As Genie made her choice, Vivi set the woman's number in her purse and then went about packaging the cake for her, her hands expertly folding the white cardboard around it. Basil's face appeared in her line of vision as she was making the last adjustments and closing the lid with a round red sticker that bore her shop's logo. She gave the boy a smile, encouraged that he was feeling slightly better, even though he was not looking at her. He was looking at -- Vivi turned her head briefly to check -- at Shepard?
And Shepard was looking back, his expression inscrutable, his eyes distant. He did not shift from his position on the chair, his hands still resting easy on his lap. Basil, he thought, reminded him strangely of a dog, a rescue, one that was trying but that was also damaged. And he wondered briefly if the guardian had known beforehand that Basil was the way he was, or if she'd been blindsided. But it was none of it any of his business, and the Raevan didn't seem to be interested in causing havoc, so Shepard just sat and returned the gaze and said nothing.
"It is nice to see you!" Vivi said to Basil as she put the cake into a paper bag and typed in the cake's price on the nearby cash register. She smiled as he indicated the spoons again, and then brighter as Genie gave in to his request. As she told the woman her total, she added with a shake of her head: "But nothing for the spoon -- he is a charmer indeed, non? It is a payment for the lovely bird call I was treated to. Perhaps one day a song?"
