"Could I come with you to your store?" Spencer asked. "I want to see what you do."
Spencer was now 14 years old and had been living with the Rossi's for nearly seven years.
"To see if you're interested in taking it up once you graduate college," Dave said and Spencer nodded. "Sure, I have no problem with it if that's what you want," Dave agreed. "I tried to get Brigid interested and she just wasn't. I was disappointed at the time, but I knew that just indicated her talents weren't in the jewelry business."
"You're hoping that at least one of your children will want to take it up," the 14-year-old suggested shrewdly.
"I am, but they won't be ready for quite some time," Dave said. "Dragonlings grow in maturity much slower than other supernaturals as you know. They might be ready to get out on their own at 18, but that doesn't mean that they are fully mature, as they won't develop good judgment for quite awhile. Of course, since they are half regular supernatural they might mature quicker it all depends. They'll probably want to wonder the world for a few years. I don't see them settling on a career for at least another 50 years or so."
"Well, I suppose if you have the money to back up your choice there's really nothing wrong with wanting to hop around the world for a few decades," Spencer said.
"It'll give them some time to gain some experience with the world at large," Dave agreed. "You're welcome to help me out in the shop for the rest of the summer, but only if you're interested. I'll pay you a wage of course, as it's only fair. Think of it like a summer job."
"I would be willing to work for free just to learn the business, but I certainly won't object to you paying me," Spencer smiled.
"Well good," Dave said pleased. "You would have a few years ago, you know."
"Well, yes, I might've been intelligent, but I was still only seven," Spencer pointed out logically. "I feared that if you spent anymore money than absolutely necessary on me, you would simply throw me out at some point or turn me over to the authorities. I was judging you by how my dad would have done things had I still been living with him. I doubt he would've had a qualm about throwing me out and him offering to pay for my college education was a nonstarter. He simply didn't care enough about me to do that if I didn't manage to get scholarships."
"You know my opinion of your birth father, so let's change the subject before I really get upset," Dave said his expression having turned rather sour at the mention of William Reid. "I know I've never met the man, but from what you've told me well he doesn't impress me in the slightest."
"My opinion is probably biased," Spencer suggested.
"Yes, it probably is slanted to look at William Reid in a slightly worse light, but on the other hand, you were a very observant and intelligent little boy," Dave said. "I've met plenty of people like William Reid in my time, so I don't disbelieve what you said. Besides, you're not one to fantasize or exaggerate. It was probably much worse than what you've told me actually. So if you are working for me I'll pay you a good wage."
"Minimum wage is fine, Uncle Dave," Spencer said. "That's what every new employee would start out with and just because you took me in doesn't mean you need to pay me anymore than that. It'll allow me to buy books and things for college in a few years and perhaps, put some aside for my future. You already pay me a hefty allowance, much more than other children get."
"I pay you that much because you do so much around the house and are very responsible for someone your age," Dave said. "I believe in rewarding hard work, especially since you do it without being asked, which frees Liana or me up to do other things. The only thing we asked you to do was to keep your room clean. We didn't ask you to do the laundry, wash dishes, dust or vacuum or any of the other numerous things you do."
"That was supposed to be my way to pay you back for taking me in and paying for my upkeep," Spencer protested.
"We took you in, because it was the right thing to do. We'd save every child from the streets if we could Lian and I," Dave said. "You had no one, once your mother was dead. I think subconsciously you were looking for a decent father figure, but if you had stayed in your own dimension your father might have found you eventually or at the least any adult you tried to turn to would have taken you back home or turned you in as a runaway where the same thing would have happened."
"I knew that, which is why I was prepared live on the street," Spencer said. "I knew very well that neglect while abuse, is very hard to pin down. I knew that there was a very good chance that my father would've been able to convince the authorities that I was just making stuff up, because I was a child after all and I knew after that that my treatment would be far worse. I didn't want to risk it. I wouldn't be surprised, if father, lawyer or not, didn't pay off whoever returned me home. If that happened I have no doubt that he likely would've taken it out of my hide. I'm glad to find that my father doesn't exist in this dimension. There're Reids out there, but not a William Reid esquire. There is also no Diana Hawkins in this universe either."
"Really, Reid is a pretty common last name much like Rossi, which is one of the reason I chose it when having a last name become common," Dave said.
"I suppose," Spencer agreed. "It doesn't really matter, because I'm not a Reid anymore I'm a Rossi and I have the paperwork to prove it. I have no idea how you got me a birth certificate and social security number and all the other important documentation so I have an identity in this dimension."
