24

She had her laptop with her. And a folder. A thick folder. And she sat, waiting for River to carry the tray with a filled teapot, two cups and saucers, spoons, sugar (which neither River nor Celeste usually used) and a pot of milk on it to the table. The tray shook in River's hands and she paused twice as she moved towards the table where Celeste sat.

Neither said a word as River transferred everything to the table. She almost tipped the milk pot over and a little squeak escaped her mouth but the pot wobbled and then settled upright. If it had tipped over, it would have thrown its contents over the laptop and River didn't like the idea of having to pay for a new one. Not even taking into account all the precious data that her clumsiness would have destroyed.

The shop was empty. At this hour, even her new, immense volume of customers had fallen away, leaving only River and Celeste in the shop. Alone. Like that first night when River had agreed to their first trip together. Only, this time, the atmosphere was not nearly as relaxed. Even though River rarely had a relaxed moment around Celeste, this time felt even more unrelaxed than usual.

"Honestly, I'm not really sure this is a good idea anymore." The first words from Celeste's mouth, apart from saying River should surprise her with what to drink, since entering the shop and sitting down. "I feel like it's all causing you a lot of distress. That I'm causing you a lot of distress."

"Don't be silly. It's fine." River tried her best to sit in a more relaxed fashion than she felt. She adjusted herself on the chair several times. "We're friends. Just friends. Friends planning a trip to some remote corner of the world to spend a lot of time together. As friends. It's the trip of a lifetime, right? How can I not go?"

"It's not that remote. China is a thriving country with a fast-growing economy." Even after everything, Celeste still wore that amused look upon her face every time River talked. "Well, if you're sure, let me show you what I've worked out so far."

Celeste turned the laptop to face River and then shuffled her chair around for them both to see the screen. River stiffened as Celeste's arm grazed her own and then berated herself. She tried to take a secret deep breath and to think of empty, flower-filled pastures, sunlight dappling leaves, birds wheeling in the sky. Anything to reduce the tenseness she felt. It worked. To a point.

The laptop screen already had something upon it, Celeste having prepared herself, as River expected of the diligent, practical woman. Celeste tapped the trackpad and River almost fell from her seat. A slideshow began. No, a presentation! She couldn't believe how much effort Celeste had put into this. A trip to visit a tea plantation.

"You made a presentation." She could do nothing but blink. The most she had done was a cursory web search that ended in looking at embroidered hats on a crafting shopping site. She awaited that delivery, even now. "That's very ... professional. Incredibly professional, in fact. Did you do this yourself? No wonder you won an award. It's ... professional."

"This is just something I bodged together." Celeste waved it away as though it were nothing. "I made some enquiries and had my people in Hong Kong lay a little groundwork. This is just to give you an idea of the kind of itinerary we should probably take. I have copies of all the relevant forms we'll need to fill in, which you can read and fill-in when you have the time."

With a pat of the hand on the folder, to the side, Celeste sat back as the presentation that she 'bodged together' continued. It had music, and videos, transitions and charts. Charts! River found it both absolutely fascinating and overwhelming. Statistics and figures passed by upon the screen. And interviews! Interviews with Chinese people, with subtitles. River wondered what she had got herself into.

"You have 'people'? In Hong Kong?" As the presentation came to an end, that was the first thing River could think to question. "That was, I have to say, the most comprehensive holiday planning that I have ever witnessed. I usually just book a hotel and go. Not that I've had a holiday, as such, in a while."

"Well, it is my job, after all." Celeste had opened the folder, flipping through the copious number of sheets of paper. Her other hand idly played with the gold ring upon her thin necklace. "I sell a product. In this case, the 'product' is the holiday. And, besides, it's not only a holiday. This is for your business, right? Few other tea shops will sell Yellow Tea. If any."

"I suppose so." That ring, that man's wedding ring seemed to taunt River. She tried to push it from her mind. They were friends. Nothing more. "The tea's getting cold."

