"Morning Mor," I said as I heard the familiar chime of the door opening and hitting the bells above my head. I was going into the coffee shop my boyfriend's sister, Morgana, owned. The coffee shop was warm and toasty, a well-received welcome from the biting wind outside. Even though I was wearing Arthur's sweater (Which smelled delightfully like him- lemon grass and dryer sheets) and my worn jeans, I was chilly.
Morgana had a specialized shop. There was nothing like it in all of England, which was a huge feat. The tables all had and iPod dock with headphones, so you could play whatever music you had, even if you didn't have headphones or your device was dead. There were also pens and notebooks at each table, because most joints like this attracted writers and hipsters. There were also some blank pieces of sheet music, bass clef on one side, treble clef on the other. The door at the back of the shop connected to the dance studio next door so the students could grab food in between classes and rehearsals. Morgana always wanted to go someplace that had great coffee, food, and was good for artists, so she made one. Her and I met here every Wednesday at 9 AM, while her boyfriend, Mordred, was working and Arthur was at his class. Business was slow around now, because kids were in school, the studio next door had classes starting at 4:00 PM, and if you didn't have work, you were asleep.
"Hey Merlin. Just let me finish making my coffee and then we can chat, alright?" She said, putting the whipped cream on the cup full of caramel frappuchino. I took my hazelnut with a cream and two sugars and sat down. Morgana traded aprons with the barista that covered for her while we talked and sat down next to me in the booth that had headphones. Easy listening played gently over the sound system.
"So how is Mordred handling the rejection?" I ask, gently blowing on my coffee. Mordred had submitted his novel to be published, and got rejected almost immediately afterwards. That company released a bunch of his favorite novels, so the blow hit home hard.
"He's sulked, but I expected that. He wants me to edit it for him, so I'm starting to panic. He hates me reading his work before publication," Morgana said, licking the whipped cream that stuck to her upper lip.
I thought about this. It could either mean Mordred was becoming more comfortable around her or he had something special planned that had to do with the book. I told Morgana this and she nodded.
"Hm, I guess. He did seem very nervous and fidgety when he asked me to look over it. He was also very persistent. I think I'll just read it on Saturday after I get off the morning shift." Morgana said, somewhat reluctantly.
"Oh, come on Mor. It can't be that bad, and just be gentle with him. He trusts you, and it is very fragile. He won't like it if you only have good compliments, but make sure that you smother the things he needs to fix with things he did well. Criticism is good, but congratulations are great motivators." I said.
Morgana nodded and asked me, "So how is Arthur?" Arthur was working on his degree in Folklore, like the Arthurian Legends. Is exams were coming up, so he had to study more and more often.
"He's doing well. Sometimes, we get kind of…distracted…so I think he'll be asking you to open the shop up 24/7 so he can come here. And besides-I can never make him coffee quite right. You know how picky he is," I answer, then drink a gulp of my coffee. Mmm. Perfect. A shiver of pleasure runs down my spine.
"Yeah, no one can reach the level of perfection I have," Morgana said, sitting slightly taller and smiling more, adding an air of regality around her. I lightly bumped her in the shoulder with my arm, and laughed. "I take it this wasn't your idea, coming here to avoiding distractions, was it Merlin?" She said, staring me very pointedly in the eyes. I felt my ears start to flush and my cheeks redden.
"W-w-well, m-maybe n-n-not. But that's beside the point!" I said, breaking eye contact. She knew we had sex-we lived together, and she had walked in at a very unfortunate time-but it didn't mean I was still sometimes embarrassed when she made comments referring to our sex life. She was Arthur's sister! But she saw my discomfort, and her gaze softened.
"Well, you're both welcome here any time when you need it. And Mordred would love to talk to Arthur about something-he didn't tell me what, but it sounds urgent-when is he free?" She said. I shook my head. Despite their mutual bond over me, Morgana and Arthur rarely saw eye-to-eye. It was just a sibling thing, both of them reassured me. Nothing serious.
"Well, his exam is next Friday, and he gets the results Monday. He'll be far to anxious to actually speak coherent words over the weekend, and I promised him a celebration on Tuesday. Wednesday…he'll probably get his first full night of rest in a long time. Is Thursday good?" I said, going through Arthur's schedule.
"Thursday sounds great." She said with a smile. We chatted about everyday things; she told me about special customers, I told her about my job working at the local bookstore. We talked and laughed for a good ten minutes before my phone went off and the T.A.R.D.I.S. noise was heard, and I picked it up.
"I'm on my way back, give me ten minutes," I said. Morgana nodded, gave me a quick farewell hug, and said into the mouthpiece, "Good luck Arthur!" I headed out the doorway, waved to her, and said, "Mordred wants to talk to you next Thursday. I almost said Wednesday, but I wasn't sure how well you would be able to walk."
