Window shopping

Posted on Mon 28th Sep, 2020 @ 12:35am by Mary Elizabeth Gregory & Maiek s'Ethien

2,650 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: The Promenade, Deck 612
Timeline: MD-23, 0900 hours

Maiek walked through the Promenade with purpose in his step, but a look in his eyes of general puzzlement. He was dressed in something he'd designed himself, for the high class but not formal events he had been accustomed to attending. (Describe?) His fingers caressed the interlocking metallic silver and blue strands of the sashlike jewelry that hung like a scarf from both sides of his neck as well as encircled his hips and fell into a cascade of strands on the left that touched to his knees. The stark black leather work that held it together was delicately tooled and as supple as the fine metallic strands.

When he finally reached the jewelry stores that he had researched might have the things he needed, for he could easily afford to follow both Romulan and Human traditions in this venture. However, this whole store glittered like the glass ocean at K'vellar and he didn't even know where to begin.

* * *

In the corridor of the Promenade, Mitzi Hallowell and Barbara Ellis wandered among the godawful-expensive jewelry shops, pointing at jewelry sets displayed in windows and oohing and aahing at them. Any gemstone could be replicated, but naturally-occurring ones still had value, especially if they were of high quality. Mitzi was admiring a necklace made of Spican flame-gems when Barbara suddenly grabbed her by the elbow.

"Mitzi! Look in that store across the way. Be subtle about it, mind. Do you see who I see?"

"Just that Andorian and Bajoran pair of women we always see in the shops. I swear, they must be fast friends or else married--"

"Not them! In Zelazi's--wearing the black, silver, and blue thing."

"Oh." Mitzi reoriented her attention and took a closer look. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of a tall, gorgeous Romulan bent over a tray of rings. She clutched at Barbara's arm. "Oh!! Barbara, rings!"

"I'll have my fifty quid now."

* * *

In the jewelry shop, an elegant Efrosian salesman greeted Maiek. "Good day, sir, and welcome to Zelazi's," he said. "How may I help you today?"

"Good morning." Maiek returned the greeting. "I am looking for a set of engagement rings. One of them needs to correspond stylistically with my clan engagement bracelets."

"We would be delighted to work with you on that, sir," the sales clerk said. "Do you have an image of the design or perhaps one of the bracelets with you for our jeweler to examine?"

He took a silken bag out of his pocket and opened it. It bore his clan symbols tooled in gold on leather so dark brown it was almost black. The work was ancient, and exquisite as each individual Romulan word was cut from metal and rivetted to the leather. It was soft and as supple as warmed butter. The glittering clear spiral symbol of the first matriarch of his clan, formed the button that closed the clasp of the bracelet. His bright, fire red and orange crystal, glittered in the center of it.

The Efrosian's eyes widened, and he gasped in appreciation. "That is exquisite, sir. Would you mind if I make a holo-image of it for our jeweler to work from?"

"It is an heirloom, and has been in my family for 12 generations. I hope to pass it to my son one day." He admired it with a fond little smile. "You may photograph it."

Out in the Promenade, Barbara squinted. "What is he showing the shop clerk? Let's have a closer look, shall we?"

Mitzi looked horrified. "Barbara, he'll see us!"

"And what if he does? He won't know us from Adam, especially if we speak all posh-like."

"Neither of us are dressed like a duchess."

"You think duchesses never wear jeans? Duchesses are people just like everyone else, but with more money and better manners."

"I dare you to go in there and pretend to be a duchess," Mitzi said.

Barbara gave that a moment of thought and then her eyes lit with a mad twinkle. "You're on!--But I'll want you to pretend to be my daughter."

"I look nothing like you!" Mitzi protested. By this time, they were halfway across the hall, moving toward Zelazi's.

Maiek raised dark eyes to look at the Efrosian and he raised a question to the male. "I need to satisfy Romulan custom and Human custom all at once. Romulan custom says it is unforgivably rude to propose marriage with just one piece of jewelry, traditionally three similar items are given. However- humans do not wear jewelry in the same way that Romulans do. I have seen humans with many different styles of ring on the left ring finger...is it common to have more than one engagement ring that a woman can wear?"

The shop clerk thought a moment. "Human males usually give their fiancees a single engagement ring that contains gems and a wedding band that is unadorned. But nothing prevents a man from giving his fiancee an additional, more elaborate, engagement ring if he wishes to."

