A is for Ammunition

Who: Benny and Shoshannah
When: late morning
Where: Prophet's Pages bookstore

There had been nothing short of perfect about the previous night in Shoshannah's mind, so when she woke up to Angelo's wailing alarm clock, she wasn't aware that she was in store for even more pampering. But as she staggered out of Angelo's bedroom, his pajamas hanging around her loosely, with hair slightly tousled from sleep, she would come across a small array of various dim sum steamed buns and a mug of warm tea. When she couldn't find Angelo at first, she scoured the tiny apartment and found him examining her dry, freshly pressed dress. Shoshannah had never felt more taken care of in her life.

She spent what free time she had that morning sitting with Angelo, savoring the breakfast he'd provided, and realizing that she'd lost a lot of her nervousness about her trial day at Prophet's Pages simply because of the small acts of kindness Angelo was showing. She left him (reluctantly) with a tight hug, a kiss, and eyes filled with all the thanks she couldn't verbalize. Shoshannah hailed a cab, but watched Angelo's apartment fade from her vision as the cab drove away instead of looking forward.

What had been calm, collected, and relaxing at Angelo's apartment turned hectic when Shoshannah arrived at the bookstore. The owner of the bookstore sent her on a whirlwind explanation about how to stock the books, how to take inventory, how to run the cash register, how to help customers find books...and Shoshannah did her best to collect all the information, but she knew she'd lost a lot of it as he rambled on. Lucky for her, there didn't seem to be many people going out in this icy weather so she had the first half hour or so to write down notes about what she remembered from his explanation.

And after she'd written down notes and stocked up the new books on the shelves, Shoshannah sat behind the counter and waited. And waited. And waited. And pet the large, tabby cat that nudged it's head under her hands and sprawled out on the counter, but always waited. She didn't hear the bell ring out on the door as it opened because she was simply staring off at the windows, absently petting the purring cat as she did so.

That same bell drew a glare from Benny as it chimed overhead and the door eased shut behind him. He hated those things, had literally choked a man with one once. Of course, there was a good chance that his ire was drawn out more by everything else than the bell specifically. His arm was aching from the tear in the skin, he was surrounded by unknowable words on all sides, and tonight? Well... tonight he was possibly going to die.

The same informant who had given up the laundromat had said more between spat-out teeth and mouthfuls of blood; he'd talked about the docks in town, the waterfront area, and where the drugs that had been spread through the shop came from. He'd even had the balls to laugh at Benny with those details, promising that his brothers would be Benny's death. Then? He'd died first.

Of course, that was yesterday, and now was today. Benny needed some calm before the night's work, so he'd dressed and hailed a cab into the city in search of a book store. As much as he hated places like this, he knew he needed one too. His work would be impossible if he couldn't read the street signs around him or raided the wrong building, so... he needed to start somewhere. "Excuse me, miss?" Benny asked as he spotted Shoshannah, putting on a disarming smile that gave away no hint of his plans for later, "I was wondering if you could help me." She was pretty enough, to be sure, and Benny figured that even if he didn't try to charm her (which he would) his own looks and exotic accent would gain him ground all on their own.

Shoshannah continued to ignore him for a moment, not because she wanted to, but because she truly didn't think he was there. She still stared off at the window until the cat left her hand in search of Benny's own, jolting her from sleep. She gave a quick glance around the shop and noticed that there was one more person there than before. How long had he been waiting?! Instantly, Shannah felt horrible. She'd made her only customer of the day so far wait for her.

She straightened her back, having been leaning against the counter, and pushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes, hoping her own smile was bright enough to hide any worry she had that he was annoyed with her. "I'm so sorry to keep you waiting! I'm Shoshannah, how can I help you?" She repeated the words the owner had suggested she use in this situation, feeling slightly jittery. What if he was annoyed? She had no idea how to deal with an annoyed customer. One deep breath in and out told her that even if he was annoyed, she could just apologize again and it'd be all right.

"Shoshannah," Benny repeated carefully, grinning to himself. That was a name he'd never encountered, but he wagered that she'd never met a 'Hou' either. It was all cultural. Had she been sleeping? Her eyes were open, and it definitely struck Benny a touch strangely. "I'm actually looking for your childrens' books? I was wondering if you could point me in the proper direction."

