Tempest in Eden

"Thank you and come back," she said as the cash register's ding signaled the conclusion of the sale. The lady carried out her purchase, and they were left alone again.

"You look different here than you did at the cabin," Ian stated, making a long, thorough appraisal of her.

She was dressed in a caramel-colored skirt that was full and soft. Her blouse was of a harmonizing color in georgette. A chaste bow was tied at her throat. Pale stockings and low-heeled shoes completed the prim and proper ensemble.

"Well, I should hope so," she said, laughing to screen the breathlessness his visual tour of her had brought on. Instead the sound came out in short, staccato puffs. "Mr. Vandiveer is very strict about the image we project. Most of our customers have conservative tastes."

"I like you this way."

"You do?"

"But I liked you the other way too."

"You did?"

"Yes." He stared down at her for an unsettling moment before he added with low, urgent sincerity, "Very much."

She could only look at him in dumbfounded confusion. Her responses had sounded like a wind-up doll's. "You do? You did?" Lord! She was behaving like an idiot, and she couldn't stop it. Her brain had turned to mush. Beneath her clothes, her body was hot. The room seemed to close in around them, to squeeze them together. It was so unbearably quiet. All she could hear was the unsynchronized ticking of the numerous clocks they had on display.

The air became thick with … with something going on between them. She couldn't pinpoint it. She'd never experienced it before with a man. Nothing had prepared her for it. Her breath came in rapid pants and seemed inadequate to fill her lungs.

She was saved from embarrassing herself by the arrival of another customer, who came rushing in, explaining hurriedly that he'd just got off the train from Manhattan and realized that this was his wife's birthday and that he didn't have a present.

"I'm sure we'll find something she'll like," Shay said calmly. She risked a glance at Ian, who was smiling at her as though they were sharing a secret.

By the time she'd helped the man with his selection and gift-wrapped it for him, her nerves were frazzled. She followed the customer to the door and turned the needlepoint closed sign to the outside. "That's the last customer I want to deal with today," she said, leaning wearily against the door. "Is your offer for that cup of coffee still good?"

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; "You bet."

She secured the shop for the night and gathered her purse and jacket. When they stood facing each other on the sidewalk, he asked, "Where to?"

"Oh, let's see." She hadn't given any thought to where they could go. There weren't many restaurants in town, and she couldn't think of any place suitable. "Well…"

"Do you have a coffee pot?"

Startled, she looked up at him. "You mean at home?" He nodded, and her heart tripped over itself on its rolling journey to the bottom of her stomach. "Yes. Would you just as soon go to my apartment?"

"That sounds like the best solution. Unless you'd rather not."

"No, no that's fine. It's just…"

"What?" he probed.

She shook her head. "Nothing." He'd taken her totally by surprise. Should a man in his position invite himself to a single woman's apartment? "I walk from here. Is that okay?"

"Fine."

The light was still strong, although shadows were lengthening. Shops along the sidewalk were closing for the night. Commuters were rushing home. Walking beside Ian, Shay was seeing things she'd never noticed before, hearing sounds, paying attention to smells. It was as though all her senses had suddenly awakened after a long sleep. She breathed deeply, knowing a full and satisfied feeling inside her that she hadn't known for years. Was it contentment, joy, peace? She wasn't sure, and its name didn't matter. She only wanted to take delight in it while it remained.

To fill the silence between them as they strolled toward her apartment, she said, "Mom told me about the broken air conditioner in your church. Did you get it fixed?"

"With my own bare hands and a few choice words." He laughed.

"You're kidding!"

"About what? Fixing the air conditioner or the few choice words?"