Chapter 6 – Other Pyers

  “Human or not, green is green.” – Electronics store owner when talking about paranormal customers.

  Val hopped into the passenger seat like she was on springs. “They seemed super nice. Reminds me of this couple that ran a restaurant in my mom’s hometown.” She said in a tone full of fondness.

  “Yup, good people. Despite the show they put on, they really do love their kids. I think this is the first time they had managed to get them to stay for longer than a few days though.” Kurt commented as he pulled out, headed for their first actual destination.

  “Yeah, the love is there. They just like to have fun is all.” Val sipped her coffee while she looked around at the passing buildings. “Did they really sail around the Bahamas?”

  “Ask them about it and they will break out the photo album. They used to live on a sailboat. It looked nice and from my understanding they fixed it up after getting it for almost nothing. They put over a year of work in while it was on stands in a boat yard. Then even more after the got it floating.”

  “It looks like they put all their effort into everything they do.” She commented.

  Kurt nodded. “I think that comes from their time on the boat. Back then it was literally sink or sail when it came to their work.” Val chuckled a little at his pun. “They also did me a solid more than once. When I first moved up here, I hardly knew anyone and bumbled into them by chance. They took every opportunity to introduce me to their connections.”

  Val smiled sweetly. “That was really nice of them.”

  “Yeah. Honestly, I think it’s the main reason I stuck with it and actually finished the house.”

  “What do you mean?” Val asked.

  Hesitating for a moment, Kurt figured out how to say what he was feeling. “After the initial excitement of the move, I realized that I didn’t have anyone. I had no support network and just felt alone all the time. I didn’t have many friends at my old pce but at least I knew a few people. After Don dragged me out to the bar one night, I realized I had more up here than I ever had before.”

  She nodded along as he reasoned out how he felt. It was a big moment to openly admit your doubts and fears like he did. “Why don’t you tell them? Do you think they would turn on you?”

  Kurt shook his head. “No, but we have a good thing going. I don’t want them to second guess calling me for help if they need it. Besides, the fewer people that know, the better.”

  Val couldn’t argue with that. She never had that experience, having grown up within the order. She was wondering if she would develop her own social network in this small town. Thinking about that, she suppressed a shiver. She didn’t exactly like the idea of going out on her own, without Kurt or someone she trusted.

  Before she could think on the topic anymore, Val noticed that they were pulling into a furniture store parking lot. She was excited, never having shopped for furniture before. Now that she thought about it, she never really decorated her room before. She hadn’t seen a normal bedroom before between her barracks room and her parent’s homes. She was starting to panic a little when a hand nded on her arm.

  “Ready?” Kurt said. He had removed his hand but smiled at her in that kind way she liked.

  “Yeah, I think so.” She said and popped the door open to jump out. She heard Kurt ugh as she bounded across the parking lot. She was feeling pretty happy, making a complete one-eighty after her near panic attack.

  They walked through the door, entering a sort of lobby area with some patio furniture sets dispyed around the front of the store. Immediately, they noticed a man in a branded polo shirt walking their way with a big smile on his face.

  “Good morning, folks. My name is Michael. How are we doing today?” The salesman asked. The only thing missing from his used car salesman vibe was a ridiculous accent.

  “Just fine. How are you?” Val said in her rather chipper tone with a slight head tilt.

  “Oh, if I were any better, I’d be dangerous.” The man ughed.

  Kurt didn’t really care for his schtick but also realized that almost all the furniture stores operated on this principle. Still, he didn’t have to like the over-the-top attitude of the man. “Hi, she is looking for some bedroom furniture.”

  With a few words and a sweeping gesture of his arm Michael pointed them along one of the main paths that wound through the open space. He talked to them every which way but straight, never actually bothering to ask for details about Val’s needs. After several minutes, they shared a look.

  Val shook her head slightly. Kurt nodded. “Hey Michael. Can we have a few minutes to kinda browse around? I think we need to decide our budget.” Money usually made these people get serious and this guy was no different. He faded into the dispys with a few muttered words about getting some financing information for them.

  Grabbing Val’s hand, Kurt began pulling her toward the door. “Come on, we gotta get before he comes back, or he might follow us home.”

  “He would really do that?” Val asked, sounding worried.

