Chapter Ninety Four – Going Where?

Olivia slammed on the breaks before she set one foot outside her apartment. She came to a stop so quickly that Suvi ended up a few steps ahead of her before he paused as well. Confused, he looked from Olivia to Ben, who was already standing in the hallway.

"We're going where?!"

"To find you an anniversary present. Now come on."

Olivia sighed and tried not to feel too annoyed. She'd known something like this was coming and had agreed to it (however grudgingly).

"Yes, thank you. Can you be a little more specific?"

Of course she wasn't sure she wanted him to be more specific. The general answer was bad enough.

"A jewelry store right outside of Times Square."

Again Olivia jerked to a stop and could only gape at him. She'd been right. It had been better not knowing because this was ridiculous. And she wasn't going. No way.

"Oh hell no," she told him as she turned around and headed back to her apartment.

Ben raced after her, grabbed her shoulders, and steered her back toward the elevator. She might think she was going to outright refuse to go, but he wasn't going to let that happen. He had plans for today and more than just the obvious ones. She wasn't going to escape that easily.

"Uh uh uh. You're not going anywhere. We're at least going to look and pretend to pick one out even if you don't want me to buy it."

"Ben…"

"No whining. Just walking."

Olivia sighed and trudged after him. There was just no winning. Ben let her be moody until they got off of the subway. Watching her try to ignore him was actually kind of fun. She was the only woman he knew that would pitch such a fit over going to a jewelry store.

"Alright, Liv. Time to put the grumpies aside."

"You caused it."

"You chose to be grumpy. Now put the clouds away, Sunshine, we have shopping to do."

"I hate you. I hate you so much," she grumbled.

"I know."

Despite what she'd said Olivia couldn't help smiling at Ben. Her anger had no effect on him whatsoever, and it was so hard to stay mad at him when he was teasing her and grinning like that, especially when his grin widened in response to hers. There was no way not to cheer up after seeing that cheeky, childish smile of his. She'd always been a sucker to it.

"You realize this isn't necessary right?" Olivia asked after a moment. "I'm happy enough just having you for a year. I don't need some present to celebrate it."

"I know." He squeezed her shoulder. "But that doesn't matter. I don't do very much that is necessary."

"Yes, thank you. I already knew that."

"Then why did you ask?"

Olivia groaned loudly. If they hadn't been in the middle of a public sidewalk she would have beaten her head on his shoulder too. Sometimes he was a freaking pain in the ass. That was part of why she loved him though. At least most of the time. Sometimes it was just annoying. She really wasn't sure which side his insanity was falling on currently, but it was probably leaning more toward annoying.

"Here we are," Ben said as he stopped outside of a jewelry store.

It was the one he had looked at online the day before and had decided had a large variety of items that he thought Olivia would like. Olivia looked up at the store briefly and sighed.

"Last chance to see some reason," she told Ben almost pleadingly.

"Oh come on."

He grabbed her hand and led her inside. Suvi didn't mind the choice of shopping like Olivia and walked in placidly at her side. He was the picture of a service dog: Calm, quiet, right at his owner's side. None of that mattered. Neither did the fact that he was wearing a vest. They hadn't even gotten to the section Ben wanted to take her to when a voice rang out, clearly full of rage.

"No, no! Out! Out!"

Ben and Olivia's eyes swiveled toward the back left of the store where the voice had come from and saw an angry clerk storming out from behind the counter. Olivia briefly closed her eyes and braced herself for what she knew would likely be a long discussion at minimum and more likely a hostile standoff. When Ben took an almost threatening step forward Olivia squeezed his hand tight in warning. She didn't need him to defend her. Besides, she was more experienced with dealing with this type of thing. He glanced at her, and she shook her head minutely.

"There are no pets allowed in here. The sign's on the door. Now get out!"

The volume of the clerk's voice had dropped once he'd gotten close to Olivia, but the hostility remained.

"I saw the sign," Olivia explained, "but Suvi isn't a pet. He's my service dog."

"It doesn't matter. It's still an animal and it's not allowed in here."

It. That seriously pissed Olivia off, but she bit back on her anger. It wouldn't help her get through this situation. She needed reason.

"Legally he is," she returned firmly, her anger held fully in check.

"The dog leaves or you leave."

"You don't have the right to tell her that," Ben almost growled.

"Yes, sir, I do. Just because it has a vest on doesn't make it a service animal. You look just fine. I'm not letting you stay."

Olivia had to squeeze Ben's arm in warning again. Her own anger made her squeeze a bit tighter than she'd intended. She couldn't help it though. She was frustrated and angry. On top of the fact that she'd already been annoyed it was not a good combination. While she may not have wanted to come to the jewelry store in the first place there was no way she was backing down now.

"I have a seizure disorder. It's not visible unless I'm actually having one. He's a seizure alert dog."

"Prove it."

Her mouth gaped open in exasperation. Prove it? She didn't have to prove it. The law said he didn't even have the right to ask her that. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I don't have to. It's in the same law that says you have to let me enter. Do you need me to give you the actual number?"

"I need you to get out or I'll call the cops and make them get you out!" the clerk snapped back, his voice rising in volume.

Olivia didn't let his tone bother her and simply stood passively. Ben's eyes flickered toward Olivia, and when she felt his gaze she looked his way.

"It's up to you, Liv."

She easily read between the lines. They could go take their business somewhere else, or if she wanted to fight, he would stand by her. Olivia considered her options. It would definitely be easier to just walk away, but she wasn't in any real rush to continue the shopping trip. At the moment she wouldn't mind a good fight, and this one needed to happen. After all, the clerk had called Suvi an "it." He deserved to be put in his place.

"I have a legal right to be here. So does Suvi. We're not going anywhere."

"You want to get yourself arrested you won't see me complaining."

As he pulled out his cell phone to make the call to the cops Olivia crossed her arms firmly over her chest. She wasn't worried. Ben wasn't either but he rested his hand on Olivia's lower back as a silent sign of support anyway. While she waited she looked around at the other patrons and employees. The argument had drawn all of their attention. As she met their eyes many of them immediately looked away. Nobody wanted to get involved. That was perfectly fine with Olivia though. She would rather handle this on her own than risk the situation escalating as more people got involved.