A fire was lit to warm the chilly guest room. Olivia held a bottle wrapped in cloth to Wilson’s mother’s chest, and his father started reading.
The woman shortly dozed off.
“Wilson, could I talk to you for a minute?” said Olivia, calling him out into the hallway, then they went to the room with all the bookcases.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I’m concerned about what might be behind the wallpaper there. Could you try peeling back just a tiny bit to let me see what’s behind it? I think there might be mold growing there.”
“Oh. Mold?”
“Some people start to have difficulty breathing, like your mother has been, when there’s a lot of black mold. It’s different for different people though. Some don’t show any symptoms, but it can’t be good for your father, either.”
Wilson first moved the stack of books in front of the bookcase closest to the bed, removed all the books from that case, and moved it while trying to avoid the piles of books on the floor. He slowly peeled back the wallpaper in that section, and the entire back of it was pitch black with mold, just like Olivia suspected.
“Oh, God,” gasped Wilson.
“I thought so,” said Olivia. She rushed to open all the windows in the room as the smell of mold grew stronger.
“I think this mold is what’s causing your mother’s symptoms,” she said. “But I get the impression the books are your father’s life.”
“Yes, you’re right there. Both my mother and I have given up on reasoning with him when it comes to the books.”
“Then, he needs to accept that books are books and shouldn’t be in the room they sleep in. And it’s probably best not to spend too long in this room without regularly airing it out.”
They left the room, and Wilson bowed his head to Olivia. “I feel much better knowing what’s causing it,” he said. “You are an incredible apothecary.”
“I only knew because I had a patient before with the same symptoms.”
After that, they had the usual exchange where he tried to pay her and she refused, which he thought was strange. She knew it could become a hassle if she accepted money from this family when she didn’t from any other family. Instead, she suggested a compromise.
“How about you keep coming to my restaurant to enjoy the soup and tonic? That’s payment enough for me,” she said.
“You are not greedy in the least. You don’t charge much for the food in your restaurant, either.”
“I earn only what I need, and that’s fine by me. The medicinal herbs I use are a gift from the forest, after all.”
Wilson looked at Olivia in awe, then sighed. “If you asked me, I could increase your profits, making you earn more. But I imagine you have no interest in that.”
“I don’t. I’m very happy as I am. I couldn’t want anything more.”
When Olivia said that, Wilson’s heart and mouth both said the same thing. I’m interfering, aren’t I? “Well, if that’s the case, I’ll stop all this unnecessary meddling. I’ll be by to purchase your soup again. It’s just a shame it’s too far for me to visit every day.”
“My husband works in Marlowe at Freddy’s Pharmacy. If you like, I could have him take the soup that far.”
“That would be about two miles, hm? Well, if it’s not too much of an imposition, I’d like to ask for a standing order of three servings a day. And any sides, if you have them. Mother and Father both enjoy your food as well.”
“All right. Thank you. Feel free not to accept the delivery if you don’t need it that day.”
Later, Arthur came to meet Olivia and they left the McCrossin home.
“Thanks for meeting me, Arthur,” she said.
“Not a problem. You finish all right?”
“Yeah. I did accept a request for you to deliver food though. I hope that’s all right. You’d only have to take it to the pharmacy, though.”
“Enough for this household? Of course that’s all right.”
“Oh, good. Business is booming.”
Olivia beamed, but she was focusing all her energy on thinking about today’s soup, which she was doing because she’d heard a passionate thought from Wilson when she’d left.
I’d marry that woman if she wasn’t already taken. She’s beautiful, a wonderful cook, and kind. What a shame. Oh, but perhaps this husband of hers isn’t such a great man. I could… Yes, that’s it. I’ll see what sort of man he is when I go pick up the soup.
Even if Arthur couldn’t hear everyone’s thoughts, he could hear Olivia’s, but he wasn’t as practiced at it as she was. He shouldn’t be able to hear what was on her mind unless she let her guard down a lot.
On the way back to Soup Forest, Arthur just kept hearing thoughts about soup ingredients and the animals’ cute antics.
The cats and dog came to meet Olivia when she got home. She picked up Snow and said to her, “I’m back, Snow. You didn’t like the smell of Wilson’s trousers, did you? Did they smell like mold?”
It smell bad. You smell bad too, now.
“Oh. Well, guess I have to change then,” she said, picking up Dale who had appeared by her feet.
No! No!
Despite all his protestations, he let Olivia hold him. He hadn’t seemed to really dislike being held that much lately.
Rob’s tail wagged as hard as it could while he waited his turn.
“Sorry for the wait, Rob. How in the world are you such a good boy?”
He was ecstatic as she rubbed him up and down and kissed him on the snout. Love you! Love you!
“I love you, too, Rob.”
Arthur watched with a smile as he sat beside Lara eating breakfast. He accidentally let a thought slip. When’s it going to be my turn for her to tell me she loves me? And he didn’t realize she had heard.
Olivia wrapped her arms around him from behind while he ate and said, “All right, it’s your turn, Arthur.”
He turned bright red, realizing only then she’d heard.
Mates close, murmured Dale from behind Olivia, and she chuckled.