"You don't want to know," Dave told him seriously. "The less you know the better."
"I'm well aware that what you did was probably illegal," Spencer said, "as I'm not as naïve as I was at seven years old. Still, I'm grateful that you got me the appropriate paperwork that says I'm your nephew. So long as I cause no trouble it should hold up."
"It'll hold up even if the government looks at it for some reason," Dave promised. "You're not the type to cause trouble. Not without a very good reason anyway."
Spencer nodded taking Dave at his word.
"You can start first thing on Monday morning," Dave told Spencer finally getting back to what they have been talking about originally. "I promise you'll wage will be more than decent."
"Sounds fine," Spencer agreed smiling, not bothering to protest this time about getting more than minimum wage knowing that Dave had his mind set. "I'm looking forward to it."
"I'll teach you everything I know about the jewelry business, which is quite a lot," Dave promised looking forward to working with his adopted son. "Even if you decide not go into the business once you are an adult the knowledge might come in useful sometime."
"It might," Spencer agreed. "No knowledge is ever wasted after all."
"No, it's not," Dave agreed smiling.
The two continued to talk for a few minutes before Spencer headed towards the library, as he had several hours before dinner so he could get some reading in.
Dave watched him go thinking about how proud he was of how mature Spencer was for someone who was only 14, but then everybody matured at their own pace and Spencer was just the type to mature at an early age.
~~~Dave and Liana~~~
"This is really fascinating," Spencer said a couple of weeks later, as Dave taught him the business, even as he dealt with customers with his usual charm.
"I'm glad you think so," Dave said pleased. "If you want to go into the jewelry business after you go to college I'll give you the capital to start it up.
"What about the one that you and Liana left behind? In Shorebarrow?" Spencer asked.
"Somebody else is running that store right now," Dave said. "They are paid very well to do so and to run it exactly as I want him to. He'll eventually want to retire and perhaps, one of the children can take it over. Liana knew someone from her days as a thief that would appreciate the opportunity to get out of that particular life. A lot of good people end up on the street you know, because of circumstances beyond their control. We might not have as many bums as non-supernatural cities do, but there are still supernaturals who have bad things happen to them. He has no idea what I am of course, he was too grateful to ask or to dig too much into our private business. He was truly grateful to have an opportunity to get off the street, as they can kill you or make you tougher. He'll run the business exactly as I want him to, because he knows that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and he also doesn't want Liana to be disappointed in him."
"But don't you need a college education to run a business?" Spencer said remembering what his father had said.
"Most people do," Dave agreed. "But I never had a college education and I've done quite well if I do say so myself. Some people just have an innate business sense and do very well even without a higher education. You for example don't necessarily have to go to college, because I have a feeling you have that rare business sense when you know something is going to be good investment. Of course, if you want to operate in the non-supernatural world then it helps to have good education and in fact, it's nearly a requirement in this century. Still, some people manage to start up a business on their own and they do quite well. That's not to say that if you want to go to college in four years when you turn 18 that I won't foot the bill for it, just that you have all the traits to run a business, even without the education. You've completed all your high school requirements, so you're all ready to go to whatever college you choose whether that's one in the non-supernatural world or one that only has other supernaturals."
"Supernaturals have colleges of their own?" Spencer asked interested. This was something he had not known.
"Well, really only one, but it's enormous and also well protected. You really need a special invitation to attend, but I happen to know someone over there, several someone's actually. They might already know about you as the people that run the school are always on the lookout for those that would fit right into the college environment. Supernaturals that are not only intelligent, but enjoy learning and have the money to pay the fees. Some are taken in on scholarship if they prove themselves to be intelligent, but don't have the money. Still, just like in the regular world colleges won't run on genius alone. Just like any business it requires money to pay for the teachers, the food and hundreds of other things. I wouldn't be surprised if they hadn't already noticed you actually and were planning to contact you once you hit 18, as they have a process. They might even decide to contact you earlier like 16, which is the youngest they allow entry."
"So what kind of courses do they teach over there?" Spencer asked.
"Well, metaphysical studies, and a lot of other things but they also teach you what a regular university would chemistry and math and history. They'll train you in whatever your powers happen to be if you want, though I wouldn't recommend revealing what you can do. Even if they have heard of Magi, well they supposedly died out over 1000 years ago. I'm sure that some of the people there like to study ancient history. I wouldn't put it past any of the people there to not betray you at the first opportunity though and turn you over to the government at least. That's not to say that all of them would, but I would still be very cautious if you decide to go there instead of to a regular university.
