Page 87 of Welcome to Fae Cafe

“Fine. This is good,” she admitted. “I mean it’s still mostly my writing, you basically just softened it up around the edges.”

There was a knock on the café door, and a postman set a box outside. The post vehicle drove off.

“Did we order something?” Kate called to Lily sorting receipts at the counter.

“My mugs!” Shayne burst from the kitchen and sprinted to the door, flinging it open. He dragged the damp, snow-dusted box inside, and when the tape seemed too tricky to rip with his fingers, he bit the edge of the box and tore half the lid right off with his teeth.

“Unreal,” Lily murmured from the counter.

Shayne drew the first mug out and flicked off the packaging as Kate came over. “Look, Humans!” he shouted, handing it to Kate. The heavy mug had a matte-like stone texture. Across it were words in bold burgundy text: FAE CAFÉ.

“Aren’t they delightful?” Shayne took another one out. He gazed at it for a moment, then he kissed it.

“I guess the name is official.” Kate smirked over at Lily, who smirked back.

Shayne carried the box to the counter and began unpacking each mug. He even grabbed the scrubby from the back counter to wash them. It was the first time Kate had seen him wash something well. “I picked this colour to match your hair,” he told Kate with pride.

Cress stole Kate’s computer again before she could stop him. He squinted as he looked from the keyboard to the screen. He pecked at the keys with his pointer fingers, and Kate cringed.

“Did you edit the entire story like that?” she asked.

Cress looked up from the computer. “Of course. It took me all week. I’ve only fixed it up to the third chapter.” He went back to his pecking.

“It didn’t need to be fixed,” she mumbled, but he ignored her.

Kate spotted a girl with orange-red hair moving into the alley across the street. The girl didn’t have a hat, or a scarf, or mitts. She disappeared in the shadow of the buildings where gusts of wind blew snow into small heaps.

“I’ll be right back,” Kate said, heading for the door.

“Take your coat! It’s freezing outside!” Lily’s voice faded as Kate pushed out of the café and crossed the road into the alley. She clutched her arms to herself and shivered as she followed the redhead up the stairs to the apartment door.

“Hey!” Kate stopped her.

The redhead turned. She looked Kate over without smiling. “You’re the girl who almost got my boyfriend in trouble,” she said, but then paused. “Well. Ex-boyfriend.” She pulled out a set of keys.

“I came to apologize for all that,” Kate said, rubbing the back of her neck.

The redhead stepped inside but left the door open behind her, so Kate stepped in, clasping her cold, bare hands.

“I actually own the café across the street. The guys I work with could probably keep an eye on you if you wanted to shake off a few… you know… bad ex-boyfriends or whatever.” Kate chewed on her lip, sure it sounded odd. “I’m just trying to say that if you’re ever in trouble, you can come over and we’ll have your back.”

“Do I seem that helpless to you?” the girl asked.

Kate’s mouth moved but no answer came out.

A large, strong body appeared out of thin air in the girl’s apartment.

The redhead screamed.

“Mor!” Kate shouted. “What are you doing?!” Kate tried to intervene as the girl grabbed a frying pan and swung it.

The pan struck Mor’s forehead. He reeled back with a growl, threw a coat at Kate, then vanished again.

The redhead stood frozen, gripping the pan above her head and staring at the spot where Mor had just been. Kate rubbed her temples as she walked over and picked up her coat. “Sorry about that, too.”

The redhead spun. Annoyance coated her eyes. “Apology accepted. But I won’t be coming anywhere near your café. You people are seriously messed up.”

Kate sighed. “Yeah, I know,” she said. She paused on her way out. “Listen, if you ever change your mind, Fae Café has warm coffee and a place to talk.”

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