The lunch crowd came in a flood, most didn't even care that Peony was so
Irish she'd probably bleed green, as long as she made them the brick thick
roast lamb and soups and stews so thick that it lingered in your mouth even
after the last drop was consumed. Various chatter was taking place in the
soup when the door jingled and everyone fell silent.
Peony smiled when she saw Pere Henri standing a little nervously in her doorway and she couldn't help but grin, he was just so adorable. "Hello Father" She called out to him and he looked a little relieved to see her. He walked to the bar and blushed a little when she leaned over and kissed his cheek, it earned a few curious stares but when Peony looked at them, they quickly resumed eating their lunches with renewed vigor.
"What can I get you?" She asked as he settled at one of the bar stools. "What is everyone else eating?" He asked a little nervously and Peony just wanted to wrap him in a blanket and be his mother. "Roast lamb sandwiches and tomato soup" His face lit up a little and Peony expected that it had been a long time since he'd had actual food. "Then that's what I'll have, please" He said and Peony began to fix the sandwich and poured the thick soup from the black cauldron looking pot into a blow that was laced with peach color roses. "I don't know if I have the right change" He said a little nervously as he glanced up at the board where the prices were written. "On the house Father, would you like Guinness with it?" She said with a cheerful smile and pushed the food towards him.
He looked up as if Peony had suddenly sprouted a second head, "Oh no I-I don't drink" Peony's eyebrows furrowed together in concentration as if she had never heard these words used in a sentence before. "Alright," She said slowly and set a deep-set spoon next to the steaming bowl. "Actually Father," She said as she began to clean the bar of empties. "It's awfully crowded, why don't you come eat back in the kitchen" His dinner-plate wide eyes darted around the homey café. "Oh, that's not a good idea" He said quickly and tried not to meet Peony's warm honey eyes. "People would talk" He said down to the bowl of soup and he continued. "The Comte de Reynaud-" "I've heard about him, he's not a happy little man is he? Anyway, the Comte is not here, I would like it if you were more comfortable"
Henri eyed her inadvertently for a moment, taking in what she looked like, the way her lips curled and her saucy eyes had a sly, cat-like tilt just at the edge. He noted that she had the most amazing eyes, brown one minute, gold the next, full Cupid's bow lips that he knew drove every man in the room crazy, and he couldn't deny that he himself wondered how they felt, how they tasted. He drew himself away from staring at her and shifted uncomfortably on the wooden stool, he was hoping that Peony would miss it, but those eyes never missed anything. "Actually Mademoiselle Ellis I have to go" He quickly jumped off the stool and rushed out the door, eyes following him.
Peony looked down at the food on the counter and sighed; it had hardly been touched at all. To busy her hands, she tied her long hair into a slightly messy bun and began to tidy the spot where he had been and pretended that she couldn't feel everyone's eyes on her and the empty seat. A woman drifted through the café not too long after Pere Henri ushered himself out as if the devil were threatening to burn down his precious church at that very moment. She had a bright, careless smile as she walked up to the bar.
"Hi, what can I get you?" Peony asked as the woman removed her brown leather jacket. "Your citrus tea sounds amazing, with that throw in three chocolate almond biscotti would you?" Peony nodded and went to work as she poured the light tawny tea into a bowl wide cup as to dip the 3 biscotti she arranged prettily on the plate etched with silver daffodils and crescent moons. "I'm Josephine Quito," She said, back to using her maiden name besides 'Muscat'. Peony took her hand and smiled brightly. "I'm Peony- " "Ellis, a friend of mine was talking about you earlier, he had convinced me to come investigate, I own the Café Armande a few blocks away"
Peony's smile faded a little "Your friend, his name wouldn't happen to be Roux Callahan would it?" She asked and Josephine nodded. "I didn't know that he actually had a last name, but yes, his name is Roux" Peony rolled her eyes and propped herself up against the bar with her elbows. "Aye, as much as my dear friend hates to admit it, it's Callahan that runs strong and true through his blue veins, for you see, the Callahan's from Kinvarra are one of the most wealthiest families in all Ireland. Roux doesn't like people to know how much money he actually has so he became a river gypsy, selling his pretty little baubles" She said motioning to the tear drop shaped necklace hanging from Josephine's neck made from moss green agate.
Josephine leaned forward with interest, running the biscotti between her fingers eagerly. "So just how much money does our Roux have exactly?" Peony shrugged her slender shoulders. "I don't know exactly, I'd say around 3.5 million, Roux hates knowing it so he pretends that he's poor and begging for scraps, he hasn't been home in 6 years because people know that he has a very large lump of money under his name. Plus his father is sick and he's the main beneficiary, if he doesn't claim the money that it might as well go float away in Galway Bay"
The two women giggled and Peony went to pour her own tea and they talked conversationally for a while before the subject slowly returned back to money. "And there's no way that Roux's going to claim the money once his father dies?" Peony shook her head. "No, I think he feels guilty, like he's not worthy or something, but then again I always thought that Roux was a little mithear" When Josephine only looked at her for a long while, she explained. "Mithear means 'crazy'. I'm sorry I'm not used to speaking English all the time, in Kinvarra it was perfectly normal to slip into Gaelic, I suppose it's just stupid here huh?"
