Heart of Patchwork

Chapter 4: The Antique Shop

Kitsune walked along beside Chris, her hands clasped together in front of her. The walk was relatively silent. It wasn't awkward or anything, it just seemed as though neither of them had much of anything to say. Besides, Kitsune seemed to be quite stuck in her head as they walked.

Even though he was friendly, Chris was still quite intimidating to her. It was mixture of the fact that he was tall, really formal, and, admittedly, quite attractive. She fidgeted with her fingers, still somewhat anxious. Yet at the same time, she felt... rather safe around him.

"You're awfully quiet. Are you alright?" Chris asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. "H-Huh- oh! Y-Yeah, I'm ok. S-Sorry- it's just... I-I don't know what to say to you. You're just r-really pretty, and I'm still slightly intimidated t-to be honest..." Kitsune confessed.

"Oh dear, my apologies. I really don't intend to come off that way." Chris stated, slightly concerned. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"I-It's alright. Like I said, it's mostly because you're pretty, a-and kinda tall." Kitsune responded, giving a small smile. That's when Chris realized the word she used to describe him- pretty.

"Pretty, huh?" He repeated. "How sweet. I could say the same about you~." He said, snickering as Kitsune gave out a flustered yelp. "C-Chris!" She whined, gripping the hem of her dress.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's kind of hard to resist. I'll stop if you really want me to, though." Chris remarked. Kitsune paused, glancing away. "I-It's fine.. I don't mind it, honestly..." She mumbled.

Chris smiled a little. "Alright then. But if I ever say or do anything that crosses your boundaries, you WILL tell me, right? The last thing I want is to accidentally make you uncomfortable." He asked. Kitsune smiled back, looking over at him. "Thanks, Chris... And I will..." She responded.

"Wonderful." Chris remarked. "If you don't mind my asking, what sparked your interest in antiques? You seemed quite curious when the antique shop was brought up." He asked.

Kitsune paused, humming in thought. "Well... Back at the house I lived at, I never really got to do much. So I read... A lot. A lot of things I read involved history, and even cursed objects. I've never watched a horror movie before, but I think one about a cursed object would be cool." She rambled a bit.

"But yeah- I'm a bit of a history nerd, I guess." She shrugged, smiling. Chris looked at her, somewhat surprised. "...You didn't stutter." He pointed out. Kitsune paused, noticing what he said was true. "O-Oh, yeah... I guess I didn't." She mumbled.

"I get excited when I get to talk about my interests since it doesn't happen very often." She explained. "I'm sorry if I annoy you-" Chris cut her off, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"With all due respect, dear, you apologize far too much. You won't annoy me, not even if you tried." He assured her. "Though what's this about 'not getting to talk about your interests' very often?" He asked.

"Well... W-Without getting too far into things, no one e-ever really listened to me... It was always really common for people to tune me out, so I just learned not to talk about it at all..." Kitsune explained.

"Heavens, that's certainly no fun... Forgive me for being blunt, but whoever you hung around with were fools. I've only known you for roughly half an hour, and I must say- you're quite interesting." He commented. Kitsune smiled, blushing a little. "Thanks..."

After a bit more walking, they had finally reached the antique shop. It was fairly nice looking. The exterior was quite elegant- the walls being made of reinforced, dark brown wood. Large, arch-shaped windows on either sides of the door allowed people to glance inside. Curious, Kitsune peered in through one of the windows. "Oh wow..." She mumbled.

The inside of the shop was really neat. The wooden floor was well polished. There was a desk of sorts close to the back wall- which she assumed was where the purchases were made. Various antiques- dolls, vases, jewelry, plates, mirrors, and other oddities lined various shelves and the walls.

"What do you think? It looks nice, yes?" Chris asked. "Yeah, it's beautiful. It looks so clean." Kitsune nodded.

Chris smiled, walking over to the door and holding it open. "After you." He gestured. Kitsune smiled as well, walking in- he followed her in as he shut the door behind him.

Now inside the shop, Kitsune walked around- admiring everything. She looked up at some porcelain dolls. One of the dolls caught her attention rather quickly. It had pale skin, blue glass eyes, and gorgeous curly scarlet hair. It wore a blue dress with a white apron. It had black dress shoes and white socks as well- giving it an Alice in Wonderland look. Chris walked over to her side, realizing what caught her attention.

"You seem rather intrigued there. Do you like dolls?" He asked. "Yeah, they're pretty. I really love the outfits they wear. I'd love to own a dress like that one." Kitsune responded.

"Hey, I wanna ask something." She stated, turning to look at him. "By all means, ask away." Chris replied. "Do you... work here by yourself?" The redhead asked, tilting her head.

"I do, yes. I will admit, it is a solitary job, and it does get boring when no one else is here. But I don't mind it too much." Chris explained. Kitsune hummed, seemed to be in thought.

"Can I... umm.. I mean..." She struggled a little, fidgeting with her dress. Chris patiently waited for her to finish, curious as to what she wanted to say. "I... I was wondering if... Y-You don't have to!! But, I was wondering if I..." Kitsune took a deep breath.

"Can I work here with you?"

Chris blinked, a little surprised by the question. "You... want to work here?" He asked, in slight disbelief. When Kitsune nodded, he only became confused. "Not that I mind your offer, dear, but why?" He asked.

"W-Well... There's a few reasons... One, I really want to somehow pay Lily and Norman back for taking me in. Two, I just... think I'd enjoy working in a place like this." She hesitated before saying the last reason. "A-And lastly, I just... I guess I just wanna spend more time with you, and I don't want you to be lonely." She said.

Chris paused before placing his hands on her shoulders. "Dear, look at me." He gently instructed. Slowly, Kitsune looked up- her amber eyes meeting his silver ones. Once she did so, the taller male gave a smile. "I would be happy to have you work here." He told her.

Kitsune's eyes lit up, smiling in excitement and gratefulness. "When can I start?" She asked, eager. "Tomorrow, if that works for you. Be here by eight a.m., understood? I'll show you what to do." Chris informed her, Kitsune nodding in affirmation.

"Wonderful. Anyways, I suppose I should get you home now. But before I do that..." Chris paused, walking over to the shelf that held the dolls Kitsune was staring at. Lifting his arms up, he picked up the doll that caught her attention. Once it was secure in his grip, he turned around and went back to Kitsune.

"Here." He said, holding the doll out to her. "Consider this a welcoming gift, from me to you." He added.

Kitsune looked up at him, unsure. "I-I can have this? You don't mind?" She asked. "Yes, of course. I insist." Chris nodded.

Smiling, Kitsune took the doll- hugging it to her chest. "Thanks, Chris... I'll take good care of her." She said. Chris ruffled her hair. "Glad to hear it. Anyways, come along now. I think it's about time I got you home." He informed her.

With a nod, Kitsune followed him out the door. As they walked, Kitsune was trying to think of a name for the doll. Her mind was stuck on 'Annabelle' for a while, but she decided on a different, much better suited name. Alice. Satisfied with the name, she hugged it tighter and smiled.

She looked forward to her first day of work the next day.