Re: antique store: oliver/louis
It was almost hypnotizing, watching the long ash form and fall away on the lightly smoked cigarette. It made him wonder why Oliver bothered - an interesting tic, if it was a habit.
Louis doctored the tea and, at last, brought it across to Oliver, handing it off carefully with the handle out, so no one burned their fingers. The long silence hadn't gone unnoticed, but he waited patiently for Oliver to speak again, and rewarded him with a response when the answer to his question came at last. It didn't seem as if he were angry - just pensive, perhaps. An unusual trait in someone so young. "I have many siblings as well," he said. "Too many, perhaps. Two of them are here that I know of." And wasn't that a delightful coincidence, the unexpected presence of Iris.
"No doubt I will," he said. This was a small town, where he would need to be friendly with everyone. He wanted to believe that he would be friendly with Oliver's brother, just as he wanted to believe he could get along with his disowned sister, now that they'd been thrown together again.
Louis leaned against the counter again, clutching his own mug of tea. "Now. When have you been working? Would you like to work full time, or only some days? I admit, I wasn't expecting to have help, but I'm glad you're here. Based on the sheer amount I have to go through, I'll need it."