a rush, her hands were still a bit damp from washing as she hurried out of the bathroom and up the hall toward where Bastien leaned patiently against the wall.
"I'm sorry," she blurted as she reached him. "They were--"
"Cleaning the washroom and had half the stalls blocked off," Bastien finished for her soothingly. "Yes, I know. One of the other shoppers told me. It's all right. Not your fault."
"Oh." Terri relaxed, glad to know he hadn't been left wondering what on earth she could be up to all this time, and that he didn't seem angry about the wait. "Well, I was as quick as I could be."
"I'm sure you were. Shall we go?"
Nodding, Terri fell into step beside him to walk back out into the store. She glanced at Bastien curi-ously as they walked, wondering what was different, then she realized that he didn't look quite as unwell as he had. He didn't look 100 percent, but getting him out of the sun had already brought about some improvement.
"You're feeling a bit better?" she asked.
"A bit," he admitted. "Not back to normal yet, but I'm much improved."
"Good." Terri smiled at him. "Perhaps a little more time out of the sun will right you completely."
"That and a bit more lunch," he agreed.
She looked at him with surprise. "Did you wander off and have something to eat while I was in the ladies' room?"
"What?" He glanced sharply at her as they stepped on the down escalator.
"You said a bit more lunch," she pointed out.
"Oh." He relaxed again. "I meant a bit of lunch. I misspoke."
"Oh." She nodded. "We could do that now if you like."
"Let's shop around first," he suggested as they reached the first floor. "It isn't quite noon yet, and we are here at Macy's. We may as well get a bit of shop¬ping in. Then we can break for lunch and decide where you want to go next."
"Okay." Terri agreed absently, her feet slowing as they passed the cashier who had been berated in such a humiliating manner earlier. The mean customer was still there, but her whole demeanor had changed. She was smiling apologetically and patting the girl's hand.
"I'm so sorry, dear. I don't know what I was think¬ing of, treating you that way. I shouldn't expect you to break the rules for me, and really--I don't even have the box for the toaster, do I? Please forgive my earlier behavior," the woman was saying.
Terri's eyebrows rose. "Wow," she whispered. "What an about-face."
"Hmmm." Bastien just shrugged. "She must have got an attitude adjustment."
"Well, no one needed it as much as she did, but it's still rather surprising. I wouldn't have believed that someone could change their attitude that swiftly if I hadn't just seen it."
"Life is full of surprises," he said mildly, then smiled at her. "So, where do you want to start? Worn-ens wear? Jewelry? Perfume?"
"Are you getting tired?"
"No." Bastien glanced at Terri and forced a smile for her benefit. In truth, he was exhausted. The bitter old biddy he'd snacked on had eased the worst of his hunger, but not all of it, and he was still suffering. He could use another pint or so of blood, but hadn't had the opportunity to take one. And no one had seemed as appropriate a victim.
Bastien smiled to himself at the memory. He'd en¬joyed changing that old woman's attitude. She'd been much more pleasant once he'd finished with her. Of course, it was just a temporary adjustment, but at least the salesclerk in the store had benefitted. Perhaps she wouldn't go home today hating her job, the public, and the world at large.
"Oh, look! Victoria's Secret." Terri stopped walk¬ing and simply stared at the storefront with pleasure.
Bastien smiled at her almost awed expression. The woman was so easily pleased. After shopping at Macy's they'd had lunch in a little deli, he picking at some sort of chicken sandwich they'd both ordered while she chattered away and devoured hers. The food actually tasted all right--pretty good, in fact-- but after years of not eating, he didn't have the stom¬ach for large quantities. After lunch they'd wandered, ducking into a music and discount DVD store. Terri had been very good about keeping to the shaded ar¬eas to keep him out of the sun. Now they stood in shadow under one of the many construction scaffolds that seemed to fill the city, and she gaped at the store across the street with its half-naked dummies in the window.
"We should go