People Like the Way Dreams Have of Sticking to the Soul

Oliver's casually pleasant expression morphed instantly into a wide smile and he took on a more attentive stance as he pushed himself back to his normal height. "Good morning," he greeted her warmly, a twinge of guilt hitting him when she said she thought he wasn't coming. At the same time, though, he felt a slight thrill rush through him at the idea that she had been looking forward to seeing him. Or maybe it was Emilia. Either way, he took it as a good sign, despite not knowing exactly where he thought that any of their interactions would lead.

Oliver was preparing to apology for their lateness when he heard Lemon, turning his head to look in their direction and smile about it. When he looked back at Alice, his expression softened. "Couldn't miss it," he said, inclining his head towards her.

When she suggested that they pick up something to drink, Oliver nearly reached out, thinking she was walking away when she turned. But he just held onto the box Emilia had brought. "I'm sure she would love that," he agreed with a nod. "First, though, I have something for you. I know you said not to," Oliver added quickly, holding up one hand in a vaguely defensive gesture. "But you mentioned that you were running low on the stuff, in your letter, and Em wanted to pick something out, so... here."

He held the box out, both hands cupping it as he passed it to her. He smiled, though, letting her take it before dropping his hands to the side and letting one slide into his jacket pocket.

"She wrapped it herself. Top form, I'd say. I was pretty impressed," he added, tilting his head as he looked it over. Inside the glittery box was a little pair of ink pots. One was a deep burgundy and the other a positively sunny yellow. Before she could get too upset with him for bringing her something anyway, he glanced over his shoulder in the direction that Lemon's bark had come from. Oliver was fairly certain that he could hear Emilia talking right back to her, too.

His foot rubbed back and forth over the floor of the shop and he turned to look at Alice again. "Should I go find them, then? I doubt they're making a mess, but she'll be happy to know you've opened it."

It was a good morning because he and Emelia were there – that was what Alice would have said if she had inherited her father’s smooth charm. She could only smile warmly at him instead, her eyes filling with the feeling she so wanted to articulate. Her cheeks brightened at his words and she dropped her gaze, her lips twisting together to fight off the truly cheek splitting grin that was begging to spread across her face.

Alice opened her mouth, a reluctant reproach already turning on her tongue, but before she could give voice to it, the box was in her hands and Ollie was moving out of the conversation, deftly making use of his niece and her dog. Alice looked down at it, her cheeks deepening in colour. She lifted her head again and thanked him gently, stepping forward to hop up onto her tiptoes and press a kiss to his cheek.

“I’ll, um,” she stepped back, a wry smile brightening her face as the redness flooded her features. “I’ll just go and pop this in the back so it doesn’t get damaged. I’ll be back in a second.”

And with that, Alice hurried away as casually as she could. She opened the office door with her hip and ducked inside, veering towards her desk. She set the box down and straightened up, smiling softly to herself. She reached around it, finding the tape, and carefully peeled back the wrapping so that it didn’t tear. Then, once it was loose enough, she slid the box out and moved the lid, peering inside at her gift. Her heart swelled in her chest and she bounced a bit, setting down the box before stepping back and moving into the kitchenette to get some juice.

She emerged back onto the shop floor and headed towards the children’s section where, sure enough, she found man, girl, and pup. Offering Emelia a bright smile, Alice leaned down and offered Em her juice after handing Ollie his.

“Thank you very, very much for my gift, Em,” she tapped her index finger to the end of the little girl’s nose. “Would you like to wrap all of my Christmas presents for me? I’m rubbish at it and you’re pretty great at wrapping.” She glanced up at Ollie before looking back at her and whispering, “I’ll pay you in Chocolate Frogs and books.”

Oliver wasn't sure how to react, but his eyebrows did rise of their own accord before she moved away. His hand had risen, aiming for her arm as if to steady her, but he was too slow, and Oliver decided that it was probably for the better. The shock lasted until she turned and walked away. Shaking himself a bit, he let his eyebrows pull in for a second. He needed to find Emilia.

As he approached, she didn't notice him because her back was turned - but Oliver had a feeling that the dog weaving between her feet had something to do with it. He called her name and she carefully stepped around Lemon to turn and face him. "Ollie? Why are your ears red? Are you sick?" She added, her voice laced with concern during the last question. "Why is everyone sick here?"

