Page 42 of His Little Sapphire

“Is she here, Papi?” a small voice calls out from behind him before shoving him out of the way to see me. She has pale skin, big blue eyes, and blond curly pigtails. She is grinning wide.

The man I now know is Ekert pulls her back a few steps with an arm around her. “How about if we let them come inside, Little one?”

She giggles. “Sorry, Papi.”

He bends down and kisses the top of her head before shaking Papi’s hand. “Sorry. Sophie gets excited when we have visitors.”

Papi smiles as he steps inside, holding me close.

I’m fighting the need to cover my breasts as usual. When will that get easier?

Papi surprises me when he squats down, setting me on my feet, but keeping an arm around me. I’m eye to eye with Sophie. She’s so pretty. She’s bouncing, and her pink nipples have diamonds hanging from them. I can’t imagine when I will get used to that either.

“Hi,” she says. “I’m Sophie. You must be Christine.”

“Chrissy,” I murmur.

She smiles. “What’s your favorite color?”

I shrug. “I don’t know.”

“Maybe I can help you choose.” She bounces again and glances up at Ekert. “Can I, Papi? Can I show her the stones?”

He sets a hand on top of her head. “Yes, Little one, but slow down.”

Papi stands, leaving me on my feet. He takes my hand. “Let’s go see what they have, shall we?”

I want to say no. Let’s go back home and do this another day in like ten years. But I don’t think he’s going to budge on this issue. I know he thinks it’s better for me if I get it done so I won’t worry about it all the time, and he’s probably right, but I’m scared out of my mind.

I follow Sophie and her Papi through a door off the foyer that connects to what is obviously his shop because as soon as we step inside, I realize I’m in a room that’s much like any jeweler I’ve ever seen. Granted, I’ve never been in one, but I’ve window shopped.

It’s odd to think my first piece of jewelry is going to be a hoop through my nipple. I’ve never owned any jewelry at all. Jewelry would have been frivolous in my world. The men sometimes had gold or silver rings, but the women wore nothing so extravagant. Even after I left the compound, I never had time or money for something like jewelry.

“Do you know what kinds of stones you like?” Papi asks.

I shake my head.

There is a long row of glass jewelry cases along one side and when we get closer, I can see hundreds of shiny stones. The cases are high but not so high that I can’t see in them. I wonder if Ekert intentionally put them low enough for humans to see.

“Let’s look,” Sophie suggests eagerly. She’s nearly always bouncing a bit, making her diamonds dance. Her pretty curls bounce around her face too.

I glance at Papi who nods approval and pats my bottom. “Go look around, Baby girl.”

I’m nervous, but the stones are so pretty. They take my breath away. I can’t believe I’m going to wear some of them.

Sophie leads me from case to case, pointing out her favorites and the pros and cons of different colors and styles. When we come to a pair of blue ones, I gasp. “Oh, those look like the sky. They’re so blue.”

The Eleadian sky is so much bluer than the sky I’ve always seen from Earth. It’s one of the first things I noticed when I arrived, and I still marvel at it every time we go outside. The stones are so pretty.

“Those are Sapphires,” Sophie informs me while Ekert opens the case from the other side.

Papi sets his hands on my shoulders and leans over me. “Those are very pretty, Baby girl.”

Ekert reaches for a pair of stones near the front. They are gorgeous.

“You may touch them, Little one,” Ekert tells me. “Hold them. See how they feel.”

I shake my head. “I might drop them.”

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