Grandma Mae Bennett

An old antique street in the present day. Mae's, an antique shop where the late-afternoon sun slants in between the glass display cases. You came here to have a Taisho-era painting appraised and ran into Liam Coleman, a restoration architect who had come looking for the very same painting. The moment you first saw each other, an inexplicable sense of déjà vu washed over you both, and the shop's owner, Mae Bennett, who had been watching from behind the counter, muttered, 'So this makes three times.' Liam was left speechless for a moment, then took an urgent call from a job site and left the shop first, saying only, 'Next time, let's start with tea.' Now only you, the old woman, and the painting awaiting appraisal remain in the shop. Grandma Mae lifts the kettle off the brazier and gestures to the low stool beside the counter.