His hand reached up to touch at his ear, knowing full well why it was like that. Oliver dropped it quickly back to his side, shaking his head. "No, not at all. Everybody is fine, I promise."

"That's good," she replied, her tone matter-of-fact. Just as she extended a hand to point and say something about Lemon, she paused, her gaze shifting to something behind her uncle.

Suddenly, Alice was there again and Oliver decided that, realistically, she had probably only been trying to be nice. He didn't think he should have taken much from the gesture, so the best he could do was play it casual. Offering a warm smile, he accepted the drink from her, careful not to brush her hand with his own. He didn't need her to catch his embarrassment as Emilia had. That is, if she hadn't done the first time. It registered, as Alice turned away, that their first touch had been just a minute ago. He wasn't sure how to go about initiating anything normal, now, so he wasn't at all sure how he was meant to act.

His smile faltered, but Alice looked over at him and he pushed it back to normal.

It didn't actually matter, he reminded himself. He needed to keep that in mind. Alice was trying to help Emilia. She was just... a good person. There was no arguing the fact, but it did convince him to take a step back and look at the situation more rationally. There was no such thing as love at first sight, or first kiss (on the cheek). He obviously was just intrigued. That's what it was.

"Christmas is a long time away," Emilia pointed out, looking down at the cup she held between both hands. "And we do Christmas back home. Even last year, we did."

Oliver stiffened, frowning. She looked over at him, confusion crossing her features as she got the incorrect impression that he was silently reprimanding her. "I mean-" she attempted, uncertain.

Glancing around, Oliver found a place to safely set down his drink and then stepped around Alice to crouch down beside his niece. "You're right, Em," he assured her, reaching over to settle a hand between her shoulder blades. To Alice, he tried to explain. "We spend the holidays in France. That's where our family is from. Last year..."

He shook his head, unsure how to explain that comment of Emilia's away. When he looked back at her, she was staring into her drink with wide eyes. Reaching out, he wrapped his fingers around the base of the cup, and she released it automatically. Putting it down next to his own, Oliver wrapped her up in his arm, tugging her against his side. "Last year," he started again, "her uncle thoroughly embarrassed himself during the football match."

Emilia blinked, looking up at him. Passing her a sheepish smile, Oliver released her, standing and proceeding to relay the story to Alice, kicking a foot around as needed. "I had convinced myself that, if we could just get one more good shot in, we could take it," he began, surprised when he was interrupted.

"But he put the ball in the wrong side," Em explained, laughing a moment later. "Grandpa was so angry."

Oliver feigned petulance, crossing his arms. "We shouldn't have kept moving the pitch, then. Just because he tripped over this rock or that one does not mean the area is rubbish."

Emilia shook her head at him, as though she were far smarter than him but he just hadn't realized yet. Maybe she was right. "You're good most of the time," she admitted, laughing when he grinned at her.

"I'll take it."

She leaned to the side, then, looking for her drink, and took it up before turning back to Lemon. Oliver took that opportunity to address Alice again. "You said you might have some recommendations?" Moving to stand beside her, he hoped to distract her at least a little bit from the tension she had undoubtedly noticed. "Unless you need to get back to the book club or something, of course."

Had it not been for the rather deft steering of the conversation by Mr Connolly, Alice knew that it would have fallen to her to deflect any awkwardness that could have arisen. She knew when and when not to pry. This was not the time, most certainly, even if her gut was telling her that there was more to the story of uncle and niece than had first appeared. She sensed that something had happened, something that would have disturbed the Christmas routine. It had to have been quite an important happening, too, because she understood from experience that Christmas routines did not alter. In her family in particular, they altered for no man, woman, or family. It was the Rousseau way or no way at all and that was part of the reason why Marie-Elise did not get on with any of her children-in-law’s parents.

