Something to talk about

 "Well, I had to be nice to her," Brick told Matty who just gave him a nod as he was in the middle of putting up a summer display of low-calorie flavored water. "Of course, I asked her out."

"Was it fun?" Matty sounded as if he was on auto-pilot. Naturally, Val came to mind, but she wasn't really smiling much as of late. He did want her to be happy.

"I think so," Brick had his back turned from him. He was busy putting out more spiffy new drinks that meant you need this for summer fun. "We just ..um, watched TV at  her house, and we played with her cat Hermoine."

"That's good," if only it would take that much, but Val was into finding places to be alone. Like at the lake, thought Matty. They almost fell in, actually. He winced at the thought with a sigh. What were they really doing? Yes, he was a million miles away in thought from Brick's monologue about Harley.

"Yeah, it was good. She's not that much of a chatterbox."

"A chatterbox?" It awoke Matty, thinking he and Val should talk more.

"Well, she likes to talk on the phone, the most." Brick shrugged. "I dunno. She's not the type to go on bike rides, or I dunno..you know doing nothing..like..like.."

Matty knew what he was thinking. It was Lily again.

"Don't go there," he told him. "I saw her with that guy who tried to get on here."

"Who?" Brick turned to look at him as if this was news to him about Lily.

"I dunno, just some kid. He wasn't old enough." Matty told him. Matty thought of himself then. Maybe he wasn't old enough for this kind of full-blown relationship with Valentina. But it was too late. He loved her. He would do whatever she wanted. Did they have to go to such great lengths?

It was quiet then.

"Look, just get to know Harley," Matty finally said. "Take it slow. Don't jump into anything."

"I won't." Brick swelled a frown. 

Rafe looked around at the bakery. He would be working here on weekends with Lily. He was ecstatic. "Sure, we'll make a great team," he'd told the owner Ste and his wife. "We get along, really well."

He gritted a smile at the thought, as long as I do everything Lily's way. Oh, that girl. Why was she so much trouble? But she was the one who found them jobs. Of course, she was with her grandmother seeing her grandfather at the Memory Care place. 

He hoped she was OK. He'd asked to go, but she said that only family could go. Her gram hadn't seen him in ages due to the pandemic. Even now, it was a delicate matter. Evidently.

Rafe was trying to understand Lily's family. Her gram sold the family home to keep Lily's grandfather in such great care. He was a retired police officer. Rafe thought they got plenty of retirement, but her grandfather hadn't been good with money these last few years so that was why Gram was staying in an apartment now and so was Lily's dad and his family. 

It made him sad for a moment, but really he was happy he and Lily would be working together. Of course, Ste was showing him where all the cleaning products were. He'd start by keeping the place clean and move up from there.