The storefront signage was dangling lifelessly. Wilson wondered if it would fall from the breeze in a matter of seconds. Why Renata was excited was beyond his comprehension. That store was most likely infested with termites or other repulsive bugs.

After jumping out of the car, Renata linked her arms to his again as they strode across the street, much to his delight. If this could please her (and a chance to have her arms around him) he would gladly do it all over again. Termites or no termites.

Preferably, no termites or the like. As they stood outside the [Pierrot], Renata was peeping through the window while Wilson worried if the roof was safe enough. She abruptly opened the rickety door, and the ancient bronze bell rang loudly above the door. "Renata, careful with the door, please. We don't want to get charged for breaking and entering." A waft of old musty odor hit his nose at once, that Wilson instantly remembered his grandmother's attic in New Zealand. When he was a little boy, he used to play hide and seek with Naoki, who always hid in a wardrobe in her attic.

An old man in his mid-60s emerged from the inner part of the store and smiled politely at them. "Hello, welcome to [Pierrot]; what can I do for you?" Wilson deduced from the faint accent that the man was most likely French.

"Good afternoon, Mr Jean-Pierre. I'm looking for a Christmas present for my mom. We got your address from Jeff, the [Squeaky Clean] car wash? He told us you have good stuff. Do you mind if we look around, Mr Jean-Pierre?"

"Oh, be my guest, petite belle, and please, call me Luc. Would you like a little tour?" Renata grinned as she nodded her agreement.

Luc began at the front of his store, displaying "oldies" big stuff like antique lighting, vintage hardware, stained glass windows, arcade games, radios, strange furniture, and music players ranging in size from small to large. Wilson wondered if being thrown back in time felt like this. Luc continued to the inner side of his store, which displayed smaller and more fragile antiques, including paintings.

While guiding them, Luc told his story to them. Apparently, Luc Jean-Pierre was French and followed his father's emigration to the US during the war. His father opened a French furniture store in the Midwest but eventually relocated to Connecticut in his last years. However, Luc was more interested in antiques or things that had history. He loved the sentimentality of each story presented in those crafts. So he let his son manage the furniture store while he did what he loved most: deal in antiques. Although, in Wilson's eyes, it was just a fancy thrift store.

"Thank you for your little tour, Luc. If my mom is here, she's probably as thrilled as I am now." She grinned at him brightly.

Luc chuckled warmly. "Then please come by in the future with your mother...." Luc left Renata and Wilson after a few pleasantries.

Renata eagerly returned to the aisle brimming with blown glass art. Three massive glass cabinets display various glass crafts for various purposes. Some were just ornaments, such as dragon figurines or paperweights; others were utensils, such as dining wares, jars, vases, or jugs.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Standing in one of the cabinets, her eyes stopped at a particular green tea cup. The pretty cup, including the saucer, is shaped like a four-leaf clover. The artist might have drawn the pattern by hand with the white enamel and gold trim on its edge.

There was a small piece of paper inside the cup that said:

"""Exquisite antique handblown Moser green and clear lobed glass cup and saucer.""

- ITEM : ID2539

- TYPE : Bohemian Glass

- COLOR :Green

- STYLE : Art Nouveau, Victorian

- ORIGIN : Czech Republic • Czech

- Price : $165

"

"I think I will buy this; what do you think, Wil? I love it; I bet my mom will too."

"$165 for a cup and saucer? I find that hard to believe. It's certainly attractive, but I don't think it's worth that much money."

"It's an antique, Wil; of course, it's a little pricey. But it's worth it, in my opinion. Maybe he could give me a discount?" She winked at him and left for Luc behind the register counter. Wilson shook his head as he followed her from behind.

Luc "generously" gave her a discount, so she paid for the cup set $145. Renata was beaming from ear to ear as she waved goodbye to Luc. "How is that? We're actually ahead of our schedule by an hour. Aren't you happy, Wil? See? We need to embrace any surprise in our plan." She batted her eyelashes, which reminded him of the female duck character from Disney; unfortunately, the name escaped him.

"Yes, Mademoiselle. Shall we head to Saks Fifth Avenue?"

"Mr Jarvik, you need to work on your French accent. How can you say Mademoiselle with your New Zealand accent? That's such blasphemy to the French language...." They kept chatting (bickering) as he drove away. Wilson was probably the only guy who didn't understand antiques or art and wouldn't grasp the concept anytime soon.

------------------------

Wilson had never bought anything from Saks Fifth Avenue; he had never even entered one of their stores. As a result, this would be his first visit. He parked at a communal parking lot, and they walked for another 5 minutes to the shop.

If he wanted to be honest, Wilson liked Saks's store better than the Boss's. The outfit displayed in front was so good that he was tempted to buy another set of clothes. Should he? Should he not?

"Don't."

He whipped his head to face Renata. "What do you mean by don't?"

"You will look like an adult in it. Unless you want to look older, I suggest you buy their clothing when you are in your mid-20s. Besides, their shirts are 1.5 times pricier than the Boss. One shirt could easily cost you $230 at least." She walked through their shirt aisle and randomly showed him one of the price tags, $265.

Good shirt, indeed. The phrase "you get what you pay for" was instantly registered. Then again, he wondered if he needed to pay a lot to look good. Wilson surely would have trouble saving money in the future if that were the case. "Do I have to pay a lot of money to look good?"

"Hmm, not necessarily, no. I think I can dress you decently from Target if that's what you mean. But if you are talking about my definition of looking good, that would be another different matter."

"How is that different from my definition? Do we have a different dictionary, perhaps?"

Renata chuckled as she explained it to him. "What you meant earlier by looking good was just clothing. But my understanding of looking good is beyond how to dress up. Looking good for me is taking care of your skin, with or without make-up involved, and also how to choose what outfit is suitable for your body. Although some people are also take care of their mental health as part of their beauty regimen, I rarely pay attention to that subject. Maybe in the future." She shrugged.

When they were at the accessory displays, she paused at the wallet section. But Renata just shook her head and kept walking, her eyes never leaving the glass boxes. Renata abruptly halted and sighed deeply as she frowned.

Wilson asked her with concern. "What's wrong?" She was fine just now; what turned her sad so suddenly?