Who: Jefferson, Verity and Grace! When: Recently Where: For the Lulz What: A visit and shopping! Rating/Warnings: None! Cuteness abounds! Status: Complete!
Grace had a half day at school, and Jefferson had asked for it off in advance. She was still a little shy, still a little nervous after the red sky. So Jefferson thought he might take her to Verity’s shop. It seemed a perfect place for a shy young lady to open up a little. They’d found the joke shop just where the internet said it would be, and Grace walked inside first, big eyes widening as she began to look around.
Jefferson followed, hoping Verity was actually working. “Hello?” he called. “I’m trying to find Miss Verity Ashford?”
This store gave a “kid in a candy shop” experience to every kid who came in. It was a joy to Verity to get to see, and she saw it several times each day. The brightness on the little faces, the joy in their voices and laughter. That made her job the best in the world--that, and working with Fred and George Weasley. It made every day a day filled with joy and happiness. And pranking. Lots of pranking.
She was behind the counter when the young girl and her father came into the shop. At the sound of the familiar voice, Verity broke into a smile. She turned and gave a wave to the newcomers. The shop was nearly empty, so she’d been stocking the register tape. “Hello! Jefferson? And this must be Grace.”
Grace stayed by her father’s side, holding his hand. This place looked awesome, but she still wasn’t sure, if only because everything had been so weird lately. Having Miss Alice around had helped some, but she still had bad dreams. She felt bad, if only because she knew Papa worried.
She tried to smile and be nice to the blonde lady who waved from the counter. “Hi. You’re Uncle Oliver’s friend, right? Miss Verity?”
“That’s right.” Jefferson smiled, bringing her closer. “Miss Verity came into our shop before, and got a dress from me and Miss Lulu.”
Verity broke into a grin at the sight of the girl hanging so close to her father. It was obvious why Alice was so enamored with the girl. She was absolutely adorable. “That’s right, I’m friends with Oliver.” She said, smiling and nodding.
Verity was good with kids. She had to be, in her job. Though, she was much better with her niece and nephew than she was with random customers. Hopefully she’d be better with Grace, too.
“It was a really beautiful dress. Probably the most beautiful dress I’ve ever worn.” She said, smiling a little shyly. “Are you here to check out the shop?” She added, glancing between the young girl and her father.
Grace nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Papa said there’s fun things here, and it’s scary outside sometimes.”
“The sky a few days ago scared her a bit.” Jefferson explained. Really, he didn’t blame her; it had definitely unnerved him. “I thought this might be a good place to find some fun toys, or maybe some magic tricks. Grace likes magic.”
That did get an enthusiastic nod. “Yes, ma’am! It’s the most fun thing ever. And Rebecca helps me when I do card tricks, too.”
“Rebecca is her favourite doll.” Jefferson explained again, smiling. “For those times you need an assistant.”
“I think the sky a few days ago scared everyone a little bit.” Verity said, nodding. “I know it scared me. But it’s over now, and things are back to normal.” She added, hoping that admitting that she was scared by the sky wasn’t going to scare the girl, too.
“Oh, we’ve got a lot of magic here.” Verity said, breaking into a smile. “I’d love to see one of your magic tricks sometime. I love card tricks. Maybe you can come and do a magic show for Uncle Oliver, and I can come see, too?” She asked, hopefully.
“I’ll show you some of the tricks we have here. Maybe you can add them to your act.” She added, then came around the counter to show Grace and Jefferson to the Magic section of the store.
“That would be good.” Grace smiled back, risking walking a little bit further from her father. “I don’t know how to do very many tricks yet, but Miss Alice gave me one and I got really good at it. She looks after me when Papa’s still at the shop. Cause school gets out earlier.”
Jefferson didn’t say anything, though he couldn’t help wincing. He still wasn’t sure if Alice and Verity were on very good terms. Alice had said they hadn’t fought, but that was not the same as getting along.
