Page 39 of The Muse
He studies us for a few seconds. “Rupert,” he says.
“Rupert, mind if we come in?” I ask. “I’d like to say hi to Callie again. Unless we’re interrupting dinner?”
“No such luck,” he says with a grumble.
“Or we could leave you alone. And I’ll just see you tomorrow,” Flynn says.
“Nonsense.” I grab Flynn’s hand, excited to have an excuse to do so. Then I pull him inside without waiting for the official invitation from Rupert. I love how small my hand feels in his.
“She’s pretty, Flynn,” he says.
“Thank you,” I say as we slip off our shoes. “You have a lovely home.”
“It’s not as nice as my neighbor’s, but I won’t bore you with that story or how his wife hired him a homemaker. Alice, she made me a pie, but I didn’t eat it because I figured it was poisoned.”
Oh my gosh. I love his grumpiness because he’s not that good at it.
“Hello,” Callie says, at the top of the stairs, holding the gray and white kitten. “This is a surprise.” She floats down the marble steps in a satin kimono robe and fuzzy white socks.
“He was here an hour ago. I wouldn’t call it a surprise,” Rupert says. “Well, June is a surprise. Not as surprising as acat, but still unexpected.”
Callie rolls her eyes.
Rupert returns a grin that’s flirty and confident. Oh, this is fun. I might be a little envious of Flynn’s job. On one hand, I wasn’t sure what to expect with Rupert. Yet he’s also exactly how I imagined.
“What are you two lovebirds up to?” Callie asks.
Heat fills my cheeks when I look at Flynn to see his reaction to “lovebirds.”
“June wanted to stop and say hi,” Flynn says. “Although I’m not sure why.”
Callie reaches the bottom of the stairs and hands her kitten to Flynn, then she puts her arm around my waist. “Because she’s a lovely young lady. Come. Do you like tea?” She leads me past the foyer to the kitchen. “Rupert, why don't you offer Flynn a drink?”
“Because I didn’t hire him to drink with me, and he’s holding that stupid cat.”
“Well, he’s off the clock, so he’s not your employee. AndLokiis our new baby.” Callie releases me when we enter the kitchen. “I hope you weren’t too upset by Flynn being late. We didn’t know you had plans. He was organizing cards for me. And beforethat, he suggested I get a cat, which led to bringing Loki home, much to my husband’s displeasure.”
“He’s a cute kitten. And what’s up with the cards?” I ask as she opens the cabinet door and disappears into the pantry.
“Greeting cards. I used to make my own. I went through a phase of making my own paper, and that led to cards with pressed flowers and seeds. You know, the kind you can plant to grow flowers or a tree?”
“That’s cool. I bet they’re beautiful.” I run my fingertips along the cream marble countertop with gray veins. It’s much thicker than newer granite tops.
“They’re fine. It was just a phase I went through. I’ve been through a lot of phases. If you speak with my husband for more than five minutes, he’ll work mypastimesinto the conversation.”
I want to ask her about her current phase and why she needs a muse.
Callie emerges from the pantry with two cups of tea. “Follow me,” she says. “When I’m not in my bedroom, I enjoy time in either my morning room or the covered balcony.” She nods for me to sit at a glass-top café table by the window. “Of course, it’s lovelier in the morning with the sun.” She sets our teacups on the table and sits across from me.
“Thank you.” I bob the tea bag a few times.
“You look so familiar,” she says. “I thought it the day I saw you in the gallery and again when we met for the bike tour.”
“Oh?” I glance up at her. “How so?”
Her pale blue eyes narrow. “I’m not sure. Menopause has scrambled my thoughts. I feel like I have holes in my memory, broken connections, and a two-second recall. Have you lived in this area your whole life?”
“He’s asleep,” Flynn says, sauntering into the room with the kitten. “Dozing off in his desk chair. He had hiswordwith meabout the cat, and while I was trying to explain the movie and why I suggested a kitten, he just … dozed off.” Flynn strokes the kitten’s head while meandering around the room, looking at the art on the walls and a few family photos on a coffee table beside a gold, crushed velvet sofa.
