"Oh, no trouble at all," she reassured him cheerily as they stepped off the sidewalk deep inside the park and onto the gravel pathway that wound through her garden and up to the porch. Overlarge wild roses bloomed riotously around the base of her house -- everywhere, everywhere, climbing up the walls and around the windows, every color and shape. Their perfume was noticeable, as she unlocked her door and stepped inside.
"My roommate is at work, so I'm especially glad you're having tea with me today," she said by way of conversation as she led him into her living room. It was airy and feminine without being foolish. Across the room, a comfortable sitting area sported a couch and two arm chairs, a couple end tables and coffee table, and a good rug thrown under all of it. Her wood floors were neatly swept, and all the glass in her home gleamed clean and bright. It was an altogether welcoming place, Beauty's cottage.
She set her basket of asters on the kitchen table, filled a kettle with water, and set it on the modern stove. Beauty hadn't had a stove until Megan moved in. It just appeared as an extension of her kitchen, the morning following Megan's move. While the water heated, she started pulling down a tea set. "Sugar, lemon, honey, cream... What do you like in your tea, Mr. Mayor?"
It was a far easier question than, 'What was your girlfriend like?' Beauty was working up to that.