@claireedarby
The closer Bas got to the village, the more he was second guessing himself- but Claire had told him herself that she rarely ate proper meals, and he’d had some time (and some leftovers) after the lunch shift, so he’d made her a plate. It was a simple gesture, one that he would do for anybody, really. As a chef, it was his MO to share his food, after all. And he’d wanted to come to the village to check out the market, anyway- he didn’t celebrate Christmas, let alone Orthodox Christmas, but the village’s way of celebrating was drawing him in.
Still, there was a moment of hesitation before he stepped into the bookstore, hoping that she was actually working today- if not, he supposed he could always just hand the food to whoever was working and make up some excuse.
The bell on the door jingled as he entered, but despite the fact that the bookshop was busier than he'd ever seen it (a byproduct of the holiday season, no doubt), there was no sign of the shop’s owner. "Claire?" he called out, making his way to the counter. "... Claire's employee?" he guessed, wondering if she had the day off.
