Empress of Time

Chapter 16: Genevieve

Kisa

Tyler reached out and began to feel the egg in his hand. The vendor smiled at him.

"How much for two dozen sir?"

"Four dollars, young man."

"Well they are eggs of good quality... I'll buy them."

The vendor passed over two cartons of eggs in a large brown paper bag. I eyed the large eggs in the clear plastic cartons. "How can you tell how good they are?"

"Honestly, I can just feel it... I guess," he shrugged. I've never met a man who could shop for groceries so well... it was nice to see.

"Alright then. What's next?"

He thought to himself for a moment, then pulled me over to another vendor selling mushrooms. "Victor likes mushrooms in his the most. Then we need some onions, green peppers, cheese, ham, a little bacon... Oh! And tomatoes, of course. Clarissa likes adding spinach and Cassie prefers some shredded cilantro and basil. Damn, we need a lot of ingredients..."

"Wow, you sure know what everyone likes."

"Well, just our gang really. I don't know what every member in the guild likes yet. I'm working on it," he grinned. Knowing him, he'll succeed with no problem.

"Let's get to it then! I'm getting hungry just thinking about what it'll look like."

He picked up a few mushrooms and compared them. "I'm sure you'll like it. It's like a classic dish I like to make." 

The vendor opened a brown paper bag for Tyler to throw his mushrooms into. He casually pulled a few dollar bills from his pocket and ventured onward. I had a bit of a hard time keeping up with him with children and mothers bumping into me from every direction. On top of that, he was nearly two feet taller than I, so these short little legs of mine couldn't make any equivalent strides when next to him. I continued to try walking as close to him as I possibly could until a small vendor caught my eye. Without thinking, I wandered towards that pink little stand. A humble old lady and a child (who I assumed to be her grandchild) were cheerfully selling the smallest strawberries I had ever laid eyes on. The little boy was holding a silver platter with the small strawberries all stabbed with a tiny toothpick.

"Try one, please! They taste so delicious!" he cried out.

Before I realized it, my hand had already plucked a little strawberry from his sample dish. Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed my wrist. I flinched and turned around, watching as Tyler ate the sample from my hand. His lips barely grazed my fingertips but it still sent a shock down my spine.

"Hey! These taste pretty sweet," he said, curling his lips into a devilish smile.

"That was mine," I pouted, turning to hide my face again.

"This is punishment for making me worry about you. I thought some weird guy might have kidnapped you again," he frowned. His tone changed but it was still hard for me to gauge his intentions with those words.

"I can take care of myself, you know."

"OH really? Like how that drunken man that tried to grab you last night? I don't think acting confused is the best defense." I turned bright red, thinking about how Victor saved me that day. Tyler snickered, tossing the toothpick into a small can on the ground. "Young man, how much for a box of those little strawberries?"

"Only five dollars, sir!"

"I'll buy two boxes then, please."

I glanced up at him again. "Two?! That's a lot!"