"I could learn so much about this world," Spencer said looking extremely thoughtful. "I know you've tried your best to teach me everything you can, but I could learn so much more then I could just pick up on my own or that you would think to teach me, because somethings people just know from hanging out with others of their kind. They pick it up unconsciously. It's like everybody know who the most popular rockstar is for their age group, the best places to hang out for kids or teenagers, the most popular movies in the theaters, the most popular TV shows, even the most popular games and if their favorite sports team is winning or if they have chance in the playoffs. Things you pick up just from hanging around other kids."
"I hadn't thought of that, but you are right," Dave said.
"You haven't been a kid for a very long time, over 2,5000 years," Spencer reminded Dave. "We might not forget our childhood, but we also don't remember the early years and even the later years fade as the decades pass. I remember my childhood with perfect clarity, well after I was four or so anyway, but then I also have an eidetic memory, that most people don't."
"That's not necessarily a good thing," Dave said. "It'll help you remember the good times yes, but it also means you can't forget the bad."
"I've known for a long time that my memory is something of a two edged sword," Spencer said. "Still, I'm grateful that I can remember all the times I spent with my mother, since she is no longer alive."
"That's a very good reason to have an eidetic memory," Dave admitted. He cut off what he was going to say when the bell over the door jingled.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" Dave asked the woman whom he knew immediately was at least part vampire. Half-vampires were supposed to be impossible, but Dave knew that while they were very rare they did occur occasionally, though that usually only happened when a vampire and some kind of supernatural were extremely compatible and were mates. Most people didn't know much about vampires, except how to recognize one, but he had been around for a considerable length of time so he knew much more than he usually let on. What most people believed and what was actually true was often two different things, though he did admit that there weren't many half vampires around. Maybe a couple of dozen all told. Vampires usually stuck to the Shadowlands, which most people couldn't access unless given permission by a vampire. Still, some supernaturals did live in the Shadowlands, but only if they had a close connection to a vampire whether that connection was a working relationship or a personal one.
"Yes, I'm looking for something special for my mother's birthday," the lady said in a soft musical voice. "I've heard several different channels that Rossi jewelers has a reputation for having exquisite jewelry, things you can't find any place else."
"You're welcome to look around ma'am," Dave said. "If you don't find anything you like I do take commissions occasionally. I would be willing to do a special piece for your mother's birthday, though it will be costly."
"That's no problem," the lady assured Dave with a gorgeous smile, that would have made most men fall at her feet and a beg her to take them and make her their slave, Dave however, was unaffected. "Custom work is always more expensive than something you just pick up that's already made. You have to pay for the time and effort that the jeweler put into it after all."
"Well then, why don't you look at the cases and see if there's anything that would suit," Dave suggested. "If there's not anything you want already premade, if you can describe what you want or better yet draw it I should be able to produce it, although it will take at least a couple of weeks."
"I'm afraid drawing has never been my forte," The lady said, as she looked at the cases studying all the jewelry displayed intently.
"Did you want a necklace, a bracelet or a ring?" Dave asked. "We even have some fine watches that are exquisitely crafted."
"I was thinking a necklace," the lady said in her soft musical voice. "Not your ordinary run of the mill necklace, rather something...unique. Something enchanted."
"Unique I can do," Dave promised. "As for enchanted, I don't know where you heard that I had that ability. Enchanting is nearly a lost art, though some people can still do it."
"I have heard rumors let's say," the lady said looking up. "You are well known in certain circles."
"What rumors are these?" Dave asked, making it seem like mere curiosity, though inside he was slightly worried.
"Rumors that you are not what you seem. That you are over 1000 years old and no species of supernatural other than the vampire lives that long. Some live for hundreds of years this is true if their power is extraordinary, but not for 15 or 1600 which is how old you are rumored to be."
"Rumors aren't always true and are often exaggerated," Dave said calmly, seemingly unconcerned at this revelation.
"No, they aren't, but these have been particularly persistent for decades now, probably even longer. I know some vampires have wondered what kind of supernatural you are, but they're not curious enough to try to find out, because you're also rumored to be very dangerous if provoked."
"Anybody is dangerous if provoked," Dave suggested with a coolly raised eyebrow.
