Chapter Seven

Of Elves and Egyptians

             The shop was steady until the afternoon, and after looking over Gabriel’s resume one more time, Alice decided to call him in spite of the ribbing she knew she’d get from Shakra. He picked up on the second ring.

“Hello?”

            “Hello, is this Gabriel?” She tried to make her voice sound as professional as possible, but her stomach was doing back flips. How was she supposed to do an interview? She was a total imposter.

            “Yes it is.”

            “This is Alice from Threads. I was wondering when you would be available to come down for an interview.”

            Gabriel’s voice became less smooth, he sounded both nervous and excited now. “I can come in any time you want me to. I’ll come in today if you like.”

            Alice checked her watch. “Why don’t you come around three? Does that work?”
            “Absolutely, I’ll be there.”

             She hung up after saying goodbye, letting out a breath of relief. She hadn’t screwed up and sounded like a total moron.

            “Called him, did you?” Shakra wandered in from the back room.

            “Yup, he’s coming in for an interview today.”

            “I think you should hire him,” Shakra said. “He’ll bring the ladies in.”

            Alice laughed. “They’ll buy out all the love potions and try to feed them to him.”

            She and Shakra shared a late lunch by the fire, the white Tiger eating the last of the hamburger meat and Alice munching a peanut butter sandwich. She tidied up the front desk area and the back room in preparation for Gabriel’s interview. She was starting to get jittery now, catching herself playing with her hair as she sat there making notes. It wasn’t like she’d ever interviewed anyone. What did you ask at an interview? He would probably see right through her act and be able to tell she was a total amateur.

            “I’ve never given an interview.” Alice made herself stop yanking at her hair. “What sort of things do I ask him? I mean, besides what hours he can work.”

            “Maybe what wage expectations he has, what jobs he’s had and why he quit them,” Shakra said. “Just try to get a feel for what he’s really like and if he would be good to work with or not.”

            “Right.” Alice jotted down a few more pointers. “Okay I think I’m ready for this.” She let out a breath, trying to calm herself. Just pretend, that was the key, pretend like she knew what she was doing and maybe he’d believe her.

            “You’re in charge. Don’t forget you run the interview, it’s not hard.”

            “Right, sure.”  It was easy for her to say. Shakra was confident, and probably way older. She’d probably run her own business before.  The bell over the door rang, and Alice looked up, determined not to be flustered by Gabriel’s good looks.  Today he was wearing a white collared shirt and black sweater and his shaggy hair was tousled exactly right. Alice couldn’t help being reminded of one of the sulky male models you see in the magazines, even though Gabriel was smiling widely at her.

“Hi.”

            “Hey, come on in. We’ll go into the back room.” Alice tried not to show how nervous she was.  She tried to remember what Shakra had told her. This was her shop and she was running the show. She sat down behind the large mahogany desk. When she placed both hands on the smooth wood, and Gabriel was sitting in the chair across from her, she could almost believe she was the store owner about to interview a potential employee. Almost.

“So what makes you want to work for Threads?”

            Gabriel flashed white teeth at her. “I like that it’s a magic shop, but a fun magic shop. Not one full of enchanted monkey paws and swords of doom and stuff.”

            Alice didn’t know what a monkey paw or a sword of doom was, but she nodded like she did, “Right, you like that it’s fun. Are you good with children? We tend to get a lot of kids in.”
            “I’m great with kids.” Gabriel managed to sound like he wasn’t bragging. “I love them.”

            “Good. Is there anything else that attracted you to the shop in particular?” She stared in surprise as the young man smiled at her, then flushed slightly and stammered.

 “Um, yes.” He was staring at his feet now. “I like that the shop moves. I like to see new places and things.”

            “Good.” Alice looked over the chicken scratch notes she had made for herself. “Are you alright with living in what amounts to a guest bedroom for the first few weeks? It will be in my suite.”

            Again Gabriel blushed scarlet. “That would be alright with me.”

            Alice was quiet for a moment, realizing why he might be blushing.  Was Gabriel attracted to her? Was that even possible? That this Elf could find her desirable hadn’t even crossed her mind. Gabriel looked like he should be lounging in the pages of a Vogue magazine; he must be used to crowds of desperate women throwing themselves at his feet. Why would he even take a second glance at her? It was best to stop thinking along these lines though; it would be pretty embarrassing if she turned bright red in front of him. Already she could feel her ears getting hot.

            “Well, good,” she blurted, eager to move him along. “Now, you’ll be working full time if we hire you. That’s alright?”

            “Absolutely. I’m available for whatever days you like.”

            “Okay.” Alice looked over her paper one last time. “No criminal record I assume?”

            Gabriel grinned again. “None.”

            Alice looked closely at him. “Sure? Azura probably knows some great Truth Telling spells.”

            Gabriel’s eyes widened slightly. “No record, I swear.”

            Alice nearly laughed at his earnest look. “Alright, that about concludes things. You realize that if you work at this shop, weird things happen a lot, right?” She was thinking about that awful pet store, and all the strange people she’d met recently. But maybe he was used to that sort of thing. He was an Elf, after all.

            “I would be disappointed if weird stuff didn’t happen.”

            Alice smiled. “I think that wraps things up.”

                        Gabriel surprised her by sweeping a low bow in her direction, his shaggy hair falling over his eyes. “I will take my leave now, madam, and look forward to your call.”

            “Thank you, Gabriel.” She couldn’t help smiling. “I’ll see you to the door if you like.”

            “I would be honoured.”

            Azura met her in the hall leading up to the suite, a shopping bag in each hand. “Shakra said you interviewed that Elf today. How did it go?”

            “Pretty well. He seems really nice.”

            “You think Gabriel will make a good employee?”

            “I think so. Shouldn’t you meet him first though?”

            Azura shook her head. “It’s up to you. You’re the boss. If you think you can work with him for five days a week, and he’ll be a good worker, then he’s a good choice. And we do need someone else.”

            Alice thought about Gabriel’s white smile and dark blue eyes.  His handsome looks shouldn’t factor into whether she hired him or not. Was it a good idea to hire someone so good looking?  Wasn’t it bad to have an employee she was attracted to? But she liked him, he was friendly and smart and…

“I think I’ll give him a call tomorrow.”

             “Excellent. I look forward to meeting him.” Alice followed her up the stairs, saying goodnight to the other woman before she entered her suite. She mentally checked off what the day had been.  Sell magic potions and exploding pencils in the morning, lunch with a Tiger in the afternoon, interviewed handsome Elf after lunch - she wondered what she’d be doing right now if she’d decided to become an English teacher.

            Something decidedly less interesting.

            It didn’t take long for Gabriel to catch on. Everyone seemed to like him, and he turned out to be a great salesman. He sold several pairs of dancing shoes in the second hour of his first shift. They gave him the day off to move everything in, telling him to take several days if he needed it.

            “I just need a day,” he said. “I don’t have much stuff where I’m staying.”

            Alice nodded, not wanting to ask him about his home life. She got the idea that he was eager to leave Victoria.   That afternoon Alice and Azura were chatting behind the desk, keeping an eye out in case any of the customers needed help. Alice was fidgeting, ready to go.

 “We’re going to Egypt, right?”

            “That’s right. Anywhere in particular in Egypt? You didn’t specify.”

            She tried to think of a city in Egypt and was embarrassed that she didn’t know even one. “Um…I hadn’t thought of that.”

            “Cairo maybe,” Azura said. “That’s simple enough for the shop. It’s very central, full of magic.”

            “Sounds great.”