A Glimpse of Emerald

"How about this," she found herself offering. "I was going to take my groceries home and then go get something to eat at the Silver Diner. Why don't you join me after you drop off your stuff? We can have an early dinner and I can tell you everything you need to know about living in Emerald Pines."

The weariness in his eyes immediately turned to wariness. "Um...no thank you," he cautiously answered after a few moments. "Just...I kind of want to get home and put my feet up."

The sting of embarrassment pierced her for a brief moment, but Peri managed to easily shrug it off. "No problem," she told him with a disarming grin.

"I'm sorry Peri," he began. "It's..."

She held up a hand, gently cutting him off. "You don't owe me an explanation. I didn't mean to put you on the spot."

"...thanks," he said with relief. "See you on Wednesday then?"

"We'll be open." Peri slid the baguette back into her shopping cart before giving Cameron a friendly but subdued wave. "Have a good night Cameron. Enjoy your soup and ammo."

X X X X X

"What's left to stock," Mark asked his boss.

"Just the Magic cards." Peri gestured to a box of foil packs sitting on the counter. "Everything else is done. So yes," she said, grinning as she cut off Mark before he could speak, "you're still clear to leave. It's almost closing time and I doubt we're going to get busy in the next fifteen minutes. Go home and get a head start on your time off. You've got a charity game in a few weeks to prep for."

"Way ahead of you." Mark practically leapt from behind the counter. "Think I'll swing by Pike's on the way home," he said as he grabbed his jacket, "and get some takeout and a six-pack of Lock & Key for some liquid inspiration. Wait, I have a three-day weekend. Make that two six-packs. See you Monday!" Mark reached the front door at the same time as someone on the sidewalk. Mark swung the door open, holding it for them and giving a nod of simultaneous greeting and departure.

"Hey Peri," Cameron called as he stepped into the Dragon's Trove.

"Hey Cameron," Peri answered with a friendly grin. "We missed you yesterday."

"We were stupid busy all week. Around here I guess spring means donating your old winter clothes. I spent my lunch break today with a price gun in one hand and a ham sandwich in the other." He set two green glass bottles of Coca-Cola down on the counter. "I come bearing gifts. You up for a late night drink?"

"Sure!" Peri watched as Cameron popped the metal caps from the bottles with an opener on his keychain. After clinking the bottles together Peri tilted the bottle against her lips and took a deep sip. "Oh, that's nice and cold," she remarked. "I can't remember the last time I had Coke from a glass bottle. Did you get these from Cappuccino City?"

Cameron nodded. "I'm going to need the bottle back when you're done. I actually had to put a dollar deposit on it. I never knew Colorado had a bottle law."

"We don't. It's C-City's way of keeping costs down. They wash and sterilize the bottles before reusing them. It's technically illegal but since it means less plastic no one complains."

"Ah." Cameron eyed the remaining Coke in his bottle. "That's why this tastes like a refill."

"You can tell?"

"I've drank Coke my entire life. I can tell the difference between Coke from a can, from a bottle, and from a dispenser."

Peri finished the contents of her bottle in one long pull. "That definitely hit the spot," she told Cameron as she handed him the empty bottle. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. I figured it's the least I could do, considering that I'm the customer coming into your store ten minutes before close. I hated those guys when I worked retail."

"You're fine. You're practically a regular by now."

The nervousness was noticeable in Cameron's quiet chuckle. "Yeah, I guess I am." He put his hands together and pressed them against his lips. "OK, so the Cokes' aren't just a nightcap. They're a peace offering for when we ran into each other at Kenner's Market last weekend. I came off as kind of a jerk."

"No you didn't. I asked you to dinner, you said 'no,' and that's all."

"You said that on Sunday, but..." Cameron stammered. He motioned with his hand as if trying to draw the words from his chest. When he did speak, the words flowed like water from a wide-open spigot. "...I moved to Emerald Pines to leave my old life behind and get a fresh start," he blurted to Peri, "and I've been keeping everyone at arm's length. But you've been nothing but nice to me, and learning from a local is the best way to learn the town. So...is there any chance that offer's still open?"

An unexpected spark of joy exploded inside of Peri. "Absolutely! Would you be up for a late night movie? The Ashcroft Showcase does midnight showings on Fridays."

Cameron took a moment before nodding. "I can do that. What's playing?"

"The Three Musketeers. The Disney version with Tim Curry and Charlie Sheen."

Cameron's face lit up with an astonished smile. "I love that movie! My Dad and I used to watch it all the time! Yeah, sure, great! Should I just meet you here tomorrow night then?"

"That would work. Say 11:30?"

"Sounds good." For a brief moment Peri and Cameron stared at each other, both with quiet grins, before he coughed into his hand. "OK, I'm gonna browse real quick so you can get out of here."

"Take your time," Peri told him. "I have to finish stocking anyway."

