"Oh, don't scare them off. I don't mind if they have my cup. I'm not using it anymore." She gave his hand a little tug, her fingers warm and small, and smiled up at him. "Real magic, huh?"
"Or something, anyway." Eren glanced over his shoulder at the quarreling trash griffins as they started up another of the slanting streets. "Where would you like to go next? The bookstore?"
"Oh, yes!" Lucy exclaimed, and then hopped on one foot for a minute while she dislodged a rock from her shoe. She nearly tripped over the hem of the too-long jeans as it came unrolled. "Actually ... is there anywhere at all I could find some clothes that fit? I know it might be hard in a place this small. Inga said that someone named Bernie might have some clothes I could wear, but if there's anywhere I could get something of my own ..."
"There's Juanita Westerly's boutique. I bet you could find something there."
"There's a boutique?" Her eyes were round again. "Oh, wait—Juanita! I think I met her already!"
"It's a clothing store that she runs out of a room in her house, and it's only open when she feels like it," Eren said. "Don't get too excited, okay?"
* * *
He was worried Lucy would be disappointed, but instead, she lit up full of her ever-infectious delight at the sight of Juanita's boutique.
As Eren had said, it was run out of Juanita's tidy little house near the top of the town, with a gorgeous view down across the bay. Juanita and her mother lived here together, but Heddy was nearly always down at the inn. The house was painted orange with green trim, and its window boxes and garden spilled over with flowers. The hand-painted green-and-gold sign reading JUANITA'S THREADS was turned to the OPEN side.
The display room had once been a spare bedroom, but there was now a street-side entrance opening onto a small room crammed with racks of clothing. Lucy was soon in absolute raptures.
"It's so different from where I normally shop," she explained to Eren, who was mainly trying not to knock anything over. "It's all so pretty and interesting and different!"
"I like to handpick items that fit my aesthetic," Juanita explained. She and Lucy had instantly taken to each other. "A lot of it is pre-worn or reconditioned, but not all of it. I try to ethically source it whenever I can."
"It's just so colorful," Lucy enthused, holding up a flowered blouse. "Ilovebright colors, but Mother used to say that we had to uphold the family standard and can't just wear whatever we want. A touch of color for accent is enough for anyone, she said."
"Around here, you candefinitelywear whatever you want," Juanita told her.
Lucy picked out a stack of clothing and a pair of low-topped, practical boots, and then stopped with her arms full and a look of dismay on her face.
"I'll buy them," Eren told Juanita, guessing the reason for her expression. He still didn't know the exact circumstances of whatever had happened to her, but it was very clear by this point that she had run away with nothing but the clothes on her back.
"I can't let you do that," Lucy protested.
"I want to," Eren said. "Besides, Juanita owes me a favor."
"I do?" Juanita said.
"You do." He shooed her off to one side of the room, and said quietly, "Juanie, I'm the one who'll oweyouone. Just let me do this. She's had a really hard time."
"I could tell," Juanita said softly. "Yes, of course. I'll just mark it down for your sister's tab, and you or Lucy can pay me back later. How does that sound?"
"You're the best," Eren told her earnestly.
He came back to find Lucy shyly picking up two bottles of nail polish, one pink and one red. "Do you think it would be too much to add these too? I promised Inga I'd give her a manicure."
Juanita looked immediately intrigued. "You do manicures?"
"Not—professionally?" Lucy said. "I mean, I know how. Who doesn't?"
"Literally nobody in this town," Juanita said. She looked delighted. "I've been wanting to add some spa offerings. Lucy, tell you what. I'll give you these bottles of polish and some other nail supplies for free samples. And then you can come up here some afternoon and show me what you can do. I might hire you for one or two days a week."
"Hire me?" Lucy looked dazzled. "You mean—pay me?"
"Yes, of course," Juanita said, shocked.
Lucy's expressive face went through a variety of emotions. "I'd love to, but—I don't know how long I'm going to—can I think about it?"
"Of course. Go ahead and take the samples! Here, take this and this." She added some little sticks and things. Eren had no idea what any of it was, but Lucy seemed happy.