Shadow Of The Past Trilogy ∞ THE DISPLACED

13 ∞ the connection

Day Three ∞ Sunday

DANNY HELD THE GLASS DOOR OPEN to the discount department store and followed Mickmi inside. He stopped beside her as she looked around from one end of the store to the other.

"Have you ever been to one of these stores before?"

She turned to him with a slight shake of the head. "This is not familiar to me."

"Come." He led the way, looking for a shop assistant. He spotted a young woman in the branded shirt and headed in that direction.

"Hi. Could you assist my friend here? She lost her luggage, and all she's got is what she's wearing. Could you set her up with... clothes for a week? Whatever she feels comfortable in. And shoes too, slippers, whatever."

"Sure. And toiletries?"

"Of course. Probably a handbag too."

Mickmi glanced from one to the other, then she looked at him questioningly. He smiled and nodded. "It's okay, go ahead. You can't be wearing that outfit all the time. Let me hold your jacket; you'll have to take it off if you're going to try on anything."

She complied, sliding the red jacket off her shoulders and handing it to him. It was surprisingly supple in his hands with its satiny leathery feel. But his attention was drawn to what she wore underneath.

So did the shop assistant's. "Nice outfit," she said.

The black pants suit fitted her snugly with a a squared-off V-neck, ribbed shoulders and ribbed waistline. An intricately woven pattern of symbols glimmered discreetly in iridescent colors down her sleeve from shoulder to elbow. When she turned he saw that the back of her shoulders glimmered in a similar pattern. It looked like nothing he'd ever seen before. He hadn't noticed that when he brought her home barely three days ago. He stared at her as she followed the shop assistant to the ladies' wear section. It looked like some sort of uniform. The lines and the cut seemed a bit too strict to be casual wear. 

He exhaled slowly. It doesn't matter what it is. He was here on a mission and he aimed to fulfill it. He was going to make it special; he might not have another opportunity to do this. He went to get a shopping cart and headed for the groceries section.

A while later he paused in an aisle and mentally checked off what he'd collected. He should get plastic plates and napkins too. And he was missing the blanket in the truck—he'd forgotten to put it back after it dried. Okay. He went in search of the last items then returned to the spot where they'd parted ways. He couldn't see Mickmi but he saw the shop assistant. He continued to the cashiers and found a pile of clothes there. Jeans, slacks, tops, a simple dress, underwear, nightwear, sandals, sneakers, slippers... He nodded to himself. He wasn't going to regret this. He parked the shopping cart and strolled over to the specials display area to wait. 

When Mickmi returned to him she was carrying a couple more pieces over her arm, a simple pouch hung from her shoulder and a roomy canvas sling bag in her hand. The shop assistant went straight to the cash register with a basket of toiletries. 

Mickmi stopped in front of him, hesitating. "Are you sure about this?"

Danny smiled and took the clothes from her. "Of course. Come." He led the way to the cashier and added the clothes to the pile. "This is it."

He pulled the wallet out of his back pocket, slid the credit card out and looked at it. He'd had it for months now, since he was in college, but never used it. It was time to inaugurate it. O-kay... Here goes. He placed it on the counter and turned to Mickmi. "Why don't you put on something more comfortable? Use the changing room."