Marriage is Murder

Jess chuckled and moved to the passage side door and climbed in " yes I can see how they would think of that," she said and listened to him " ow good idea and yes lace and fabric I'm am thinking of making sun dresses for the girls " she said " and fresh fruit for a fresh fruit torte for afters if thats okay by you" she said strapping her self in as she waited for him to start driving.

Jim tapped out his pipe and placed it back in his pocket and headed inside to grab some fresh coffee. He walked to the kitchen and pored him self another cup and sat down not far from Michael as he drank quietly.

"There's a mall just a few doors down from the farmer's market," Angus said. "You could always go look for the fabric while I'm looking at the produce. It does sometimes take me awhile because I am a bit picky. I don't want just anything. I want a certain quality. That, and if I don't come back with lots of berries, I'll be going right back."

He went to the fish market first. It was a huge warehouse of fresh fish all stored on ice. The warehouse was filled by not just staff but also by restaurant chefs all there for the same reason Angus was--all looking for the best of the morning catch for the people they served.

"Ever been to one of these big wholesale markets before?" he asked Jess.

Jess chuckled and glanced over at the mall she then looked back at Angus and smiled " not that I recall" she told him seeing different all the fish laid out to be sold. " looks interesting " she said and moved with him over to a stall, she could hear men calling out what catch they had and how much it was for the smells seem to make her head spin a little but she loved the hustle and bustle around her. " Now I understand why you love it so much " she said now glancing this way and that spotting some white fish she picked it up all it smelt of was the sea and she looked at Angus " its all so fresh, look even the fruit and veg are fresh picked, ow Mango's Jack loves those as do Catlin and little Robert" she added them to a basket she held and moved to the next it had spices and herbs and she stood taking along deep breath in. " Cinnamon spice" she said softly.

"I don't know that I'd want to work in a fish market," Angus said. "I just am picky about the fish I buy. Life is too short to eat crappy fish. I could work most of my life on ship but in a fish market? Nah."

He perused the daily catch and found some mahi mahi that looked excellent. It seemed to be the best of what he looked over. He bought enough to feed them for dinner that evening and bought some fresh shrimp for lunch, figuring on a shrimp salad.

He had them bag it up while he looked over the fresh fruit and vegetables. He picked out what he needed for lunch, dinner and for dessert.

The vendors gave them samples of homemade cheeses and honeys and other wares. Angus decided to buy some of it, not because he planned to do anything in particular with it but rather because it was such good quality.

"Go out that door," Angus pointed Jess to a doorway on the other side of the warehouse. "Go to you left and in the first door on the right. It takes you in the rear entrance of a general store that has all sorts of things, including fabric and trims. Go ahead and go if you want. I'm going to be here for a bit."

Jess nodded " yes the best food is made with the best of the catch" she said and followed him around the market watching how he gathered his food. She could not help but smile at hos enthused he was over it  and began to think that sea food was not that bad she followed him and gathered some peaches and lemons wanting to do some backing of her own when they got back . She saw the mall and smiled " okay give me about tn minuets and I'll be right back" he said and headed over .

Walking in she saw reams of fabrics and smiled as she bought two bolts of a light flowy fabric that she thought would be perfect for a project she was doing for Khaat and Brian to help her recover and bond as a couple together. Soon she had four bolts of fabric and smiled as she walked back over to the market to find Angus. " right Im ready when you are " she said but kept glancing back at a man who had had eyes on her since they arrived. " um Angus am I wearing my wedding ring      on the wrong hand or something that guy keeps looking over this way, now don't get me wrong but he could be looking at you but he doesn't look your type?" she said smirking at him

"Seems like your ring is where it should be," Angus said. "He's just not paying any attention to your hand, I don't think. He seems to be much more interested in your curves. Look a little closer. He's got a ring of his own he's not paying any attention to. You know, its okay for him to browse, so long as he doesn't touch. Almost every guy looks at a girl. They just aren't always so blatant about it.

"Take a look around you, though. You are, right now, the only woman in a refrigerated warehouse with a whole crowd of stinky, hairy longshoremen. They may just be a bit shellshocked.

"Off the subject but, Abbey's fourth birthday comes up in May and Dakotas comes up in June. Oh, and then there are the triplets in August. I'm doubting Khaat is going to have time to plan any birthday parties for, at least, Abbey in time. Perhaps we should think about that soon. I had an idea for a theme. You know that storybook that Abbey loves so much? The one about the mouse's tea party? With a bit of imagination and magic, it might be a wonderful party theme for a four year old. What do you think?"

Jess looked at the man then at Angus and she looked around and saw she was in fact the only female there " Hum okay I give you that one. " she said and chuckled " Strange though as I like cooking just as much as you do" she said and folded her arms across her chest. She heard then him mention Abby and Dakota's birthday and nodded .

" What did you have in mind , I guessing your making the cakes?" she asked " we could make decorations and gifts for them both." she said " I know Jack wants to get something special for them both." she told him and spotted some flowers " ow thy will look good in Khaat and Brian's room" she said taking the best he had to offer and paying for them.

"I'm not following you," Angus said. "Why does the fact that you like to cook make it odd that some guy might look at you? He doesn't know you like to cook. Why would he? You haven't been here before. I'm not sure those facts are related. Or I'm missing something.

"I haven't really thought much about how we should do anything. I just know that's Abbey's favorite book, and its imaginative enough that you would certainly think that we, of all people, should be able to add a bit of creativity to it.

"We ought to get back soon," he said, paying for his packages.

"Can we help you carry them? You have a truck?" one of the long shore men asked.

"If you don't mind," Angus said. "There really is a lot of it. We're feeding a big crew."

"You own a restaurant here, Bro?"

"No, just a very large family party," Angus laughed. The man passed on a business card to Angus, hoping to get more business. "Thank you," Angus said. He motioned to Jess and headed outside to where the large white SUV waited.

Jess just chuckled and shook his head " your right " she said softy " I'll let Jack know about the book so he can search for one and I agree." she said and let him talk to the man who gave him, his card. Jess followed and headed to the SUV shaking her head " always something interesting going on around here" she said smiling as she climbed back in.

" I wonder if Jack had been entertaining the kids " she said hoping he had and that Khaat and Brian were getting along and not fighting. " ow remind me to talk to Jim about that pipe of his, seems hes taken it back up and smokes it a lot, surly thats not good for him in any way shape or form" she said strapping her self in and looking back at the liking of the.

I can see your appeal of the market Angus its like it has its own life going on" she said and looked over at him.

"I was glad to get away from him this morning, to be honest," Angus said.  He had been, personally, glad to get away from Jim after how rude Jim had been when the others had noticed.

"He seems to get a bit arrogant if someone notices how much he's addicted to it now.  An occasional smoke, I can put up with. But I'm not letting him create a nicotine cloud around Khaat or her kids.  He'll have to do that elsewhere.  I will set a boundary around that if he's determined to continue to not come up for air.

"And, if he wants to give himself some sort of lung disease, then he's a big boy. He can make his own choices. If he gets to the point where he's smoked so much that he can't keep up with the demands of his job, Robert won't keep him out of pity. That's for certain."

When she switched the subject to talk to the market, he said, "If we'd been there an hour or so earlier, you might have had trouble walking through the place.  It would have been wall to wall chefs.  We still got there in time to get some good fish.  The market is much like the sea, it has a life of its own, with a rhythm like nothing else on the earth.  There are times when I like what I do here, and times when I miss sailing. I like both."