Chapter 2
“And this one we’ve imported from China, the design is from around the time of the second world war. They found the amulet and preserved it. I found it at an auction in Germany, and designed it into a locket myself.
Roxanne was quite impressed by his dedication to the craft, and wanted to know more about him rather than the jewelry. She was intrigued by the way he handled every piece, carefully opening and closing every box, and not touching any piece without a glove on his hand.
After he closed the last of the three boxes he had got, she sunk back into the sofa.
“These are lovely, I must say. I’ll have quite a hard time deciding haha!” she laughed, trying to make the conversation go further.
“Thank you very much! It’s great to hear that. And don’t worry about deciding, you can take as much time as you need, I’ll get you mirrors so you can try them on.” he said and rushed back to the counter, not revealing that he only needed an excuse to check up on the shady figure again.
He was still there, and Chris could notice a menacing smile on the guy’s face, while his eyes were shadowed by the hat he wore. Chris tried to express discomfort, or intimidate him with his looks, but it seemed like the guy took no notice of Chris’ expressions, as if his eyes were fixed on something else inside the store.
What confused Chris most was that the guy was still smoking a cigarette, this one having been lit only just now. It was clear that the guy had a reason to be standing where he was.
Dismissing it yet again, Chris carried the round mirror over to the glass table in the seating area.
While he was doing so, Roxanne asked him more questions.
“So you keep saying ‘we’ when referring to the shop, but aren’t you the only person working here?”
“Well, I suppose you could say I am my own boss.” he replied plainly, not wanting to show it off.
“That must be quite nice, working on your own terms.”
“I suppose it is. If you don’t mind me asking, what do you do yourself?”
“Oh not at all. You could say I’m an artist, although I wouldn’t call it a profession at all. I write here and there as well.” she replied shyly.
Chris could see that she was lacking confidence regarding her work.
“That’s amazing!” he said excitedly, adding, “I would love to see some of your work if it’s ever possible.”
Roxanne was surprised that someone was showing this much interest in her. She wasn’t used to much attention, despite belonging to a well-off family. All her life, Roxanne had wanted to find a voice of her own, rather than being known for her father’s name.
After a brief moment of consideration, she replied, “For sure! I don’t see why not at all.”
Deep inside, Roxanne was growing anxious thinking what he would think if he saw her paintings or read her poems. These were parts of herself that she had never shown to anyone. They were about her, they were her, and she had no idea whether she was willing to be that vulnerable in front of a guy she had just met.
“Lovely! So…” he said, pointing towards the cases on the table, “did you happen to decide on any of these?”
“Oh right, I was going to try them on.” she replied.
As he was opening the first box again, the door to the shop opened, and the figure that had been loitering outside entered.
“Afternoon.” Chris said, eyeing him cautiously, ready to jump up at any hint of a threat.
The last thing Chris wanted was for Roxanne to have a bad experience at his shop, just because he happened to deal in expensive items and that made him susceptible to such risks.
“Good afternoon sir. Madam.” the guy said while taking off his hat, and nodding to each of them.
Roxanne seemed to be repulsed by this man’s presence, and froze in a moment of shock. Chris couldn’t understand what that look on her face was, but could tell by her fidgeting, and her eyes darting anywhere but the man, that she did not want him there.
“I apologize sir but did you book an appointment? This business only works for select clientele.” Chris said, wanting to turn the man down.
“Oh alright. Apologies, I was not aware.” the man replied, his face still containing that evil smile.
“Well now you are, sir. And as you can see, I’m busy with a customer, try to book an appointment before coming next time.” Chris said, and carried on with the boxes, expecting the man to leave.
Roxanne’s breathing was getting heavier, and she was looking to Chris with helpless eyes.
“If you say so, then I can certainly do that.” the man replied, adding, “Although…..”
“Yes?” Chris asked, getting impatient.
“….I definitely like the look of this piece you are showing to the lady.” he moved closer to the table while saying this, causing a rise in Roxanne’s discomfort at the same time, something that Chris could not miss even if he wanted to.
Chris got up from the sofa, one hand raised as if telling the man to stop in his tracks.
“Sir, I said, you can come some other time. I’m busy with a customer at this moment, and you are intruding on a private session.” Chris said with sternness in his voice.
The two men had a stare down after Chris’ last statement, and Chris stood firm and tall, deciding to budge only if the man turned around.
And so he did. After putting his hat back on and giving Chris a nod, he walked out the door, leaving Chris and Roxanne in the uncomfortable silence of the shop.
After making sure the door was locked this time, Chris walked to the seating area slowly, not knowing how to apologize for what had just happened.
“I am so sorry for this, I’ve never encountered anything like this. I apologize for all the inconvenience caused.” he said, looking to her for forgiveness.
“Um…..” Roxanne said frantically, as if it was getting difficult for her to speak.
“Yes?”
“Don’t apologize. Just, thank you for making the man go away.” she replied.
“There’s no need to thank me, what he was doing was wrong. I should’ve locked the gate, it’s my bad.”
Roxanne was overwhelmed with the cuteness on his face, him forcing a smile to contain the guilt.
“No, you won’t understand. Just take it.” she said.
“Why would I not understand?”
Roxanne broke off eye contact as soon as he asked that, and started fidgeting with her fingers. Chris was afraid that he had upset her, and regretted taking that line of questioning too far, but in his heart was curiosity about one thing which he could not shake.
“It might be very stupid of me to say this, and please slap me if it is, but it seemed like you and him have some history, possible even bad blood if I was to take a wild guess.” he said reluctantly, having no idea where he was taking this conversation, or whether it was even right for him to be making those assumptions about her.
Roxanne became clearly more tense hearing this, her breathing heavy and fast enough to seem like a panic attack.
“I’m sorry….you don’t have to answer…..” Chris tried reassuring her, wondering whether he could hug her to comfort her.
“The man has been following me I think, but I’m not sure.” she replied, hoping that this would be the end of it.
“My god. If you want I’ll go deal with that guy right now….” Chris said in anger, his rage boiling up in response to what she had just told him.
“No!” she cut him off, and added, “Don’t do anything, please. Just leave it.”
Chris felt confused for a bit, but wanted more answers, not understanding why she would not want to do anything about a guy following her creepily.
“When did he start following you?” Chris asked, not expecting the reaction that he got.
“God. I said leave it. Why can you not understand…” Roxanne snapped, and after picking her purse up, ran out the door while breaking down.
Christ sat there on the sofa alone, wondering what he did wrong. He regretted this experience altogether, feeling like he ruined his first ever meeting with the prettiest girl he had ever seen.