Chapter 26 #2
This went on for another ten minutes until she finally stopped. “All right. I can’t take this anymore. Let’s go into another shop.”
“Very well. Could you excuse me for a moment? I’d like to speak with that saleswoman.”
“Oh, please don’t. They’re all rude like that,” she whispered.
“It’s not right,” he said. “Wait for me outside.”
She cast him a worried look. “Oh, please no, Rhaz.”
He put a finger to her lips. “Listen to me, Phin. Go outside.”
She swallowed, nodded, and left the shop.
When Rhaz rejoined her, he’d given instructions for the woman to wrap everything up and deliver it to Dr. Blackstone’s house. He, in turn, would prepare everything properly to give to Phin.
He had enough money with him to pay for it. Anon had given him a lot the other day. He was discovering it was far more than he needed, but he wasn’t going to argue. It would be simple enough to pay him back in gold once he returned to his realm.
That is, if he could return and somehow get the gold to Anon. But he’d figure that out later.
In the next shop, they looked at rocks, of all things. Apparently, humans loved their rocks. There were pink ones, blue ones, green ones, black ones, white ones. All sorts of rocks.
Phin enjoyed them too but said she wouldn’t start buying them because it could turn into an expensive hobby.
So they left that shop. Next, they went into a shop that sold books.
This one he found fascinating and began to peruse the spines as he wandered down different aisles. Most of the titles he could figure out, but some eluded him. Words he didn’t know or titles that didn’t make sense.
He pulled one such book from a shelf and brought it to Phin. “What is Moby Dick?”
“Moby Dick? That’s a famous story. Don’t tell me you haven’t read it.”
He shook his head. “I have not. What is it?”
“For one thing, this is an antique book, so there’s no picture on the cover.”
“But the cover is hard. I like that. Most I’ve dealt with are leather or the skin of a... well, never mind.”
“Ooh, I don’t want to know,” she said with a shudder. “All right. So Moby Dick is a famous story about a whale.”
“A whale?”
She opened the book and showed him an illustration of a monstrous fish next to an impressively sized vessel.
“That’s a boat,” he said. “I saw some of these in Coos Bay, and I’ve seen trucks pulling them.”
“Yes, we saw some yesterday,” she agreed.
“Is it a good story?”
“It is.” She shoved the book into his chest. “Buy it. You’ll love it. It’s a classic.”
He nodded and kept walking, the book held against his chest.
She grabbed a book on gardening, specifically flowers.
“Dandy would like that book,” he commented.
“Dandy knows all about flowers. I like them too. I just don’t know how to grow them well, not like she can. That woman can grow anything.”
“Is that so?” he asked, following her down another aisle.
“Yes. I’ll take you into her flower shop when it’s open. You’ll see. She’s closed today because it’s Sunday.”
“I look forward to seeing it.” He bought his book, and they went into another shop.
This one was jewelry, but it was not like the jewelry of his realm. Many of the pieces were small and delicate, much like Phin herself.
She looked longingly at a ring in the display case. When the shopkeeper asked if she’d like to see it, she shook her head and backed away.
“I would like to see it,” Rhaz said.
“If you’re going to look at that, you might as well look at men’s rings. That ring’s for a girl, silly,” Phin said, then wandered away.
The shopkeeper looked at him. “Would you still like to see it, sir? Or are you just...” He looked Rhaz up and down. “...browsing?”
Rhaz narrowed his eyes at the man. “I do not browse. Is that understood? If I want to see something, it is because I am interested in obtaining it.”
The man’s eyes widened. “Yes, sir.” He quickly took the ring out and showed it to him. “W-would the young lady like to try it on?” he stammered.
“Yes.” He turned around. “Phin, come look at this. I think it would look lovely on you.”
She looked up from some earrings she’d been examining. “Oh, Rhaz, no! I can’t.”
“Why not?” he asked.
She smiled nervously at the shopkeeper, grabbed Rhaz by the arm, and pulled him to the other side of the store. “You’re going to buy that for me, aren’t you?”
“I would like to, yes. You seem very interested in it.”
“You can’t do that. That thing is almost a thousand dollars. Are you crazy?”
“Oh.” He fumbled in his pocket for the money he had. “Perhaps I do not have enough currency.” He pulled out the wad of money Anon had given him and looked at it. “Is this enough?”
She gasped. “Put that away! Are you trying to get robbed?”
“Of course not,” he said. “But I would like to get you something. You deserve to be pampered.”
She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “That’s just it, Rhaz. You’re doing things a boyfriend would do for his girlfriend.”
“Oh,” he said. “What about a friend doing something for a friend? Is that all right?”
“Well, I suppose. But I don’t know. I... can’t we just leave?”
“No. I need to make a point. Try the ring on for me, please,” he said gently. He didn’t want to overstep his bounds, but he also didn’t like the shopkeeper’s attitude. And he did want to buy the ring for Phin.
“All right. I’ll humor you.” She marched back to the counter. “Let me see the ring, please.”
“Of course, madam.” The shopkeeper presented it to her, and she slipped it onto her right ring finger.
“A perfect fit,” the shopkeeper said. He smiled at Rhaz. “I wouldn’t have to adjust anything.”
She smiled at Rhaz, then turned away and pulled the ring off her finger. “Here you go.”
“You are,” Rhaz supplied. “Very flustered.”
“Ya think?” She started to walk away.
“I’ll take it,” he told the shopkeeper.
“Rhaz, no!” she cried, as if he were about to chop the man’s head off.
“I want to…”
“But you can’t,” she countered. “You…
“I said I want to.” He cut her off and sighed. “Because you’re my friend, and I like you. And I want you to have something to remember me by in case I return home and am unable to come back.”
A shudder went through her. “Oh.” The word came out breathless. “Well... if you put it that way.”
He bought the ring, had a little currency left over, and stuffed it into his pocket. He would have to ask Anon exactly how much he’d given him. He’d forgotten to count it.
They left the shop, and Rhaz followed Phin straight to her car.
“I’m taking you home now,” she announced and climbed in.
She waited for him to do the same, then started the vehicle. “That was overly generous. But unfortunately, I can’t argue much with you. I... oh, never mind.”
She pulled out of the parking space, and they sped off toward the manse.