I lower my head as I slip my shoes on, letting my long blonde hair fall forward and act as a curtain. “I’m meeting my sister at Timms café for a coffee before I head to work.”
“Can you drop by before you leave? My father has called for an urgent meeting.”
I roll my eyes. No doubt he wants to raise the rent again. “When?”
“Over breakfast.”
Breakfast, supposedly the most important meal of the day, and yet a meal I generally skip. I flash a glance at my wristwatch—it’s still early. I guess I could pop back for a slice of toast before leaving for work. At which point Tyler should be more appropriately dressed.
I nod. “Sure, why not.” I side-eye the bedroom door and get the perfect view of Tyler’s toned ass as he disappears into the room.
“Love you, darlin’,” he calls as I round the corner to the hallway.
“Right back at you.” My fingers curl around the brass handle. I open the door, then push it shut behind me. I make my way down the narrow flight of stairs and out through a side door.
I look at the mannequins in the shop window in passing and stop walking when I notice Royston—Tyler’s fifty-year-old assistant manager—manning the till. It’s pretty hard not to notice Royston with his bottle-dyed electric-green hair and colourful motif T-shirts he wears to work each day. The bell above the door dings as I enter.
“You’re in early,” I comment, brushing my fingers along the clothes hanging on the racks.
Royston shrugs. “Boss wants to talk to me before the shop opens.”
“You too?” Maybe Burt isn’t raising the rent after all? I figure he wants to discuss the running of the business in Tyler’s absence, but he really needn’t involve me when he has Royston manning the fort.
It’s now that reality starts gnawing at me. Tyler will be gone, and I will be here all alone. In all of my twenty-six years I’ve never been alone. I’ve either lived with my parents or had a roomie. It’ll feel strange coming home every night to an empty flat. It’ll feel strange not being woken by Tyler’s terrible shower singing, and it’ll feel strange not seeing his face every morning.
Exiting the shop, I head across the street to Timms café. I pass my beauty salon en route. My salon is two doors away from Tyler’s clothing boutique on the opposite side of the road. The ‘closed’ sign still hangs in my shop window thanks to the arson attack a few years back.
For the first time in what seems like forever it feels as though my life is right on track. I have an appointment at the bank tomorrow to discuss a business loan to get my salon back up and running. Granted, the insurance company paid out after the fire, but after all of the structural and external works were carried out, there simply wasn’t enough to cover the costs of the interior. All that is soon to change.
Humming, I walk with a spring in my step. The café is quiet when I enter. My sister Amber is sitting at our usual table, and a steaming mug of coffee is waiting for me on a coaster. Her head is bowed as she glances down at the screen of her phone. Like me, my sister has long blonde hair and crystal-blue eyes. She’s wearing a green summer dress, and her baby bump is hidden beneath the table.
I make my way over to her and pull out the chair opposite. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself,” Amber says, resting her chin in her hands. “So, I hear you start a new job today. Tell me all about it.”
It seems good news travels fast. “I’m going to be waitressing at a farm café. It’s only temporary.”
Amber nods once and lifts the menu from the centre of the table. “Breakfast? My treat?”
Amber knows I don’t eat breakfast, but, forever the mother hen, she insists on feeding me.
“Sure. But I can’t stay long; Tyler wants to see me before I leave for work. He’s trying to talk me into going to America with him, how crazy is that?”
Amber spirals a strand of hair around her index finger. “I mean, it’s not the worst idea. Have some adventure before the salon opens and you’re committed to late nights and a ton of work.”
I raise my brows, feeling somewhat outnumbered. “When did you speak to Tyler?”
Amber looks away, a smile tugging at her lips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I toss a sachet of sugar her way, and, laughing, she glances back up at me. “He said there is a cute roomie with your name written all over him.”
There it is right there. “If you’re here to lecture me about my nonexistent love life, please save it. The only man I want to talk about is the one in there.” I nod my head in the direction of her stomach.
Amber sits back, placing both hands over her baby bump. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
“Me too,” I admit. Unbeknownst to my sister, I’ve been making outfits for the baby when he arrives. The clothes that Tyler doesn’t sell he gives to me. Be they black suit jackets or colourful shirts, I cut them up and with my sewing machine make them into bespoke garments just for my nephew.
Amber leans forward in her chair. “Remember we have the dress fitting on Friday.”