Josephine shook her head. "No, see this boring little town needs someone to shake it up and keep it on its toes. Keep the Gaelic," She advised and Peony giggled into her palm and drank her tea slowly, savoring the rich taste. "Do you miss your home?" Josephine asked, resting her chin on her balled fist, milk chocolate brown hair falling around in face in messy, endearing curls. "Sometimes I do, yes. But this is such a beautiful town as well, very close knit" She added as she cast a glance to a group of woman who were chatting excitedly and glancing over to Peony.
"Yes," Josephine agreed with a small laugh. "We're not used to change, new people or friendliness, I think that it's all three that scared our poor little Pere Henri, I swear I don't want to think about what would happen to that man in a real crisis, you bring a change to this place Peony, a good one, and you're one of the nicest people here so far, you remind me of-" She paused mid-sentence but she knew what Josephine was going to say. "Vianne Rocher?" Peony offered. "I'm sorry," Josephine said, a little embarrassed. "It's just that she'd helped me fix out my life, encouraged me to leave my stupid drunk husband, start a new life, then one day she was just gone with her daughter, gone as if they never were"
Peony nodded. "Yes, I know about her, this used to be her chocolaterie, Roux told me all about her, he didn't say he loved her, but I knew he did, it was obvious how hurt he was the first time he saw that her shop had been changed, as if it sanctified the fact that she wasn't coming back". Josephine sighed a little sadly and bit into a crispy biscotti, let the flavor and warm chocolate spread over her tongue. "It's not easy to survive here Peony," She said, offering the advice in a serious tone. "There are people here who would want you to fail, some that want you to succeed, like I do, but you may never know who they are"
Peony shrugged and poured more tea and drank it deeply. "Well I'm not going to give those few the pleasure of seeing me fail, Irish women never fail" She said and raised a haughty eyebrow that gave her face enough of a comical look to make Josephine laugh. "You're going to be fine here Peony Ellis, just don't let Roux or anyone get you down, most people here are closed minded idiots anyway, they treat anyone new who opens a shop as if they're opening a crack filled whore house" She looked down at her watch and gathered her jacket. "My break is over for lunch, it was so nice to meet you Peony" She received the hug that Josephine offered over the bar and watched her leave, hips swinging prettily, noticing and being noticed and Peony began to clear away the dishes. No, she wasn't going to give others the pleasure of watching her fail, and she most certainly wasn't going to give it to Roux, if it could be the last thing she would ever do, she would rub it in Roux Callahan's disgustingly handsome face and laugh her Gaelic head off.
Peony smiled when she saw Pere Henri standing a little nervously in her doorway and she couldn't help but grin, he was just so adorable. "Hello Father" She called out to him and he looked a little relieved to see her. He walked to the bar and blushed a little when she leaned over and kissed his cheek, it earned a few curious stares but when Peony looked at them, they quickly resumed eating their lunches with renewed vigor.
"What can I get you?" She asked as he settled at one of the bar stools. "What is everyone else eating?" He asked a little nervously and Peony just wanted to wrap him in a blanket and be his mother. "Roast lamb sandwiches and tomato soup" His face lit up a little and Peony expected that it had been a long time since he'd had actual food. "Then that's what I'll have, please" He said and Peony began to fix the sandwich and poured the thick soup from the black cauldron looking pot into a blow that was laced with peach color roses. "I don't know if I have the right change" He said a little nervously as he glanced up at the board where the prices were written. "On the house Father, would you like Guinness with it?" She said with a cheerful smile and pushed the food towards him.
He looked up as if Peony had suddenly sprouted a second head, "Oh no I-I don't drink" Peony's eyebrows furrowed together in concentration as if she had never heard these words used in a sentence before. "Alright," She said slowly and set a deep-set spoon next to the steaming bowl. "Actually Father," She said as she began to clean the bar of empties. "It's awfully crowded, why don't you come eat back in the kitchen" His dinner-plate wide eyes darted around the homey café. "Oh, that's not a good idea" He said quickly and tried not to meet Peony's warm honey eyes. "People would talk" He said down to the bowl of soup and he continued. "The Comte de Reynaud-" "I've heard about him, he's not a happy little man is he? Anyway, the Comte is not here, I would like it if you were more comfortable"
Henri eyed her inadvertently for a moment, taking in what she looked like, the way her lips curled and her saucy eyes had a sly, cat-like tilt just at the edge. He noted that she had the most amazing eyes, brown one minute, gold the next, full Cupid's bow lips that he knew drove every man in the room crazy, and he couldn't deny that he himself wondered how they felt, how they tasted. He drew himself away from staring at her and shifted uncomfortably on the wooden stool, he was hoping that Peony would miss it, but those eyes never missed anything. "Actually Mademoiselle Ellis I have to go" He quickly jumped off the stool and rushed out the door, eyes following him.
