The Sisterhood bookstore bustled with life as young women and a few men shopped away, talked together, and browsed the shelves. The store carried the expected books, magazines, DVDs, themed shirts and many other items, drawing in people from all through the gay, bisexual, lesbian and transsexual communities. Alice Sinclare rang up the young man's purchases with a smile, putting the condoms and packets of lube in a bag. "Have a nice day," the well dressed black haired woman said, her tailored business suit still crisp and neat. "See, I told you it was a good idea to carry them," Hunter murmured as she bustled by, the sandy haired young woman carrying a arm full of magazines. Smoothly she restocked Advocate, Curve, On our Backs and Out, even as she chatted to a young lady browsing nearby. Alice chuckled to herself softly even as she had to silently concede Hunter's point. At first she had fiercely resisted the young woman's suggestions to diversify their stock, wanting to keep the store a pure bookstore, but after the sales she saw during their first trial of such products she had to give in. 'Besides,' Alice thought as she checked over the bookmarks that were on display by the till, 'it's helped our bottom line immensely.' Yamato Tsujimoto chuckled as she carried over a stack of English manga from the newly added graphic novel's section. "I'm surprised you had so many," the Japanese exchange student smiled, her long black hair falling in a wave. "The Yuricon website was a big help in choosing titles," Alice admitted with a smile as she looked the mangas over. Chirality, Angel/Dust, Cheeky Angel, Negima and several others were all in the stack, prompting her to ask, "I would have thought you already had them?" Yamato chuckled, "Back home I do, yes, but I found I missed reading them here." "That's certainly understandable," Alice agreed, bagging them up. Dropping her voice a bit she said, "We'll be getting some new DVDs in pretty soon, and I've heard that the anime Mai-Hime is coming out in a few months." "I'm looking forward to it," Yamato chuckled. With that she slipped out, the busy crowd parting for her unconsciously powerful presence. The soft sound of chuckling drew Alice over to the reference section, where a familiar face was reading a thick book on Greek mythology. "Something funny?" Alice asked the athletic looking blonde curiously. Athena was instantly apologetic, "Sorry, I got carried away." Adding the book to the ones she had piled nearby she asked, "Did any of my orders come in?" "A few," Alice nodded, "I've got them up front." Hunter smiled to herself from where she was watching the two women, gracefully working the till, handling the customers and also flirting with the lovely women. "So," she purred, "are you busy tonight, Lane?" Lane laughed, her almost unearthly voice like music in the busy shop. "Do you know that I'm a transsexual," she warned the lovely girl. Hunter reached out, brushing a bit of the short blonde hair away from her face. "I can't say that bothers me," she admitted. Lane smiled back at the younger woman with honest pleasure, "Then maybe one night I'll take you up on that offer." "Are you sure you know what you're getting into?" Alice asked Hunter as she got Athena's books together from beneath the counter. "No," Hunter said cheerily, "but that's part of the fun." Alice rolled her eyes and Hunter laughed. Athena took a wad of cash from her wallet and handed it over as she said, "Thank you for bringing in such a wide range of orders for me." Alice smiled "I like a challenge." Silently she added, 'And considering how much you spend on books, it's certainly worth the trouble.' She counted out the change, "Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you soon." "You too," Athena agreed. She hesitated a moment, "Do you think you'll be coming down to the Daughters of Artemis again?" Alice stiffened a bit, then she made herself smile. A bit of strain was evident in her voice as she said, "I don't know." "I'm sorry," Athena shifted her bag of books to gently lay a hand on Alice's arm, "that was a bit tactless of me." A pause, "I just don't want you to think that you're in exile from the bar just because Jess is a regular, too." A bit more naturally Alice said, "Thank you." Taking a business card from her wallet Athena continued, "If you're worried about running into her you can even call ahead." "For someone who works in a bar she isn't all that perceptive," Hunter commented after Athena had left. "Eh?" Alice gave her a look. Hunter smiled grimly, "I bet you're really avoiding the Daughters because it's where you and Jess had your first date." Alice winced, "And you are occasionally too perceptive." "I call 'em like I see 'em," Hunter said gently. Before they could continue the conversation another group of customers clamored for attention, sending both young women scurrying to help. Except for short breaks they stayed pretty busy for most of the afternoon, finally closing up only as the sun was beginning to set. "Money's locked up in the safe," Alice said as she emerged from the back room, "did you finish cleaning up?" Hunter hefted two trash bags, "All done." After setting the security alarms Alice let Hunter out of the store then locked the front door, waiting a moment while Hunter dropped the bags of garbage in the Trash bin in the alley behind the shop. Together they walked away from the store, Hunter accompanying her as had become her habit the last little while. Hesitantly Alice looked at Hunter, then asked, "How's Jess doing?" "You could go down and see her, you know," Hunter said. "No," Alice shook her head, "I'm not ready to do that yet." Hunter puffed out a breath, running a hand through her hair. "Jess hit the booze pretty bad for a few nights," she said, "but I think she's got a handle on it." "Ouch," Alice winced, "I had to ask." They walked a few more steps the she made herself ask, "Is Jess still seeing Elizabeth?" "I don't think she was ever seeing her, at least not in the way you mean it," Hunter surprised her by saying. "Huh?" Alice blinked. "They weren't dating or anything like that," Hunter said. She searched for the right words, then finally had to say, "They were just fuck buddies." Alice winced, "I don't think I'll ever get used to you talking like that." "That's the only think they were to each other," Hunter said forcefully. She looked up towards the cloudy sky, "And as far as I know Jess hasn't been with anybody since you broke up." "Hmm," Alice nodded just slightly. Quietly she said, "I hired a private investigator to look into Jess' background." That surprised Hunter so much she stopped cold, "Are you sure that's a good idea? Jess is a... pretty private person." "She keeps secrets," Alice corrected firmly. She shrugged, "And I don't know if it is a good idea, but I need to know who she is if I'm going to consider going back to her." Hunter nodded glumly, "Well, I hope you don't end up regretting this later." Alice's voice was soft, "Me, too." To be continued... Notes: the Sisterhood Bookstore is modeled after Little Sisters Bookstore in Vancouver, BC, that also carries a similar variety of items. The characters that appear here are all from past episodes of Blood or from Daughters of Artemis.
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