Despite my nerves, I smiled. This was our routine. He wanted to protect me from everything, and I needed to prove I could handle it on my own. We’d had this dynamic for three years online. It was just more intense in person.
Calamity Creek looked different in full daylight without the pressure of paperwork and gossip. Charming, like something from a postcard. The main street was bustling with weekend shoppers, a mix of humans and monsters going about their business. A satyr browsed the bookstore window, a group of teenage werewolves laughed outside the coffee shop, an elderly vampire couple walked hand-in-hand.
Integration in action. It should have been comforting.
“Where first?” Geoff asked, parking on the main street.
“Clothes, I guess? Then a furniture store?” I looked at the storefronts, trying to orient myself. “Is there a department store or something? I know there are no big-box stores here.”
“Fiona’s,” he said, pointing to a shop with a purple awning. “She carries everything, and she’s nice. Doesn’t gossip like the rest of the town.”
We headed into Fiona’s, which turned out to be a treasure trove of clothing, accessories, and home goods crammed into asurprisingly large space. The owner, a fae with kind eyes and silver-streaked hair, looked up from the register and smiled.
“Geoff! Twice in one week, this must be a record.” Her eyes shifted to me with genuine warmth. “And you must be Maya. Welcome, dear. I’m Fiona.”
“Thank you,” I said, surprised by the lack of judgment in her tone.
“Don’t look so shocked. Not everyone in town is a nosy busybody.” She shot Geoff a knowing look. “Though I heard all about the drama at the general store. People need to learn to keep their mouths shut.”
“No arguments from me,” Geoff muttered.
"Now then, what can I help you find?" Fiona asked, coming around the counter. “Starting a new wardrobe? Moving in?”
“Both, kind of. I moved here for work, but most of my stuff is still in shipping. I need, well, everything.”
“Excellent! I love a challenge.” Fiona started pulling items from racks with the efficiency of someone who knew her inventory by heart. “What’s your style? Professional, casual, both?”
For the next hour, Fiona helped me build a wardrobe while Geoff trailed behind us like an oversized puppy, occasionally offering opinions that ranged from helpful: “that color looks great on you”, to ridiculous “you should get the one with the dragons on it”.
“I’m not buying a shirt with dragons on it because it reminds you of a video game,” I said, holding up the offending garment. “I’m trying to look professional.”
“Professional dragon enthusiast?”
“That's not a thing.”
“Well, it should be a thing.”
Fiona laughed, watching us with obvious amusement. “You two are adorable. How long have you been together?”
“Three years,” Geoff and I said simultaneously.
She raised an eyebrow. “Really? I heard you just met.”
“We met online,” I explained. “Gaming. We’ve been friends for three years, but we met in person recently.”
“Ah.” Something shifted in her expression, understanding, maybe even approval. “So you actually know each other. That’s different from what people are saying.”
“What are people saying?” I asked, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
Fiona hesitated, glancing at Geoff. “You know. Small town gossip. That it’s very sudden, that maybe it's just excitement from the rescue, that sort of thing.” She squeezed my hand gently. “But if you’ve known each other for three years, that’s a real foundation. Don’t let the gossips get to you.”
“Trying not to,” I said as my eyes darted around the store.
“Don’t try. Let them go. Or try harder. You seem good for him.” She gestured at Geoff, who was examining a display of candles with intense focus, trying to give us privacy. “I’ve known that boy since he moved here years ago. Never seen him like this. You’ve got him coming into town voluntarily, smiling at people. He looks happy. And that’s because of you.”
Warmth spread through my chest. “He makes me happy too.”
“Good. Then everyone else can mind their own business.” She rang up my purchases, which made a substantial pile that made me wince at the total, but Geoff handed over his card before I could protest. “Consider it a housewarming gift,” he said when I tried to argue.