Celeste picked up her cup and took an absent-minded sip as she continued to flip through the papers in her folder. She gave an appreciative nod, glanced up to the menu board and nodded then, too. She recognised the taste. Had differentiated between all the other teas that River could have chosen and had appreciated it. River loved that about Celeste. She put her all into everything she did, even when it came to tasting tea.

With her own cup held in both hands, River watched as Celeste picked out several separate pieces of paper, organising them into a set order, tidying them up straight. She bent down towards her briefcase, her long heels clacking upon the floor as she balanced herself, and brought out an empty folder, where she placed those tidy sheets.

"Now, you'll have to read these very carefully and answer all the forms truthfully. The Chinese aren't as strict as they once were about foreign travellers, but they are very efficient. Any mistakes and they'll reject it completely." Celeste laid the folder to River's side, leaning across River to reach the empty space. "You haven't got any hidden convictions, have you? No bank robberies? Corporate fraud?"

With her face far too close to River's, Celeste looked deadly serious and then her face broke into a smile as she sat back, a laugh escaping her lips, so perfectly appointed with a deep burgundy lip gloss. But, River's mind had begun to spin. She had never thought of convictions, not that she had ever done anything wrong. And besides, anything she had done wrong couldn't possibly be ever considered bad enough to stop her entering China.

Her mind ran back through her life as she tried to desperately work out what someone could class as a conviction. She remembered a police officer giving her a stern talking to as she and a friend had returned home, drunk, singing at the top of their voices through a residential area at at three in the morning. That couldn't possibly count. Could it?

She caught a glimpse of Celeste doing something upon her laptop and saw her e-mail address, briefly, as Celeste clicked the button. She had sent River a copy of the presentation, to watch at her pleasure, and digital copies of the forms, if she wanted to do that instead of relying on the post. Everything done with a sense of purpose and efficiency. The complete opposite of River.

"Have you not been busy, then?" Even though she had finished the tea in her cup, she still held it in both hands against her chest. "I mean, with how well done that presentation was. Have you had much luck finding work?"

"I'm freelancing. It's not paying anything, but that's okay. Once everything's prepared and ready to put out to market, that's when the money will roll in. Don't worry. It'll be fine." With a squeeze of River's hand, Celeste turned back to the laptop, closing it down. River always just closed the lid. "I have plenty of savings to last a lifetime and financiers ready to fund the venture once everything's in place. It'll be fantastic. A passion project. So, what have you been up to?"

This felt better. More natural. It seemed that Celeste felt more at ease when doing anything related to her work and River felt thankful that their little trip had given Celeste enough incentive and drive that she had come to the point of moving on with her career. It felt like, in some way, River had contributed to that.

And, the more comfortable Celeste appeared, the more comfortable River felt. She hadn't even noticed that she had lost much of her tenseness during the presentation. Celeste's arm-brushing closeness had not sent many ripples of awkwardness through her as it had at the beginning of the night. It almost felt like that first night again, but with the knowledge that they were only friends. The spectre of River's attraction to Celeste had become muted.

"I went shopping, the other day. That was nice." She placed the back of her fingers upon the tea pot, testing the temperature, and lifted it as she began to stand to refill it. "I bought socks. Really, really thick socks. And a magazine. You were in it. You're apartment is gorgeous, by the way."

"You saw that?" Celeste's voice lost almost all it's warmth as she spoke those words. It felt like such a drastic change, River turned back to look. "I wasn't happy about that interview. Not at all."

In the space of a few seconds, the atmosphere had changed completely. Celeste tried to brush it off, forcing a smile as River returned to the table with a fresh pot of hot tea. They passed little anecdotes and small talk between each other, but it had lost something. River could tell that it wasn't something she, herself, had said or done, this time, but something had changed.

It came down to that article and that interview and River wished she hadn't mentioned it. But, it also made her curious about what it was that the article had said, or the interviewer, that had caused such a change. As Celeste finished the fresh tea, she said her goodbyes. Friendly, somewhat affectionate, but a little distant. River knew she had to scour that magazine again. If only to try and see what had bothered Celeste so much.