Chapter Ten: The Shopping Expedition
For the first time in nine months, Haru slept peacefully the entire night. She actually smiled as she rose from her bed, and stretched happily. Her heart, which had been starting to slow down, was once again beating a regular pace in her chest. She even found the courage to reach for blue jeans and a tie-dyed t-shirt, when she had worn nothing but white since becoming cursed.
It was Baron's doing. Sure, she knew a cat was underneath that gorgeous face, but the little friendly gestures he gave her were appreciated completely. His manners were still that of a feline, but she didn't care anymore about the little technicalities. Whistling, she nearly skipped out the front door.
"And where do you think you're going?"
She wheeled around to see her housemate, who was pulling on a green coat over his cream-colored button-up shirt. His dark gray pants had a crisp ironed look to them, and his shoes were a little shinier than they had been when Haru had done them, before Baron entered her life. The tawny-haired man seemed to take great pride in her grandfather's wardrobe, and it thrilled her to no end to see the familiar clothes in use again. The brunette grinned at him.
"Grocery shopping." Hating her trips into town, she tried to buy as much as she could in bulk, so that she would take fewer trips. The brown-eyed girl actually had, at one point, an impressive food storage, but feeding two more mouths was draining it fast. Baron grinned back at her and opened the door so she could walk through.
"Care for a little company?"
Haru thought about it. Smiling, she walked through the door and took the offered arm as her friend shut the door behind them.
"Sure. But remember, you volunteered."
He smiled back at her, his green eyes twinkling happily. She loved his eyes, but wasn't about to tell him about the little fact.
"I do realize that I'll be helping with carrying the purchases, if that's what you mean."
Behind them, through separate windows, two cats were watching them leave. Louise's heart quivered; praying that Baron was only being a gentleman. Even if it was the Haru Yoshioka, and she desperately needed him the way he currently was, the maid was praying that it was only friendship the two humans felt.
'This isn't fair. I've loved Baron for years! What's wrong with me? Why doesn't he look at me the way he looks at Haru?'
Muta turned away from his hiding place, trying to silence the pain in his heart.
He hated Baron. He hated the fancy hat-tipper that was stealing his Haru, despite his promise that he wouldn't. But… Haru had been getting so much better, since the feline lord moved in with them. She smiled without provocation, naps were a thing of the past, and there were no more nightmares.
The enormous feline knew he should be thankful to the man, for bringing so much health and joy to his mistress, but Muta's secret wish was that he had been the one that changed into a human for Haru. He could have made her just as happy, if not more so, than Baron was making her.
This just isn't fair… he loved her so much, it hurt.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The tall blonde kept behind the petite brunette, pushing the cart behind her as she slowly loaded it with various food products.
"Which sounds better, Baron; skim or 2?" She pointed at the milks neatly lined up behind the glass doors. Her companion laughed a little nervously.
"Whatever happened to regular milk?"
She shrugged, smiling widely.
"No clue." Deciding on her own, she carefully loaded a few 2 gallons into the cart. While the brunette was still bent over from placing the milk in the under part of the cart, Baron heard a polite coughing from behind him. Puzzled, he turned to see a fairly young girl, her apron and nametag saying that she worked for the store. 'Aya' smiled a little nervously.
"Are you finding everything all right, sir?"
Baron smiled and nodded.
"Haru knows what we're after, but thank you for asking."
The girl blinked, and looked around, confused. Haru straightened up, and smiled at her companion.
"Come on; bread's next, now that we have the heavy stuff."
Baron watched as the store girl looked at his landlady. Her eyes went dim, and faded.
"Oh." She looked back at Baron, and immediately smiled again. "Feel free to call for help, if you need it." A light blush colored her pale cheeks. He nodded again and followed Haru as she moved down the aisles. He knew of the curse, of course, but it disturbed him, actually seeing it in motion.
It was only the beginning. Three more store girls approached him, to make sure that he was getting everything he needed. He thanked them politely, and watched their eyes glaze over when he gestured to Haru.
But what disturbed him the most was what his ear picked up, which were still strangely sharper than Haru's. The voice was distant, a few aisles away; easily one of the girls that had approached him.
"Honestly. How did a boring girl like that wisp get a hunk like him?"
He blushed, immediately realizing who and what she meant. Haru turned to him, her eyes filled with concern as she loaded the last of the sugar she wanted.
"Is something wrong?"
He shook his head sharply; not wishing to repeat the girl's words. He laughed a little nervously.
"It's just a little strange to me, to see people ignore you like that."
Her eyes saddened slightly, and a familiar sigh escaped her lips as she led him to the checkout counter.
"I know it's not their fault. I don't hold it against them." She looked at his face again, and smiled warmly before loading her purchases onto the conveyer belt. The cashier looked up from her magazine, surprised that she had a customer. She quickly hid the contraband and started her work. Loading the last of the purchases into the bag, she looked up, and blushed at seeing Baron, despite the fact that she was middle-aged. She smiled a little flirtatiously.
"That will be 105.45, sir."
Getting a little annoyed, since Haru was right in front of the cashier and writing a check, he stiffly smiled.
"Haru's getting it for you."
The woman blinked in surprise as the petite woman held out the written check. She took the paper, barely a glance at the brunette.
"Oh, you again." She ran the check through her machine, and handed the girl her receipt. Haru nodded in thanks, but the woman was already lost in her magazine again. Baron grabbed a majority of the large bags, noting that the cashier was watching him, and not the magazine.
"Come back soon, sir."
Once outside the store and down the street, Baron let out his suppressed growls, making the brunette at his side laugh a bit.
"I think I'll start taking you with me whenever I have to go there. I haven't had such good service since getting cursed."
He stared at her, wondering what she was talking about.
"Haru, they completely ignored you. If I hadn't been with you, you could have walked out of the store without paying, and they wouldn't have given a single care."
"True. You should see how hard it is, when I don't have a hot companion to attract their service. I usually have to yell at the top of my lungs, to get that cashier to realize a customer is around."
Baron stared at her, and quietly vowed to attack his books again with the magnifying glass Haru had just bought for him so he could read the tiny script.
'If that terrible service can make her so happy, then who knows what other lousy things she puts up with without complaint?' Suddenly, his mind was on a completely different track than the curse.
'Did she just call me hot?'