He'd be right in assuming she'd never met someone with his name. She hadn't met a lot of people, so cultural names were all lost on her. Nevertheless, she nodded to Benny and headed to the other side of the counter, still smiling. Shoshannah was determined now to make up for any sort of awkwardness she'd put him in with her condition. She was going to be as good as possible at this job today. "I'll take you there. Are you looking for anything in particular? I can help you find it."

Benny chuckled dryly, projecting a touch of his real embarassment to try and come off more as though he found the situation ridiculous. In truth, he felt ridiculous, but admitting that would be harder than stitching his arm shut without anesthetic, which never got easier. "I think the english word is... primers? Alphabet primers," he answered, nodding assuredly, "I never thought I'd find myself shopping for such things, but this city... it is a constant surprise." He glanced around the store at that, grinning back at Shoshannah with a twinkle in his eye as if she were the surprise.

Was he trying to learn the language? He seemed to fluent already, she never would have guesed he'd need help. She wondered whether she should offer to help him. She wanted to, but would he take offense to it? "Oh, I think they're...over here somewhere..." After checking where she initially thought the books would be and finding that she was wrong, she felt a blush of embarrassment creep up on her. She lead him to a small section in between books for children and young adults, where the books actually were, and pulled out three for him to choose from. "Are any of these what you're looking for? I can keep looking. This is my first day here so I'm still learning where everything is." She caught the twinkle in his eye, giving him back a bright smile, happy with the prospect of this bookstore bringing her a new friendship.

However, she hadn't caught on that the sparkle in his eye was meant to suggest her instead of the city itself. "Are you new to the city? I've lived here all my life but I'm just now learning about the city itself."

"I have been here a short while," he answered as he walked past Shannah, studying the spines of books as if they meant something, "But my work keeps me fairly busy. I am not as familiar with it as I would like to be." Benny was hoping, deep down, to just spot something simple. Maybe something brightly colored, or even bearing the 'ABC' he thought he'd recognize, and if he couldn't? Maybe he could just stall until Shoshannah found one for him. "And truthfully, I am not sure what would be best," Benny lied, "They are for my employer's children, I have no idea what sort of books might be best for teaching them to read."

"Oh, so you're looking for something like this?" She slipped the two books she had in her hands back onto the shelf and pulled off one that would fit both his criteria. It was bound in a bright red cover with blue and yellow 'Learn your ABCs' in bubbly lettering. She took a few steps towards him again and opened the book, holding it so he could examine the pages as if that'd help. The first page had a big red apple in the center with the words 'A is for apple' on it. "Maybe they'd like the pictures? I remember my first books and they always had pictures in them." Shannah flipped the page to a 'B is for bee' with an illustration of a bee buzzing around, and watched it with her own sort of childish happiness. "I think this book might be a good choice."

Benny's eyes lit up in something close to amusement as she displayed the pages for him; it would be a perfect starter. He'd sooner kill someone than admit that he needed this, but with a little time? A harder book, and maybe he could read the damn signs in this town. "This is ideal," he agreed, "The primers in China are a bit more complex." How could such a crude language like English be so fucking complicated? Twenty-six characters, infinite combinations... "And after the children had a grasp on the alphabet? Something more challenging?" Benny asked hopefully, "Not that you haven't been helpful already."

"Are you fluent in Chinese too?" It was probably a ridiculous question to ask but Shoshannah was never quite sure and how rude would it be if she just assumed? "I've always wanted to be bilingual but I only know a little yiddish." Offering him the book, Shannah turned back toward the shelves and took a few steps away from him. The books she brought back were all small little novels with illustrations in them. Once back at his side, she shifted the books in order of difficulty, the first she presented was a book called See Jane Run. "I found a few and they're not all as easy as this one, but are you looking for something like these?" She asked, opening the book to the first page with two illustrations of Jane, one walking and one running with 'See Jane walk' and 'See Jane run' under their respective depictions.

He had to smirk down at the page, nodding as if he could understand the words there. Of course Benny couldn't, but the simple picture displayed there gave him enough insight in and of itself. "These are perfect," he assured her, aiming his smile up at Shoshannah and curling it invitingly, "You've been very helpful, miss Shoshannah." Whatever came after the book with the girl running, Benny didn't really care. It was a goal to work towards in his private time, and the more satisfied he seemed with the choices? The less dull this moment might end up. "And yes, I'm fluent in both Chinese dialects. I could teach you some basics if you were interested.... over dinner, perhaps?"

