On the ground floor, Viv clipped a barrier rope across the base of the staircase. Then she pulled a fresh sack of beans from the pantry and one of the new ceramic mugs. She lost herself in the meditative act of priming the machine and grinding and brewing. The hiss of steam and the smell of fresh coffee permeated the shop, and with the warmth of the stove and the frost riming the edges of the front windows, something clenched and watchful inside Viv released for the first time since the fire.
She leaned on the counter over a fresh chapbook, sipped her coffee, gazed at the blurs passing in the street, and gloried in a suspended moment of contentment.
The spell was broken when the front door banged open, letting in a curl of icy wind and revealing Cal standing on the threshold. He was bundled in a long coat and gloves. Behind him, Viv could see the first flakes of an early snow drifting down.
“Hm. You’re here. Good.”
He stepped back outside before Viv could reply.
“I’ve got my end,” he said to someone in the street, and when he reappeared, he and Tandri had either side of something large and awkward and wrapped up in paper and twine.
They leaned it against the counter and stood back.
Tandri’s face was flushed with the cold, and she hurriedly closed the door behind them.
“Over next to the stove, you two. Looks like winter’s setting in early.” Viv came around the counter and stared at the big parcel, hands on hips. “What’s all this, then?”
“Well,” said Tandri, rubbing her hands briskly. “Something you can’t open the shop without.” She smiled at Viv, but the smile was a little anxious. “You should… you should probably open it now.”
Cal nodded, too, stripping off his gloves and tucking them into a pocket.
Viv knelt and, after fumbling with knotted twine for a few seconds, cut the ties with her pocketknife. Rough brown paper shucked away from what lay beneath.
It was the shop sign.
“I thought it burned in the fire,” she whispered.
“Saved it,” said Cal. “Or most of it, I s’pose.”
“Hang on… is this…?”
Diagonally, where the embossed silhouette of a sword had once been, a metal one was mounted. Steel. There was a unique mother-of-pearl sheen to it that she recognized.
“It is,” said Tandri, moving to stand behind her. She had her arms crossed tensely in front of her. “I… took it after you… well, I thought that… maybe you didn’t have to be fully rid of it. Not yet.” Then, in a rush, “I was just thinking that you don’t have to forget who youwere… because that’s what brought youhere.”
Viv ran a finger over Blackblood’s new incarnation, cut down to an icon of her former self. Then, she just stared at it.
“Do you… like it?” asked Tandri. “If you don’t, we can unmount—”
“It’s perfect,” said Viv. “I can’t believe you saved her.”
She rose and embraced them both, blinking back tears as she did.
* * *
On reopening day,the snow persisted, icing Thune from steeple to cobble. Gray skies bloomed with pink, which limned the clouds to the east, promising more pre-winter flakes.
The refurbished sign hung proudly from the swing arm above the door, snow frosting its nooks and crannies.
Viv and Tandri arrived first to feed the stoves and fill the new water tubs. Lighting the lanterns and candles filled the shop with a welcoming glow. By the time Thimble slipped in the door, the dairyman had delivered their cream and butter and eggs. The rattkin set to mixing and kneading, forming balls of dough to rise before assembling ingredients for his icings, humming to himself all the while.
Cal showed up, kicking snow from his boots and blowing from the cold, and Tandri brewed him a fresh cup. He took it to the big, new table and curled his fingers gratefully around the warm mug, while they speculated on the size of the opening crowd and jokingly wagered over how quickly the rolls would sell out.
Surveying the kitchen for anything out of place, Viv caught sight of the rail they’d built along the back wall. “Ah, hells! I almost forgot!”
She disappeared into the pantry and returned with a big square of slate, which she slid onto the counter, and presented Tandri with a new set of colored chalk.
After a moment’s thought, Tandri set to work.
