Peppermint Tea and Nothing Is Free by Laura Greenwood

Author:Laura Greenwood [Greenwood, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Drowlgon Press

Eight

The postman drops a bundle of letters on my counter and disappears without saying a word. Not an uncommon occurrence when there are already customers in.

I pick them up and flick through to check if there's anything interesting, only coming to a stop when I see an envelope with Azíl's name on it.

"I think your registration stuff has arrived," I say to him, holding out the letter.

"I have correspondance?"

"You do."

Excitement enters his eyes. "This is new."

"I know."

I check around the coffee shop to make sure no one needs anything and I'm free to spend my time focusing on the man in front of me.

He tears open the envelope and pulls out a sheet of paper.

"Dear Mr Amazigh," he starts to read. "We are pleased to inform you that you are now a registered formerly cursed being residing in the United Kingdom. Your passport and National Insurance number will be on their way to you within thirty days."

"That was faster than I expected," I admit. "I thought it was going to take much longer with the way Wilfred was acting at our appointment last week."

"That is good. But what is the National Insurance number it is talking about?"

"Oh, that's for tax."

"I feel that is something else you are going to have to explain to me."

I chuckle. "How about I find you another reality TV show with it in?"

"I would rather you teach me."

I shake my head in bemusement. "I will. Maybe over dinner that you can pay for yourself."

"I can do that now?"

"Not quite. We'll have to set up a bank account for you first, but we can do that tomorrow and then I can pay you your wages."

"That is what I earn by working here?"

I nod. "So you get paid based on how many hours you work. I don't know if there's anything special I need to do because you're a formerly cursed resident, but I'll check with my accountant." Which is just one more person who is going to know about Azíl. Though I suppose that's unavoidable if he's going to build a life here.

And I'm not going to begrudge him that, far from it. I want him to build a life here, and not just because it will mean that he's free from the teapot, but because it means he can build a life with me.

"I need to plan all of the things for our date," he says excitedly. "I can use your computer to find things?"

"Of course. You can even go do it now if you want, we're not too busy."

He nods. "I think I shall." He leans in and kisses my cheek. "Thank you for helping me with this, Willow."

"You're welcome." I smile at him as he hurries off to plan what I'm sure is going to be an eclectic date with far too much food involved. Not that I mind, we always have a good time.

A new customer appears, pulling me out of my thoughts and back to my present reality of making the best coffee I can.

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