Dinner was a sit-down affair and Bethany felt happy to see Stilwart again. It wasn’t that she disliked Harri, far from it but Harri could be a little much and Stilwart's more laid-back nature was much more familiar to Bethany. Guliveneir was also there, sat directly over his dinner and attempting to glare a hole through his bowl. Dinner was a stew with bread rolls and seemed to be made with the same meat Bethany had sampled the day before, it was once again delicious and made more so by the fact Stilwart seemed to have prepared it himself.
"What do you think of Beth's new outfit dad?" Harri asked, starting conversation rolling,
"It's nice, it's an old shirt of yours right, hun? Although if you could wear the other outfit for the stall that would be amazing, it being more authentic and all."
Harri playfully hit her dad. "You’re always thinking about money. She looks cute and i'm sure your customers won't mind. Right?" Harri asked a little more forcefully,
"Of course, Bethany can wear whatever she likes to work, there isn't a uniform."
“It's Beth now dad. Keep up. Isn't that right Beth?" Harri asked turning to Bethany who was trying to joinGuliveneir in sinking into her meal. Dinner with Susanna was a very different beast to this one. Even when she had, on very rare occasion, eaten with Steven and his dad they had a less casual vibe. She wasn't used to this level of familiarity. None-the-less she nodded at Harri’s statement but didn't offer anything further. Not that this bothered Harri at all who kept talking.
"I've sorted this outfit for Beth, and I've got another in the works. Plus now I know her measurements, I can send her home with a whole bag full of my old shirts and stuff!"
This got Bethany's attention. She couldn't let Harri do that, they were her clothes and she was putting time and effort and owed Bethany nothing.
"No, I can't accept that Harri, it's lovely and all but it's just too generous, I don't have anything to pay you and they are your clothes. I don't want you wasting time on me."
Harri was having none of this.
"Don't be silly Beth!”
Harri said sharply, sounding none unlike Bethany’s mother for a moment before softening. “They are old and we needed to get rid of them anyway. Also getting practise with different body shapes and species is super helpful for me. I'm only two Trials off level 10 and making clothes for different species is great practise. Finally, we are friends. That's what friends do for each other."
Bethany started as if to fight further, but Stilwart put a hand on her shoulder. "I wouldn't bother if I was you. I've been arguing against this one for years, you've sometimes just got to go with the flow." He nudged his daughter as he spoke, causing her to blush.
Bethany decided to change tack. "Okay then but at least accept what your dad is paying me. You can have my 7%. That seems fair enough, I was planning on buying clothes with it anyway.” Surely that is reasonable."
Harri looked almost annoyed at this offer and reached across the table to grab Bethany's hands.
"Beth are we friends?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then take my offer at face value. If I wanted a transaction, I'd open a stall. Are we at the market, Beth? No, we aren't! Now instead of pushing back why don't you thank me and stop with your silly offers of money."
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Bethany nodded at that and pulled her hands back. This was different to her friendship with Steven or what had been her friendship with Mandy. But she liked it. After dinner Stilwart slid over Bethany's wage for the day and suggested they played a game, but Harri was having none of it.
"Me and Beth are going to the cinema, and then I'll take her home. We'll play a board game another night alright? Maybe whenGuliveneir can actually look at our guest?" Harri said, lightly cuffing Guliveneir's head as he ran past to go back upstairs, he turned to glare at her but instead caught Bethany's eyes and continued to flee instead. Stilwart agreed and gave Harri Bethany's address, and they were off. Bethany once again being dragged behind Harri. She barely managed to squeeze in a goodbye before Harri had her out the door. Stilwart smiled as they left. He was glad Bethany was having some fun even if his daughter was a trial by fire for socialising.
Bethany was exhausted when she finally got home. She had put her foot down properly with Harri for the first time to insist she didn’t come in so Bethany could get some sleep before the next day. The film had been something else, it was like a play but so much bigger and more exciting. The plot had been a basic love story and in itself hadn't been dissimilar to those told back home. But the context allowed Bethany to see settings she'd never dreamed of and she found that some of the moments felt more magical than anything she’d seen before, even after the apparence of the Trials. It didn't help that the characters were aGrodiac and a Katteacof and while she believed Harri when she claimed they were both extremely attractive she couldn't see it personally.
Harri had caught the fact that Bethany was much more into the flashy effects and had promised to take Bethany to a more showy film the next evening. Bethany had agreed but once again insisted that she would pay. A fact Harri accepted with minimal pushback this time. Bethany flopped straight into bed this time, not even glancing at the book that held her attention that morning. Her eyelids were too heavy for that. This time she slept soundly until her alarm the following morning.
The alarm crashed into her sleep like a wrecking ball and Bethany wasn't a fan. Not in the slightest. She crawled out of the bed and into the shower. There she stood for much longer than necessary. Just letting the water wash over her as she tried to convince her body she was awake now. Having left her own clothes at Stilwart's, she got dressed in the same jean-shirt outfit from yesterday. A knock on the door interrupted her slow trudging towards the kitchen. Bethany took her time opening it and greeted a perky-looking Stilwart with a lot less dignity than her mother would have approved of. He chuckled to see her and passed her a hot drink and small paper bag.
"I thought you might need some caffeine after a night with my Harri. This should perk you back up. There is a pastry there for you too.”
Stilwart paused as Bethany thirstily gulped down the drink barely reacting to the intense heat it was putting off.
“Also, I brought your clothes. I know I said you could wear whatever, but it would be more profitable if you wore this again, I've even got a similar outfit that I got Harri to make me while we were at work yesterday."
Stilwart did a small twirl as Bethany looked him over. Sure enough his outfit could have fit in back home. Well..ish? It was made of a much nicer material and the sewing was higher quality, but it was close enough. She took the outfit from him too and, still avoiding speaking, took a sip of her drink before vanishing upstairs and getting changed. It wasn’t long before she came back down looking a little more put together.
"It's alright that Harri calls you Beth, right? I know you've got a history there and I can speak to her if you'd like. She is a bit of a force of nature, but she does take feedback and will back off if I tell her it makes you uncomfortable."
Bethany stuck a smile on her face that was mostly convincing. "No it's obviously not something I’m used to, and my mother wouldn't exactly approve but I like it. It matches my life here. Here, I’m using your fancy machines, I’m getting new outfits and I’m going by Beth. I like it."
"Well, if you are sure ... Beth," Stilwart said with a smirk. "Speaking of outfits, Harri isn't kidding around about that. She's very particular on gifts. It comes from having a merchant for a dad and having a keen sense of what things are worth. Please take her offers in good faith. She really means it and will get actually get unset if you keep trying to reject them.
“She's a really good kid. Well almost adult I guess. Her next Trial is coming up in a couple of days and we are confident she's going to finally reach level 10. We're hosting a party. That's actually why I sprung to hire you, the extra income allows us to celebrate in style, if she doesn't reach level 10, it's her birthday anyway so we can focus the party on that. Just as a heads-up so you can mentally prepare for it she’ll insist you come. It will be a mostly family thing, but you won't be able to get out of it. I know, I always like notice with stuff like that."
Bethany nodded at that and, feeling awoken by the coffee she had had, was excited for another day at the market. After all she had a new goal now. Earning enough that she could afford to buy Harri a proper congratulations gift.