Chapter 2 – Whisper Sweet Nothings
Charlotte gets up early, eats breakfast, and goes to Alec’s house to tell the family that they’re coming over for dinner and will be bringing her own dishes to compare.
Alec’s mother says, “Oh sure. We’re going to bring our best cooking to the table if that’s the case.”
“Is this how people around here usually have dinner together?” the father says.
“Not always. We only do it for special events like the first time we eat together. Do you mind me asking what building you bought that you’re using for your business?”
“It’s the old suit store in town. It already has coat racks, so all we have to do is supply the hangers and clothes,” the father explains.
“I could come over to help you clean the place.”
“Oh, you don’t have to.”
“I’m not busy at all actually.”
“What’s your price then?”
“You can pay me with your best family dishes tonight.”
“Well, this is a deal. Alec and you can go to tidy up the place while we fix up some of the clothes we have.”
“This was your plan, wasn’t it?” her guardian asks.
“That’s the plan. I’m going to run into town to spread the word about the opening of your store. We should have it all cleaned by the afternoon.”
“Good idea, so we can get as many customers in the doors on day one. I like the way you think, Charlotte,” Alec says as Charlotte blushes.
“I’ll see you there then.”
Charlotte starts spreading the word about the opening of the store by first talking to the people at a local furniture store. She was supposed to clean here today but chose Alec over her work. She explains the situation to the owner.
“You’re after the boy, aren’t you?” he asks.
“Yes, I really want to get to know him,” she says without shame.
“That’s good and all, but don’t let that always take priority in your life. We’re mostly clean over here thanks to your work last week, so just come back next time.”
“Thank you so much!”
She then goes to places like restaurants, churches, parks, and other places of business to spread the word about the opening shop. Some people take interest in the shop since people here have to travel long distances in order to get proper suits. They tell Charlotte to tell the owners to expect them tomorrow while others say they’re going sometime this week or weekend. After thanking the last group of people for listening to her, Charlotte rides over to the old suit store. There are crates of premade clothes inside the store, so the mover must’ve already helped Alec move in. They should be completely alone for the rest of the day.
Inside the store, Charlotte finds Alec looking through the boxes.
“Hello, I’m here,” she says.
“Hey. You just arrived in time,” Alec says while still looking through the box.
“I talked to the townspeople and you should have a bunch of customers coming in tomorrow. A lot just want you to tailor their clothes.”
“That’s fine as long as we get business. Thank you so much for doing that for my family and I.”
Seeing Alec bent over gives Charlotte the temptation to go near him and touch his butt, which she almost does with her hand near it.
“It’s my pleasure.”
Alec pulls a pair of scissors and sewing materials out of the deep parts of the big box while feeling as if Charlotte actually did touch his butt. He gives her a smile with a suspicious look as if trying to confirm his doubts, but she just smiles in return.
“There’s no real place of interest to start in so just start wherever and I’ll join you as soon as I fix up the front.”
“Alright. I could help you here.”
“Nah, this’ll go faster if we split up the work.”
“Okay. Just call me if you need help.”
“I wouldn’t be a man if I couldn’t do the heavy lifting myself, but I’ll call you if I need help with something else.”
She nods then heads off into the back-stock room to clean. The room is mostly clean though it is still fairly dirty due to the store being vacant for months. This should be a cakewalk for Charlotte since she’s used to cleaning dirtier houses and farmhouses. She immediately gets to work with her tools and cleaning supplies.
A chilling whisper says in her ear, “You should go faster so you can be with Alec. He won’t notice it if you leave certain spots a bit unclean.”
“No, I have to get this done. Guardian angel, please come to my aid,” Charlotte whispers to herself.
“She can’t do anything.”
“She’s a liar.”
“She’s the real demon.”
“Is it not wrong to keep true lovers apart?”
“I’m not listening to any of you.”
It gets quiet for a while without Charlotte knowing until she’s almost done cleaning the room.
“There’s a girl talking to Alec right now. Go to him before she steals him away.”
“I don’t believe it.”
Talking can be heard from the back room. Charlotte thinks this is just the Whispers messing with her, but her paranoia makes her move a bit faster. When she exits the room, she sees Alec saying goodbye to a woman.
