Page 30 of A Flash of Neon
“Where are my mums?”
“Still in the shop. They had a few things to finish up, so they told me to head over and get started.” Gio waves a wooden spoon at Joel, who has come in after me. “Where have you two been this afternoon?”
I glance at Joel. “Out to see some friends. Joel picked me up.”
“Yeah, I’ve been studying all afternoon so I thought it would be good to get out for a bit.” Joel’s voice is higher than usual and he keeps scratching at the dent in the kitchen counter where Mutti dropped a cast-iron pan years ago. “Plus, I don’t drive at all when I’m at uni so I’m trying to fit in a bit of practice.”
One thing I’ve learnt about lying is that it’s best not to overexplain. Joel clearly hasn’t picked up on that, but fortunately Gio doesn’t seem to notice anything unusual.
“Good. I’m glad you’re taking a break.” He tastes his sauce, then adds a bit more curry powder. “I’ve made a dairy-free tiramisu for dessert so I hope you two are hungry.”
Joel and I set the table, and Mum and Mutti come in a few minutes later. My shoulders tense when I hear the door open, worried that the awkward atmosphere back at the shop will have followed them home, but they relax when I hear Mutti’s loud, crow-like laughter.
“Hi, duckies.” She unwraps the scarf from around her neck and drapes it over the back of a chair. “Good afternoon?”
I glance at Joel. “Um, yeah. Nothing special.”
“Yup. Yup.” Joel nods about ten times in a row. “Just a regular Saturday.”
Dinner feels so normal that I almost start to wonder if I imagined our strange afternoon with the unicorn. Mutti tells us more about her events in London – the interviewer who got the hiccups and went beetroot-coloured trying to hold them in, the audience member who had “more of a comment than a question” then rambled on about Henry VIII for five whole minutes.
Gio gives us an update on his triathlon training and makes us laugh telling us about a customer who came in asking for a specific book with a scarlet cover, only to remember it was actually green after Gio had spent twenty minutes searching the shop for anything with a hint of red.
“What about you two?” Mum looks around the kitchen. “You tidied up well after all those parties, I see.”
Joel forces a laugh. “Yeah, we did a pretty good job.”
“It was fine,” I say. “A totally normal week.”
We fall into silence, both worried that we’ll give something away if we speak too much. It seems so obvious to me that there’s something we’re keeping from them, but Mutti and Mum are distracted and don’t notice. Once we’ve finished eating, Mum makes teas and coffees for everyone and Mutti gets a half-eaten box of chocolates down from the cupboard. I challenge Joel to a thumb war for the last strawberry one, but he smiles and tells me to have it.
“Listen, kids, we’ve got something to tell you.” Mum has a strange, sad smile on her face. Mutti puts her hand on top of hers and squeezes it. “Mutti and I talked a lot while we were down in London, and we’ve made a decision.”
The chocolate slips from my fingers. All the tension, the snapping, the weird looks – I know what this means. A lump bobs up in my throat and tears start to prickle at my eyes. “You’re splitting up, aren’t you?”
“Of course not, darling!” Mum reaches out with her other hand and takes mine in hers. I catch my breath and blink back the tears, feeling relieved but also silly. “But it is bad news – we’re going to have to close the shop.”
“What?” The word comes out as a shriek. “Mum, no!”
Mutti’s face is grim. “We’ve just not been bringing in enough money since the tourist boats stopped coming. Honestly we’re in a lot of debt, and we don’t want it to get any bigger.”
“That’s why I was in London this week. I had a few meetings with a chain that I thought might want to take it over, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to work out.” Mum gives a heavy sigh. “So I think it’s time to say goodbye.”
My eyes start to water all over again. I’ve known for a while that this news could be on its way, but that doesn’t make it any less painful to hear. Mum opened the shop when I was five. I’ve grown up between those bookshelves, whiling away Saturday mornings reading in a comfy chair as my parents worked. There’s not much left in this town to be proud of, but I’ve always been really proud that my family owns Every Book & Cranny.
“What about Gio?” I ask, suddenly feeling bad that I didn’t think of him first. “What will you do?”
“Don’t worry about me. Liv warned me this was likely a few weeks ago, so I already have a couple of interviews lined up.” He ruffles my hair. “I’m sad it’s closing, of course. But I’ll still be around to cook for you once a fortnight. I need to make sure you’re getting at leastonedecent meal.”
“What are you going to do for work, then?” Joel asks Mum, after she and Mutti have defended their cooking skills. My brother’s voice is gruff and sad. He loves the shop too.
“I’ll find something to tide us over for the next few months, but long-term… I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll go back to university, study something new.”
“You could go to St Andrews,” Mutti says, grinning. “Go partying with Joel.”
Joel gives a short laugh. “Please don’t.”
“Don’t worry, darling. My party days are over.” Mum gives us both another wobbly smile. “But it’ll be fine. This change could be a good thing. For all of us.”