Shoshannah didn't want to feel too smug, but she was pretty proud of herself. Benny seemed happy with her choices and wasn't angry at her for zoning out earlier. What more could she ask for? But his offer caught her off guard and she felt a blush rush to her cheeks. Dinner? It could just mean dinner and not anything date-like, but...how would Angelo feel about that? They weren't official or anything, but if she was going to be having dinner with someone, she didn't really want it to be with anyone other than Angelo. "I'd be very interested in learning, but I'm not so sure a dinner would work. Maybe I can meet you over coffee?" That was less date-ish, right? And she could tell Angelo about it. Still, the feeling didn't sit well with her and wouldn't until she knew how Angelo felt about it.

Coffee? Wasn't coffee what friends did? In the morning? Benny's mornings were usually a toss-up between hangovers, medical attention, or sneaking away from the bed of a woman who had to have a name even if he didn't know it. "My afternoons are quite hectic," he lied smoothly, "But perhaps we could find a time where everything aligns? I'm sure there must be an opportunity somewhere..." He wasn't a patient man when it came to women, and she was no exception. In Benny's mind, he'd simply have better luck on another day when she wasn't thinking of her husband or boyfriend or whatever man had to exist for her to say no. "I could stop back here sometime? Perhaps catch you at a more opportune moment, yes?"

It didn't take long for a smile to be back on Shoshannah's lips. That all sounded nice to her. No definitive date, but she wasn't saying not to the option of a friendship, which she was always looking for. "I'd be happy to see you again if you wanted to stop by here. Hopefully I'll still be here. It's my first day so I'm not technically sure if I'll be hired yet, but I have a good feeling about it." She knew she was rambling and maybe that was a defense mechanism, to sort of try and switch his thoughts to something other than a dinner with her, but she wasn't sure if it was working or not. "We'll find a time where everything works out." She said with a brighter smile. Maybe she was reading too much into this whole thing and he did just want to be friends with her. "I'd really like to learn some of the language if I can." Maybe then she could go walking with Angelo in Chinatown and understand bits and pieces of the language?

Benny didn't have friends, but he wasn't going to say that to her. Really, he had very little interest beyond getting a start on reading English and hopefully getting Shoshannah somewhere much more entertaining for both of them, but in the moment? He looked delighted with the prospect of getting to know her. "I'll make sure the owner knows you were so helpful," he promised smoothly, "And with a bit of time, you'll be ordering your own meals in Chinatown before long." It was an easy place to start teaching, if they both actually followed through on this, and maybe Benny could twist it into the dinner she seemed so keen on dodging. "For now, though, I think I need to pay for these?" he said with a wink, holding the books up, "The sooner I deliver them to my employer's children, the sooner my day becomes less hectic." For a while, at least. Tonight? Benny had a plan in mind, one that needed no reading beyond the caliber of the bullets for his rifle.

With the promise of a new friend (and the knowledge that Benny was going to put in a good word for her), Shoshannah continued to smile as she headed to the counter again. She rung up his total like her boss had told her and started slipping the books into a paper bag for him to carry home. After she told him the total, she slid the bag toward him across the counter. "Well, I hope you have a good rest of the day and thank you for coming in today." Shannah gave him her best 'thank you' smile, but her eyes showed that it wasn't just a smile but instead that she was actually genuinely happy he'd stopped into the bookstore today. "I hope to see you again soon!"

Leave it to his ego to misread the look in Shoshannah's eyes; she wanted him. She was just scared about how to proceed. Benny could play that game, he liked that game, and in the name of it he'd come back here again. He'd probably fill one of his rooms down at the Shores with books he couldn't read, even. "You definitely will," he promised as he paid for the books, gathering the bag up in one arm, "And thank you again, Shoshannah. This was an unexpected pleasure, but one worth repeating." Which was when Benny gave her the smile and wink that had curled womens' toes before, turning on a heel to leave the shop behind. He needed to toss these books on the bed and forget them for a while, maybe catch a drink or three before it got dark.