Wagons moved back and forth and Chloe had to be careful, Alex hated being pushed the most and even if he didn't complain much, his expression was always horrible making her even chuckle sometimes. It was evening now, most of the muddy paths had dried up thanks to the afternoon sun.
Mr Miller's shop was ahead taking only a few more strides to reach.
"Good evening Mr. Miller"
"Miss Garvin, what a pleasant surprise" Mr. Miller smiled broadly and beckoned to the young lady inside to provide a stool.
"Good evening Miss Garvin" Beatrice greeted with a neutral expression and Chloe merely smiled before taking a seat, though she wouldn't be staying long, refusal might mean something else.
"Heard one of the nobles stopped by the shop today" Mr Miller mentioned and Alex noticed Beatrice's eyes lit up but dimmed again and could not help but snicker in his mind. Humility was a virtue many lacked, with his mom being the standard of perfection, everyone else was subpar.
Chloe wasn't very surprised and could only smile wryly. "Looks like I've been robbed of the privilege to share the good news"
Her words made the man let out a laugh without any malice. "I presume you came for sugar"
"Very costly I remember, a small sack still costs 2 gold?" Chloe asked and watching the man rub his chin, there was no further need for an answer.
"Only the daring kind still wants them, honey seems like a better choice these days" Mr. Miller shook his head and glanced outside to see if there was an approaching customer.
Chloe thinned her lips and remained silent for a good while before she finally released her lips. "I'll take the medium sack, that should last me quite a bit"
"3 gold and 75 silver coins" Mr Miller hissed. "Business is booming pretty well"
Chloe smiled not sure what he meant. "They like the cookies" she then gestured at Alex and the latter brought out a small box from the bag he was holding. After handing them to Mr Miller he he returned to his position with no apparent change in expression.
The box had five chocolate cookies and five regular ones and the smile on Mr Miller's face did not disappear even once and marred his face all the while Chloe was there.
The sugar would be brought to her shop as per what they had agreed on and after finally paying up she left with Alex who did nothing but stare at her.
"What do you want to say?" Chloe finally questioned seeing that the boy wasn't holding back in his stares. They were already at the door of their home so there wasn't much fear about being heard.
Still, the boy brought out the keys and unlocked the door, only after pulling his mom inside did he open his mouth. "We have good sugar in the space, why do we need to buy...this?" mediocre will come off as too strong and there was no need to break her impression of him as of yet.
Chloe shook her head. "We already do a lot of things in the space that outsiders find strange, any more and we will be deemed weirdos, if not worse" walking past the boy she released her hair from the band that trapped it. "Today is Friday"
Alex beamed at those words and without being told quickly kept the bag he was holding aside. After that, he happily held his mother's hand and with the tattoos glowing bright blue, they both disappeared and appeared inside a parlor with soft cushions scattered on the couches and a flat-screen.
Chloe glanced at Alex while the latter stared at her innocently and she could only sigh. Not questioning what he must have been doing in the morning, she went inside the shower while the little culprit headed straight for the library to complete his book.
Fascinated with what was depicted as the modern world, Alex loved the space more than the real world, there were so many things the people alive will never have the privilege of seeing till their death. This could change the world and elevate their status to become the top of the very top.
All these thoughts could only be kept in mind as Chloe was against even spending time in the space rather than messing with the current pace of the real world. She spoke about things even she would find amusing but her decision remained firm until Alex swayed her a bit.
Still, he never thought of crossing her borderline, since his love for his mother engulfed other minor feelings.
Done bathing, Chloe got out of her gown and corset before putting on a pair of pajamas. Alex was there silently watching the TV with most of his concentration or so it would seem for she knew he could hear her even from far away.
Looking at the screen, it was displaying a horror movie and she could only sigh helplessly. She felt a little like a failure that she couldn't give the boy a normal childhood but her grandfather did say that he was the most normal he could be.
"Alex?"
"Yes mom" came the muffled reply as the boy turned his head back with a face his face was stuffed with chips and crumbs all over his face. Seeing his eyes, the perfect side of red she smiled, there was no need to dull it out when it was just the two of them.
Chloe sat down beside him and shook her head. "Why do you even like watching this?"
"Do you want to change it?" Alex lifted his head before giving her the remote and scooching closer at the same time not letting go of the chips.
"You pick, Hotel Transylvania or Castlevania?"
With her eyes staring at him, Alex did not dare let his true thoughts display on his face and pretended to be thoughtful instead. Though he had watched neither, the second one looked more appealing to his eyes just from the picture alone but sometimes, sacrifices had to be made and so he unwillingly picked Hotel Transylvania wearing an amicable smile.