Alice laughed, trying to imagine Oliver making a bit of an arse of himself playing football. Her mind conjured snow, too. For some reason, Oliver in a scarf and a hat, his nose and cheeks pink with cold, playing football with his relatives, was a picture that appealed to her. Her fingers twitched in an unconscious urge to draw such an image but she knew that she would have to wait to give into that little desire. He’d have to go into her sketchpad that she kept solely for herself. Inside were portrait sketches, largely, of people she would rather not know she had drawn them. She would have been embarrassed for him to find out that Em, with her new-found canine sidekick, was already in there.

“Ooh, yes!” She clasped her hands together excitedly after setting her drink down on one of the high shelves that was blessedly a little bit more empty and thus the perfect resting place out of the reach of wandering, mischievous little hands. “No, no, I don’t need to go back to the book club,” she shook her head, pushing off to move towards the section she’d eluded to in her letter.

“They make me feel like Bridget Jones!” She shuddered, grinning despite herself. “I can’t cope with them trying to marry me off to their grandsons. It’s just weird.” She laughed again and turned the corner into the section they needed.

“Okay, baby girl,” she knelt down so that she was at Em’s height and her eyes scanned the shelves. “What’s your favourite type of thing to read about – do you like adventures, do you like animals, do you like stories about princesses? That’s the best way to start. This whole area will be great for you, I think, but we need to find something you’d actually like to read, first.”

As Alice led them around to the other shelf, Oliver had to keep from scrunching up his nose at her words. "I can't imagine you'd need the help. But Merlin, I don't want to find out what they'd say to me, either."

Emilia tagged along, glancing between the two adults and squinting at the way her uncle's hand swung towards Alice's and then jerked back towards his side before the elder blonde could register it. She wasn't sure what to make of it, though, and came to a stop when Alice crouched down in front of her.

Em glanced her uncle's way as he casually crossed his arms and watched their interaction, hoping that she wouldn't say the wrong thing again. Her uncle, of course, had only been worried about Emilia herself. He knew better than anyone that she'd just wanted her parents and had no conceivable way of feeling that she had any, now. Oliver wanted his sister back as well, but neither of them could be granted that wish.

"I do like animals," she agreed.

"Emmy's gonna own a zoo someday, I'd wager," Oliver put in, winking at her to lift her spirits. Em looked down at Lemon and lowered herself to the floor next to the dog, but she was far more relaxed now that Oliver looked at ease as well.

"I wouldn't mind," Emilia shrugged, looking up at the pair of them. She took a sip of her drink, watching them with lifted eyebrows. Oliver took a step towards Alice, looking at the books on the shelf she had brought them over to. "Ollie?" She continued, lowering her cup and settling it on her leg. "Can Alice and Lemon come to dinner?"

His eyebrows were the ones that lifted that time, and he opened his mouth in a moment of surprise and confusion. "That's sort of short notice, Em. And we'd have to ask Ari if that's alright. I-" Oliver looked at Alice, flummoxing. "It isn't like you wouldn't be welcome if you want to, honestly. I just- we don't live on our own, Em and I. So I'd need to give my flatmate a heads up. I mean- you... Would you want to?"

Emilia, for her credit, was really quite observant, and she knew as much. She was nearly seven, after all. Practically a lady, according to some. So she certainly noticed when her uncle got flustered again, only this time she understood a bit better that it was embarrassment rather than ill as she had thought before. Oh, she hoped he wouldn't go pout in his room or whatever he did when he sat at his desk for ages when he was upset. She hadn't really pried, to be fair, considering he hadn't ever bothered her when she was sad unless he thought he could fix it right quick. They both checked in, but neither nagged, and she appreciated that fact about her uncle. He was quite a nice uncle, she thought, and quite rightly. But now she had gone and embarrassed him aside from everything else.

But then again, she mused to herself, he was the one that couldn't get any words out of his mouth when talking to this Alice lady. Her uncle was usually quite calm, but he was being so funny about everything today that she couldn't make out what his problem was.

"Lemon would really like Eric. He's my one," she clarified, pointing at Lemon to indicate that she was talking about a puppy. "He's fluffy."

“Animals are my favourite too,” Alice agreed. “Puppies are my favourite. Corgi puppies.” She smiled, glancing at Lemon who had settled herself down. Laughing a little, Alice reached for her pup and scratched between her baby’s ears, glancing up at Ollie as he spoke. She grinned and nodded eagerly, turning her gaze back to Emilia. “What sort of animals are you going to have at your zoo?” She asked curiously, adding, “and could I come and visit sometime, do you think?”

