Hearts of the Lonely (Reader x Mountain Ghoul)

37- Fall Festival

You ran your fingers over the intricate embroidery and thought of how many hours of work this was going to cost you. The delicate flowers and vines wrapping around the top of the boot snaked down the center where the laces were. The boots seemed gigantic to you, but they would be the perfect size for Mountain. You carefully set the boots back into the box and wrapped them in the tissue paper again. 

"How much do I owe you?"

"I was thinking around. . ."

Your eyes widened as the shopkeeper told you the price. Mountain was right; shoes his size were expensive. But it also might have to do with the fact that the boots were custom. No matter the reason, the price was a little more than one of your paychecks. 

"I don- Would you be willing to go a little lower?" you asked. "I don't mean to be rude, but it's just hard for me to afford this at the moment."

You felt bad for haggling with the man, but he seemed to be all right with it. You did keep the price reasonable for the amount of effort and craftsmanship put into the final product. Once you reached a comfortable price, you made sure to raise the price a bit more.

"You know what; you seem to be very much in love with whoever you are buying these for. I'll accept the offer," he said, pushing back some of the money you set on the counter. Shaking your head, you gestured towards it.

"Please take it. I want to make sure I am paying you enough." 

"Okay. Just know that you will get a bit of a discount the next time you stop by." The shopkeeper put the shoe box into a bag and gave you a receipt. "In case the embroidery needs to be touched up or something isn't fitting right."

After saying "thank you" many times, you headed out. You thought of the upcoming events hosted by the church, or, rather, Terzo. In a late-night phone call, Terzo had told you of the fundraisers he would organize. He confessed that instead of completing paperwork, he filled a portion of a wall in his office with sticky notes full of drawings, notes, and fundraising ideas. Sister Imperator went to talk to him one day, and caught him frantically putting back a motivational poster - which was the "Hang in there!" cat poster - over the sticky notes. She told him to remove the poster, and spent the rest of the day convincing him to get the ball rolling on the fundraising plans, and, no, there was no need for a kazoo cover of "Ritual". 

One of Terzo's ideas was a church festival with a chili competition. Terzo had already sent out a letter to the businesses downtown, and the general idea was that most would be willing to have a stand at the festival. The ghouls would provide the music and even have a time to work with kids who wanted to learn how to sing or play an instrument. Members of the Clergy would judge the chili, and Terzo found some people to run games. He only needed to find people to donate decorations, picnic tables, and tents. You were on your way to the florist's shop to try to help find decorations. 

"Well hello!" 

"Jenny, right?"

"Yep!" The shop had a fall theme with red, orange, yellow, and purple flowers in vases and arrangements around the room. Jenny was sweeping the area near her work station. "What's up?"

"Terzo had an idea of creating a fall festival, and he still needs some sort of decorations. Would you be willing to help us? We will pay you."

"Absolutely." She set the broom against the table as she went to get a notepad and pencil. "I have a lot of mums right now. Would those work?"

"Sure! Whatever works best for you." You watched her nod as she wrote down her ideas, and told her more details about the festival as you looked around the shop. A sunflower arrangement caught your eye. You brought them up to the counter to purchase them.