Page 19
“If it didn’t fit through the door, then how could it have fit through the window, Cass?”
“Dunno, Ror. Dreams don’t have to make sense, do they?”
Ruari pulled a croissant from the case rather than answering, set it on a plate, and slid it across the counter.
Cassian fell on it. The first bite sent a shower of pastry flakes across his chin, and he talked through the mouthful with no regard for his audience. “I learned a new word yesterday. From my reading lesson with Colin.”
“Yeah?”
“Effervescent.” He pronounced it one syllable at a time. “It means bubbly and lively and full of enthusiasm. Colin says I’m the most effervescent person he’s ever met, which is saying something because he’s met a LOT of people, and doesn’t like very many of them.” He took another enormous bite. “I looked up how to spell it and it has four E’s, which is absolutely ridiculous, but I can spell it now. E-F-F-E-R-V-E-S-C-E-N-T.”
He counted the letters off on his fingers, ran out at the N, and had to start again on the first hand. Pastry flakes scattered with each finger tap.
“That’s a good word,” Ruari said.
“I thought so.” Cassian beamed. “Dr Carlisle says I should collect words I like and put them in a notebook, so I’ve started a page for them. Do you want to hear my other words?”
“Go on.”
“Luminous. Defiant. Archipelago. And buttercream, which isn’t technically a vocabulary word, but I like how it feels in my mouth.”
Ruari laughed at that, and Cassian’s whole face went bright at having caused it.
“I’ve also started collecting words that are mean,” Cassian added, lowering his voice. “Felix taught me ‘imbecile’, which is someone who is very stupid but in a French way, and I’m saving it for the right moment.”
“Who’s the lucky target?”
“I don’t know yet. I need to get mad at someone first.” Cassian finished the croissant and licked each finger clean. “Can I have another one?”
Ruari fished a second croissant out of the case and set it down in front of Cassian.
“Ruari.”
“Yeah?”
“You seem really happy today.”
Ruari folded a tea towel into a square. “I had a good bake this morning.”
“I can tell. Everything in the case looks delicious.” Cassian waved a hand at the display.
The bell above the door chimed, and two of the regulars came in, one of them a woman Cassian recognised from the queue most Thursdays.
Ruari greeted her by name before she’d reached the counter and asked after her knee.
“Still no gluten-free banana bread, then?” she said, eyeing the case.
“None. Never will be, while I’m running this place.” Ruari tipped his head towards the empty shelf where it would’ve sat. “Which makes me wonder what you’re actually doing in here twice a week, Sandra, when there’s nothing here you can eat.”
Sandra giggled.
“I’ve got a theory,” Ruari said, “and it doesn’t involve bread.”
“Get away with you. It’s the coffee!”
Ruari pulled her cup off the machine and set it in front of her. “’Course it is.”
“It is!”