Alice turned back to the shelf and lifted her hands to the spines, letting her index finger trail across the uniform tomes lined up like soldiers. They were similar colours and all in a consistent font in order to help out the children that struggled with some of the finer points of the way books were created – often with jazzy fonts and a kaleidoscope of colours that were distracting. Alice found it that way so she had no clue how some of the children coped. Just as she was piling a handful into her lap, Emilia spoke. Dinner. Lemon looked up, eagerness in her eyes. Alice was a little more furtive.

Instinctively, she wanted to leap to her feet and declare that she wanted to, that she’d bring dessert and some books – and Lemon. Only, she couldn’t. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t. She lifted her eyes furtively and settled them on Ollie, trying to read his features and gauge whether or not he’d like her to be there. She smiled shyly, trying to let Ollie know that he didn’t have to invite her – that he could say no if he wanted to.

“Dinner sounds great,” she admitted softly. “But I don’t want to impose. I’ve always got…” she nibbled on her lower lip thoughtfully, wondering what she had upstairs dinner-wise. Not a lot, she would wager. “Well, I think I was going to have to go out for dinner tonight, actually. I buy books instead of food – like all good booksellers do, you know.” She laughed a little and shook her head, dropping her gaze to the books she’d chosen. It was a good start and wouldn’t amount to too much expense if they weren’t suitable.

“Fluffy, is he?” Alice asked, rising back up to her full height. “Well, I should think Lemon would like to meet him someday. She’s quite fond of other dogs. Do you think they would get along?”

Then, once Em had decided, Alice knelt down and held out the books for her, asking softly which ones she fancied. Once the little girl had made her choices, Alice put back the ones she hadn’t wanted and turned to look at the little girl.

“Would you like to do some reading now with me and Ollie?”

"Only the nice ones," Emilia decided straight away. Oliver laughed but couldn't argue with that. Hopefully she continued to hold that opinion about people as much as she did about animals. She certainly thought that Alice was nice. Which is why she agreed that, yes, Alice could certainly visit. "Ollie and I can show you around or something," she added, shrugging as though nothing else in the world made sense.

Oliver was watching Alice as she spoke, if her nerves were positive or negative ones. He knew they were there, one way or the other. "I can't blame you there," he conceded, knowing that urge very well. "I'd probably still be doing the same if I could."

It wasn't meant at a jab towards anyone, but he regretted saying it as soon as he applied that verbal period to the end of the sentence. Hopefully neither of them picked up on it. Emilia certainly didn't. But she did register that her uncle had not answered her question. Still, Alice had asked her a question, and it was polite to answer when someone asked something of her.

"He's trained," Emilia mused, tilting her head to the side. "But he hasn't been around other animals much, except maybe out for walks. But he maybe should learn to be nice."

She picked out two books, as she would have done if her uncle had set her free to look around, and positively beamed when Alice asked if they could read together. It brought a gentle smile to Oliver's face, and he had to cover his laugh as Emilia waited just until Alice had put the other books back before reaching up at taking the bigger blonde's hand, tugging her along to the little reading nook that Oliver imagined Alice must have set up. She sat down next to Alice, but off to one side, ensuring unwittingly that Oliver would have to sit on her other side.

So as much as he tried to avoid it, when he wanted to point to one of the words and sound it out with Emilia, he had to reach across Alice and merely ended up pressed along her arm to do so. He didn't linger long, though, realizing that he hadn't actually been granted permission to invade her space like that. He even murmured an apology as he leaned back, settling into the pillow behind him.

Eventually, though, Emilia started getting antsy and began to fidget. When it began to get too difficult for her, she started to get frustrated with herself. He could sense it the moment it began, and when her attention strayed to Lemon again, he reached out, his fingers almost avoiding hers but failing, and he closed the book for her. Emilia didn't even notice.

Oliver stood, wondering if it would pull her gaze back to him, and it did for a moment, but even as he extended a hand to help Alice up, Emilia seemed lost in her own world. Her uncle frowned slightly, but he took the opportunity he was given, turning to Alice and speaking quietly to her.