  “Well, no. But the sooner we get moving the sooner we can go somewhere that doesn’t reek of fme retardant and packing materials.” That got her moving. He had noticed they both wrinkled their noses every time they got close to the furniture. One problem of being a paranormal was the heightened senses.

  They hit the lobby at a brisk walk and were all but jogging their way out the door and into the fresh air. After making it back to the car, Kurt gnced back at the door and saw the salesman standing in the lobby holding a few brochures and pamphlets, no doubt filled with their payment options.

  “So, where to now?” Val asked. “And can we have the windows down?”

  “Ha! Yeah, not a problem. I think I know a better pce that’s a few blocks past the edge of town.” Kurt answered. He had originally wanted to take her there but wasn’t sure if she would like the offerings. “It’s an Amish furniture pce. I can guarantee it will smell better.”

  Val was looking at him with more than a little disbelief. “Oh, what makes you so sure?”

  “Cause it's mostly hand made. And made here. Only problem might be the design choices. A lot of what they had st time was pretty simple.”

  “Last time?”

  Kurt nodded and turned down a street to take them back toward the direction they came from. “It’s where I got my furniture. I sold the stuff I had when I moved out of my old apartment.”

  Val threw her hands up. “Well, why didn’t we start there? I like the set you have in your room and the couch was pretty damn comfy.” She then smiled, grinning like the fox that she was. “Let’s make a deal. I get my furniture and I get some for the basement.”

  Giving her as much side eye as he could while driving, Kurt took the bait. “So, what’s the deal then?”

  “I buy basement furniture and you buy something for movies. I have heard so much about them and I think I want to watch them.”

  “Yeah, that can… wait. What? You haven’t seen movies? Like at all?” Kurt was very shocked by that.

  “Sure, I have.” She admitted. “But they were all training films or documentaries.” She paused and tapped her chin. “Although, my mother did take me to see an anime once. I didn’t really understand it, but she said it was really good.”

  Now feeling bad for the kitsune, Kurt agreed to the terms. He hadn’t expected to get his television set up until winter but supposed he could move that up a little. He would have to get internet and a streaming device at some point too. He didn’t mind watching a movie or a show but tely had been too busy with the house and moving to do much else.

  “Here we are.” He said a few minutes ter as they pulled off the road and into a gravel parking lot. The sign near the road just said, ‘Amish Furniture’. There wasn’t any embellishment or advertising, just the words enough.

  “It looks like a barn.” Val commented as she saw the massive building.

  Kurt chuckled. “That’s probably because it is.”

  The building was likely the biggest ‘barn’ he had ever seen. It helped that it was actually an aluminum building painted to look like a red wooden barn. There were a few cars in the parking lot so it wouldn’t be completely empty like the st pce, but he doubted they would be pressed for space.

  Walking in, they were hit with a very different atmosphere. It was still quiet and most of the space was divided into sections. Where it differed was that they weren’t pounced on by a sales rep within seconds of walking in. There was a counter nearby and Kurt walked over to where some of the ‘English’ staff were chatting.

  “Morning.” Said a man named Dan, according to his name tag. “How can I help today?”

  Val spoke up this time. “Hi, I just moved up here and needed to get some furniture.”

  Dan smiled and pulled out a pencil and pad of paper. “Ok. What furniture did you want to look at today? And may I know your name?” She gave her name, and he wrote it at the top of the page before writing down what she was looking for.

  “Mhm, Couch, chair, full bedroom set. Ah, did you need a mattress to?”

  “Yes please.” Val said.

  “Great, great. Well, let’s start with couches and all since it's down here. Bedroom is upstairs so we will hit that next.” Dan began leading them into the forest of dispys. He showed them several designs and encouraged her to try them out. He was also rather good at asking about other considerations like end tables or coffee tables.

  “When you just have the couch or chair sitting by itself it looks a little odd. Also, the practical side, where do you set things or put your mp.” He said while showing them a full set. The couch had a chase lounge and there was a love seat that could be swapped for a recliner.

  “I never thought of that.” Val said. “Can you show me some?”

  Dan took them on a winding course through the store. He showed them every sort of end table and coffee table they made, even mentioning that they could get it cheaper in raw wood if they wanted to do the finishing themselves. Kurt also picked out a dining table with room for six that could be expanded with an insert to fit eight.

