Who: Ariel and Kate Kane What: Ariel helps Kate find a gift When: 2/15 Rating: PG Status: Complete
Ariel had just opened the shop after his lunch hour, and he was checking his phone. Seth had left him a nice voice mail, which might have been the reason he was smiling like an idiot when the woman walked into his shop. He wasn’t normally so nauseatingly cheery. “Hello, ma’am, can I help you with something?”
Kate looked around the shop. She had her hair down, long and flowing, and was wearing a short red dress under a black coat. She looked like she belonged in a club or on a movie set. It was a femme day, really. “I’m looking for something for someone who’s kind of regal…”
The woman was rather beautiful, though she had an easy manner that seemed to belie how forbidding she looked. “I can certainly try to help.” Ariel stowed his phone under the counter, coming out onto the shop floor. “May I ask what sort of person this is? Family, friend, significant other?” Different books carried different meanings, of course.
“A bit of the last two. We’re in that stage where we’re only just now labeling it.” Kate flushed just a little bit. “I want to… well it’s easier to do rather than say, if you catch my meaning.”
“I do.” Ariel smiled a little. He was likely that way with Seth. It wasn’t anything, per se, but it was something. “Well. You say he or she is very regal. Do you know what they might like? Any interests?”
“Weather,” she said, earnestly. “And climate, that sort of thing. She’s a meteorologist.” Kate rubbed at her chin. “Which sounds more boring than she actually is.”
Ariel couldn’t help but laugh. “I would have recommended some of our antique Poor Richard’s Almanacs, but a lady friend of mine literally just bought all of them.” Not a month ago. “Hm. What else? Perhaps something about climate change? The environment?”
"Maybe something about a Queen." She wouldn't say exactly why of course. "Something romantic maybe. She has a fondness for that kind of thing, kind of. Definitely something romanticized. " She doubted he had anything with two ladies in it so she didn't bother asking.
“Hm.” Ariel thought for a while. He started to walk down the aisles, letting his mind turn the issue over. He did get an idea as he turned into the fiction section. “There is one novel. Have you ever heard of Radclyffe Hall, miss?”
“I have actually,” she replied. “The Well of Loneliness, right? That’s...actually a really great idea. I’m kind of her first...girlfriend.”
“Indeed, yes. Radclyffe Hall was a woman who did exactly what she pleased, how she pleased to do it, and if it wasn’t too niche a suggestion, I thought it might work.” Ariel smiled a little. “Obviously, there’s more to a person than just which gender or genders they like to date, but it’s a very interesting book and it has a very uplifting message.” It was also antique - at least the copy he had was - and antiques always had a bit more gravitas than a modern paperback.
Kate nodded excitedly. “I think, in this case, that it might be just the thing. She can be shy at times and I’ve been trying to open up her world as it were.”
“Something like that will definitely make one think,” Ariel replied. “It’s not a light book, but it’s very well written. And I don’t know; I think a young woman could do worse than to have a role model like Radclyffe Hall.” He smiled. “What sort of price range were you thinking for this gift, miss?”
"Doesn't matter," Kate replied, grinning at him. "Not much out of my price range."
“Then this might suit just fine.” Ariel smiled right back. He got the book off the shelf in front of him and handed it to her. Best to let her look at it, see its condition, et cetera.
She gingerly held it, turning it over in her hands and opening it carefully. The condition was nice, and it smelled old. Part of her could appreciate that in this day and age and she was more than happy to hold. “Brings back memories of being fifteen and trying to read books like this discreetly.”
Ariel chuckled. “I know the feeling, though in my case it was old horror and suspense. Lovecraft, The Island of Dr. Moreau, et cetera. My parents thought it was horrible, brain-rotting stuff.”
“Oh those are good ones…” For all she was a playboy and a paparazzi favorite, Kate was intelligent and had devoted a lot of time and effort to getting into West Point. She might still be a little bitter about how that all turned out. “I also have a particular fondness for the original Conan stories.”
“The Barbarian, or the Sherlock Holmes author?” Ariel joked a little. “I enjoyed both. And really, I always found it ironic that my parents disliked science fiction when the literature they wanted me to read was no less sad, or gory, or nihilistic. I mean, I read Les Miserables when I was in high school for fun, for heaven’s sake, and envisioned myself a Barricade boy.”
"Both," Kate said, deciding to leave it a mystery. She looked him over. "You could pull off a barricade boy, I think. Not really my thing." She winked. "Have any rare Sci-fi?"
“Rare, I’m not certain. Old, yes.” Ariel gestured for her to follow him, going down another aisle. “My name is Ariel, by the way. I own this shop.”
“Kate.” She held out her hand. Her grip was firm, she’d never shaken as much of the military as her lifestyle would have lead her to believe.
“A pleasure, Kate. Here is the sci-fi section; you’re welcome to have a look around and see if anything catches your eye.” Ariel smiled. “I just got a fair amount of old fiction in, so there’s likely some titles that haven’t been out all that long.”
“Thank you. I shouldn’t be too long, I have a good idea of what I want to get for myself.” She smiled at him, then turned to look at the books.