"While this is true, the rumors say, that you have killed anybody who interferes in your business," the lady said. "The rumors say that you killed them is such a way that nobody knows what happened to them, they're simply just missing. While I agree that most rumors have very little substance they also tend to have a grain of truth to them. I suspect that the truth is somewhere in the middle."
"So have you come to discover exactly what I am miss?" Dave asked, with just a hint of threat in his tone. It was a tone that warned her answer had better be no or they would never find her body part vampire or not. It was very subtle back off, and the lady had no trouble picking up on it.
"No, I came for a piece of jewelry for my mother's birthday. That doesn't mean I'm not curious, but I'm not one to poke into others business so long as they are not a danger to me or my friends and family. I was simply telling you about what I had heard."
"We have some lovely things," Dave said going back to his usual affable tone. "I don't carry anything gaudy, like some jewelry stores do no matter how valuable they happen to be. You'll only find the nicest, most exquisite pieces here."
"Yes, I can see that for myself," the lady said, as she pursued the cases. "You do have some really lovely things. I don't see specifically what I was looking for though."
"Well, as I said I do, do commissions," Dave said. "And my nephew Spencer has also started learning the art of jewelry making at his own request. Who knows, he might turn out to have a talent for it."
Spencer who had been silent couldn't help the blush that flooded his face as the lady with the deep blonde hair and green eyes looked in his direction. Her cheekbones were sharp, her lower jaw round, but with a stubborn tilt to her chin. The shape of her eyes was slightly slanted and her lips full and lush.
The lady seemingly stared at him intently for a few seconds before seeming to force herself back to look back at the jewelry cases.
This did not go unnoticed by Dave and he tried to keep his expression neutral, but he suspected he knew what had happened and if he was right, it was certainly going to be interesting considering that Spencer was only 14 and wasn't even from this dimension. Dave had never suspected that a vampire would want to claim his adopted nephew as her mate. He had figured that Spencer would meet someone in college or maybe afterwards, get married, have children. He had never suspected in a million years that a half vampire would walk into his shop and look at his nephew with a very intense expression. He knew very well that very few vampires ever found their mates, though most didn't look outside other vampires, which was why and also most vampires never came into the supernatural world and stuck to the Shadowlands, which was another reason. Very few came into this world on business though some did.
Dave could tell that the teenager had no idea what had occurred, but since he was still learning about the supernatural world this was not surprising. Even if he had grown up in this world the likelihood that he would know enough about vampires to realize that he was the mate of one were very slim or maybe not because he knew that Spencer liked to study everything he could get his hands on.
"Why don't you tell me what kind of design you want, as I draw pretty decently," Spencer suggested recovering himself. "We'll see if I can get it close enough to what you want ma'am."
"That sounds like a good idea," Dave said. "My nephew is being modest, he's a very good artist and could take it up as a profession if he really wanted to."
"Sounds fine," the lady agreed smiling.
"So can we have your name my lady?" Dave asked with a smile. "I suppose we never did introduce ourselves. I'm David Rossi, as you know and this is my nephew Spencer."
Spencer waved a little shyly, but then, went into the back to get his drawing pad and a pencil. Spencer was back in just a minute and set the pad on the glass case. "So what were you thinking of having Uncle Dave make for you?"
The lady described exactly what she wanted and Spencer did his best to draw it accurately.
"That's really good," the lady approved, making Spencer blush. "My name is Arianrhod Westhaven by the way, but you can call me Ari. I don't know what my mother was thinking naming me such an odd name."
"It's straight out of Welsh myth," Spencer said, even as he finished the design. "The story goes that this Welsh god named Math would die if a virgin didn't hold his feet unless he was in battle. His two nephews lured him away because one of them had started to lust after Goewin, which was the name of the virgin. Once he returned Math punished his nephews by turning them into animals, but still needed a virgin to hold his feet."
Spencer went on to tell all the rest of the story and Ari was impressed to say the least, because it would take some studying of myths and legend to know the story so well.
"That's really good that you can remember all that," Ari said smiling.
"I have an eidetic memory, ma'am" Spencer said. "I remember anything I read and things I see so long as I'm paying attention. It was fairly recently I read that legend, so even without my memory I wouldn't be able to forget the story so soon. We have an enormous library at home."
"Which you are always adding books too," Dave snorted his amusement clear.
"I like to read, so what?" Spencer shrugged.
"There's nothing wrong with liking to read," Ari said.
