Beauty and The Beasley

Chapter 14

Norman was the sweetest boyfriend a girl could ask for. He was almost perfect and it began to make Bree feel uneasy. There was nothing wrong with him being perfect, right?

They ordered blueberry muffins and coffee- a chai latte for Bree and maté for Norman. He began to talk to her about moving back to Parrish since seeing him everyday could make their relationship boring. Bree nodded in agreement although a part of her mind had begun to float away.

She thought of going to talk to Mr Gordon. He was influential and held more sway over the town than anyone else and that was not just because he was Mayor.

"Oh yeah, how has that worked out for the past four months?" Bree could hear Pauline asking.

It was near impossible to get an audience with Richard Gordon and even for those who managed to, they claimed they did not spend longer than three minutes before his assistant took over. Bree knew she needed him to be able to get Jimothy out of the ground. One simple letter from Mr Gordon would mean a lifetime freedom for Jim.

She pitied the man. He had no family, no friends, no companions. It was just him, his crossbow and belt of bullets. Bree suddenly remembered his metal belt. He always carried a rifle and so he'd need to restock if he ran out - and he made sure he didn't.

"Bree?" A voice called from a distance. Bree turned and suddenly noise from the cafe enveloped her. Norman was peering at her like he'd seen a naked ghost.

"You've been staring into space for five minutes." He stated looking horrified.

Bree shook her head slightly and tried to speak but no words came to mind.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked and squeezed her hand again. She wasn't even aware he still held on to it.

"I'm uh, i'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping for days now. I'm only tired." She lied. Norman didn't look convinced but he nodded and squeezed her hand again.

She thought about telling him about her problem with Jim and the pigs and everything else but a faint tug in the back of her mind warned her not to.

"Listen, there's something i have to tell you." Bree said.

Norman's cup hung halfway from his lips and he stared at her for a few seconds before slowly dropping the cup. "Yeah okay."

Bree realized he looked nervous. He was probably thinking she was going to break up so she quickly spoke. "It's about where i work. Bruno and uh, the pet store. I need your help too."

Almost immediately, Norman relaxed.

"Oh, so what is it?" He asked. Bree had smuggled her hand away from his and placed it on her lap. It had become uncomfortably warm and she didn't want to start sweating.

She sat up and explained her plight and not once did Norman's gaze quiver. He gazed at her with deep interest and she knew he was paying full attention. She loved that about him - he was a good listener but with bad memory. He'd probably forget about all she had told him within the next few days.

"Whoa! So the thing on that paper, the thing you called Ed, it's here? In this town? And it's been stealing pigs and it tried to kill you?"

To each question, Bree nodded. Norman looked like an inflated balloon. Bree began to regret telling him, maybe she shouldn't have let out so much information at least.

"Is that it?" He asked.

Bree tried to convince him that it was but he coaxed her into telling him everything including her visit to Jimothy. At the mention of Jimothy's name, Norman turned pale.