  After an hour and many gnces at Kurt, Val had picked out a couch and love seat with side tables and no coffee table. Dan didn’t rush them on it but did recommend they get a rug to tie the set together. They then moved upstairs to the bedroom sets, and he started with the mattresses.

  “Right, so do you like a firm or soft mattress?”

  Gncing over to Kurt, Val smirked and answered. “Oh, I like them hard.” he looked back at her and raised his eyebrows. “But I would be curious to try some other options.”

  Pulling down 3 mattresses Dan id them onto some empty frames. “These are the 3 most firm that we carry.” He gestured for her to try them out and handed her a pillow.

  While Kurt was pressing on one, testing how soft it was and being rather impressed, Val picked that one to start with. She id down on the side opposite Kurt then, before he knew what was happening, grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down next to her.

  She gave a little bounce and a wiggle before rolling onto her side facing Kurt. “Well, can you move around a bit? I want to see if I’ll wake up when you roll over.”

  “Ah, um, sure.” Kurt managed to get out before rolling from his back to his side a couple times. Dan seemed rather amused at Val’s antics and continued to py the straight man the whole time.

  Val ended up testing them all and deciding on the second one which was dubbed the medium-well on the mattress scale. Kurt thought it was a good choice since it’s what he had gotten and had been pretty happy with it so far.

  “Great, now what size?” Dan said, making notes in his pad.

  Finally, Val stumbled in her little teasing. “I, uh. What?” She asked.

  “Well, we have that one in twin, queen, king and can special order a California king but that might limit your options for frames.”

  She frantically looked to Kurt for input. “I have a queen size.” He answered, not leave her hanging long despite enjoying the sudden turning of the tables.

  Half an hour ter they had picked out and paid for the furniture. Kurt was a little surprised to hear that they could deliver it all that afternoon and for a nominal fee, he wouldn’t have to bring his trailer to pick it all up. Val happily paid for everything despite the total coming to a couple thousand dolrs, she didn’t even flinch at the total but very carefully stored her receipt.

  While walking back to the car, Kurt asked about that. “Did you have a job before or something? I thought the order wouldn’t be paying until the first of the month?”

  Val shrugged. “I still had a job while I lived there. The pay wasn’t exactly amazing, but I didn’t have any expenses. My parents also gave me some money when I joined the program. They said it was for getting started.”

  “Good to know.” Kurt said then gnced around as they walked across the parking lot. “Keep an eye out.” He said as he noticed a couple men loitering at the edge of the lot, near the fence. “They seem to be paying us a little too much attention.”

  The three men were all in jeans with light jackets that hid any of the tell-tale bulge of a gun. One was looking at a tablet while the other two took turns staring at Kurt and Val. They would have been better off staying in their car if they didn’t want to be seen.

  “Any idea who they are?” Val asked. “I can’t scent them. Wind is blowing in the wrong direction.”

  “No idea. Just act normal for now. They might not be looking for us and we just happen to be the only ones out here to look at.” Kurt said. He unlocked the car and they both climbed in while looking in the general direction of the men.

  “Ugh, that was creepy.” Val said. “I didn’t feel anything off until you pointed them out.”

  “Yeah, let’s just keep our eye out for anything or anyone out of pce.” Kurt gnced at his watch. “Our next stop just opened for lunch so we can head over there. Maybe John will have some answers.”

  They drove off while the trio in the parking lot stayed where they were, watching them go. Kurt drove for a few minutes, making his way along the highway and headed out of town. Val was looking in the mirrors, trying to spot anyone following them. After a couple miles, she settled back into her seat but still gnced over her shoulder occasionally.

  “And here we are.” Kurt said, pulling off the road. “I know it looks a little… eh, off. But it’s actually pretty good food. Also, about the only pce in town where the owner is in the know.” He pulled up to one of the many empty spots in front of the baby blue building.

  Val got out and looked at the rather odd shade of paint and the nearly pearlescent white trim. Everything about the pce gleamed in the sun, like it came out of a tourism magazine. She gnced up to the sign above the door that read ‘Johnny’s Pce’ in white lettering that had neon tubing sitting just in front of it.

