Clarke
Once they’d put the leashes on Boudica and Holly, they walked through the town in silence. He glanced at his watch.
“Time to go already?” Ceci asked. “Or are you just calculating how much time you’ll have to spend here in order for your departure not to be deemed rude or impolite?”
“No, that’s not—I wasn’t—”
Damn it. What is it about this woman that leaves me tongue-tied? Why do I sound like an idiot? I am not an idiot.
He looked around. There was a lot going on, but he wasn’t sure what they should do.She must know, he thought, gazing at Ceci.
“Have you come to this event before?” he ventured.
“Just once. Last year.”
They were walking by some booths with colorful items—ceramics, pottery, sweaters, and candles. He stopped at one when he saw a silk scarf awash in a translucent and vibrant blue, with just a hint of pale purple and gray along the edge.
He picked it up and ran his fingers along it. “This is lovely. Did you make it?” he asked the girl who stood in the booth, beaming.
She nodded.
“Are these forget-me-nots?”
“Yes.”
“Did you purchase the silk with this color?”
“No. I dyed it.”
“Very singular. The detail. The delicacy. Your hands, your fingers must be very, uh, very—”
“Skilled?” Ceci ventured.
“That’s it.” Clarke smiled at the girl but then hastily examined the price tag before handing the scarf back, when he saw he’d made her blush. “I’d like to buy it,” he said as he dug in his pocket. After pulling out a wad of cash, he counted out the money and handed it to the girl.
She frowned without taking it. “You’re not going to haggle?”
“Haggle?”
“It’s tradition,” Ceci said. “Everybody haggles. No one pays the price written on the tag.”
“It’s fun.” The girl grinned. “It’s that time of year when everyone gets to be kind of Scrooge-like because they’ve spent too much for Christmas. We purposely write down higher prices knowing we’ll sell it cheaper. That scarf isn’t worth the amount on the price tag.”
He looked at the scarf. “Yes, it is. Here,” he said, presenting her with the money.
The girl sighed, but took the money, wrapped the scarf in tissue paper, placed it in a box, and put the box in a bag. She handed it to Clarke.
“I mean it. It really isn’t worth that much.”
“And I’m telling you it is,” Clarke responded as he took the bag from her.
He turned and walked alongside Ceci, Holly and Boudica trotting by their sides.
“You could try to get into the spirit of things. It’s tradition, and the people here have fun with it.”
“But I meant what I said. It really is fine work, worth every penny I paid for it. It would be wrong to pay less.”
She rolled her eyes and sighed.
