I chuckled a bit and finished my tea. "That must have been hard on his mother."
He smiled. "She's a tough woman. More tea?"
I noted the abrupt end to the conversation and looked at the clock. "I really should be getting back to my room. It's getting late and I still haven't eaten." He nodded as if pondering something. I slowly stood up, "I've enjoyed talking to you Michael. Thank you for your hospitality." I smiled and held out my hand.
He stood up and shook it gently. "The pleasure was mine. Feel free to stop by anytime. The door to my nook is always open."
I paused still slightly shaking his hand, "Thank you. I will." I reluctantly let go of his hand and walked out the door desperately wanting to look back but keeping my head forward. The bell on the door tinkled as I left. I slowly made my way back to the bed and breakfast in a daze.
I soaked up as much of Faith as I could in the next few days. Each night I sat at the desk in my room as words poured from my fingers. I wrote about nothing and everything. I couldn't get Michael out of my head, yet I did my best to keep those thoughts at bay.
Three days had past since I stepped foot in Michael's store. I didn't want to be a pest, yet I wanted to see him again. It was as though he was addicting. I came to a stop just before I got to the nook. I stood and debated the excuse I was going to use for being there. A small smile formed on my face as the plan came to mind. Peeking in the window, I saw Michael and Wally sitting at a table hunched over two books and a bunch of papers. I tried to open the door quietly but the bell jingled and made me jump. Michael looked up and smiled.
"Jane, Hi. What brings you by?"
Wally started writing furiously. I chuckled, "Oh, I don't want to interrupt. I was just going to look for a book."
He smiled and looked at what Wally was writing, "Okie dokie. Let me know if you need any help finding it."
I nodded as I made my way to the very back aisle listening to the discussion.
Wally had a pretty good grasp of the book and they were working on how he should present it. I noticed an old copy of one of my favorite books and grabbed it. I slowly made my way up front. Wally seemed to be frustrated with the way things were going. "But I want this one to be really creative, Michael. Not just some speech. I want to amaze my teacher and blow away everybody else's project."
I peeked around the end of the aisle just as Michael looked up. He smiled, "I bet
Jane has some creative ideas kiddo."
Wally looked at me as I smiled. He paused then said, "I don't know. What have you done that's been creative Birdie?"
"Well," I grinned as I walked over to the table, "You could dress up like Beowulf, or," I pondered for a second and thought of some of my past projects, "You could do a scene from the book in clay."
Wally's eyes lit up and I knew he liked the idea. I spent the afternoon explaining how the idea worked and what Wally would need. I felt Michael watching me the whole time but kept my focus on Wally.