A soft chime sounded as the shop door opened, and two Human women entered. One was short and portly, the other tall and slender, with shoulder-length blonde hair.

The Efrosian glanced toward them. "Good morning, ladies. I can assist you in just a couple of minutes. Is there anything you would like to look at until I can attend you?"

"I am interested in opals--Australian sea opals in particular," Barbara said in exquisite Queen's English, "necklace and earring sets, if you have them."

"We have some in the back," the clerk said. "Please feel free to look around." He looked back at Maiek. "I'll go make that holo-image, sir." Gingerly, he accepted the bracelet and leather pouch and took them into the back of the shop.

"How do you do?" Barbara said to Maiek with a faint inclination of her head.

Their accents which, sounded similar to Mary Elizabeths made him smile faintly. "Quite well thank you ladies." His eyes came back to the choices before him and he sighed gently. This was so complicated and nothing here on this rack felt right. They were all too gaudy and nothing shown was elegant enough for him to consider giving to his Mary Elizabeth.

After a moment the Efrosian returned with a locked plexiglas case containing two necklaces made of sea opals, with matching earrings. "I'm terribly sorry, ladies; this is all we have, if you would like to look at them?" He placed the case on a counter where the ladies could look at the jewelry inside and then turned to Maiek. "Did you find anything you like, sir?"

"Do you have anything a little more....refined? These seem too gaudy for my Lady, I do not think that she would be pleased to wear anything on this tray."

"She's not looking for a rock, then. An excellent sign," the shop clerk said with a smile at Maiek. He removed the tray of flashy, gem-encrusted rings and vanished into the back with it once a Denobulan clerk came out to assist the two ladies.

"I don't think you should get the one on the left, Mother. It's literally dripping with opals. You'll jingle with every step you take."

Barbara beamed at her 'daughter' for finally getting into the spirit of the thing. "Sometimes a woman likes that, Mitzi." She went on with a wry look. "Besides, I have so much padding up top, the necklace is likely to just lie on me and make no sound at all."

"Perhaps the necklace with the pearls, then?" the Denobulan shop-girl asked. "Are you looking for jewelry for a particular occasion? If this is to be worn at the symphony or the theatre, for instance, a quieter set of jewelry would indeed be better."

"It is lovely," Barbara said, "but the pearls far outnumber the opals, and I prefer the opals. It's all right, dear, you can put these away."

The Efrosian clerk returned a few minutes later with a tray of solitaire gem engagement rings that he set before Maiek. "Take a look at these, sir. Also, our jeweler rendered some proposed designs to match your clan symbols." He handed a small PADD to Maiek, which displayed images that he could scroll through.

"Your jeweler is quite fast," he complimented as he scrolled through the designs. He wanted something that caught the subtlety of fire and the grounding of earth with the balance of water for his love. His eyes caught one, and he exhaled a soft 'oh' of sound. It was lovely- and nearly what he wanted. "Do you have a stylus or any way to modify this image?"

"Right here." The Efrosian clerk pulled free a stylus that was magnetically held to the mini-PADD and offered it to Maiek. "Just scroll to the bottom and enter your information in the Notes field. It will accept text and drawings."

Barbara and Mitzi inched slightly closer to Maiek so they could get a better look at the image. "Oh, that is gorgeous!" Barbara said. "Do forgive me for the intrusion, sir, but it caught my eye "

"Thank you." Maiek said without looking at her, however he smiled at the commentary. It was gorgeous. He took the image and sketched so that the swirl of diamonds around the center stone curled downwards, making it closer to the first matriarch's spiral. Maiek finally looked at her and her daughter and recognition bloomed in his eyes. He'd definitely seen her companion at the restaurant that Mary Elizabeth ran. Hiding his apprehension by looking back the PADD he asked very quietly "Do you think she will like it?"

Barbara looked at Maiek, then at Mitzi. "Busted!" she announced cheerfully. "I'm Barbara Ellis, and this is Mitzi Lowden. Good to meet you, sir."

Mitzi had to laugh. "Mary Elizabeth would be a proper fool not to like it," she told Maiek. "I think she'll be stunned."

"I agree. That is quite the loveliest setting I've ever seen," Barbara said. She leaned her head to one side. "I wonder if I could make that in fondant as a cake decoration?" She glanced at Maiek. "In my quarters, of course. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise."