With that, Cameron headed towards the 'NEWLY ARRIVED' rack. In doing so, he missed the eager smile on Peri's face as she turned towards the box of Magic cards to be put away. And unbeknownst to her, she missed the nervous expression on Cameron's face.

X X X X X

"Wait. You have a date?"

"It's not a date," Peri answered as she sat down on her bed. "I don't mean for it to be a date, and I'm pretty sure neither does Cameron. The poor guy was just trying to apologize."

"Fair enough," Mark's voice said through her smartphone's speaker. "I'm just surprised. You never date customers. I feel like I should call for a Doppelganger check."

"I promise, I'm not a shapeshifter or a pod person," she said with a smirk Mark could probably hear. "And again, this isn't a date. I'll acquiesce to quasi-date, but that's as far as I'll go."

"It's however far you want it to be, Peri. The guy is kind of cute in a wayward waif kind of way. Maybe you can figure out where he's from."

"Five bucks says he's from Atlanta." While Peri talked she gently worked a dab of moisturizer into the left side of her face. "You say he's got a Southern accent, he loves Coca-Cola, and I think he started to say 'Atlanta' once before catching himself. But he said he came to Emerald Pines for a fresh start, so I'm not going to pry. And you shouldn't either."

"I won't," countered Mark. "It's just, we're gamers. Mysterious backstories are our bread-and-butter."

"And I highly doubt he's the last heir of Isildur," she teased. "But we've been friends for almost two decades. We both know you're the kind of guy who'd try to open the puzzle box from Hellraiser out of sheer curiosity."

"Cross my heart Peri, I won't try to pry. Promise."

"Thank you. Alright, I'm off to sleep. Enjoy your weekend." Once Mark ended the call Peri squeezed another glob of moisturizer and began rubbing it into her left arm, from her shoulder down her arm to cover the back of her hand. Several red scars ran onto her fingers like melted candle wax, and she made sure to get those as well before finishing up with her flank and neck.

After turning off her bedside lamp Peri wrapped herself in her covers. The cool sensation of the moisturizer settling into her skin helped her drift off. By the time her eyes adjusted to the pale moonlight streaming through her bedroom window, she was already asleep.

X X X X X

The teenage clerk set the popcorn and large soda down on the seat next to Peri. "Here you go," he said brightly while handing a large soda and a Hershey's bar to Cameron. "Enjoy the movie!"

"Wow," Cameron proclaimed. "I've been to places where they'll bring you stuff like pizza, but not the concessions."

The pair were sitting in the front middle row of the Ashcroft Showcase, a small 60-person theater done up in the style of moviehouses from the '20 and '30s. Peri already had her feet propped on the railing while Cameron sat a seat down to her right, with their jackets occupying the chair between them. Several other patrons were scattered throughout the theater. Most were locals Peri recognized, while the rest were probably tourists taking a break from the nightlife up at Sapphire Drop.

As Cameron looked around the movie theater, the green pendant around his neck was visible for a brief moment. The rough gemstone shimmered with rolling waves under the house lights, reminding Peri of the Aurora Borealis. "Cozy place," he observed. "So who's Ashcroft? The owner?"

Peri shook her head. "Emerald Pines started out as a silver mining town called Ashcroft in the late 1800's that went bust as soon as it went boom. Once the mines were dry everyone moved away except this one family who decided to build a resort on the mountain. They called it Sapphire Drop, changed the name of the town to Emerald Pines, and the place just grew from there. We got the tourist overflow from Aspen for several decades until the family who owns the resort started pouring real money into it to try to compete."

"And you've lived here your entire life?"

"Yep," she said proudly. "This place feels...tucked away, like a hidden elf village. There's so many little mountain towns that make someone's 'best kept secret' list, and next thing you know people are building second homes they live in a couple weekends a year and there's three Starbucks where a locally owned business used to be. Not here. It's like the world stops at Aspen. Tourists visit Sapphire Drop, but people live here." She shrugged. "There's just something about Emerald Pines. It's got its own kind of magic."

"I get that." He motioned to the screen with his chin. "So, are you a fan of The Three Musketeers?"

"I'm a huge fan," Peri answered eagerly. "When I was a kid I used to pretend I was d'Artagnan. I read a lot of Dumas and Robert Louis Stevenson growing up. How about you?"

"I never read the book," admitted Cameron, "but I love this movie. My Dad was into swashbuckling movies and we watched a whole bunch of them when I was a kid. This one was my absolute favorite. I know it's not entirely faithful to the book and it is a Disney flick, but it's got great characters, Tim Curry's a fantastic villain, the sword fighting is top notch, and it's just plain FUN." The pure exuberance in Cameron's voice was enough to put a smile on Peri's face. "I couldn't believe my luck when you told me it was playing tonight. I've never seen this on the big screen before..."

The house lights chose that moment to go down. As they settled into their seats, Peri discovered an unexpected benefit of her quasi-date with Cameron. Instead of a half-eaten bag, she actually had a full bag of buttered popcorn to munch on.