"Look, she shouldn't have put you on the spot like that. I'm sorry. But... Well, my door is open if you do decide you'd like to stop by. My flatmate, Ariel, is a bit much sometimes, but he means well, really. Em tends to go to sleep a bit early, so we usually eat around seven so there's time for her to read or settle in for a film. She rarely makes it through, but she likes it." Oliver shrugged, glancing over at Emilia. "I'll write down my address, and if you have time to come by, we would be happy to host you."

Combing through Lemon’s fur carefully, Alice met her pup’s gaze in the mirror that she was knelt before, still in her jammies. Offering her girl a smile, Alice reached forward and rubbed Lemon affectionately between the ears. She leaned down and popped a kiss on the back of the corgi’s head before reaching over to set the comb down on the chair beside the long mirror. She rubbed affectionately at her pup’s side and grinned into the shining glass, declaring that her baby looked beautiful.

While Lemon sat primly next to the chair, Alice was left to make herself look semi-presentable, wishing all the while that she could just comb herself out and be ready to go. She’d closed the shop a little later than she’d intended, having been distracted by a budding fiancé rushing in right on closing, asking, panicked, if she had his girlfriend’s favourite book. She had indeed and in between serving in, a few other people had snuck in. Once she had finally gotten everyone out, brandishing the books they had wanted, she could go upstairs and steal herself a shower.

She’d gotten into a fresh pair of pyjamas after she’d emerged from the shower and ran to her bag, pulling out her notebook to double-check the address she would be getting the Knight Bus to that evening. She had no idea of the area but she was sure that, after tonight, if she was ever invited again then should be able to apparate with no problems. Before she had even gotten to Lemon, though, it occurred to her that she should bring something to dinner and a glance at her watch told her the baker’s was still open.

She’d donned some boots and barely shrugged on her coat before she was out of the door, hurrying down the road with her purse. She purchased an array of macaroons, parting with more money than perhaps she should have done for only a casual dinner. Once she had a big box of fresh macaroons bagged up she sped back home and then turned to Lemon, taking the rhythm of the action as an opportunity to relax.

Wiggling into her dress, Alice dived after her wand and fired some magic in the direction of the zip. It zipped (hah) up the length of her back and once she was secure in it she found out her sandals and struggled into them. Only once she’d calmed down did she attempt her hair, putting it up in a curl half-up, half-down do. Then, once she’d put on a small layer of lipstick and some mascara on her eyelashes, she found she was done, ready. Even Lemon was ready, with a flower behind her ear.

“Okay, pup,” she grabbed her purse and shoved her wand inside before picking up the macaroon bag into which she’d found time to pop a book inside for both Em and Ollie. “Let’s go.”

The bus ride to Ollie’s house didn’t take very long – even for Knight Bus standards. Lemon was not at all happy when she and Alice got off but a few minutes in the twilight air brightened her once more, especially once Alice reminded her that she was going to get to see her new best friend.

All too soon, she found herself on Ollie’s doorstep and in the end it was Lemon who announced them, with a loud bark that made Alice hastily rap a knock against the door – rather belatedly, in fact.

Emilia had been, perhaps understandably, very fidgety throughout the afternoon. She kept going on about how sorry she was for embarrassing her uncle in front of their new friend, and asking if she thought Alice would actually show up or if she liked them at all anymore. Thalia had always said that her daughter was very similar to Oliver, and she wasn't wrong. Even in the overdramatic personality department.

No, he had reassured her. Alice couldn't dislike her just because he and Em had gotten sidetracked. She would have asked about it if she wanted to pry, and she wouldn't have said how she'd like to come to dinner if she didn't really want to. Alice struck him as an honest person, though he obviously couldn't know for sure. Not yet, at any rate.

But it hadn't stopped the little girl from going off to her room and pulling out the photo albums they had brought from her old house when she'd been forced to move, thinking Oliver wouldn't look in and check on her. Eric was waved away when he started stepping across the laminated pages, blissfully unaware aside from a strange feeling that his person was upset about something. He'd been trying to help. But she shoo'd him and he found his way out into the living room and then into Oliver's room, curling up under the author's desk.

