Violet Eden Chapters 04 - Endless

loaf of sourdough and a slice of still-warm pumpkin bread hanging from each of our mouths.
    Delicious!
    While we were there we had asked the baker if he knew what time the general store opened. He told us we had another hour’s wait ahead, and looked amused as he warned us that the owner, Merri, wouldn’t take kindly to us leeching onto her windows.
    But wewere done waiting and headed to the shop anyway, knocking on the weathered green door, rattling its glass pane inserts.
    A light came on in the upstairs window and we heard some moving around. Footsteps sounded and finally came to the front door. Lincoln put a hand on me as if to move me behind him. I cut him a look. He dropped his hand.
    I should think so .
    ‘You realise you can be very difficult,’ he whispered.
    ‘I do,’ I replied, batting my eyelashes and making him laugh.
    A slim woman answered the door. Her grey wiry hair was heaped in a messy bun, an old yellowed robe was wrapped around her and a very pointed scowl was focused on us.
    ‘We ain’t open for another hour,’ she said, pointing at the trading hours sign.
    ‘We’re sorry to bother you …’ I started. But somewhere in those words she straightened, her eyes narrowing.
    ‘You look awfully like someone I used to know.’ She studied me a moment longer, her expression suspicious.
    ‘My name is Violet. Are you Merri?’
    The woman coughed as she nodded, a hacking, unpleasant sound.
    ‘I believe you knew my mother, Evelyn.’
    She surveyed us for a moment longer, staring at Lincoln then back at me. She shook her head and opened the door for us. ‘You’d better come in.’
    We followed her up the stairs and into a small kitchenette, where she dropped her robe on the chair, revealing that she was fully dressed in brown pants and a white shirt. She smirked when she saw my surprise and sat down before a cup of tea.
    ‘Iffolks round here knew I was up and about at this hour I’d have people expecting me to open the store earlier. Sit. I’ve got tea and I can smell you’ve already got the bread.’
    We sat, accepting her offer of tea and handed her our loaf of bread. Merri put butter and jam on the table, passing us each a knife. We didn’t hold back.
    ‘So, you’re Evelyn’s daughter?’
    I nodded.
    She smiled at that, as if pleased by the idea.
    ‘You headed to her place up here, then?’
    I nodded again. ‘She told us to get here and that you’d be able to tell us the rest of the way.’
    ‘Why didn’t she tell you the way herself?’
    I shrugged. ‘Things have been complicated. She had to be careful what she said. She knew if we could get this far, you’d help us with the rest,’ I said, hoping that was the case.
    ‘Humph, things were always complicated with that woman. You have a car?’
    ‘Yes,’ Lincoln replied. ‘An off-roader.’
    Merri nodded. ‘Good.’
    ‘You wouldn’t by chance have a map to her house, would you?’ Lincoln asked.
    ‘Ha!’ she exclaimed, almost losing her mouthful of bread, using her fingers to catch the crumbs. ‘That woman never gave no directions to anyone. But I expect I came as close as anyone to knowing. If she sent you to me, I must’ve. Over sixty years ago now. I was just a girl and curiosity often caused me troubles. I followed her and that fellow. Two of them were like brother and sister, fought like it, too. They were trekking through the woods when I spied them. Thought I was right clever, too, following like that. The town folk were always whispering about them, wondering where it was they stayed. I wasn’t into the gossip, but I sure wanted answers to my own suspicions. I followed them all the way down a long dirt road. It led to the river and then just stopped. No purpose to it at all. Anyway, I lost ’em there.’
    ‘So,you don’t know where it is?’ Lincoln asked, his ever-polite tone beginning to waver.
    She tutted at him. ‘I ain’t no fool, lad. That road went somewhere and just before they disappeared from sight, Evelyn looked right at where I was hidden behind a tree. The years went by and I never went back to look for them and never told anyone about that day, till now.’
    ‘Why?’ I asked.
    Merri stuffed a large piece of pumpkin bread into her mouth and spoke while she chewed. ‘Sometimes you just know to leave well enough alone. Those two weren’t no honeymooners and I knew the likes of me had no right in knowing their business.’ She shrugged, swallowed. ‘Every now and then I’d see them back