There is a phenomenon that occurs around a black hole, where time is thought to slow down the closer it gets to the centre. Eddie thought perhaps there was a black hole in the cafe, under the floorboards, as time certainly seemed to crawl by during her shifts at The Crow’s Foot. Perhaps the clock was broken, she wondered, as the hands had barely moved as she cleaned up the used coffee cups and plates and wiped down the tables. Only a few more minutes until she could get out of this place.
She didn’t want to be ungrateful, but she had started to really hate this place. Three years ago, when she applied to work as a barista it had only been meant as a temporary job to help with the bills. Eddie studied art history at uni and wanted to open her own antique shop, then when business was good, travel the world finding treasures to add to it. When she couldn’t sleep at night, which was often these days, she went on internet deep-dives to read all about artists’ lives and how that influenced their works. It brought her a sense of calm, reading about different times that had passed and the creativity and passion that came out of hardship.
At last, when she had finished serving a group of ramblers that visited the cafe to reward themselves with a tea and slice of cake at the end of their walk, Eddie left for her flat. She had an agreement with her neighbour’s daughter, to let herself in at lunch time and take Daisy for a walk in exchange for some extra pocket money. Even with the extra outing during the day, Daisy would still be full of energy when Eddie got home, and Eddie loved coming home to someone so excited to see her they could barely contain it. Sometimes, those moments were the best part of her day.
Later that evening, after clearing the dining table from dinner, Eddie set up for the weekly Poker night. It was a long standing tradition between the three friends that they would meet up every Friday for cards, snacks and to debrief about their weeks. A click of the door latch and Daisy was up and running to the hallway, barking happily.
“Hey, we’re here!” Pippa shouted, letting herself in.
“Daisy-doo how are you doing girlie?” Eric fussed the golden retriever as Eddie leaned over her to give Pippa a quick hug. “And how are you doing? You recovered from your date?”
Eddie shrugged, not wanting to start the evening off on a negative note. “He wasn’t the one, but I’m not sure how many more frogs I can kiss before I find a prince. Come on in and we can set up. I’m feeling lucky tonight.”
“You wish, I’m better than the both of you.” Eric straightened, winking.
“Ha, Eric you’ve been playing for years and you still don’t have a pokerface. Come on in.”
They moved through the hallway into the kitchen-come-dining-come-living room and Eddie grabbed a bottle of wine from the side as they sat down at the table. She poured out three glasses and looked at both of her friends as they sat back.
Pippa looked tired, but happy. Her job was demanding but it was clear that she loved it, arsehole bosses aside. Eric laughed at something Pippa said as he grabbed a handful of crisps from the bowl on the table. He was completely unshakeable and always a calm voice of reason in a crisis. Eddie loved them both so much, and was eternally grateful for their support over the last few months while she had been a crying miserable mess.
“Before we start, I have a present for you both. I went to a car boot sale on Sunday and got you these, here Pip, a new lamp for your lounge” Eric reached down into his bag and withdrew a dusty Tiffany-style lamp, its brightly coloured stained glass arranged to form lilacs dancing in an imaginary breeze around the dome. Pippa squealed, turning it this way and that to admire it.
“I love it Eric, its beautiful! Let’s see if it works still.” She balanced it on the end of the table and stretched the cord out to the socket by the counter. At the flick of the switch, the table was lit up with a soft warm glow.
“Oooh this will go perfectly next to the book case, thank you! You always get the best presents!” She hugged him tightly, almost knocking the wineglass over in the process. Eric blushed and patted her back awkwardly.
“It’s nothing, honestly.” Clearing his throat he reached down again. “Eddie, I got this in a house clearance sale, someone’s grandmother had passed recently and the family are looking to get the house ready for selling. I saw this and instantly thought of you, I know how you love your curiosities, the stranger the better. What do you think?” He fished around and pulled out an ancient, heavy, leather-bound book. It was dirty and worn, and absolutely perfect. Eddie pulled it closer to her, examining the cover, which she on closer inspection was red, not brown, and covered in tiny gold embossed symbols. She gingerly turned the book over in her hands, and the same symbols continued down the spine and across the back. She didn’t recognise them as any modern language, but they were shaped a lot like runes.
“Eric this is incredible.” Eddie breathed. Turning it over again, she noticed the pages were locked shut with a brass clasp, shaped like a pair of talons. She ran her fingers over it, looking for a keyhole and seeing nothing.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“The man at the stall said he never found a key for it and has tried everything, including a hammer and chisel, but it doesn’t open. He reckons it must be welded shut. It looks cool though, good for decoration.”
“It’s the best thing you have ever gotten me. I love it, thank you.” Eric grinned back at Eddie’s shining eyes as she held the book up, watching the lamplight reflect of the gold runes. Once cleaned up it would look spectacular. They watched her wordlessly inspect the clasp again, unwilling to let it go so soon. She wanted to study it further, already planning ahead for after her friends had left, and decided to start by looking up the runes in case they explained how to unlock the clasp. Accepting that this would have to wait, she put it to one side and started dealing out cards.
