Unfortunately, it didn’t make picking a gift any easier. She’d read that merfolk didn’t have the same hang-ups about gender expression that some people on the land did, so really, it should have been even easier to pick a gift. But it wasn’t, because she didn’t have the slightest clue what was appropriate and no way to narrow her options down.
Maybe something useful?But what was useful to merfolk might not be useful to her, in which case she might end up getting him something completely ridiculous.
Clothing was out because merfolk lived in the buff. Food was out because she had no idea what he’d like and didn’t want to step into a cultural misunderstanding besides.
So what was left?
Clementine eyed the shelves of novelty gifts critically. Everything San Francisco themed was out. Anything that might be damaged by saltwater was out.
Nothing caught her eye. Everything was either cheap, cheesy, or unfit for her predator’s lifestyle — at least, what she suspected was his lifestyle. Running through the list of gifts he’d left her in her mind, she did another circuit around the shop but still came up empty-handed.
Thinking that perhaps the distracted shopkeeper might have a suggestion, Clementine approached the counter. “Excuse me?”
He still didn’t look her way. Cheeks flushing with embarrassment, she cleared her throat and tried again, louder this time. “Excuse me.”
His graying head turned slowly toward her. When she finally saw her standing there, the shopkeeper blinked once before asking, “Did you need something?”
Clementine felt the press of his mind against her walls like a slowly rolling wave, but it was no trouble holding firm against it, just the usual amount of grinding effort any sort of interaction took.
“I’m looking for a gift for— I’m trying to find something for a friend. Can you help me?”
“Our gifts are over there.” He gestured toward the aisle she’d come from, his eyes already wandering back to his feed screen.
“I looked,” she pressed, “but I was wondering if you had anything else.”
He grunted. Thick shoulders moving with a careless shrug, he tilted his head toward the glass counter between them. “That’s all we got.”
Clementine glanced down.Oh!
There, beneath a puzzle of old, faded flyers and coupons and notices taped to the glass was a cabinet of trinkets and shiny metal bits — glass figures, novelty lighters, bottle openers, and jewelry.
The trinkets were cute but a little too silly. What would her predator do with a tiny glass dolphin or orca, anyway?
The lighter was promising, except they all looked like something one would find either in a teenager’s sock drawer or a truck stop.
The jewelry, though…
“Can I see that bracelet?”
Sighing, the shopkeeper slowly got off of his stool to unlock the case. After some rustling and having to be directed to the right bracelet a few more times, he set the little silver box on the counter between them.
Resting on a plain cotton pad was a thickly knotted adjustable bracelet made of dark green cord. Woven into the knots were sea glass beads of varying shades of blue and green, and in the center of the bracelet, knotted on either side to lay flat, was a small gold charm.
“It’s the Farallones,” she breathed. Picking the bracelet up, she ran the tip of one finger over the familiar jagged shape of the islands.
The shopkeeper grunted, “You want it?”
Clementine’s stomach filled with butterflies. The sea glass. The color. The little charm. It was perfect.Hopefully.
Come on, Em! Who doesn’t want a friendship bracelet, anyway?
“Yes, I want it.” Carefully setting it back in the box, she glanced down at the case one more time. “And one of the little glass orca figurines, please. That one’s for me.”
* * *
Clementine could feel her purchases in the pocket of her windbreaker as she lowered herself into the submersible. Her heartbeat fluttered like a bird’s wings in her chest. She didn’t know if he would be out there waiting for her, but she had a feeling he would be.
I won’t be a weenie this time,she told herself firmly.If he isn’t aggressive, I won’t freak out.
