Traded – By JCC Downing #3
Scott sipped his coffee. “This was the first place Bri wanted to go when she came out for school. Andre’s little brother, Shawn, and Bri are in the same cohort, so when she said she’d never been, he brought her and introduced her to his brother. Then she brought me here, and the rest is history.”
“We try to come by once a month, but I sometimes come after classes with Shawn for a waffle.” She signaled for the check. “Andre always takes good care of us.”
“And I always will, Bri-Bri,” Andre said, setting a small takeout box on the table. “Shawn said he would have quit a dozen times if he didn’t have you pushing him.”
“Shawn’s full of it,” she replied softly. “He’s smarter than me.”
“Well, whatever you’re doing, it’s helping him, and for that, I thank you.” He patted the box on the table. “A few waffles for the road, and your breakfast is on me.”
“Andre—” Bri protested.
“Nope,” he said, backing away. “Just don’t stay away for so long.” Then turning to Scott and Troy, “And you two, make sure you’re winning a bunch of games for us. We want that trophy…”
Troy smiled then. “I’ll do my part.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
Bri got up and hugged Andre while the men shook his hand, then posed for picture for their social media pages. Thanking him again, they posed for a few more pictures, left a fifty-dollar bill as a tip, and headed back to their car.
“I was wondering if he actually knew who we were,” Troy mused. “I mean, he didn’t act all weird with us.”
Bri shook her head. “Famous folks grow on trees out here. You’ll run into movie stars at the drugstore and musicians buying groceries.”
“Andre hosted several governors and even the president once. A few ball players are small potatoes to him.”
“Kinda cool though,” Troy mused. “In Chicago, I ended up using a delivery service for my stuff. And going out to a restaurant was always a fancy affair.”
“We’re laid back here,” Scott said. “It took me a bit to get used to it, but I kind of prefer it. There’ll always be crazy stalkers and cleat chasers, but most people here tend to take celebrities in their stride.”
“Unless you’re Jason Momoa.” Bri sighed. “I’d leave you on the side of the road for him.”
“Hell,” Scott laughed. “If Jason Momoa wanted to hang out with me, I’d never let you know.”
“You suck!”
“You love me!”
Bri glanced over at Troy. “You’d invite me along to meet Jason Momoa, wouldn’t you?”
Troy gave her a wicked grin. “Your brother would probably kill me, but yeah, I’d bring you along to watch you go stupid over him.”
“Jerks, the both of you,” she huffed, pulling the car out of the lot.
“Before we head anywhere else, I need to pick up some books I reserved.” Bri pulled into the parking garage and grabbed her bag.
“What do you mean, reserved?” Troy closed the door, making sure it was locked before following. “Where are we going?”
“The library.”
She led them down the street and up the center walkway.
Narrow tiled fountains flanked by short flights of stairs and long landings led to the ornate statuary that decorated the front walkway.
The singing of the birds in the surrounding trees echoed softly, blending with the cascading water from the fountains.
The flowers were blooming in a riot of colors, and the scent perfumed the air as they walked along, Troy dragging his fingers along the cold marble slabs that lined the walkway.
“Are you sure this is a library? It looks like a museum.”
Bri chuckled. “It’s kind of both. Mostly a library, but they have some great artwork and stuff here.” Her brother held the door open for the two of them as she led them into the foyer. “They have tours of the library if you’re interested.”
“We’ll have to do this when my kids come out. We can all go together.” Troy took pictures of the chandelier and the library map. “Aria loves books. Jasmin not so much, but she loves art.”
“Then you’re in luck,” said an older woman with a library name tag that said Beverly. “We have both here.” She smiled as she came to the desk. “Good morning, Bri. I’ve got your books back here.”
“Good morning, Bev,” Bri replied. “You remember my brother?” At her nod, she pointed to Troy, “This is his bestest friend ever, Troy.” Then turning to Troy, “This is Beverly, the wizard.”
“Shhh… that’s our secret.” Beverly winked at them. “I’m one of the librarians.”
“She makes magic happen, so she’s a wizard.”
“If you say so…” She handed the books to Bri, taking her library card and scanning it. “You know the drill if you want to renew them.”
“Thank you muchly!” She took her books and turned back to the guys, who’d wandered away, looking at the statuary and other artwork.
Walking up to Troy, she whispered, “I come here all the time. It’s just so beautiful and peaceful in here.
I’ll just sit among the stacks and read and recharge.