  “What kind of pce is th…” She stopped halfway through her sentence as they opened the door, and she noticed the bright and airy restaurant that they had walked into.

  All the tables were set with white linens and the floors were a highly polished tile that served to bounce the light back up rather than absorb it. The columns were hard to make out due to the tasteful addition of pnts and flowers that wrapped around them. “Is this a restaurant or a princess castle from a fairy tale?” she muttered as she took it all in.

  A hostess greeted them, and Kurt told her they would like to sit at the bar for lunch. She brought them to a high-top table in the back of the building that overlooked a meadow and the ke in the distance. Moments ter they met their waiter and ordered from the lunch menu. Val noticed that the menu seemed to have 2 halves, one of which was mostly rge helpings.

  The waiter disappeared after taking their orders and before Val could ask a single question the rgest human she had ever seen came walking out from the kitchen doors, making a beeline straight for them. He was at least 6 and a half feet tall and was a broad as an Amish furniture barn. He had short, cropped orange hair atop his head and a clean-shaven face. His arms and hands showed plenty of scars from cuts and burns from below his cuffed sleeves.

  “Kurt, you know our policy against animals in the restaurant.” He said with a big smile.

  “Yeah, why do you think I sat in the bar, you dirty old troll.” Kurt stood and offered a hand which ended with him being pulled into the epitome of a bear hug. “I came to touch up some things for you and introduce you to Val.”

  The man that Val assumed was called John looked over to her, extending his massive hand. Val accepted the shake, surprised at how gentle it was. “Any friend of Kurt’s is a friend of mine. Names John, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, dear.” His smile was brilliant, showing his perfect white teeth.

  “Mind if I go and get that all taken care of? Rather do it before I eat and all.” Kurt said.

  Waving a hand, John agreed. “Yeah, you know the way. Mind the staff.” He watched Kurt head into the back rooms before taking a seat across from Val. “So, how did you meet Kurt?”

  Val had been prepared to answer that question. “Oh, we work together!” What she hadn’t been prepared for was the follow up.

  “Oh, doing what? Last I heard, Kurt was ‘between jobs’ as one would say.” He smiled like the cat that caught the canary.

  “Um, ah.” Val was unprepared to answer that, and it showed as she became embarrassed and felt the blush crawling up her neck and cheeks.

  John suddenly ughed after letting her flounder for a few moments. “Haha. Rex little fox.” He leaned back as the waiter brought drinks out to the table. “I’ll ask Kurt about it. Nice to know you won’t betray his confidence though.” He then gave her the side eye. “Or is it someone else that you are covering for?”

  Val was suddenly at a loss for how to handle this. She had never met someone that was so personable and perceptive at the same time. She was having a hard time as he dictated the pace of the conversation. She was beginning to understand how the cultists felt when they were interrogated.

  She suddenly realized something and narrowed her eyes. “How did you know what I am?”

  “Cause he gave me this here gift a while back.” John said. And held up his hand to show a ring on his right middle finger. “He also is working on a little spell that covers the building and lets me know if ‘dangerous’ beings walk in.”

  “He put down a ward?” Val asked, perking up at the mention of more magic. “Why would he do that?”

  John smirked. “Cause I asked him to.” Seeing the confused look on Val’s face, he continued after a deep sigh. “Ha. Well, my brother inherited that little construction company from my father. We went to school with Kurt’s mom back in the day. So, when the kid wanted to get out of the city, he came lookin up here. We sold him the nd for a sweet deal and traded the rest of the house and garage for some of his work.”

  Val frowned, listening to the story raised some questions. “Wasn’t that illegal? I thought they banned magic in public or on property you don’t own.” She knew some of the backward ws that had been implemented since the veil broke and that was one of the big ones.

  “Oh sure, sure. That’s why he ‘rented’ some office space for a month.” John made a show of looking for people listening in despite the bar being empty. “Between you and me, he did the same thing at the lumber yard we own.”

  “That is risky.”

  John shrugged. “Eh, free men don’t ask permission and I am not going to dime the boy out.” While Val was still figuring out that line of logic, Kurt walked back in with their waiter hot on his heels with a massive tray of food. “Good, your lunch is here. It was nice to meet you Val. Don’t be a stranger now.”