She pressed her lips together. “Tim, we haveallday to poke around. It would be moreefficientif you got your shopping out of the way now. Plus, I haven’t seen Hank in a few weeks; it would be nice to catch up with him.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
As if she were riding in the Batmobile itself, Tim flew down the aisles at lightning speed to one of the largest vendor booths. Hank waved to them. “Hey Tim, Gemma. If it isn’t two of my best customers,” he joked. “It’s good to see you guys.”
“Hey Hank. Right back at you. Looks like a good turnout this year,” Tim said.
“It definitely is.”
“Is your lovely wife around?” Gemma asked.
“She’ll be here later with our grandkids. They’re spending the morning at Universal Studios.”
“Sounds like fun.”
A customer called for Hank’s attention. “I’ll be right back,” he said.
She brushed Tim’s arm. “You can set me over there. Then go shop.”
Tim set her next to a box of T-shirts with various telly show logos. After promising he wouldn’t be more than an hour, her boyfriend pecked her on the cheek, then power walked down the aisle, his cape flying wildly behind him. She grinned. The shapely, formfitting costume was a good look on his powerful frame. Maybe she should ask him to model some of his costumes around his cabin.
She thought about just how quickly the last few months had flown by. So much had happened. She’d moved to a cabin in Sequoia Valley, had settled into life as a coach, and had fallen deeper in love with Tim. Although it hadn’t always been easy, she was finally beginning to find her stride. Fernando would soon be moving to the area too.
At the start of the new year, Dreams on Ice had begun to find ways of getting rid of its more veteran skaters. Gemma had counted herself lucky to have escaped when she did. News eventually broke that DOI had been acquired by the tech company Wilde Enterprises. Their website announced that DOI was going to be rebranded to be more relevant and more in tune with current trends in the market.
Gemma, Frankie, Fernando, and Mel lamented that it was the end of the family-friendly company they’d once known. With all the large lawsuits being tossed at the company for how they’d handled letting the skaters go, Gemma doubted it would survive the year.
“Sorry about that Gemma,” Hank said as he straightened a box of comics. “Did Tim rush off already?”
“He did. I could tell he was chomping at the bit to get out there and see what was for offer at different shops.”
“I hope the kid doesn’t overspend.” Hank chuckled. “Last year, he dropped three grand on a collection of limited-edition Star Wars light sabers, and he doesn’t even care for Star Wars. I ended up buying them from him for the shop. He gets it in his head that something is limited edition and suddenly he has to have it.”
“Oh no.” Gemma giggled. “He promised he wouldn’t go too crazy.”
“If you think that’s bad, you should hear about one of my customers who’s crazy for dinosaurs.”
“Dinosaurs?”
“Oh yes. His name is Lucas and we met at aJurassic Parkconvention a couple years back.”
* * *
Later that afternoon, after enjoying a panel with some of the actors slated to be in a remake of a popular spy film, Gemma and Tim sat outside enjoying a snack.
“I meant to ask you earlier, did you have a good haul? You only came back to the booth with two bags.” She licked the top of her strawberry soft serve.
“It was all right. I picked up a couple of comics and a Sloth bust of that character fromZootopiafor the garden at your place.” His shoulders hunched. “The selection was a little disappointing this year.”
“Were you looking for anything in particular?”
“Not really. I mean, I’m always on the hunt for vintage Batman books, but most of the good ones are outside my price range. I try to keep my big-ticket purchases under five grand. I keep hoping that someday I’ll get lucky and find something that was produced early, like a number-ten comic, in lousy condition. I’d be happy just to have a rare book in my collection. I wouldn’t have to worry about treating it with kid gloves. I’d actually be able to read it and enjoy it.”
Gemma’s lips twitched. “And what would you say about number one or two?”
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen anytime soon.” Tim laughed sarcastically. “One of those costs as much as a house.”