Peony looked down at the food on the counter and sighed; it had hardly been touched at all. To busy her hands, she tied her long hair into a slightly messy bun and began to tidy the spot where he had been and pretended that she couldn't feel everyone's eyes on her and the empty seat. A woman drifted through the café not too long after Pere Henri ushered himself out as if the devil were threatening to burn down his precious church at that very moment. She had a bright, careless smile as she walked up to the bar.
"Hi, what can I get you?" Peony asked as the woman removed her brown leather jacket. "Your citrus tea sounds amazing, with that throw in three chocolate almond biscotti would you?" Peony nodded and went to work as she poured the light tawny tea into a bowl wide cup as to dip the 3 biscotti she arranged prettily on the plate etched with silver daffodils and crescent moons. "I'm Josephine Quito," She said, back to using her maiden name besides 'Muscat'. Peony took her hand and smiled brightly. "I'm Peony- " "Ellis, a friend of mine was talking about you earlier, he had convinced me to come investigate, I own the Café Armande a few blocks away"
Peony's smile faded a little "Your friend, his name wouldn't happen to be Roux Callahan would it?" She asked and Josephine nodded. "I didn't know that he actually had a last name, but yes, his name is Roux" Peony rolled her eyes and propped herself up against the bar with her elbows. "Aye, as much as my dear friend hates to admit it, it's Callahan that runs strong and true through his blue veins, for you see, the Callahan's from Kinvarra are one of the most wealthiest families in all Ireland. Roux doesn't like people to know how much money he actually has so he became a river gypsy, selling his pretty little baubles" She said motioning to the tear drop shaped necklace hanging from Josephine's neck made from moss green agate.
Josephine leaned forward with interest, running the biscotti between her fingers eagerly. "So just how much money does our Roux have exactly?" Peony shrugged her slender shoulders. "I don't know exactly, I'd say around 3.5 million, Roux hates knowing it so he pretends that he's poor and begging for scraps, he hasn't been home in 6 years because people know that he has a very large lump of money under his name. Plus his father is sick and he's the main beneficiary, if he doesn't claim the money that it might as well go float away in Galway Bay"
The two women giggled and Peony went to pour her own tea and they talked conversationally for a while before the subject slowly returned back to money. "And there's no way that Roux's going to claim the money once his father dies?" Peony shook her head. "No, I think he feels guilty, like he's not worthy or something, but then again I always thought that Roux was a little mithear" When Josephine only looked at her for a long while, she explained. "Mithear means 'crazy'. I'm sorry I'm not used to speaking English all the time, in Kinvarra it was perfectly normal to slip into Gaelic, I suppose it's just stupid here huh?"
Josephine shook her head. "No, see this boring little town needs someone to shake it up and keep it on its toes. Keep the Gaelic," She advised and Peony giggled into her palm and drank her tea slowly, savoring the rich taste. "Do you miss your home?" Josephine asked, resting her chin on her balled fist, milk chocolate brown hair falling around in face in messy, endearing curls. "Sometimes I do, yes. But this is such a beautiful town as well, very close knit" She added as she cast a glance to a group of woman who were chatting excitedly and glancing over to Peony.
"Yes," Josephine agreed with a small laugh. "We're not used to change, new people or friendliness, I think that it's all three that scared our poor little Pere Henri, I swear I don't want to think about what would happen to that man in a real crisis, you bring a change to this place Peony, a good one, and you're one of the nicest people here so far, you remind me of-" She paused mid-sentence but she knew what Josephine was going to say. "Vianne Rocher?" Peony offered. "I'm sorry," Josephine said, a little embarrassed. "It's just that she'd helped me fix out my life, encouraged me to leave my stupid drunk husband, start a new life, then one day she was just gone with her daughter, gone as if they never were"
Peony nodded. "Yes, I know about her, this used to be her chocolaterie, Roux told me all about her, he didn't say he loved her, but I knew he did, it was obvious how hurt he was the first time he saw that her shop had been changed, as if it sanctified the fact that she wasn't coming back". Josephine sighed a little sadly and bit into a crispy biscotti, let the flavor and warm chocolate spread over her tongue. "It's not easy to survive here Peony," She said, offering the advice in a serious tone. "There are people here who would want you to fail, some that want you to succeed, like I do, but you may never know who they are"
Peony shrugged and poured more tea and drank it deeply. "Well I'm not going to give those few the pleasure of seeing me fail, Irish women never fail" She said and raised a haughty eyebrow that gave her face enough of a comical look to make Josephine laugh. "You're going to be fine here Peony Ellis, just don't let Roux or anyone get you down, most people here are closed minded idiots anyway, they treat anyone new who opens a shop as if they're opening a crack filled whore house" She looked down at her watch and gathered her jacket. "My break is over for lunch, it was so nice to meet you Peony" She received the hug that Josephine offered over the bar and watched her leave, hips swinging prettily, noticing and being noticed and Peony began to clear away the dishes. No, she wasn't going to give others the pleasure of watching her fail, and she most certainly wasn't going to give it to Roux, if it could be the last thing she would ever do, she would rub it in Roux Callahan's disgustingly handsome face and laugh her Gaelic head off.