“Oh, I get it,” Cassius said, wiggling in his seat in excitement. “That’s why you’re buying the instruments. That way it’s not Apollo’s doing, it’s you.”
“Exactly,” Titus said. “I’ve got to admit, I don’t know the first thing about instruments, but hopefully this place will. So let’s get hopping. We’ve only got about an hour, and we need to be back before Apollo’s finished.”
It was so sweet to see Cassius fumbling with his seatbelt, in his bid to be quick, as Titus got out of the truck. “Right,” he said,hoisting Cassius out of the truck and onto the pavement. “Let’s go and find us some instruments.”
Walking into the store was overwhelming. Not necessarily for Cassius, but definitely for Titus. There were guitars on the wall, there were drum kits set up in the corners, but then there was a whole range of other instruments, a lot of which Titus had never seen before.
Deciding the quickest and easiest way to get what he wanted was to ask, he caught the eye of a young assistant who was hovering by the counter. “Excuse me, miss,” he said. “My son and I are on a rather urgent mission. We need instruments.”
“We’ve got a very full range here, sir. What sort of thing were you thinking of? Is this for your son?”
Her smile aimed at Cassius was friendly, which Titus appreciated, but he shook his head. “No. My partner volunteers at the youth center three blocks over. He’s a music tutor there, but their instruments are in such disrepair. I thought it would be really nice if I could replace the ones that are there, to give the kids something more in tune, is that what you say, to play with.”
“The youth center? I used to go there. My name’s Eileen, and I was one of their drop-ins for about three years before I got this job. Ooh, ooh, are you talking about Ace?”
Titus nodded. “He’s my partner, yes.” He couldn’t help his burst of pride – the alpha part of his nature loved talking about his mate.
Eileen’s face broke into a bright smile. “He’s such a wonderful man. He helped my friend, Melissa, gain so much confidence just from playing a guitar. I know it sounds weird, but it’s true, I promise.”
“He’ll be thrilled to know he was helpful to your friend,” Titus said. “But those guitars, from what Ace has been saying, are one of the first things that need replacing. What would you suggest?”
Eileen was an absolute gem. Apparently guitars weren’t just guitars, there were different types – acoustic ones, electric ones, as well as bass guitars that had four strings instead of six.
Then there were keyboards. The center didn’t have any, according to Eileen, so Titus got two electric ones with stands. Apollo had mentioned a drum kit, so Titus added two of them to the list, and then Eileen showed him flutes, a clarinet, and a trumpet.
“These are really handy for people who aren’t very musical, but who want to join in,” Eileen explained as she showed him tambourines and some wooden shakers.
“Excuse me, Eileen,” Cassius said, just as Titus had thought he’d covered most instrument types. “Do you have one of them?”
“One of what, Cassius?” Eileen was looking around.
“On Dad’s tattoo,” Cassius insisted. “One of those things is an instrument, too, isn’t it?”
“Oh, on my neck.” Titus felt his cheeks heat up. “I believe it’s an older style of instrument – a lyre.” It was one of the symbols Apollo was known for, or so Titus had learned when he asked about it.
“We don’t have a lyre, unfortunately,” Eileen said. “However, we do have a small harp.” She went over to the cabinet behind the counter and pulled out another stringed instrument. “Harps can come in all sorts of sizes, but this one would be perfect for a teenager as it’s not too heavy.”
“We have to get it, Dad,” Cassius said, bouncing with excitement. “Ap…Ace will just love it. I know he will.”
“Something like this is not cheap,” Eileen warned.
“It’ll be fine,” Titus chuckled as he pulled out his credit card. “I’m more worried about how we’re going to get all this into the back of the truck. Come on, Cassius, I’m going to need your help. I should’ve brought my commercial truck.”
It took another fifteen minutes to pack everything into the truck. Some of the smaller instruments were even lodged around Cassius’s feet. “Apollo’s going to be so excited about this,” Cassius said happily. “Did you see Eileen glow? She really loves helping people.”
“I didn’t see it, no,” Titus admitted. “What color was her glow?” He already knew Apollo was gold, and that he was purple.
“A light green,” Cassius said, squinting his eyes up as if he was remembering. “A bright light green like a new blade of grass.”
“That does sound like a lovely color for a lovely person.” Titus glanced over to see Cassius’s happy smile.
Pulling up at the center parking lot, Titus parked and then looked over the back of his seat at all the packages. “We need a pallet trolley,” he said. “Let’s go and ask if they have one.”
“Are we allowed in there, Dad?” Cassius asked, but Titus could see he already had his seatbelt unclipped. “Apollo…sorry, Ace did say we could just wait outside.”
“Yes, but that was when we were just being nosy and wanted to see what he was doing,” Titus said with a chuckle as he ruffled Cassius’s hair. “We come bearing gifts. You know he’s not going to kick us out.”
Crossing the parking lot, holding Cassius’s hand, Titus opened the door and stepped inside. There was a reception desk to the left, and he smiled at the woman there as he went over to it. “Can I help you, sir?”