***
They played Poker long into the night and by the time Eddie folded and Pippa won the game, the sun had sunk below the horizon.
“Better luck next time, losers!” Pippa cackled as she fanned herself with her winnings.
“You are a terrible winner, Pip.” Eric teased. He’d lost first and had kept busy by throwing crisps for the dog under the table.
“And you’re a sore loser, which is surprising since you’ve had so much practice at it.”
Eric gasped and put a hand over his heart. ”Ouch! Sounds like all that money has gone to your head.”
“What, thirty quid?”
“Don’t look down on it, that tenner’s almost an hour’s wages!” Eddie laughed.
Eric and Pippa looked at her with more pity in their expressions than she felt was necessary.
“Eddie, you need to find a better job.”
Great, this conversation again. Eddie knew she needed to find something better, but the only life that appealed to her was one dealing in art, antiques, and curiosities. If she applied for something else, it felt like a step in the wrong direction, away from that dream. The only problem she had was that she didn’t know where to start. Or how to run a business without failing miserably. Or how to fund it. Okay, three problems then. Eddie sighed and looked at her friends worried faces.
“I’ve been looking but there’s not a lot out there, especially near to Bridgewater. I don’t want to move away from my family and friends. Plus there’s the applications, CVs, cover letters, interviews, only to be rejected…I’m fine where I am for now, honestly.”
“You hate it.”
“Yes, but-”
“Last week you left 3 hours early to go to the cinema with me, and Steve didn’t even fire you, he just made you work an extra long shift on Monday.”
“Exactly, it’s a secure income.”
Pippa was about to argue back but stopped at a look from Eric. That made Eddie feel even worse, that her friends felt they had to tiptoe around her. She was a lot better now, it had been 6 months since Josh left, and things had settled back into a new normal. They were right though, she was missing something. She felt left behind but couldn’t decide when or how to take the next step.
“You know, Maccabees is closing down.”
“The hardware shop on the high street?” Eddie wasn’t sure where the sudden change in direction of the conversation had come from, but she was grateful for it. Eric nodded as he helped pack away the poker chips, Pippa having already collected the cards and tucked them away in the box. She seemed to be holding her breath, eyes darting between the two of them.
“There’s a sign in the window, I er, I popped in on the way here to ask Mr Maccabee about it.”
“Oh, what did he say?”
“He’s retiring, he’s in his 70s now and wants to spend more time with his grandchildren-”
Eddie nodded, “Good for him.”
Eric continued as if she hadn’t said anything, “-So he’s looking to rent the space out. No one’s taken him up on the offer yet.” He finished quickly and stared intently at her. When she didn’t say anything, Pippa started.
“You could ask him about it, you know, to start your shop! Mr Maccabee would give you a fair price on the rent, he’s a good guy. You could be Bridgewater’s first antique dealer!”
Eddie chewed on her lip, uncertainty tearing at her. She really wanted to do it, but the fear of failure was almost suffocating.
“I suppose I could ask him about it tomorrow.”
Pippa and Eric grinned at each other.
“Yes! Go for it! You could do anything you put your mind to Eddie. I swear you’re the smartest person I know.”
Eddie rolled her eyes, “Pippa, you’re the smartest person you know. So, I will listen to your words of wisdom. I will talk to Mr Maccabee about possibly renting out the shop.”
The others cheered and offered more words of encouragement until eventually they left for their homes, promising to call the next day. Eddie grinned, feeling excited for the first time in a long while.
“What do you reckon Daisy? Shall we do it?”
Daisy wagged her tail in response, which was as good a yes as any.
Eddie returned to the table to clear away the glasses, and as she leaned over knocked the one closest to her with her elbow. Before she could stop it, the empty glass rolled over the edge and shattered on the floor. “Crap!” She wasn’t usually this clumsy.
She grabbed the dustpan and brush and swept up the shards, then checked under the chair in case she had missed any. One jagged edge glinted wickedly at her and she reached out and added it to the pile. Unfortunately, it was sharper than she had bargained for, and a pain stabbed at her finger. Grumbling to herself as she poured the glass into the bin, she examined the cut now dripping blood onto the floor. It was tiny, not big enough for a plaster, and after rinsing it off under the tap she grabbed a cloth and returned to the table to study her present.
She’d decided to give the book a quick wipe down to get as much dust off as possible before tomorrow, then take pictures of the runes and look them up when business was slow in the cafe. Hauling the book towards her, she felt a twinge in her sore finger, and looked down to see a drop of her blood roll down one of the ornate talons. Cursing at her carelessness, she grabbed the cloth to wipe it off when the talon twitched.
No, it couldn’t have twitched, Eddie told herself. It must be a trick of the light.
Then the talon twitched again, harder, and unmistakeable this time.
Eddie swallowed.
Suddenly, to Eddie’s disbelief, the pair of entwined talons unfurled themselves, stretching as if they were aching from holding their clasped positions. The talons continued to move and after spreading out, curling up and stretching again, they became still, but this time only the tips of the long pointed claws were gently resting together.
The book was unlocked.