I was about to just ask for the necklace, when I thought, 'why not more'? I glanced at the earrings they were pretty too. Did she wear earrings I'd never noticed if she had or not.
I glanced up and one ear was free enough of her hair for me to see that her ears were definitely pierced. Come to think of it I'd never seen her wearing any jewelry. She'd probably sold it all to make ends meet. That wasn't happening again I had already made sure of that.
Whether I was in the picture or not Anna wasn't going to have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to get by ever again. In addition to the fund I had set up for her, I had also made her the primary beneficiary of my will. If a bullet found me tomorrow she and Kevin would at least be safe and taken care of. That was something of a comfort to me.
I looked up at the woman across the counter, "I'd like the entire set." The woman beamed at me and started collecting the pieces together.
"Would you like the ankle bracelet and broach as well?"
She asked sounding like she was already counting up her commission for the sales.
"Yes."
I glanced over at Anna to see that she was completely speechless. I smiled inwardly at the knowledge that I knew what it required now to stop her from talking.
The mall was going to close in about a half hour, as it was almost 9:30 somehow. Where had the time gone?
I hailed a taxi and held the door open for my silent Anna. During the drive something wet touched my hand and I glanced at Anna. She was silently crying beside me as she played with the jewels of her necklace.
A tear must have ricocheted off one of the stones on to me. I put my arm around her and pulled her closer to me and she laid her head on my shoulder. Her leaning against my left side hurt, as she was pressing on the bullet wound on my side, but I didn't say anything wanting more than anything just to give her the comfort that she needed right now.
"It's been a long hard road for you hasn't it?" I asked softly.
She nodded.
"Well, not anymore."
She started to raise her head, but I pushed it back down onto my shoulder.
"The work I do is dangerous and the guarantee of survival isn't very high at times. I don't have anyone I really care about in my life except for you. I was going to just give everything to charity, but I've reserved a fund out of it for you."