Checking in on Fern.

Things calmed down after a while. Sarah went with Fernanda to the bathroom, less to help her calm down and more just to be there for her. Meanwhile, I went over to the old couple to apologize.

“I’m very sorry for that scene,” I said. “I… got too aggressive.”

“It’s perfectly understandable, dear,” the old lady said. “Stepping up to protect your loved ones is very noble. I’m happy to see you’re that type of man.”

“If you had broken his nose I still would’ve sided with you, boy,” the old man laughed. “Some idiots just need a good whooping.”

“That they do,” Maria agreed, coming over with two new cups of coffee for the old couple. “For the trouble.”

“No, no! It was no trouble! It was actually quite cathartic to see that fool finally get his comeuppance! Hopefully he’ll never be back here,” the old lady said.

“Don’t worry. He’s never getting in again,” Maria said before turning to me. “And you. I was mad at you for not coming to visit sooner, but since you protected my employee, you’re forgiven.”

I chuckled. “I appreciate the benevolence…”

“I’m assuming this was his first time getting this bold,” Grace said as she, Mila, Noelle and Alice took a seat at a table. “Otherwise you’d have him banned already.”

“Yes,” Maria said. “And he clearly picked a moment when I had to step out of the shop for a moment. I went to pick up some more pies and left Fern in charge for five minutes. He actually hadn’t shown up in a while.”

“Do you know who he is?” Mila asked. “He seemed to believe he was untouchable.”

“Oliver’s the untouchable one,” Noelle said, giggling. “He didn’t even flinch when he hit him.”

“Not even a mark,” Alice said. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “Barely felt it. Must’ve gotten lucky,” I said, trying to not draw more attention to it in front of Maria and the old couple. That also definitely had been magic.

“But yeah, any idea who he is?” Mila asked again. I sat down with the girls and Maria stood close to us.

“Nope. I assume he has money and thinks that’ll buy him anything, even freedom,” Maria said, scowling. “Might even be right. I’d be surprised if he even spends the night in a cell.”

I groaned loudly. “What’s going on here? Why are assholes always after you girls?”

“It’s nothing new,” Grace said. “Not now and it’s not just us. It’s bullshit every girl has to deal with.”

“Wait, it’s been happening to you as well?” Maria asked the girls.

“Not quite like that, but sort of,” Grace said. “Sarah and I have been getting hit on at university even after saying we have a boyfriend.”

“It happened to Diana when we were on vacation, too,” Noelle said.

“Ugh, yeah, she gets that a lot,” Maria said with a heavy sigh. “It’s obviously not her fault, but she stands out a lot.”

She does.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder and turned my head to see Sarah.

“Hey. How’s she doing?” Alice asked.

“Well enough, all things considered,” Sarah said. “You should go check on her too,” she told me.

“And tell her to take the rest of the day off,” Maria added.

I nodded and stood up. Sarah said Fern was outside, so I went out through the back door leading to the alleyway where we threw out the trash. Fern was there, leaning back against the wall, pushing herself off, falling back and doing it again.

“Should I have punched him?” I asked her, getting closer and leaning back on the wall beside her.

“It’s better that you didn’t because you didn’t get in trouble with the police, but… I kind of wanted you to. Is that bad?” she asked with a wry, guilty grin.

“No. I had to hold myself back. Grace and Sarah are going through something similar, and seeing it happen to you, too, almost made me see red. How are you feeling?”

“Still a little shook. I… didn’t know what to do. I kept telling him to back away, but…” She let out a shaky sigh. “I was so relieved when I saw you.”

“I admit, it was pure coincidence that we came here today, but I’m glad we did.”

“Thank you.” Fern smiled at me, moved a little closer and lightly leaned on me.

I got an arm around her waist and kissed her cheek. “Maria said you should take the rest of the day off. Want us to drive you home?”

“...” Fern thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. “I’ll finish my shift. I’m fine now, and I’d feel bad leaving when I still have about two hours left.”

“Don’t push yourself.”

“I have to,” she said. “I can’t just let any inconvenience stop me from doing what I have to, right?”

“I wouldn’t call this ‘just any inconvenience’ at all,” I told her.

“Maybe, but… I still want to stay.”

I sighed. “It’s your choice.”

“Hey?”

“Hm?”

“Um… Hug me?”

I smiled and pulled Fern into a tight, reassuring hug while rubbing her back. She held me close, too, taking deep breaths.

When we went back inside, I sat down at the table with the girls and told them, “Fern doesn’t want to leave. She says she wants to finish her shift.”

Alice chuckled. “So you want to stay until they close shop?”

“...Yeah. Is that okay?”

“We don’t have anything important to do,” Grace said. “I’d also like to stay.”

“We can have dinner here,” Noelle said. “I’m fine with sandwiches.”

“She should still go home, but I can see why she’d rather stay,” Sarah said.

“I’d take any excuse to leave work early,” Mila admitted.

We decided to stay. We ordered some coffee and a few pastries since it was still early, and while it was probably unnecessary, I kept an eye out for anything strange.

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