"Yes it is supposed to be a surprise..." He looked anxious for a moment, as he handed the PADD back to the salesman. "Is that feasible?"

"I'm not a jeweler," the Efrosian said, "but it doesn't look impossible to me. I'll take this back to him and get an estimate on how long it will take to be made." He disappeared into the back of the shop once again.

Maiek looked back at the two women. "I am not so familiar with human customs. Do I truly need to ask her father's permission to marry her, and I am permitted to do so without gifts for the family? That would be unthinkably rude for a Romulan household."

Barbara chuckled. "No, love, this isn't the English Regency. The only person you need ask is Mary Elizabeth, and she's the only person you would need to give a gift to."

"Tradition is very important to Romulans, as we have little left but our traditions. This station has been very accommodating as far as that is concerned, and we are appreciative. " He smiled at both women softly "I am not used to having to think about human traditions."

"How can we help at the Noose?" Mitzi asked. "After you've had the big reveal?"

"Actually....I was hoping you might lend a hand for the proposal itself. It is somewhat traditional to have food at a Romulan proposal. The merging of clans is considered to be a rather large thing, and there are an awful lot of traditions inherent in our society. I am forgoing most of them here, but she might appreciate the food aspect. I am...not a good cook. "

Barbara's eyes widened. Abruptly, she pulled a mini-PADD and stylus from her purse. "That's all right, young man; I am a good cook." She turned the small tablet on and poised her pen for writing. "Now, what sort of food will you be needing?"

"I believe the term is...nibbles?" he said with a thoughtful look. "I can provide some traditional Romulan recipes if you would like, but any small foods that one is designed to feed to one's lover. I won't bore you with the intricacies of the Romulan palate and what the flavors are supposed to mean. I know Mary Elizabeth likes sweet things."

Barbara blushed and grinned just the faintest bit. "Are you saying you want to feed her oysters, you naughty young man? That wouldn't go over well; she'd rather have grilled shrimp. She does like sweets but in severe moderation because of her mother. Perhaps some chocolates? They're an Earth confection that she likes, and it's considered romantic. Strawberries would be good, and they can even be dipped in chocolate. Also champagne or a full-bodied red wine. On Earth, champagne is saved more for a wedding. Tell me about your Romulan recipes."

"I am uncertain what an oyster is, but I can research the topic if it is required." he answered honestly, as he traced his fingertips alongside a new tray of rings that the salesman had brought out. His eyes kept coming back to a simple one, with an oval shaped diamond. It had a hint of blue in it that appealed to him. "Romulan foods have meanings depending on how they were served and with what other foods they are served. The very highest of class could speak volumes to a guest simply in the display of food upon the table. Speaking without speaking is an art unto itself, for one could not directly give insult to say...an officer of the False Empress, without ending up in shackles or dead. For proposals, the foods are designed to be beautiful. To give aesthetic pleasure as well as gustatory. My mother was courted with tiny cakes with kala cheese and jai-berry jam inside. They were decorated with her favorite flowers piped into the icing as well as edible flowers on top. Generally speaking, our foods are savory rather than sweet, though I and my clan are more fond of sweet than your average Romulan. I am perhaps a bit more fond of chocolate than I should be. "

"Unless you just want to learn about them, you don't really need to know what an oyster is; Mary Elizabeth won't touch them with a ten-foot pole," Barbara told Maiek. "So you could give mortal insult to someone, just by how foods were laid out on a table. That's amazing! You'll have to meet with me before the evening, so I can avoid doing that. Our folk usually prefer a mix of savory and sweet, with savories served first and sweets afterward. You both liking chocolate does make things easier." She hastily scribbled notes on her PADD "Those cakes sound lovely."

"I have found some of the traditions of proposals to be distasteful I think that oysters will fall firmly under that categorization, and some of them quite...confusing. I am relieved that I don't have to impress her whole clan as I would if I were proposing to a Romulan female. You have no idea how much stress is involved in impressing a matriarch." he laughed softly and nodded "You may freely serve both savory and sweet should that please the chef."

"It pleases the chef quite well," Barbara said, smiling. "I think Mitzi and I should leave you to your ring selecting now. After you, your prospective wife should be the first to see which ring you select, not us. So we will bid you good morning, dearie!"

"We will speak again soon." He bowed to them both slightly, his hand resting in the center of his chest.

 

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