Page 63 of The Toymaker
“Is it any better?” asked Trig.
“Yeah. It doesn’t hurt like before. It was really bad, and I tried not to move-”
“Take a few steps on it.”
Kit seemed fine as he walked a few feet away. “It hurt so bad, I didn’t know what to do. It came out of nowhere.”
Riju had woken up from sleep with one a few years ago, and he still remembered how jarring the unfamiliar, sudden pain had been.
“Cramps happen,” said Trig. “You’ve never felt a cramp before?”
“No.”
“If you haven’t had one before, I suppose it can be a bit shocking. I think you should have some tomato juice.”
Kit squinted. “Why?”
“My Grandma used to say bananas are good to eat afterward so you don’t have more. Cramps mean the body is lacking something. You won’t find any bananas around here at this time of year. Tomato juice is another one. It’s got something in it that helps. You probably won’t have another one, but it’s better to be safe.”
“They’ll have tomato juice at the general shop on Farthing Street.” Riju remembered seeing it there before.
“Go grab a jug,” said Trig. “I’m sure you’ll be fine, Kit, but you’ll drink a glass just in case. We’ll all have juice with a pinch of salt. It’s good.”
“I’ll be back.” Riju approached Kit for a hug. He was pretty sure Kit wouldn’t try to hold him back from life or say mean stuff when he was clearly upset. Or act like Riju would always be helpless without him.
Kit hugged him, and he clearly wanted to know why Riju had been crying. How much had he heard of their argument from downstairs? Riju didn’t look back at Trig as he went upstairs.
“Is everything okay?” Kit asked in a low voice.
“Everything’s fine,” said Trig.
Everything was not okay. Of course, Trig probably thought Riju would stay there forever like a good little doggie.
The thought nearly made him steam while he splashed his face in the hall privy room and dried it. Afterward, he put on his red cloak, grabbed his coin purse from his bedside drawer, and left.
Once Kit's contract was up, Riju was leaving too. After today, he wasn’t going to continue as if nothing happened. If Kit didn’t want to have something with just Riju and preferred to go…His throat tightened as he swiftly walked down the street. He’d missKit, but he wasn’t going to hold him back and be like Trig by forcing him into things he wasn’t fully okay with.
Trig would probably be furious and say more nasty shit. Let him. Riju would get a cheap place and figure out his own way in life. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t like everyone else and enjoyed dolls. He’d make kid’s toys, and even if he failed at it, he’d get a job somewhere.
He wasn’t going to be a man’s pet to fix.
He kept his gaze down as he walked and breathed in the chilly air. Out in the city, he managed to calm himself down a little, although the racket around him was irritating. It was a day where he’d rather be in a silent room with only Kit. They could read or do something quiet next to each other.
The general shop they often went to had jugs of pressed juice from the last harvest time. A cramp was likely no reason to worry, and Kit probably didn’t even need the juice. It was better to be sure. Food had all kinds of things in it that were good for the body, not that anyone truly understood how it all worked.
On one of the back shelves, Riju spotted a jug with the word tomato on the handwritten label, so he took it to the counter.
The shop owner said the price and took the offered money. “You like red, huh?”
“It’s my favorite color.”
The man’s eyes swept down. “It’s a bit much, don't you think?”
“No.”
The man raised his eyebrows. “Enjoy your red juice.”
He would, and who cared if he wore his red coat and cloak despite having red hair? He carried the jug back home, and once he was in the kitchen, he poured a glass for Kit and added a couple of pinches of salt to make it taste better. He’d have a glass later, and Trig could pour his own damn juice.
