Page 81 of An Adventure For Aster

THOUGHT IS ALWAYS MORE IMPORTANT

“I’m sorry about this,” Aster said to Raine on Sunday morning.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “It’s your job and it’s fine. I’ve got this and I’ll work on Daphne.”

He leaned down and kissed her. “I really appreciate it. Of all the rotten luck for something to break on the weekend. I’ve got parts and think I can fix it, but I know it’s going to be a few hours easily.”

“Stop, Aster,” Daphne said, coming out of the bathroom. “I don’t need you to hold my hand and give me a guided tour while I’m here.”

“I know,” he said. “But you’re here to visit and now I’m working.”

“Then go work,” Raine said. “You’re off the next three days while I’m working. Maybe I want this time to bond with your sister and find out all your secret mischief as a kid.”

“None of it is secret,” he said, smirking.

“He’s right,” Daphne said. “Not that Aster was a troublemaker either.”

“I’m out of here,” he said. “I’ll text you when I’m done.”

“Don’t worry about us,” she said. “We are going shopping and then I’m going to show Daphne around the area. Not just tourist attractions either. If she’s going to move here she should know more.”

“True,” he said. “You can show her more than me, but I’ll be bringing her to the shop tomorrow. Lily, Poppy, and Rose want to meet you.”

Raine thought that was nice that Aster’s bosses wanted to meet his sister.

Aster left after that and Daphne turned to her. “Is it me or is it weird that his bosses all want to meet me? I could understand Lily because of Zane. Aster did say he’d introduce me to Zane too. I asked if I could meet some of the guys he served with. Maybe I want to thank them for taking care of him. Or taking care of each other.”

Which was even sweeter. “I know Aster isn’t much of a talker, but it’s a really special place that he’s working for. I know what I do from Ivy.”

“Ivy is marrying your brother, right? And she has two sisters that work at Blossoms too?”

“Yes. There are a lot of other relations there or best friends or people that became best friends. It’s complicated but in a good way. I’m not even sure I know it all, as I’ve heard more from Ivy in passing than anything else.”

“Aster doesn’t share all that much,” Daphne said. “Our conversations are mainly about how we are doing. I like to know how he’s feeling and I know it annoys him, but he scared me.”

“I can’t even imagine,” she said. “But if it helps you any, I’ve never seen anything to show what he’s gone through other than the scar.”

“Yeah,” Daphne said. “He never says anything. Though he told me you had the flu on New Year’s Eve and wouldn’t let him near you.”

“He was mad about that, but I told him to get over it. He says he doesn’t have a compromised immune system, but I don’t care. You know my brother is a doctor. He may be a radiologist, but he’s still a medical doctor. He said that, yes, anyone that has major surgery like that, their body fights to recover for months and that could knock their immune system down.”

“I know,” Daphne said. “It’s been almost a year and I’m glad I get to see him with my own eyes. He looks great. Not just physically but he’s also more relaxed.”

“Why don’t we go check out the Olde Mistick Village? We can chat while we go through the shops. I find them quaint and love to browse more than shop. It drives your brother nuts that I don’t buy much.”

She’d gotten thrifty in her life and only bought something when it was a good deal or she needed it and had no choice.

Though she was more financially secure, she couldn’t break the habit of a lifetime. She didn’t think it was that big of a deal either.

“You sound like me,” Daphne said.

They left Aster’s and drove to the village of shops and spent time moving in and out of them. Aster told her to use his credit card to buy his sister something if she wanted it. She’d pushed the card back at him and he’d laughed and stuck it in her purse.

She told him she wouldn’t promise anything. She knew what it was like to have someone pressure you with gifts or to spend money. She didn’t want Daphne to feel bad that maybe she wanted something and couldn’t afford it.

“Those are pretty, aren’t they?” she asked of the box of Christmas ornaments in the Christmas shop they were in.

“They are,” Daphne said. “But Christmas is over and it’s not like I’ve got a tree to decorate. I put our tree up this year and did the decorations. My parents stopped caring years ago.”

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