I gasped in delight as I took in the delicate glass mushrooms clustered together between a collection of vases and a stack of empty picture frames. There were at least a dozen, all of them different, with tiny handwritten price tags that said what each one was: Octopus Stinkhorn. Devil’s Tooth. Mycena Manipularis. Doll’s Eyes. Veiled Lady. Dead Man’s Fingers. Violet Coral.
I reached for one. “Oh my god, they’re all so pretty. How am I supposed to choose which one to get?”
“Um, hell no, we’re getting all of them.” Greid looked around and grabbed an old woven basket for sale. “Come on, start loading up before someone else comes along and takes one.”
I glanced around. “I don’t think anyone’s going to—”
“There’s a little old lady up here,” he hissed, already loading the sculptures into the basket. “You know she’ll be all over these if she spots them. Don’t make me fight her for them, berry.”
Gurgling with laughter, I picked up a sculpture and put it in the basket. “Are you saying my interests are the same as little old ladies’?”
“Yes. But it’s fine, because I love—”
He choked on a breath and went perfectly still for a second, then grabbed another sporefruit as my heart gave a mighty thud.
“Little old ladies,” he finished in a strangled voice. “Love ’em.”
My mouth had gone dry. Licking my lips, I managed to get out, “You love little old ladies, huh?”
“Yeah. Yep. I think they’re great. Awesome at telling long-winded stories and always having gross hard candy in their purses.”
I laughed, but my heart was still pounding. Had he really been about to say…
“I think my mom’s texted me back.” Greid seemed grateful for the distraction as he fumbled with his phone in his coat pocket. I stepped closer, peering down at the screen as he opened his messages and spotting the text he’d sent her.
Mom, do you put rutabaga in your porin?
Beneath it was her reply. Rutabaga? I’m not a lunatic, Greid.
Then another one. How’s Beryl?
And another. When are you both coming for dinner?
And another. Your Aunt Indi was here yesterday showing me her new glasses and it reminded me, when was the last time you got your eyes checked? You know I worry about how much you strain your eyes for work, kushka. Which also reminds me, Kiti saw one of your pieces in a magazine at work. She tore the page out for me. Why didn’t you tell me??? Must I find out about my son’s success through a bloody gossip magazine, Greid??
“Fuck, I opened the floodgates,” Greid muttered, scrubbing a hand over his face. He quickly typed out a reply.
sorry mom love you!!!xxxx
I huffed. “You didn’t even answer her questions!”
“She’ll call me later.” He stuffed his phone back in his pocket. “If I answer any of them now, she’ll send five more.”
I laughed and nudged his arm. “Well, at least you were a good son and told her you love her.”
I cringed the moment I said it. Nice going, Beryl, way to make it awkward again. Greid coughed and ducked his head.
“We should see if there are any other sporefruits in here.” He was suddenly in a hurry to get moving, his ears fluttering madly as he speedwalked away and almost knocked over a display of stained-glass lamps. “Fuck.”
I trailed after him, pulse jumping in my throat. “Greid…”
“Shit.” He stopped so suddenly I bumped into his back. “Look,” he hissed as I shuffled around to stand beside him. “There’s one right there. The little old lady found it.”
I followed his gaze to see an elderly demiurgus lady in a thick puffer coat peering at a big fruit bowl hand-painted with nightberries. Beside it on the shelf was another sporefruit sculpture—a single white mushroom, its cap domed and dripping with delicate black droplets.
“She’s not even looking at it,” I whispered, trying to push past the chaotic thoughts swirling in my brain. Just enjoy the day. Forget it happened. Forget that the best person you’ve ever met might have been about to tell you he loves you.
“It’s only a matter of time before she spots it.” Greid handed me the basket. “I’m going in.”
“Wait,” I hissed. Once he’d turned back to look at me, I tried to keep a straight face. “Are you going to fight her or seduce her for it, little-old-lady-lover?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Haven’t decided yet.”
I snorted and gestured for him to go ahead, trying not to laugh as he crept forward as if he planned on robbing the unsuspecting lady, who still wasn’t even looking at the sporefruit sculpture. My heart had slowed, but it still felt heavy. Full.
I’d gotten through a lot of shit in my life, but as I watched my demiurgus slyly reach around the lady’s head to snatch the sporefruit sculpture off the shelf, then shoot me a thumbs up behind her back, I knew I wouldn’t get through losing him.
Chapter Forty-Four
Beryl
The following Monday was grey and overcast, but I forced myself to make the journey to Upper Birch after my shift at work.
I hadn’t lied to Greid about where I was going. I’d just… omitted some information. I’d told him I wanted to visit a store in another part of town that Corva had mentioned, so I’d be home later than expected. When he’d asked what store, I’d mumbled indistinctly and grabbed his head to give him a filthy, distracting goodbye kiss. It had worked excellently.
Buying my ticket at the subway station’s machine had been a little daunting, but I’d done it and felt stupidly proud of myself. And I’d only gotten a little freaked out riding in the packed train alone, trying not to bump into the tall demiurgus businessmen around me, reeking of expensive cologne.
The guy working at the sex shop had been super friendly and helpful, enthusiastically showing me a big range of products, some of which I knew I wasn’t interested in at all, like the whips and paddles, while others had piqued my interest and sent a stab of lust into my belly when I imagined using them on Greid.
I’d left the store with a plain black carrier bag, having spent a small fortune. Sex toys were expensive—good quality ones anyway, the store worker had told me. But it wasn’t like I was spending much of my money. Greid had insisted on paying for all the sporefruit sculptures at the market, shyly saying they were a gift.
So this was my gift back to him. I was going to give him something he’d always craved and had never been able to experience.
And okay, yeah, it wasn’t just a gift to him. I could not fucking wait to show him what I’d bought. And use it on him. And hopefully make him come harder than he ever had before.
Greid had been up in his workshop when I got home, so I’d managed to get into my bedroom without him seeing me and asking what I’d bought. I’d locked my bedroom door for the first time to go through my purchases, laying them all out on the bed.
And now, as I stood in front of my mirror, my brain was trying to catch up with what it was seeing as I stared down at the bright pink dick jutting out from between my hips.
It had taken me a little while to figure out the harness, and another minute to get used to the feel of the straps digging into my hips and the tops of my thighs once I’d tightened them. But it was definitely a novel experience to look down and see a dick attached to me. Granted, it didn’t look anything like a human dick—it was enormous, for one, and had little nodules designed to mimic demiurgus barbs. The guy at the shop had assured me they felt like the real thing.