“Oh, muirnín.” Maeve’s smile faded. “Have you been having nightmares?”
“I had the odd one.” She forced a smile and waved a hand. “But it’s nothing serious. They’re just dreams. The sleep thing kind of has me messed up.”
“Well. I say, don’t worry about it. While you’re here, sleep when you feel like sleeping. You don’t need to be on a schedule. After a while your body will just figure out what it’s supposed to do.”
“I suppose.”
Maeve regarded her, head tilted. “If you need sleep, go sleep. Even if it’s the middle of the day.”
“Good sleep hygiene is sticking to a schedule.”
“That’s a load of ballsch.” Maeve frowned. “I’ve never liked schedules. It pains me to have to open and close the store at the times I’ve said, but customers get annoyed if they come here and I’m closed when they expect me to be open.”
Keara laughed. “Yeah. That’s kinda the way the world works.”
“Just relax, muirnín. A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures. Well, that and sex. It will all come in time. The day of the big wind is no time to be doing the thatching.”
Keara stared at her, coffee mug clutched in two hands, struggling to keep up with her aunt, the mention of sex a little disconcerting. “Uh…what? Thatching?”
Maeve laughed. “There’s a time for everything,” she said. “Just relax while you’re here and let nature take its course.”
It sounded like good advice to her, so Keara nodded.
“Seriously, though.” Maeve tapped her chin. “Sex is most likely what you need. There’s nothing like several good orgasms to relax you.”
Keara’s mouth fell open and thankfully several customers entered the store and began wandering around. Maeve strolled over to offer help, but they all just wanted to look.
“Probably too embarrassed to ask for what they’re looking for,” Maeve whispered to Keara when she returned to the counter. They exchanged a smile, and let the customers browse.
“I have to phone this supplier,” Maeve said with a frown. She picked up some papers. “I ordered these cock rings months ago and they’re still not here. Every time I call they tell me they’ve already been shipped. Can you keep an eye on things for a few minutes?”
Keara nodded, struck dumb by mention of cock rings—if the customers had any questions she sure wasn’t going to be able to answer them. She perched on a stool behind the counter and sipped her coffee, wondering if she needed to worry about shoplifting.
The young couple—were they even old enough to have sex?—were looking at condoms. At least they’d be having safe sex. That was good. An older man explored some toys, and two women were investigating the uh…whips and chains in the BDSM corner. Keara kept her face neutral, found a catalogue under the counter to flip through while she sat there.
Maeve returned moments later with a frown, and rapped the cordless phone down on the counter.
“They still say they sent them?”
“Yes. And…they say I signed for it. February twenty-first. That’s crazy. I don’t have the stuff.”
“Oh.” Keara lifted a shoulder, not sure what to say. “Where could it be?”
“I’ve no idea. Fecking eejits, the lot of them.”
Keara swallowed her smile. “Is there anything I can do? Maybe I could try to trace it through the USPS or…was it FedEx? Some other delivery service.”
“Just a moment. I’ll find the papers. Maybe you can help.”
The young couple approached the counter with their purchases, and Maeve stopped. “I’ll just ring this up first.”
When they’d left, Keara said, “Maybe you could show me how to run the till, and I could help out with customers too.”
Maeve’s emerald eyes fastened on her. “Are you sure, muirnín? You don’t have to work while you’re here.”
Keara shook her head. “I like to be busy.” She couldn’t do nothing. It just wasn’t in her. She’d inherited the workaholic gene from her parents, and she was proud of it.
“I thought this was a vacation?” Shrewd green eyes studied her.
“You know I take after Mom and Dad,” Keara said with a laugh. “They never stopped working.”
“True.” Maeve sighed. “Okay. Let’s do that first. Then I’ll let you try to track down that missing shipment for me.”
Keara got a quick lesson on how to use the till and got to practice as more customers came and went. The Irish Sex Fairy Shop was a busy little place in downtown Kilkenny. Too bad about that sex superstore opening up. Hopefully it wouldn’t take much business away from Maeve.
It was an hour before they had a break in business and then Maeve suggested they stop for lunch. She went upstairs to make sandwiches while Keara manned the store on her own.
“What do you do when you’re alone?” Keara asked as they ate ham and cheese sandwiches while sitting behind the counter.
“Just this,” Maeve said. “I grab something and eat it when there’s a break. Sometimes I just don’t get time to eat lunch.”
“That’s no good, Maeve.” Keara frowned. “You should have someone so you can take breaks.”
“I do have Jayla. She can’t work as much as I’d like, but it’s a help. I have had other helpers from time to time. But they never stick around very long, and it’s such a pain in the arse to advertise, hire someone, and then train them. And then two months later they’re gone.”
A delivery man arrived with two large cartons which Maeve signed for. Keara eyed the big boxes sitting on the floor. “What do you do with stuff like that when you’re alone?” she asked. “Those are too big and heavy for you to move.”
“I just unpack them here.” Maeve reached for a box cutter under the counter. “And put the merchandise out. Or sometimes Shane comes around and helps me if I need to move heavy things.”
“Oh.” Shane. “I forgot to tell you. He stopped by last night.”
Maeve paused, her hand above the cardboard box,