Emilia ended up taking a nap, but woke from a quasi-nightmare not long after. She had walked into her uncle's kitchen in the dream, but the lights were down. Perhaps the television was on. She wasn't sure where the low sheen was coming from, but it didn't matter. Because a blonde woman was standing there, busy making something in the kitchen. At first, she thought it was Alice, and that actually she had slept through the evening and for some reason their new friend was maybe making Oliver something while he was writing or was packing up leftovers before leaving or something. But that didn't explain why Oliver himself wasn't there.

It wasn't Alice, though. It was her mum, and when she looked up at Emilia she beamed proudly, but the little girl couldn't move. Maybe her feet had been glued to the floor. She didn't care, actually, because something about the way Mum looked at her made her feel at ease. It was still quite shocking, though, and when she woke, she ended up going back to the photos, flipping through them to find the pictures of her mum and dad at their wedding. She thought she might like to wear a dress like her mum's one day, if she met someone nice and funny and who had a kind smile. Someone like her uncle. Like her dad, if she remembered correctly.

So when it came time to get ready for the chance that Alice would come by, Oliver took to cleaning up the flat, pretending to knock into Emilia's door with the hoover on accident. He had made a point of only using magic for very important things, afraid of frightening the little girl. She hadn't been the same since the accident, after all. He planned on slowly increasing his use of it, was going to suggest that Ariel did the same, to help her become more comfortable with it again.

She looked up, closing the book quickly though her uncle pretended he hadn't seen anything. "...Can I help?" She offered quietly, pushing herself off of the floor.

The corners of his lips quirked upwards, and the next hour was spent with music on, Eric yapping at Henry the hoover, and Emilia slowly perking up again. She took off at about half past six, going to her room in order to put on whichever dress she deemed to be the prettiest that day. For reasons Oliver didn't entirely understand, the little girl was making more of an effort than even he was.

Ariel, for all Oliver knew, would come to dinner in pajamas. Oliver didn't particularly care either way most of the time, but he hoped that their guest wouldn't be affronted by the casual sort of household they kept. She didn't know, as well, about Emilia's parents. He didn't know what sort of assumptions Alice had made, and he was afraid to ask. But he did warn Ariel as best as he could, despite knowing that if anything slipped out it wouldn't really be the fault of anyone involved. He and his best friend were so used to Emilia being there now that it would feel wrong without her, and the pair of them were quite good at filtering what they said in front of the six-year-old. The same was not true of their adult friends. Most of their close ones knew what happened, and knew better than to talk about it.

When the bark sounded outside their flat's door, Eric burst from Oliver's room and began barking back until he was swept up in Emilia's arms. He was too small to wiggle his way back onto the floor, which was for the better, because Oliver was there, opening the door.

Alice was there, her dress putting even his button-up and trousers to shame. He knew somewhere in his mind that she was holding something and that Lemon had free reign to charge right in if she wanted to, Oliver was just stood there, looking at her. He cleared his throat quietly. He was tempted to quote Alice right back to her regarding his and Emilia's appearance at the book club event, but he doubted that the reference would actually be taken as one.

"You made it," he offered instead. Once the words left him, the spell seemed to dissipate. A slow smile curved his lips and lit something behind his eyes.

Emilia set Eric free, and he immediately bounded over to Alice and Lemon, howling at them despite the fact that his bark was quite unimpressive and high pitched. Oliver shook his head, reaching down to nudge at the dog's face, trying to get him to move out of Alice's way. Once Eric was behaving a bit better, Oliver stepped to the side and gestured for her to come in.

"I'm not much of a cook," he told her, "but my flatmate is brilliant. Let me go see if they're ready. We've been running a bit behind so it'll take a little bit, probably. But Em's been telling me that she wants to do some more drawings so maybe," he said, turning to his niece, "you want to show Alice while I go get Ariel?"

She nodded fervently, holding out her hand for Alice, intending to tug her along to her room. "Eric doesn't sit still for very long but I tried drawing him anyway. It didn't go well. Maybe you would do better."

Oliver shook his head but smiled encouragingly before heading down to Ariel's room and leaning in through the doorway. "Company's here. You sorted?"