw robins, it would be awkward to try to explain why birds were in her kitchen.

While working downstairs one afternoon, she spied Piper sitting atop a shelf with a book in her hand. She invited the Fae upstairs for a glass of homemade lemonade. Piper smacked her lips in appreciation. "I haven't had any of this since the shop first opened. A little girl used to have her mother leave this out for us sometimes. I do miss the old days every now and then."

It pleased Harper to make Piper happy. She laid out her concerns. "Do you remember when I first came to look at the shop?"

"Oh, yes, Dearie, I do. You were with that plump, cheerful looking lady with the long wavy black hair."

Harper smiled, gratified she remembered. "That lady's name is Gina. She's an old friend of mine. I'd like to have her visit for a few days. But—"

"But you would like all of us to be scarce," Piper finished for her. "Don't you worry, Dearie. I'll tell the others. We'll be completely invisible. As you know, we always look like robins to those who shouldn't see us."

"Yes, but Gina might be surprised and upset to find robins inside my shop and apartment."

Piper laughed. The twinkling sound never failed to make Harper smile. "Yes. I do see your point. But you need never worry about that. Not with your guests and not with your customers. Remember, we've got lots of experience with this sort of thing, we have. To tell you the truth, we're very good at hiding when we want to."

Harper nodded. Her firsthand experience had proved Piper right.

Piper turned her round, black eyes to Harper's hazel ones. "In fact, we can stay away from the shop altogether while your friend is here, if that's what you'd like."

Harper hadn't known this was an option. She assumed they always stuck close to the shop. She thought for a second. "No, Piper. I trust you all to be discreet."

After nodding her agreement, Piper began to chatter away, relating the most amusing recent adventures of Tiptoe and Tarryfoot about town. Thus occupied, the afternoon passed pleasantly for them both.

Gina excitedly accepted Harper's invitation for the weekend before her fall community college classes were to begin. She said a trip to Harper's would give her a chance to unwind before starting the new semester. Though she offered to stay in a hotel or inn, Harper insisted she stay in one of the guest bedrooms in the apartment. By now, she had decorated and furnished both rooms, making them nice for company.

The following Friday evening, Harper had the pleasure of seeing the apartment afresh through her friend's eyes.

"Harper, this is so you !" Gina walked around with unmasked enthusiasm. "I love the bright colors and the sweet, old-fashioned furniture! It's all so cozy. It makes me want to redo my place. I never thought you belonged in that big house in Raleigh. It was too formal for you."

Harper laughed out loud. "Thanks, Gina! I agree with you about that! And you're welcome to visit here anytime. Bring Jim if you can talk him into it. There's always a lot going on. We could have lots of fun!"

Gina's eyes sparkled. "I know Jim would love to come. We'll do that sometime. But we can have a great time without him along. I'd love to get to know this place while the weather's warm. It was nice back in November, but now we can explore all of it without the shivers. I brought my walking shoes and my appetite. Could we walk the trail around the town again tomorrow? It would be nice to see it with the leaves still on the trees!"

"I love that idea! As a matter of fact, I haven't walked it since that day, either. It will give me a chance to play tour guide and share everything I've learned about the place since I moved here." Harper grinned as she led the way to her balcony. "The whole place is decked out in pink, white, and purple Crepe Myrtle right now, so it should be gorgeous. But now let's decide on a place for dinner tonight. Do you like beer?"

"Yes, I do. But unless I'm thinking of the wrong person, you don't." They settled into the green- and red-striped cushions on the steel mesh chairs on Harper's balcony with glasses of iced tea.

"To my amazement, I've discovered since moving here that not all beers are the same. If you don't mind pub food, I know just the place to have dinner tonight. I've made reservations for the winery tomorrow night."

Gina held up a tall glass of tea. "I'll drink to that!" They clinked their glasses together in the warm summer afternoon air.

At the Take Flight that night, Bryan Greene came in alone again and stopped by their table on his way to the bar. Harper was beginning to wonder if she was wrong about his marital status. Not that she cared, she told herself.

He tipped his ball cap. "Harper."

Gina smiled at him as Harper introduced them. "I remember you! Harper and I stopped by your shop in November!"

"I'm sorry, we were awfully busy that day. I do remember meeting Harper. You were with her?"

Gina nodded, no less enthusiastic. "You can't be expected to remember everyone."

"No, unfortunately not." He turned to Harper. "How's the shop coming? Any idea of when you'll be ready to open?"

Harper looked at him with what she hoped was a vacuous expression. She didn't want to talk shop, or anything else, with him right now. "Fine, Bryan. It's coming along. Unless something goes wrong, I plan to open during the weekend of the Whippoorwill Gap Mountain Folklife Festival."

His eyebrows shot up and he looked impressed. "Well, that should start it off with a bang. Do you realize how busy that weekend will be?"

She raised one eyebrow and nodded. "That's why I picked it. I wanted to get the word out that the shop was open. I figured the more people who see it then, the better."

Gina was all ears. "When is the Mountain Folklife Festival? I've heard of it, but I don't know anything about it."

"It's always the third weekend in October." She looked at Bryan. "Isn't that right?"

He pursed his lips, nodded, then looked at Gina. "Harper will be too busy for a visit, but if you can get a hotel room or a camping spot, you'd probably enjoy the event. It's quite a party. Well, I won't keep you from your dinner. Have a nice night."

He made his way to the bar as Gina turned to Harper and grinned. "I still say he's cute !" She took a bite of a pub chip. "But there's someone else in here who doesn't seem to like you talking to him."

"Who?" Harper turned around just in time to see Walt turning back toward the bar. How had she missed seeing him there?

Gina smirked at her. "The lumberjack-look-alike guy at the bar."

"Oh, Gina! Don't be silly. That's Walt Howell. Believe me. He has no interest in me. And even if he did, I don't care." But Harper's smile belied her words.

Gina kept her eyes on her plate. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. He looked pretty interested when we walked in, and he's been turning around to look at you ever since."

Despite her protests, Harper's stomach did a loop-the-loop. Suddenly, she wasn't interested in eating her steak wrap. Walt never walked over though, and he didn't turn around when they left.

As the two women finished their walk at Puckett's Park the next afternoon, Gina said, "Will you look at that!"

Harper's eyes followed the direction of her friend's finger and saw all of them: the gnome, the brownies, the sprites, the nymph, and the three other Fae, playing what looked like a ball game under a nearby maple tree. She felt the color drain from her cheeks. But before she could say anything, Gina added, "Where are all these robins coming from? I remember seeing a bunch of them around here back in November. I guess it makes sense for them to be here this time of year, though. And look at this big boy." Earl Grey broke away from the others, hopping toward them. "Hi there, Good Fellow!" she said cheerfully.

Earl Grey nodded politely. "Good afternoon, Madame."

Harper almost choked. But Gina looked at her and smiled. "I swear I believe he's chirping at me."

Just then they heard a "Whoo-who-who-who-whooo …" from the riverside. Gina straightened up. "Harper! Is that the same owl we saw here last fall?! It is, isn't it?! What is this, an enchanted park?"

Harper turned her head thoughtfully toward the sycamore tree. "He always seems to be here when I am."

Gina grinned. "Maybe he's watching out for you. And it seems like he's not the only one. Now, let's go get a muffin at the coffee shop! I've been wanting one of those since I saw them last fall."

Harper turned back towards the row of buildings with a happy sigh. "Sounds good to me! While we're there, I can introduce you to my friend, Deanna."

As they approached the park entrance at the corner, she turned back to look at the group in the park. Earl Grey caught her eye and gave a salute.