They’ve always got new artwork and displays too, and fantastic programming all the time.
Last time I was here, they had cultural dancers from all over the city. It was amazing.”
“Do you need a library card to come to the programs?” Troy asked.
“Nope, and library cards are free.” She grinned then. “You just need to be a resident.” Grabbing Scott’s arm, she started leading them out. “C’mon, we’re on a time schedule and you want to get some cool stuff for your kids.” They headed back to the car.
“Why were you getting books in the first place? Everything you need is online.”
“Not everything,” Bri said. “Some of the stuff I’ve brought home is out of print, and we couldn’t find it anywhere, or if we did, it was a ridiculous amount of cash.
And even if I’ve got a piggy bank for a big brother, I didn’t want him to spend stupid money on a book I only needed to read a chapter from. ”
“And they have all kinds of equipment for making the coolest stuff.” Scott set the books into the trunk. “I went there to test out 3D printers so I could get one for home. Half of the stuff in my shop, I tested out at the lab there.”
“It’s probably my favorite place in the city,” Bri said simply. She pulled out of the parking space and asked, “So you want to get something for your girls. Do you want to go to the mall or someplace different?”
“Dealer’s choice.” Troy sat back in his seat and stretched.
“What kind of things do your girls like?”
He thought about it for a moment. The last time he’d spent time with them was their tenth birthday two months ago. “They both are into Japanese animation. Their mom said they were getting into cosplay, whatever that is.”
Bri nodded and hit the accelerator. “I know just the place.”
“Little Tokyo is the place for all things Japanese.” Bri parked the car while Scott paid for their parking.
“They have all kinds of cool things here.” Grabbing her bag, she led them down the street to the Little Tokyo Mall.
Inside they passed several little shops inside before arriving at Anime Jungle.
“Anime Jungle is the best place to find Japanese anime stuff outside of AnimeExpo.”
“AnimeExpo?” Troy asked, slowly walking into the shop.
“The largest Japanese pop culture event in North America.” Bri approached a display of Pokemon plushies.
“You are SO lucky you’ll probably be playing that weekend.
AX is the place to be if you’re a cosplayer and where folks get ridiculous deals on anime stuff, but for muggles like you, it’s sensory overload with screaming girls around every corner. ”
Troy looked around, his eyes taking in the colorful anime girls on tapestries, plastic models of robots inside small glass cases, racks of neon keychains and phone charms and everywhere, discount signage over wire carts and baskets. Loud up-tempo music streamed out of the overhead speakers.
“This is just one of their shops in this mall. One of them specializes in Gundam and other models, one of them is strictly cosplay. There’s also a buyback shop.
” Bri watched her brother go straight to the nanoblock display and started picking out bagged sets then headed to the boxed sets where he selected two architectural models.
“Nanoblocks are Scott’s jam. I got him one for his birthday a few years ago, and he was hooked. ”
Troy kept looking around, overwhelmed by the amount of product to choose from. “Maybe I’ll just bring the girls here and give them an allowance,” he chuckled, watching Scott take his purchases to the register.
“That may be smart, but also dangerous.” Bri smiled at him. “You’re such a soft touch when it comes to your girls. They’ll walk out of here with four full bags each and a promise to bring them back whenever they want.”
“Hey,” he protested, “I’m not that bad.” At her skeptical look, he mumbled, “Not all the time anyway.”
Bri took a nylon bag out of her purse and handed it to her brother, who put his models inside.
Scott took the bag and patted Troy’s shoulder.
“You are so wrapped around their fingers, it’s funny.
All those girls have to do is give you those big blue eyes and a ‘Pweese Daddy?’ and you’ll give them your kidney. ”
Troy couldn’t protest. “What can I say, I’m a girl dad.”
“Not a bad thing, Troy.” She led them around the mall and ducked into a nearby Sanrio shop and picked out two little Hello Kitty purses. Handing them to Troy, “Here, get these for them. They’ll love them.”
They spent an hour wandering around Little Tokyo, stopping at the stationary store, the snack shops and even headed into the used book shop. Troy took pictures and sent them to his kids. “They want to come here, Bri, so you have to play tour guide for them too.”
“It would be my pleasure.” She handed Troy a bag of shrimp chips and led them back to the car. Glancing at her watch, “Ok, it’s just after three. We have to be at the Hollywood Bowl by six.”
“What’s at the Bowl?” Scott asked.