"Why not?"
"Papa said no boys."
Sasha looks at me and I look back at him without changing my expression. He swallows hard.
"Okay," he says quietly. "Bye, Anya."
He turns to leave but then stops and pulls something out of his pocket. It is a tiny bracelet with a single pearl charm, and he holds it out to her.
"For you," he says.
Anya looks at the bracelet. "What's that?"
"A present."
"Why?"
"Because you're pretty."
Anya's cheeks turn pink and she looks at me again.
"You can take it," I tell her. "But that doesn't mean you're friends."
Anya nods and takes the bracelet from Sasha's hand. "Thank you. Now go away."
Sasha grins like she just gave him the best gift in the world, and he runs back to his mother who quickly ushers him out of the room.
Anya looks down at the bracelet and then tucks it into the pocket of her dress.
"Boys are weird," she says.
"Very weird," I agree.
She looks up at me. "Papa, you looked scary."
"Did I?"
"Yes." She grins. "I liked it."
I laugh and turn back to the salesman who has been standing very still throughout the entire interaction. "Now bracelets, my wife likes rose gold and she prefers delicate pieces over chunky ones."
He pulls out a tray of rose gold bracelets and I examine them one by one.
"This one," I say while picking up a delicate chain with small diamonds embedded along the band. "It's elegant but not overdone."
"Papa," Anya tugs on my sleeve. "Can Mama have that one too?" She points at a bracelet with a small heart charm. "It has a heart for love."
I look at the bracelet and then at the salesman. "We'll take both."
The salesman sets them aside and wraps everything carefully while I pay, and then Anya and I walk out of the store hand in hand.
The bag shop is quiet when we walk in with soft music playing and displays arranged like pieces of art on white pedestals. A saleswoman approaches us immediately with a practiced smile.
"Welcome, how may I assist you today?"
"I'm looking for a bag for my wife," I say. "Something practical but elegant, she's an attorney so it needs to be professional enough for court but soft enough that it reflects her personality."
"We have several options that might suit her needs, does she prefer a particular color?"
