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Adaire gritted her teeth as Adelaide’s laugh reached her ears from halfway across the store. She’d been there all afternoon, and several times in the past week: lounging on a nearby stool as Hella worked, touching the merchandise like she’d never set foot in a shop before, leaning over the counter to whisper to Hella, laughing at something Hella said.
It was, frankly, insufferable.
Not that Hella couldn’t do...whatever it was she was doing with Adelaide. It was just a matter of professionalism, obviously. In the store, Hella was her employee, and her employees shouldn’t be bringing their friends/lovers/self-important death gods into work with them. The trouble was that the death god in question seemed exactly petty enough to start visiting even more if Adaire put her annoyance into words.
Perhaps she would talk about it in private, Adaire thought a few days later, as she walked to Hella’s from the bakery. But Hella made tea and they sat side by side, and then it seemed a shame to bring up Adelaide where she hadn’t already been mentioned. Instead Adaire considered, not for the first time, how she might close the short distance between them. If she moved closer to reach the sugar, then maybe…
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound at the door. Of course, of course Adelaide would choose this moment to arrive, sauntering in like Hella’s living room was just another part of her empire. She didn’t even bother to knock, Adaire noted sourly.
“Adaire, what a surprise!” Adelaide said sweetly as she saw them. “Stab anyone in the back lately?”
“Not lately,” Adaire said, matching her tone. “But I wouldn’t push your luck.”
Adelaide circled the couch and laid a hand on Hella’s shoulder. “Hella, dear, I thought I’d stop by early and walk you to the docks. If I’d realized you were already occupied…” Despite her words, she sat at Hella’s other side, closer than Adaire was and clearly with no intention of leaving politely.
Hella set down her teacup and moved to stand. “Do you want tea? I’ll get you tea.”
“That would be lovely, Hella.” Adelaide said with a charming smile. Hella walked to the kitchen, leaving the two of them alone together in her absence.
Adaire spread some jam on a piece of bread and spoke nonchalantly. “Don’t you have anyone else to annoy on a boat somewhere? Maybe a half-baked coup to plan?”
Adelaide smiled that irritatingly beautiful smile again. “Oh, I don’t annoy just anyone.”
“Are you sure about that?” Adaire took a bite of her bread as Hella returned holding a matching teacup and plate.
If nothing else, Adaire reasoned to herself after that uncomfortable afternoon, perhaps Adelaide would have less reason to hang around the store if she could so casually hang around Hella in private instead. There were, it turned out, a few days of relief, but soon enough that familiar figure was again walking through her doors and leaning against her countertops. She supposed she should have known better than to hope Adelaide might stop inconveniencing her that easily.
For the moment, Adaire took some time to lean against a counter herself, supervising as Hella lifted some particularly heavy boxes. Adelaide caught Adaire’s eye and winked, and, oh, that was the last straw. Adaire made up her mind and put down whatever was in her hands. “Hella, could you help me with something in the back?” She asked cheerily, ignoring Adelaide’s amused expression, and stalked towards the back of the store. When Hella caught up with her, Adaire pulled her between a pair of inventory shelves.
“...It’s just unprofessional!” Adaire explained once they were half-hidden behind the stacks of boxes. “She can’t just be here all the time; she’s intimidating the customers.”
Hella made a face. “She’s not that intimidating, is she?”
“Well, she’s definitely a distraction! How are we supposed to sell anything if all people notice is her?”
“I’m flattered,” said a voice behind Adaire, and Adelaide stepped into the corner with the two of them.
Hella gave Adelaide a Look, and Adaire crossed her arms. “Have you ever heard of privacy?”
Adelaide continued as if Adaire didn’t speak. “I understand, of course. It’s important to show people that you’re in charge. Especially for you, I imagine.” She ran a hand over the ruffles on Hella’s apron. “I could wear one of your uniforms,” she said. “Would that satisfy you?”
“I…” Adaire tore her gaze away from Adelaide’s hand on Hella’s chest. “What ?”
“You want to present a unified front,” Adelaide explained. “A uniform would help me blend in.”
Adaire scoffed. “I’d like to see that.”
“I’m sure you would.” Adelaide smirked.
And so that was how she came to have a god working in her store. It wasn’t official, of course; neither of them would have agreed to that. Adaire wasn’t sure what the end goal of Adelaide’s weird power play was, but she’d let it continue for now. She had to admit, there was a certain appeal to playing at Adelaide’s boss, in spite of everything.
“You know, if you’re going to look like you work here,” Adaire told her, eying Adelaide’s excessive jewelry doubtfully, “you need to actually do something. Just sitting around makes us look bad.” Adelaide rolled her eyes, but Hella nudged her and she complied. That didn’t mean she did it well—she messed up the displays, alienated the customers, only showed up when she felt like it.
If this were a job, Adaire would definitely fire her.
The greater trouble was that, as this went on, it became harder and harder to deny the main reason that Adelaide’s presence grated on her to this degree. She could only take so much pleasure from ordering Adelaide around or countering her jabs with a well-timed insult, when Adelaide still left her shifts side by side with Hella half the time.
Worse still, Hella could tell. She found Adaire at a table in the back room, and sat down beside her. “If you really don’t want her here, I’ll convince her to stop coming,” Hella assured her. Adaire made a face at that before she could stop herself. To her dismay, Hella noticed. “Adaire, if something else is bothering you, you know you can tell me, right?” When Adaire hesitated, Hella continued. “I know the store is really important to you.”
“Right. The store.” Adaire paused for a moment longer and sighed. “It’s just...this is a thing we’ve been working on for a while, you know? I feel like a lot has gone into it, to make it what it is.” She took a deep breath, choosing her words carefully. “And then when Adelaide walks in, sometimes it feels like people are seeing her more than they’re seeing…the store. Do you know what I mean?”
Hella frowned. “I think I do? But, Adaire…”
“Because you don’t talk about your feelings at the store, right?” She tried to smile to cover her nerves. “You talk about the weather and you buy your bread or tea or crackers, and that’s great, I thought that was great.”
“Adaire, I…okay, you’re losing me a little with the metaphor.” Hella laughed and grasped Adaire’s hand. “But you’re the reason I’m here at all. Do you really think I’d be working in a store and wrapping packages if you weren’t the one telling me how?”
“I mean, you never know.” Adaire looked down at their joined hands and let her smile grow bigger. “You can be full of surprises.”
“Oh, it’s about time,” Adelaide said from behind them. “I’ve been trying. Should there have been more bread involved?”
Adaire started and nearly pulled her hand away from Hella’s. “Again: privacy!”
Adelaide sat across the small table from them. She held Hella’s unoccupied hand, and this time when Adaire met her eyes, she didn’t see animosity there. To Adaire’s surprise, Adelaide extended her other hand towards her.
“Or is business better?” Adelaide tilted her head teasingly. “Do you think we can make an arrangement, Ms. Ducarte?”
Well, maybe just a little animosity. But, Adaire thought as she deliberated, perhaps she could work with that. Perhaps she could work with this. “Maybe if you’re a better girlfriend than you are an employee,” she said, and she took Adelaide’s hand.