Restoration in the River

I Don't Wanna Know

"Will you allow me to take a photo of the clock then?" Julian asked.  

"Of course! Please, be my guest!" He said. "So what are you after, how can I assist you?" 

Julian had taken his time to carefully get the best shots of the amazing looking old clock. It was hand carved, with a gold face, a buck and a doe hand carved from wood looked like they were coming out of the base of the clock where the pendulum was.  

Charlotte was there to help him, steadying his balance by wrapping her arm firmly around his waist, his cheap-looking stick resting against his right leg.

"You make a fine couple if I may say so!" The young man complimented with a warm smile.

Julian snorted with amusement.

"Do you really think so?" Charlotte asked, to Julian's shock.

"Well yes!" He answered, "clearly something has happened in your partner's life, and you're always there to support him!" 

The door opened and then closed, the little tinkling of the bell breaking Julian from his thoughts. 

"This is my brother's longtime partner" Julian clarified for him. "He stepped outside as the smell makes him sick! See? There he is...through the window, the guy wearing the fedora!"  

"We are sorry if we led you on to believe we are together, Jules wants one of those antique walking sticks" Charlotte tried to lighten the mood. It had suddenly become very awkward.

The young man actually blushed, then came back to the job at hand "Well, uh... we have a fantastic collection just through here, won't you follow me?" 

"Dr Hatchford said, I may need the stick for most of the time now, with my ankle and the wound almost healed on my hip it may just affect my balance" he confided in Charlotte.

"Who cares Jules!" She told him "you'll find one you love and you're living to tell your tale!"

He'd never seen so many cool looking walking sticks. There were horses, ducks, snakes, dogs, cats, an Egyptian one or two... one even bearing the resemblance to a hippo.

"I see your amulet on your bracelet" the young man hinted, subtly "is it a protective amulet? Do you like hippos?"

He didn't know what made him do it but leaning on his stick, he lifted his t-shirt up to reveal his healing wound.

"I was nearly killed by one seven weeks ago! The amulet was given to me, and strangely I find comfort in wearing it, but I would like to have a look at that one!" Pointing to a walking stick with a silver panther as the handle.

"Ah yes, many, many people have contemplated buying that one but have changed their mind at the last minute!" The shop assistant said.

"Is it haunted? What's wrong with it? How dear is it?" Julian bombarded him with questions.

He smiled and pulled the antique stick from the holder it was in and took Julian's stick from him, handing him the new one.

"It's not haunted, people just didn't think it was suited to them but it is rather expensive, yes" 

Charlotte smiled at Julian "it's you, Jules! It's you! How does it feel?"

A smile came creeping across Julian's lips, he did really like it and if he had to be stuck with a stick from now on, it had to be that one.

"I really like it! Can you tell me more about it please?" He answered.

"Well Sir, it is an exquisite Art Nouveau Silver walking stick from Austria around the 1900s. The large silver handle is 8 cm high,  21 cm to the side and 4 cm wide, it is perfectly modelled in a heavy cast and finely hand chased, depicting a panther emerging from jungle foliage and jumping to attack his prey. This noble feline portraiture at its best and evident craftsmanship puts this cane quality in a whole new category, the detail of the fur is amazing, It bears a "900" mark for the silver title beside two obscured hallmarks possibly Austrian and survived in pristine condition. The cane was sourced in a private collection in where it has been well looked after in the same family for the last half a century before being sold to this Antique shop.

Panthers have appeared in works of art throughout history and artists like Eugene Delacroix and sculptors who specialized in the depiction of Panthers were often connoisseurs of the activities and experts on the attitude of the animal concerned. The creating artist of this cane must have had an exceptional scientific knowledge of the subject. Nevertheless, it is a stunning cane that suits you perfectly!" He spoke proudly of the cane, knowing what he was talking about.

"What wood is used for the stick?" Julian asked.

"It's called a Malacca cane, made of the brown, often mottled or clouded stem of an East Indian Rattan Palm, the scientific name is Calamus scipionum"  

"Right! Now the next question is...how much?" 

"That one is one of the most expensive canes, it's five thousand dollars, Sir" 

"Sold!" Julian decided.  

*

Emmaline had come into the old antique shop to finalise the last payment on the grandfather clock she had just bought but having seen her patient with the arm of another woman wrapped around his waist she couldn't bear to face him, so she fled down to her favourite coffee shop that made the best cakes and treats.

As she sat with a creamy Chai Latte and a heavenly slice of Mississipi mud cake with a large dollop of cream on the side, she didn't see John's sons and Charlotte come into the cafe and sit down at a table on the opposite side the room.