TRUE TOhis word, Noah played the role of tourist while I showed him all my favorite places around Pike Place Market. After the aquarium the three dogs joined us. They nearly went ballistic, especially Andy, as the workers at the fish market tossed fish through the air, sometimes over the cheering crowds’ heads.
After lunch at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese shop, where we were forced to eat our grilled cheeses on the street while watching the cheese makers through the window, we found ourselves leaning against a large rock wall, staring out at the bay. Well, Noah and I leaned against the wall, the dogs, not so much. We watched the ships slowly pass by, listened to the seabirds flying overhead, and let the gentle salt breeze wash over us.
I didn’t notice the clomping sound until too late to make a smooth exit. Not that I cared. Turning around, my suspicions were confirmed. An elderly Buddhist monk in long mustard-hued robes hobbled toward us with the help of a single crutch.
Noah turned as well, and before I could grab his hand to lead him away, he waved at the man.
Shit. No way we were getting away from the guy now.
The man drew closer and paused less than a foot in front of us.
Ron growled.
Adjusting his crutch under his arm so he could stand without its assistance, the monk spread his arms and enveloped us. One of his hands on Noah’s shoulder, the other on mine. The hand on mine held a small spiral notebook and pen.
I glanced at Noah, panicked. He smiled and gave a small shake of his head, then closed his eyes.
The monk began to chant—part singing, part speaking. I had no idea what he said, but clearly Noah and I were being prayed over. My skin crawled and I had to grip Noah’s hand to keep from darting away.
As the monk prayed, I glanced around. A few people looked at the odd threesome hovering over three small dogs; a couple of them shook their heads. I assumed they were locals and thought we were tourists who were getting played. Most just kept walking.
After thirty seconds that felt like half an hour, the monk stopped his chanting and lifted his hands off us, but he didn’t step back. In a smooth motion, he opened his flipbook and held it out to me, gesturing at it with his pen. It had a long list of names. A twenty-dollar amount written to the left of each one. He pointed to the next empty line, free of name and dollar amount.
I shook my head.
Noah took the pad from the man and wrote both our names on the line, then handed it back. “Thank you for the blessing.”
The man smiled, nodded, and wrote something on the paper. When he held it back to us, a twenty-dollar amount was written to the left of our names.
In disbelief I watched as Noah pulled out his wallet, thumbed through it, and extended a ten-dollar bill toward the monk.
The man shook his head and pointed to the twenty he had written.
Noah laughed but held out the ten once more. “Thank you, but this will have to do.”
The monk hesitated, but only for a moment. He took the ten, deposited it within the folds of his robes, and held out something else, which Noah took, and then he turned and tottered off.
Ron let out another growl, accompanied by Andy this time. Harper stayed silent between my feet. I gaped at Noah. “What the hell was that? You know he’s a complete con artist, right? He’s always down here. He probably makes a fortune off the tourists.”
Noah shrugged. “Yeah. I know. He’s prayed for me before.”
I glanced toward the monk, who was disappearing into the crowded sidewalk, before turning back to Noah. “You’ve done that before? Why?”
Noah shrugged again. “I know it will sound strange, but I kinda like it. It’s nice to be prayed over. Reminds me of my childhood a bit, but without all the weirdness.”
“You think that was without weirdness?”
“Well, no. But it’s a different kind of weird. It feels like a connection to something else, even if I don’t believe in it. Even if I think the guy’s a fake. I don’t know.” He held out his hand. “Plus he gives you these.”
In his palm was a beaded bracelet and a shiny foil card with what I assumed was an embossed deity. “Oh. Well, great. Those are lovely. Do that enough and we won’t have to worry about gifts.”
He shoved my shoulder with his and laughed. “Don’t be an ass.”
“No, really. At least I know you’ll be easy to please at Christmas and birthdays.”
He gave me a wink. “Don’t forget anniversaries.”
After all this. All the shit with my family. All the shit with me, he still wanted our relationship.
