Page 21 of A Noble Affair
“Louis…that’s not good news. Not good at all.” There was the slightest pause before the manasked,“So how are you going to pay me back?”
Louis’s voice rose slightly in pitch. “How am I supposed to pay you back? I don’t have that kind of money.”
There was another silencebeforethe guy said, “Your dad does.”
This caused Louis to retort indignantly, “There’s no way I can ask my father for that amount without explaining why. And…I’m not going to steal from him.”
“Look, kid.” The man’s voice was so low it was hard to hear. “You don’t seem to understand a business transaction. In a business transaction, one person supplies the goods and the other person supplies the money.” He spoke with exaggerated patience, as if he were explaining a simple concept to a child. “The minute the goods pass over into the other person’s hands, he’s responsible. If you think there’s a risk you can’t be responsible for the merchandise, you need to get yourself insured. Are you insured Louis?”
“Am I insured for my drug collection?” A flash of spirit—of rebellion—showed in Louis’s voice.
There was another pause, and in a voice so light it made his neck tingle, Thomas heard, “If you can’t find a way to pay me back, I can always introduce you to the gentleman you stole it from. He knows how to get what he’s owed.”
“I didn’t steal it. Someone stole it from me.”
“It’s all the same to him. You took goods without paying for them.”
Louis’s voice sounded defeated. “Just…give me more time. I’ll figure it out somehow.”
Why doesn’t he just tell his dad?Thomas thought.Drugs areillegal, and his dad could throw the guy in prison just like what happened to my dad.He chewed his lip for a minute.He’s probably afraid he’ll get into trouble.
“We’re good then.” The man’s tone was too cheerful for what they had just been discussing. After a moment when neither spoke,he went on. “Listen, if you’re open to a fair exchange—more than fair considering what you owe me—I would be willing to forget the moneyin exchange for a favor at a time when I need it.”
“What favor?” Louis’s mistrust was unmistakable.
“We’ll get to that soon enough,” was the answer. A girl shrieked as someone chased her by Thomas, swallowing up what he said afterwards. When Thomas turned back to listen, he caught the last words as their voices moved away,“—and as a sign of good faith, this should tide you over.”
Thomas tried to follow them on the parallel path that lay on hisside of the hedge, but his teacher was calling the children to order, and he had no choice but to run and get in line. That big kid seemed to be in some kind of trouble.
10
You could hear the throngs of people through the wall of plywood cabins that lined the grounds. Thomas ran ahead to where the opening was and turned back to smileat his mom, beckoning. Then he was gone.
“Thomas, wait.” It was half-hearted. She was already letting the bright atmosphere of themarché de noëlpull her in from the cold darkness that lay outside the enclosed festivities.
The open-faced cabins were set up in a large square with aisles connecting the two ends, forming a labyrinth. The aisles were carpeted in red, vibrant with Christmas colors and bustling with people, and each stall was brightly lit on the outside with the interior of each stall muted in soft lighting. You could spend hours in the market, going down one edge and examining the goods, then going up the other side and catching the stalls you missed. Chastity smelled the hot, spiced wine from the entrance, its fragrance mixing with the smoky scent of roasting chestnuts.
Thomas was in front of one of the first stalls, his attention already fixated on a stand with wooden toys. There was a chess set, wooden puppets in various sizes and positions, and complicated puzzles that Chastity had no interest in even beginning to attempt. Thomas gingerly took one of them in his hands.
Chastity bit her lip to keep from admonishing him to put it back and simply watched him instead. He turned the puzzle this way and that, his brows pulled together in concentration. The vendor studied him, then gently took the puzzle from his hands and gave an unexpected series of twists and pulls, which freed the wooden loop from its prison. Then he winked at Thomas and handed it back to him. Thomas’s eyes shone with delight as he flashed a grin at the vendor. She made a mental note to come back and get the puzzle for a Christmas gift.
“Come,” she said. “Let’s get a waffle first and then we can visit all the stands. We won’t be eating dinner until after we get home, and I don’t want you to get grouchy.”
“I never get grouchy,” was his indignant reply.
“You're right, honey.” She gave his shoulder a soft squeeze. The woman at the confection stand was waiting, so she gestured “two,” pointing at the waffles, before leaning down to kiss her son’s head.
Charles walked next to Manon,her arm woven through his. She made a pretty picture with her blond hair set against a red wool coat, tied at the waist. The actress was home for the holidays, and as promised, he did not end their relationship before they had a chance to see if they could make it work in person—to see if there was something there.
However, Charles was beginning to regret his decision to bring her to his city’s Christmas market, and it was not helping their relationship. For one thing, she was wearing her sunglasses, although night had fallen early. And her permanent reflex of moving furtively called attention to herself just as it had in London. As he watched her, he couldn’t help but feel that her gestures were theatrical. Nothing seemed genuine. No expression of delight, no pleading for him to offer her a “darling little trinket” seemed natural to him. He was polite, but his heart wasn’t in it.
She stopped at one of the stands and squealed over the Belgian lace. The silk threads were woven so daintily, it seemed like they would fall apart at the touch, but the salesperson assured them thepastoral image was stronger than it looked.
“May I offer you one?” He scanned the various designs.
“Oh Charles, would you? Of course I can afford it, but it's nicer to receive it as a gift than buy it with my own money. It makes me feel cherished.” Charles felt a twinge of guilt as he opened his wallet.
Handing her the paper bag containing the expensive token wrapped in tissue paper, Charles indicated the stand in front of them. “Shall we get something to eat?” He could see her hesitate as she scanned the menu of fried dough and candy apples.