She goes up to him and asks, “Who was that?”
“Just a customer for tomorrow. She wanted to reserve a full suit for her husband. Why?”
“No reason. I just heard talking from the back. It’s all clean now by the way.”
“That’s great. Now there’s only the other half of the store to clean then we can take a break.”
“Are we going to anywhere particular?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the restaurant across the street? Is that place any good?”
“It’s really good over there. The place has a bar too.”
“Well, maybe we can go there one day after work. How about in two days?”
“I can’t wait.”
The two smile at each other before Charlotte goes to clean the adjacent room. This room is full of racks of clothes that are placed to the side. The floors under the racks are relatively clean, but the rest of it needs to be cleaned along with the walls. Alec has a few paintings of men in suits and women in dresses on the side. While Charlotte cleans, she notices a group of women look at the store and into it. They appear to take a little interest in Alec and the shop and talk about both.
“Go near the window. I’ll scare them off.”
Without thinking about which Whisper this is, Charlotte goes near the window. She catches the attention of the women, but in a way unknown to her. In the eyes of the women, she appears to be a demon and looks exactly like the Whispers. The Whisper hisses and lifts a single arm up while leaning towards them. This causes the women to quickly walk away from the store.
“They will never go near your love if you listen to us.”
Charlotte’s mind is somewhat in a haze but is glad she managed to scare off the women. She finishes her work in time as Alec walks into the room.
“You’ve done great work. I can see why people hire you to clean,” Alec comments.
“I do my best wherever I go,” Charlotte says with confidence.
“You ready to get some lunch.”
“It’s more like dinner at this time, but sure.”
The two take a break and eat at the nearby restaurant. There are a number of people there already since it’s close to the time most people get off of work.
While eating, Alec asks, “Are you in a relationship with someone?”
“Not at all. Even though I know a lot of people here, I’m not particularly close to anyone besides my father.”
“Then may I humbly ask you-”
Alec opens his hand for Charlotte and she immediately grabs it.
“Yes!”
“Aha, that was a quick response.”
“I’ve been thinking about it too.”
“I know. This might sound like a stupid question, but did you touch me while I was looking into a box earlier this morning.”
“No, but I might’ve been thinking about it.”
“Haha. So that was it then.”
Alec and Charlotte kiss at the table. Some people who know Charlotte smile at her as if to quietly congratulate her while some women look at her in jealousy. She returns a look of superiority to them. After cleaning the store, the couple return home and tell their parents about their relationship.
While eating dinner together, Alec’s mother says, “It’s great that you’re together. It took Alec’s father a month to confess his love to me.”
“I showed it in my own way though. I’m pretty sure I confessed it several times, you just never noticed.”
“Whatever you say, honey. Even though I would’ve waited longer-”
Something in Charlotte gets upset and the candles in the room go out from a cold wind that blows through the house.
Charlotte’s father says, “Cold winds usually blow through here during this time. It can be a pain sometimes.”
“It’s no problem,” Alec’s father says as he lights a match to relight the candles.
In the darkness, Charlotte’s face turns into that of a Whisper in the mind of Alec’s mother. She is slightly frightened, but she just thinks it’s her mind playing tricks on her.
She continues saying, “Even though I would’ve waited longer, I still like the fact that you two are getting together so soon. That means I can get my grandchildren sooner.”
This lightens the mood and the face of the Whisper fades from Charlotte’s face. The families then continue to have a nice dinner together then dessert. After saying goodbye, the two families rest for the next day. Charlotte turns in her bed due to her excitement of being in a relationship with Alec.
“You see? You got Alec through your own efforts,” a comforting whisper says.
“I don’t usually brag, but I’m pretty good, aren’t I?”
“In terms of attracting people, yes. In terms of temptations, you’re on the weak side. You’ve let the Whispers take control of you multiple times. Even though what you did wasn’t too bad, it’ll become worse if you don’t control yourself. I recommend going to a priest or calling upon me more often.”
“Will do if I think I’m in trouble.”
“It can’t be if you think you’re in trouble. It’s if you are in trouble. Remember that.”
“Got it.”
Charlotte goes to sleep without really understanding her problem. Something that she may regret later.
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