A little pain never hurt anyone

Chapter 13 ~ Love Theme Intro

Elsie leans forward over the table. “Do you care for her?”

“I… I suppose I do. Yes.”

“And does she care for you? Do you find that you enjoy spending time with her? Does it feel like an equal friendship? Do you find yourself thinking about her throughout your day?”

Fiore is overwhelmed by the numerous questions. She’s unsure which one to answer, so she simply says, “yes.”

“Has she done anything to hurt you?”

“No…” Fiore pauses. “At least, not since we’ve settled into our living situation. But she still can be quite bothersome.”

Elsie leans back in her chair. “How do you feel when you think of Rena?”

“I feel…” The first thing Fiore pictures is Rena's smile. It’s as if she tries to show every single tooth. It’s quite funny how that big of a smile can fit on her face. It’s almost gotten Fiore to smile herself on a few occasions. What is that called? Contagion? For some reason, when she pictures Rena, she’s always being pulled along somewhere. The image of Rena looking back at her and laughing comes to mind, as she pulls Fiore along by whatever she can grab hold of. When they stand outside of the General Store, she’ll look down at Rena who may or may not be eating whatever thing she’s treated herself to. Like always, she looks up at Fiore with a smile. “I feel like smiling when I think of her.”

“Now, would you still say things are different with Rena? Or do you think this could be platonic love?”

Fiore’s eyes move from Elsie’s, choosing to instead focus on a spot just behind her head. “I suppose it could be.”

“And now, Wheedle …”

Fiore’s body goes rigid at his name. Sure, she could admit it to herself - she does care for Rena. But Wheedle?

“No, not him.”

A laugh escapes Elsie. “I haven’t even said anything yet, dear!”

Chapter 14 ~ Love Theme Farewell

“You’ve never purchased a single thing from me. You even knew my docked pay stipulation was to exploit you… Which you then exacted revenge upon me in subtle ways! Not even the temptation of seeing the one of your dreams in a bathhouse was enough to entice you to throw a few tesserae my way. Your loud-mouthed friend couldn’t resist my soap.”

Fiore crosses her arms. “So, you find it to be a good thing that I’ve never purchased anything from you.”

“Why would I personally associate with someone I take for a fool? It’s not a difficult thing to butter someone up with niceties so they hand over their money. … I have come to respect you more than I anticipated. Even as evident by the stage comment, you think of things that I don’t. Likewise, I think of things you don’t. We make a balanced team! The fact of the matter is: we could make far more in profits by re-framing how we work. Think of it as… a fresh start! No more docked pay. In exchange, I would hope you take our arrangement more seriously. As if it were a real business.”

As Wheedle stares at her, anticipating her reaction, the threat of a blush emerges. She recalls her conversation with Elsie, and how she commented on his staring. … Why is she thinking of this conversation now? Fiore perseveres, remaining impassive. “If we truly are a joint business, then a contract is in order.”

Wheedle snaps his fingers and then points at her. “You’ve read my mind!”

Chapter 15 ~ Giallo