“I wondered when I finally found the receipt in Luc’s clothing. I hadn’t been sure about getting Luc a necklace, but the more I thought about it, the better I liked the idea,” said Meg.
“You’ll need about a 26 inch chain to fit Luc right. Maybe even 28 inches,” said Ginny as they left the car and headed into the mall. The Silver Lode was near the middle of the mall. When they entered, Ginny asked for the assistant. The girl at the counter nodded and went to the back of the store. A moment later, a tall sandy haired man stepped to the counter.
“Hello Ginny, how’s that no good piece of bear bait doing?” he asked jokingly.
“He’ll live. Surprised the hell out of him with that claw,” she replied.
“Oh, you are the one who capped the claw,” said Meg.
“Yes, and you are?” the man asked.
“Margaret Stewart,” she said and extended her hand. He took her hand and gave it a firm shake.
“And I am Andrew Davis, silversmith. I take it that you are the reason Luc Moreau was in here sweating over which necklace to choose?” he asked.
“Yes, and I want to pick out one for him,” Meg replied.
“Come this way. I have a number of acceptable choices,” said Andrew.
Meg and Ginny walked over to a table and sat down while Andrew picked up two trays from a showcase off to one side. He sat down across from them and showed them the first tray.
“This is the more masculine line. Well constructed and yet stylish,” he said. The tray held a number of chains similar to the one Meg was wearing, but nothing struck either woman as anything special.
“Then there is this line. A bit more conservative,” he said. Once again, the chains were similar. Long braided bands with a buckle at the clasp end. Meg fingered one or two, but nothing met what she had in mind.
“Last but not least are these,” he said and put the tray before the women. Meg and Ginny looked at the tray. There were braids as well as links on this tray. Two were patterned. Meg picked up the narrower of the two and realized that the pattern was made up of tiny wolf paw prints. The last one on the tray was a braid that literally flowed when Meg picked it up. It was beautiful.
“I really like this one, but do you have different styles of buckles for the ends? This one is really square and it just seems to clash,” said Meg.
“I do indeed,” said Andrew. “Something I think you will like. I’ve been working on it in hopes that Ginny would bring you into the store.” With that, he got up and retrieved a small box from behind the curtained off area. He set it down in front of Meg.
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.