“That’s nice. Alice is a very, very nice lady, isn’t she?” Verity said to the young girl, leading the two of them across the store to where they kept the magic tricks and other fun things. It wasn’t as if Verity hated the other woman. She just felt awkward, and she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to be acting about... well... all of it. That was neither here nor there, though, when it came to Grace. Verity was going to be kind and friendly toward the girl no matter what her awkward feelings were about Alice.
“Let’s see if we can find you another trick to practice.” She said, her smile brightening. “What do you think? Rings? Ropes? Wands, hats, scarves?” They had it all.
Grace nodded. She lowered her voice, but in the way children have when it only becomes a louder, wetter whisper. “Papa wants to marry Miss Alice someday.” She giggled a little, which did Jefferson’s heart good, even if he was already red with embarrassment. But she was distracted by Verity’s mention of rings and other magic tricks. “How can you do a trick with rings?”
Verity bent down a little and lowered her voice, too. “Do you want Papa to marry Miss Alice?” She asked, then broke into a soft grin. “Because I think Miss Alice would make a wonderful Mommy.” She said, then turned to the Magic Tricks.
“Oh, it’s pretty simple.” She pulled the ring trick out of the box and showed Grace how it worked.
“Yes, ma’am.” Grace smiled, looking almost conspiratorial. “Papa talks about Uncle Oliver, but he and Miss Alice are like ... he’s her brother. You can’t marry your brother.” Obviously was in her tone.
Jefferson just decided to ignore it all, instead focusing on the magic tricks. “How does that one work, Grace? Do you think you could do that?”
Grace took the rings, trying to follow Miss Verity’s instructions. She managed to get them unlinked, looking up and feeling absurdly pleased with herself.
Verity wasn’t sure how to respond to that one, so she simply let it lie. She watched Grace with the ring trick, then laughed and clapped when she got the rings unlinked. “Good! That was really good! It’s a fun trick, isn’t it?”
“I think so.” Grace smiled, a little less shyly. She turned back toward Jefferson. “Papa, may I get this one? Please?”
“I don’t see why not.” Jefferson had to smile; she looked happier already. “Tell you what. Why don’t you stay here and look for one more that you’d like to take home. Miss Verity and I will be right over here, all right?”
He saw her frown, but only for a split second. As he’d hoped, magic tricks were a good lure. “All right, Papa ... please don’t go far.” She murmured it, clearly feeling embarrassed, and he shook his head. Poor girl.
He walked away a bit, wanting to talk to Verity. “How are you, my dear?”
Verity nodded a little, letting the girl know they wouldn’t go far. Hopefully Fred and George would mind the register so she could have another moment to talk with Jefferson, without having customers drag her off. She nodded, taking a few steps away from the girl, but keeping her in her sights.
“Tired,” she responded, smiling gently. “I’ve been tired a lot lately. I’m so sorry that the sky scared her,” she added. “I really do think it scared all of us.”
“She’s had nightmares before,” Jefferson replied. “She has a tendency to cling to me, but at least for right now, it’s okay. I just worry, but I think I’m supposed to.” He smiled just as gently. “Do you think you’re getting sick? It might do you good to take a bit to relax.”
“I don’t know. I think I might be working a bit too hard,” Verity said, even though her work schedule hadn’t changed at all in the past few weeks. She didn’t want to dwell on it, though. If it was a little bug, she hoped she’d fight it off sooner rather than later. And she really hoped that she wasn’t contagious. “And I think you’re supposed to worry. It’s your job as her dad.” She smiled, thinking for a moment of her own father. “So long as it doesn’t make you paranoid.”
“Hopefully it won’t.” Jefferson shook his head. He couldn’t help but tease gently. “Maybe you ought to bunk down with Oliver; you two can take care of each other.” They adored each other, but he wasn’t sure if they’d realized that yet.
Verity very much adored Oliver. She was head over heels in love with him, and wished that she could be with him all the time. But sick and recovering from surgery didn’t sound like the most fun of times. “I dunno, I’d hate to get him sick, or Alice.” She said, shaking her head. “And I’m not sure what help I’d be to him, all I wanna do is curl up on the sofa and nap.”
