"Adam, dear," said Belle, reading a book whilst sitting on the floor, "should we get some furniture pretty soon?"
It had been two weeks since everything in the castle had turned back into people. They had gotten married in the ballroom the week after, but they still desired a more comfortable home. Literally all they had left were their beds, clothes, food, and books. They bought dishes and silverware so they can eat properly, but they hadn't taken the time to travel to a furniture store. Sure, it met the minimal standards of living, but life would be much easier if they just had some furniture.
Adam stood up suddenly. "Let's go now," he said.
Belle stood up and, still reading her book, put on her shoes and followed him down to the furniture store.
A clerk helped them at once. "Good morning, sir!" he said, holding a clipboard and a pen. "My name is Albert. Is there anything in particular that you are looking for?"
"Pretty much everything," replied Belle. Albert raised his eyebrows.
"It's a long story," said Adam.
"Fair enough," the clerk replied. "Let's start with dining tables, then! Right this way, follow me!"
They passed through a few rooms until they entered a large room filled wall-to-wall with dining tables of all sizes and shapes, each one set with plates and silverware.
"Are there any that stand out to you?"
Adam looked around the room before swiftly walking to a long rectangular table surrounded by matching chairs near the center of the room. "This one. It has to be this one," he said demandingly.
"I like it too," said Belle, much more calmly. "What types of wood does this come in?"
"Cherry, oak, and maple."
"BUT I WANTED CEDAR!" Adam yelled, an inch away from Albert's face. Other people in the store turned and stared.
Belle gingerly graced her fingers across Adam's shoulder. She leaned in to his ear and whispered softly, "Your temper, dear."
Adam quickly regained his composure. He paused for a long moment, anger still penetrating his face. "Oak is fine."
"Do these come with chairs, or do we have to buy them separately?" asked Belle.
"They do not come with chairs, but you can order it all together as a set for a discount," Albert replied.
"We'll take the chairs, too," said Adam.
Albert wrote down something on the clipboard. "Very good! What do you want to look at next?"
"What about a couch?" Belle asked Adam. "We need one." She turned back to Albert.
"We actually need two," said Adam.
"Right this way, then!" They entered into the next room over. Couches, end tables, and coffee tables filled the room to no end.
"Are there any that you like?" Belle asked Adam.
"They should match each other so that we can put them both in the same room, but you can choose it if you would like."
"I would love to." Belle folded her hands and put them up to her chin in deep contemplation. She stared at the vast expanse of sofas for almost a whole minute before lowering her hands and turning to Adam. "I think I found the one." She grabbed his hand and led him to the very back, where a dark reddish-brown leather couch sat against the wall. "What do you think, Adam?"
He sat down in the exact center, getting the best cushion balance on the left and right. "I like it," he said. He bounced up and down a little. "Very squishy, yet firm enough that you don't sink into it." He smiled at Belle, who smiled back. Then she turned toward Albert.
"We'll have two of these," she said.
"Very good!" he replied, writing something on his clipboard. "Anything else?"
"We'll need a wardrobe or two to keep our clothes in," Belle said. "Good thing we still have those!" She laughed awkwardly before fading out into a three-way silence and turning to Adam as if to say, "Please help me out of this awkward hole that I've dragged myself into."
Luckily he understood her facial expression and broke the silence by saying, "So, where are the wardrobes?"
Albert, who, until now, had been staring absentmindedly at the couple, snapped out of his daze, put on that cliché, over-enthusiastic salesman grin, and led them into a room at the back of the store. "Follow me!" he said.
They reached the bedroom section of the store. Dressers, wardrobes, side tables, and beds were set up in the fashion of a hundred wall-less bedrooms throughout the room. Belle picked hers out quickly and then joined Adam to help him choose his.
He wanted to buy a tall wooden one with double doors that opened to reveal drawers on the right side and a place to hang clothes on the left.
"I'm really fond of this one," said Adam. "What types of wood does it come in?"
"Oak, walnut, and pine."
"Why is none of your furniture made of CEDAR?!"Adam shouted. Once again, people in the store turned to look at him.
"This one over here comes in cedar, and its style is very similar," Albert replied, quickly trying to remedy the situation.
"But I want this one!" Adam was fuming. It was his simple wish to own some cedar furniture, but it did not seem like that was going to happen, seeing as they had ordered almost everything they needed by now.
Belle held his arm and gently pulled him a few feet farther away from the clerk. "May I ask why you desperately want to own something made out of cedar?" she asked.
"Do you remember that invention that your dad made and was bringing to a fair when he found my castle?"
"Yeah…" Belle replied, unsure about where he was going with the story.
"Well, that invention was made out of cedar, so I want to have something made of cedar to remember the reason why we met in the first place."
Belle smiled and hugged him. Adam wasn't the best at being romantic, so this gesture was one of the sweetest that he's done in a long time. "Well, if you really want this particular wardrobe, we can always get something else made out of cedar."
"I guess you're right." He turned back to Albert. "I'll take it in oak."
"Very good! Will that be all?"
"Yes, I think so," said Belle.
"Well, if there's anything you need, just come back here and ask for Albert. I'll be happy to serve you anytime." He gave them the clipboard after writing a few more things. "Now, if you two could just sign here, here, and here and initial here, and please write your address here, and then we can go to the desk to complete the transaction." They filled out the form requirements and paid him at the desk. "Everything you ordered should arrive at your house within three days."
The furniture did in fact arrive three days later, and within a week they had finished refurnishing the castle. There they sat on their new couch in front of the warm fire on a cold night with all of their servants and their new cedar walls and floor.
