simon_doctor | (no subject)

Kaylee points with her free hand. "Down that way?"

There's a stall filled with carved wooden items (perhaps capitalizing on the proximity to the wood sculpture), ranging from dishes to toys to jewelry to small pieces of furniture.

Simon glances briefly at a rosary carved from wood so pale as to be nearly white, but shakes his head and moves on to examine a set of domino tiles.

With a small smile she picks up a little man hanging from two pieces of wood.

She squeezes the handles; the wooden man turns a flip.

There's a ... something on the table next to the dominoes, looking like a stack of wooden squares wrapped in brightly colored ribbons. Simon picks up the topmost square, and the whole stack unfolds and lifts along with it; the ribbons are short lengths, fastened to the wood and binding the squares into a chain.

"Here, like this," says the woman behind the counter. She reaches out and tilts the square in Simon's hand -- and a ripple effect goes down the chain as each square neatly flips in turn.

Simon blinks, and tries it again.

Kaylee looks over with a faint smile.

"Handmade?" she asks, and the woman nods.

She tilts her head, and looks at Simon. "What do you think?"

He flips the topmost square again, watches the ripple go down the chain in mild fascination.

"I think I see how it's done..."

She elbows him gently in the side. "For Jordie."

Simon glances at her, and grins sheepishly.

"I think maybe he'd like it."

"So we'll make that the first thing?" Head tilted.

"Let's." To the woman behind the table: "How much?"

Haggling ensues.

Kaylee lets Simon do it -- she's more interested in making the little man on the stick turn flips.

The stall owner notices this, and offers Simon a better price if he wants to buy the jumping-jack too.

He glances at Kaylee, eyebrows raised in question.

Kaylee looks at it, smile slightly crooked.

"Better not." There's regret in her voice.

He turns back to the proprietress and shakes his head regretfully, lifting one hand in a what-can-you-do? gesture. She returns a wryly understanding smile, and the negotiations continue.

Shortly they're walking away from the stall, with a little bag hanging from Simon's wrist.

"Well. That's one." Kaylee slips her hands in her pockets, and raises her face to the sun.

"Maybe we should get him a hat," muses Simon. "...I don't think I've ever seen him wear one, though. Except outdoors in bad winter weather."

In which case it was usually something dreadful and furry.

She keeps walking, eyes on the sky. "What about a winter one, then?"

"If we see a good one." He grins suddenly. "Maybe one like Jayne's."

"The best part about Jayne's is that it's handmade."

Kaylee eyes him speculatively. "You gonna learn to knit?"

"...I hadn't planned on it, but a lot of the things here are handmade."

He nods toward one of the stalls they're passing; it displays a wide assortment of wickerwork goods, with a small sign proclaiming them to be HAND WOVEN.

"Oh well." Kaylee affects a sigh of disappointment. "You could've made me a hat, too. But I guess we can try and find something here."

"If I ever do learn to knit," he assures her, "I will make you a hat."

"A purple one?"

"Absolutely."

As it happens, the stall across the way is selling skeins of yarn and embroidery thread, as well as various knitted and crocheted items. Simon gives it a speculative glance.

Kaylee grins at him.

"Don't have to put your money where your mouth is today."