Family Friends

The lad continued to watch at Lia as she went inside. They stood facing each other, and she felt awkward having a staring contest with him.

She shifted on her feet, and when he did not move, she cleared her throat. "Uh, so where do I put these?" She raised the basket in her hand again to emphasize, looking around for a table.

"Frankie! Is that Tamara?" The woman, who was manning the counter, shouted.

"No, it's her daughter!" Frankie said.

"Say what?!" The woman turned halfway and frowned at Lia before turning back to packing and handing it to the customer. When she was finished, she turned, jerking a thumbed over her shoulder. "Frankie, assist the customers."

The lad whined about going out, but he still went and took over. The woman which Lia assumed to be Yolly came over and stopped right in front of Lia, towering over her. She was tall and plump with what seemed like a forever scowl on her face. Or she might have just an inherent dislike for Lia. And it would be stupid to even try to cross her.

"So, what happened to Tamara?"

Lia shook her head and stared back, confused. "Nothing. She was at home."

That made Yolly narrow her eyes and sized her up and down. "Then why did she send you here?"

"I volunteered."

Yolly scoffed. "You?!"

Lia just stared and waited. Yolly was Tamara's only friend. She hated Lia in the novel after abandoning Tamara. But Lia now hadn't done that so she could not understand where this animosity came from.

"What are you up to, girlie?" Yolly leaned down, looking like a provoked grizzly bear.

Lia was intimidated and took a step back, but she wouldn't allow anyone to judge her character unfairly. "Nothing. I thought that since the festival is near, there will be a lot of people. More people means more chances for things to happen that might put my mother in jeopardy. So I volunteered. And expect me to do the deliveries from now on." She said everything in one breath.

"Mother, she says," Yolly snorted. "Just because you start getting chummy-chummy to your 'mother' means I'm not going to keep an eye on you. If you start anything funny that will put— Tamara in danger, you will regret it." She walked back to the counter and spoke to her son, "Help her with the items."

Frankie gestured for Lia to follow him to a table at the corner behind the counter where they placed the vials and pots of medicine she brought. The two of them worked in silence. Then, he brought out the items Tamara ordered previously and put them into the basket.

Tamara told Lia that she once helped Yolly's father fight off illness when everybody else turned them down. From then on, Yolly stood by her friend, fending off anyone who called her witch. Yolly inherited the shop and the only one who accepted Tamara's products and sold them. Of course, none of her patrons knew who was the real maker of those products. This was a general store so this was also the place where Tamara got her materials and ingredients they needed. It was a win-win for the two of them.

The realization came suddenly to Lia. She was hated because of old Lia's attitude towards Tamara. But there was still something in Yolly's anger that she could not quite put a finger to.

She finished packing their orders when she heard Yolly hollered.

"Frankie! If you're finished over there, get back here. Stop dawdling! We have a customer!"

Lia was still standing at her spot when Yolly turned around. The older woman raised her eyebrows, "Is there anything else?"

"Here's the list of the next orders. And here," Lia passed a pot and a note, "This is made recently. Mother wonders if you could sell this salve she made." Lia was starting to enjoy causing that small grimace on Yolly's face every time she addressed Tamara as mother. "It's about to get cold soon, so this helps to prevent chapped lips during the season. It's also red so it would look good for the ladies."

Yolly checked out the pot which contained a red salve. "Why, this is wonderful! I want to have one myself!"

"Yours is free. These are a few samples. We can make more if the customers like it," Lia said. "Well then. I'll be going."