Meg opened the box and inside was a buckle end. Rounded and the ‘pin’ was a small claw. She smiled.
“You made this for Luc didn’t you,” she said.
“Guilty are charged,” said Andrew with a smile. “After setting the real thing in silver for Ginny, I couldn’t resist crafting a buckle end to match. My only fear is that you wouldn’t come in and that I’d have to call Ginny. However, I am very happy to be able to share it with you,” he finished.
“Would it take long to set it to this chain?” Meg asked pointing to the one she had liked. “And, just how much will it cost?”
“I can have it done in an hour baring interruptions. The price is $275,” he said.
Meg nodded. She’d seen the receipt for her necklace and while it was more expensive, it did have a buckle that no one else would. She dug her credit card out of her wallet and handed it to Andrew.
“I’ll pick it up in an hour or so. Thank you Andrew,” she said.
Andrew ran her card, gave her a receipt and headed towards the back to work on the necklace.
“Where to now?” asked Ginny.
“Food! I’m starved. You arrived with the kids just before lunch,” said Meg.
“The food court is that way,” said Ginny as she steered Meg down the mall.
*
After a lunch of shrimp and salad, Meg and Ginny hit Victoria’s Secret, Delights, Hot Topic and the Import Shop. Each woman had a handful of bags.
“Not bad for just over two hours of shopping,” said Ginny. She’d gotten some new undies, a nightie that was more sheer than not and two new shirts. One of them said, ‘Forget Princess, I want to be a Werewolf!’ the other which was for Luc said, ‘Never Moon a Werewolf!” Meg had teased her about them and Ginny had explained how the recent werewolf/vampire craze had really made life easy for all the shifters. Meg conceded and found a teeshirt for herself. It said, “Sorry, I only date Werewolves”. That one had cracked both of them up, and they couldn’t wait for Luc to see it.
“We didn’t do bad at all. I really like the new undie/bra sets I got. Three for $30 was a great price. I love the tee shirts you got too,” said Meg. She’d gotten new jeans, a flannel shirt for Luc, the undies and bras as well as a silk nightie. It was cut like a flannel shirt and had a plaid print on it.
“Shall we go pick up the necklace and head home?” asked Ginny.
“Yes, but we have to stop at the grocery store. Someone was complaining that there wasn’t enough meat on his plate earlier,” said Meg.
Both women giggled and headed back to the Silver Lode. When they got there, Andrew was behind the counter. He smiled at them and reached down for a package.
“I’ve got it here,” he said and opened up the box for them to inspect it. It was gorgeous. Meg handed it back and he arranged it in the box. Then he wrapped the box up in tissue and placed it in a bag.
“May the winds be favorable and the hunting good,” he said softly and then headed back into the shop.
Meg looked at Ginny with a puzzled look on her face.
“Just one of those “greetings” that some people give others, if you know what I mean,” said Ginny. “Andrew is as close to a priest as any of us would recognize. He usually officiates at ceremonies for those that want them.”
“So, I just got blessed?” asked Meg as they walked to the car.
“Yeah, you did. Which brings me to a question I’ve been itching to ask. Are we having a big ceremony or a dinner party?” asked Ginny.
“A dinner party,” said Meg. “We already decided that before the bear attacked,” answered Meg. She didn’t get any farther, because her cell phone rang. It was Luc.
“Hello,” said Meg as she hit the speaker button.
“Unky Woffy Luc says to tell you dat da sheep is gonna get et if you don huwwy up and get home,” said Sara.
Meg and Ginny laughed. “Let me talk to your Unky Luc,” she said.
“Ohhhhkay,” said Sara and handed the phone to Luc.
“You left me all alone,” he said trying to evoke pity.
“I did not. You had two fierce pups to protect you and a sheep. What more did you need?” asked Meg.
“Well, you could have told me you were going. I woke up about five minutes ago and there was no one here except us,” he said still trying to sound pitiful.
“We came in to tell you and you were asleep. So, we went shopping. We are headed to the grocery store and then we will be home,” she said.
“Okay. Don’t be too long,” he said and ended the call.
Meg looked over at Ginny and laughed. They put their bags in the car and headed for the grocery store. Thirty minutes later they had raided the meat counter, bought eggs, bread and more coffee. Ginny added a box of maple cookies and Dr. Pepper to the basket. It had been Meg’s turn to smile. Luc tried to hide his Dr. Pepper habit, but it never worked. They arrived home to find two little faces pressed up against the glass. As they grabbed the groceries, Sara and Joe came out to help. Luc stood in the door and directed traffic.
“Did you spend every penny you had?” he asked looking at all the bags.
“No, just most of it,” teased Meg.
“I could return this,” Ginny said as she waved a bottle of Dr. Pepper in front of Luc’s face.
“I think I’ll just shut up now,” he said and took the bottle.
“Good move. How does it feel to be up out of bed?” Meg asked as they put groceries away.
“Better, but I’m not ready to run a marathon. I wear out in about five minutes. Hell, Joe is stronger than I am,” he said. At this, Joe curled his two little arms up to show everyone his muscles. Not to be outdone, Sara did too. It brought smiles to everyone’s face.
“Meg, I know you invited us to stay for supper, but I think I’ll take the two kids home. Luc looks wiped out,” said Ginny.