Casey was really tired after work the next day because he had a meeting with his supervisor that drained him but he still had to go out to the farmhouse after grabbing something to eat on the way. He wasn't sure if he should even bother trying to read this time but it wasn't like he would be able to nap with all the noise.
Maybe Vera would talk to him again. He was tired but it would be better than dying of boredom.
He was in luck. When she arrived, she greeted him cheerfully asked him how his day had been. He lied and said it was fine because that was the expected answer to give. No one who asked that ever really cared. It was like a greeting.
When he returned the question since it was the polite thing to do her eyes lit up. "Mine was great! I had this customer call in wanted me to fix up a seventeenth century Spanish Baroque table and I can't wait to get started on it! It's really scuffed up but I'm going to breathe new life into it."
"Th-that's really old," Casey said stupidly. "What's the oldest thing you've ever w-worked on?"
"A chair from the 1300s. Technically speaking, it was my aunt's job but I helped."
He couldn't even imagine using furniture that old. Wouldn't you always be afraid of it breaking? But he supposed everyone had their own tastes. He got most of his furniture from IKEA.
"Wow."
Vera nodded happily. "Yeah. It was super cool! Most of what I work with is Victorian but I get a fair amount of Colonial or Renaissance items as well. My aunt's reputation has served me well since I was her only apprentice and she's somewhat famous. Even used to get clients from out of state. One time somebody came all the way down from Vancouver to get her help!" Vera said as she began meticulously cleaning the cabinets.
Casey blinked in surprise. "That far?"
"Yeah. Apparently they couldn't find anyone trustworthy in their price range up there. Crazy, right?"
"Yeah."
Vera told him the story about that piece in detail and afterwards looked a bit sheepish. "Sorry, I talk too much. You don't have to listen to me ramble."
Casey shook his head. "No! I'm more of a listener than a talker anyway. Go on."
He realized that in his insistence that he hadn't fumbled any of his words. He had been so taken aback by her thinking she was annoying him when the exact opposite was the case. She had been perking him up after a long and tiring day because what she had to say was so interesting.
Vera smiled widely at him. "If you're sure. Anyway, like I was saying…"
The rest of the night passed quickly as she continued telling him stories about things she had worked on and various restoration techniques. So did the rest of the week.
By then Casey's stuttering had lessened quite a bit because of how much they had talked even if she was the one doing most of the talking. It was only then that she finally started asking him questions about himself.
"So what do you do?" she asked as she worked on Saturday night. "I've been talking about me all this time so it's only fair we talk about you for a while."
"Don't worry about it. Your job is mush more interesting. Much! Much more interesting. I'm an editor at a publishing company that primarily handles technical writing. It's a pretty good setup. I got lucky."
"Oh yeah? Did you major in English or something?"
"Mmhmm."
Casey hadn't had any idea what he wanted to do with his life but had to pick a major so he went with that because he wasn't much of a math person. The problem was that English majors were a dime a dozen and he was competing with people who could speak properly for jobs. His job hunt had been one of the most stressful things he ever experienced.
"That's cool. I was a history major," Vera said with a slight laugh. "It was kind of a no-brainer considering I was already my aunt's protégé."
"That makes sense. Where did you go to school?" Casey asked.
"U-Dub. You?"
Ah. That was the informal name for the University of Washington. Most Seattle natives knew that but he did because he had gone there too.
"So did I! When did you graduate?"
"Two years ago," Vera told him. "What about you?"
"Four years ago. We would have had some overlap then but there are s-so many students it's not surprising we never met," Casey mused.
It was one of the most famous universities in the area. It wasn't surprising they were both alumni.
"It was a nice school," she said. "I miss it there sometimes but when I remember I'll never have to write another paper or take another test the feeling goes away quick."
Casey let out a small laugh against his better judgment. The only thing he missed was the library but he understood not wanting to do any more schoolwork. It was why he hadn't gone to grad school. Four years was more than enough.
Vera seemed surprised for a moment and he flushed. Stupid! He shouldn't have laughed in front of her!
A moment later she rewarded him with her brightest smile yet and a laugh of her own. "Yeah…I wasn't the best student. Especially when it came to generals involving math or science. I like knowing about the historical context for the pieces I work on but all the names and dates could really blur together."
Casey was relieved she wasn't mad at him for laughing. "I'm not much of a math person either."
"Eyyy, bad at math solidarity!"
Vera was grinning at him and for some reason he found it impossible not to smile back. He had never been much of a smiler but hers was oddly contagious.