"No, there's not, as I like to read as well," Dave agreed calmly. "Spencer knows very well I'm just teasing. Still, my nephew has added considerably to the library that I already had. It isn't like he'll need to read the same book twice, so once he's out on the his own they can stay right where they are. Perhaps my other children will take an interest."
"To be fair Uncle Dave they do read, just not nonfiction," Spencer said. "They prefer sci-fi and fantasy and while I will read some of that stuff I still prefer nonfiction for the most part. They just aren't interested in reading anything like history, though they might develop one at some point, as really they're still quite young."
"Well at least they do read," Dave conceded. "It's not like I can disapprove of their reading material considering I like the same kind of thing on occasion. There's nothing wrong with liking sci-fi or fantasy after all."
"Just be glad they aren't into dirty magazines," Spencer teased Dave who groaned dramatically.
"They are still too young for such things, thank goodness, their hormones haven't come into play quite yet. I'm not looking forward to that day," Dave said with a dramatic sigh. "If Liana discovers that they have anything of the sort she'll probably kill them or at least ground them, even though it's perfectly natural for them to want to discover things about the opposite sex at a certain age.
Ari could tell uncle and nephew were really close which was as it should be. Dave's groaning was mostly not serious, not even the part about him not looking forward to his children's hormones getting out of control once they hit their teenage years. No parent looked forward to a child's teenage years and kids often supposedly fell in love doing that time, but fell out of love again after a few weeks or months. Kids often also made bad decisions and boys had sex with their girlfriends. Sometimes they got pregnant and sometimes they didn't. Nowadays, that wasn't the end of the world, not like a few decades ago.
"I'll have this all made up for you soon," Dave told Ari. "If you give me your phone number I'll contact you when it's ready. It'll be around $50,000 dollars, because of the gemstones, which because of their size will be very expensive. You pay half now, half when it's finished."
"Seems reasonable," Ari agreed. "If I got anywhere else it probably would've been even more, as other jewelry store owners try to increase their bottom line. I won't say all of them are like that, but a lot of them are. "
"Unfortunately true, for many of them," Dave agreed soberly.
"One of the reasons I came to you is you have a reputation for being honest in all your dealings and not just because I was curious about the rumors that have been floating around for decades," Ari added.
Ari handed him her credit card and Dave ran it through the register before handing it back to her.
"Thank you for your business," Dave said politely and watched her go, but already knowing he would see her again and likely soon.
"What was that about?" Spencer asked once Ari had left. "Don't tell me it was nothing. There were to many undercurrents for it to be nothing. It wasn't just about Miss Westhaven wanting to buy a piece of jewelry."
Spencer didn't mention how attracted he was to their recent customer, as he figured it was just hormones and that they were hitting just a little sooner then normal like they did sometimes.
"Yes, there were plenty of undercurrents," Dave acknowledged. "It was mostly her testing the waters I believe. I don't think she was seriously trying to find out what kind of supernatural I am, as that would be rude at least and often downright dangerous, as some of our kind don't respond well to such information probes. Still, she did give us some information about rumors I've never heard and I listen for that kind of thing. She was half vampire just so you know and they mostly stay in the Shadowlands, which is their territory."
"Is that why I didn't know vampires even existed in this dimension, much less half vampires?" Spencer asked. "Are the shadowlands like another dimension."
"In a way," Dave said after a long pause. "Only vampires and those they invite can access the Shadowlands. It's not precisely a separate dimension like the one you came from, but that's as good an explanation as any. Very few vampires ever leave the Shadowlands, though some do, as they have business in this world."
"So that's why I never knew that vampires were actually real," Spencer said. "They were in books and movies in my prior dimension, but they didn't actually exist. I never believed they were real despite all I've experienced over last few years."
"I don't blame you for being a little shocked at least," Dave said. "Still, you'll find many things in this dimension are real that don't exist in your own, especially if it pertains to the supernatural world."
"I understand that now better than ever," Spencer said.
"Good," Dave said. "Why don't we close up shop a little early and head home. I know you have a lot to think about.
"Sounds good," Spencer said gratefully. His head was so chock full of thoughts that he felt that it'd never hold anything else, even though he knew that he would eventually absorb what he'd learned, it was going to take at least a few hours maybe until morning. He felt as if he had been through a session of electroshock therapy as his brain was just buzzing drowning out anything else.
"Come on, let's go home," Dave told Spencer gently knowing that his son was rather distracted.
~~~Dave and Liana~~~