“I was teasing a bit,” Jefferson said, “but honestly, it can mean the world to someone when the person they care for just happens to be near.” Caroline had been able to mellow him almost all the time, just by being in the room. “Sometimes it’s not about being helpful, Miss Verity. It’s about your presence.” He smiled. Alice, too, was beginning to brighten him just by being there.
“Oh,” Verity said, then blushed furiously. She was smiling sheepishly, too. “Well, maybe you’re right.” She turned to glance at Grace who was still working with the magic tricks, trying to find another one that looked good. “Maybe we do need some time together, even if we’re not at our best.” Most of their relationship had been when they weren’t at their best. He’d been injured the entire time they were together, and she hadn’t been... well... strong.
“If it isn’t fresh, I would suggest it.” Jefferson smiled. She may not want to hear it, but he wanted to be honest. “Obviously, everyone needs time alone - even Oliver. But we also need interaction with other people. If I were Oliver, it would benefit me just to know you were there.”
They heard a faint eep from the other aisle. Jefferson looked back, blinking at Grace, who stood there with her finger seemingly stuck in what looked like a finger trap. “I’m sorry Miss Verity!” She was confused, looking near tears. “Help, Papa, please?”
Verity nodded. It did her some good to have encouragement to go to Oliver. She’d felt like she hadn’t seen him enough lately. Like she was loving him from a distance. And coupled with the sick feeling she’d been having... well, some comfort would be good for both of them.
She gave a little gasp at the eep, and turned quickly. “Oh... that’s one of the twins’ finger traps,” she said, moving quickly to the girl’s aid. “Here... there’s a trick to it.” She said, and showed the young girl how to release it.
Grace watched, sighing and wiping her eyes when Miss Verity freed her fingers. “Thank you,” she said, sniffling a little. She didn’t want to be a baby, though, so she did the best she could to calm down. “I thought I broke it.”
Jefferson smiled in spite of himself. “It’s all right, sweetheart. Miss Verity fixed it. Everything’s fine.”
Grace nodded a little, more calm now. “I don’t want this one, though.” She shook her head, and Jefferson had to laugh.
Verity was grinning, but somehow managed to keep the laugh in. “I don’t blame you at all. It’s totally sneaky.” She accepted the trap from the young girl and put it away. “Did you pick out something else that you wanted?”
“Yes ma’am.” Grace picked up her trick and held it out. It was a rope trick that looked cool. “I never tried a rope trick before.”
“That looks like a good one.” Jefferson smiled. “I bet you can get good at that one. Maybe when you do you can put on a show for Miss Verity and Uncle Oliver, like you said.”
“I’d like that!” Grace chirped, handing her tricks to her father. “But it’s fun to just learn how they work, too.”
Verity beamed. “I can’t wait to see your magic act. It’s all about the performance, putting on the show. Do you think you can put on a flashy show?” Verity asked, her, moving through the store again with the two of them, back toward the register.
“I hope so.” Grace looked down, smiling a little. “Papa says I’m shy, though. You can’t be shy if you want to be a magician.”
“No, definitely not.” Verity said, shaking her head. “Well, you can’t be shy on stage, anyway. You haven’t been shy with me here today at all.” She added, hoping that might help with the girl’s confidence.
“Well, you’re nice.” Grace burst out, blushing, but she smiled, still trying to be more bubbly. The sky was normal now, and Papa was here. And Miss Verity was nice. “I like it. I’m glad we came here, Papa.”
Jefferson smiled. “I’m glad, too! Can we go get these, Verity?”
“Of course!” Verity gave a smile to both father and daughter. She liked the girl, and Jefferson was always very nice to her. “Come on over to the register, and I’ll get you squared away.”
“Thank you,” Grace chirped, smiling. Jefferson was glad to see her opening up a bit. Verity was naturally so kind, if shy, and Grace needed to get better at talking to people.