X X X X X

As a '90s pop ballad began to play over the closing credits, the house lights came back up. Most of the theater's patrons were immediately out of their seats and heading for the exit. Both Cameron and Peri, however, remained in their seats. "Wow," Cameron said as the song played, "I forgot how cheesy this song is."

"Apparently every '90s movie had to have a love song. So, what was it like seeing it on the big screen?"

"A lot of fun. It always felt larger than life on television but seeing it in a theater...wow. My Dad would have gotten a kick out of this," he noted with a touch of whimsy, "seeing it in a small theater."

Peri had enjoyed the movie as well. But more than that, she had enjoyed watching Cameron's reactions from the corner of her eye. Where she had slumped in her seat with her feet up on the railing, Cameron had leaned forward and crossed his arms over the metal barrier. Peri noticed him silently mouthing certain lines, laughing boisterously at several jokes, and overall having an absolute blast. "I really need to get it on Blu-Ray," he noted. "It's one of those movies I could watch at the drop of the hat, plus it's the closest thing to a 7th Sea movie we're ever going to get."

Peri found herself sitting up straight. "You know 7th Sea?"

Cameron scoffed. "Of course. The Three Musketeers meets Pirates of the Caribbean meets Zorro? It's one of the best settings ever for a role-playing game..."

The sound of a vacuum filled the theater. Both of them turned to see the teen who had been behind the concessions counter running a Dyson along the upper row. "Guess that's our cue to leave," Cameron laughed.

After throwing on their jackets, the pair made their way out to Pine Street. The storefronts stretching up and down the block were dark, with the only noise coming from the gentle breeze heralding the arrival of tomorrow's storm. "Thanks for the invite," Cameron eventually said. "I had a good time tonight."

"So did I." She felt light and airy on the inside, a feeling she hadn't experienced in a very long time. "Would you be interested in having that dinner next Saturday," she cautiously ventured.

"...yeah." His one word of acceptance filled her with joy. "Yeah, I'd like that. Maybe we can finish our discussion about 7th Sea." Peri's nod brought a smile to Cameron's face. "Would you like me to walk you home?"

"No thank you," Peri deferred. "I'm literally just down the block."

After a moment Cameron reached out and shook Peri's hand. "Good night, Peri. See you on Wednesday."

"Looking forward to it," she said, smiling softly.

X X X X X

Peri leaned across the table with keen interest. "You played an atheist in a setting with actual physical gods?"

"Kind of," Cameron answered after taking a sip of his sweet tea. "He believed in the gods. There were clerics and paladins running around and they had to get their powers from somewhere. But he didn't BELIEVE in them. Like, he acknowledged their existence but he didn't trust them to run a fruit cart, let alone reality."

"So what happened to him?"

"He ended up with the undead goddess of disease and pestilence as his patron. His logic was that he hated the living gods, but serving one who wasn't alive was morally flexible." He sighed wistfully. "Hands down that was my favorite character to play."

Peri's eyes glanced over Cameron's shoulder as she drank her soda. According to the clock above the counter she and Cameron had been sitting in the Silver Diner for nearly four hours, their dinner long since finished. At the moment tourists were flooding Emerald Pines for a final weekend of skiing before the snowpack melted but despite occupying a table that could have seated new customers, their waitress urged them to take their time, at one point throwing Peri an encouraging wink while refilling their drinks.

Over the course of dinner and dessert, Cameron talked about how he became involved with role-playing in middle school. His older brother had run a weekly Dungeons & Dragons game in their basement and had invited him to play one day when another player was out sick. Cameron quickly picked up the game, easily grasping the core mechanics and turning out to be a good player. He continued playing until his brother graduated high school and the group went their separate ways. His graduation present had been to run the final session, giving his brother a chance to be a player after years of being the Dungeon Master.

In the years since, Cameron continued his involvement with role-playing games, both as a player and as a game master. His gaming experiences varied from fantasy (Earthdawn) to swashbuckling (7th Sea) to science fiction (Coralis). Like all gamers, Cameron gleefully shared his stories and exploits, which were always fun and never cruel.

What he didn't share, however, were details about his life. Any details.

Peri wasn't the nosy type despite growing up in a small town where juicy gossip often doubled as hard currency. But the fact that Cameron was cagey about revealing personal information passively drew her attention. He told stories from high school, his brief time in college before dropping out, and his early 20's, however not once had he mentioned where he was from or where he had gone to school. Cameron had been in Emerald Pines for over a month and Peri had no inkling of where in town he lived. And he paid for everything in cash, no matter how much it was. The only thing about Cameron that Peri thought she knew was that he worked at Thrifty By Design, a second-hand store a few blocks off the main street, because of his comment about "donations" and "a price-gun" last Wednesday.

It all combined to pique Peri's interest, but nowhere near enough for her to pry. Everyone nowadays talked about privacy and keeping personal information secure. Maybe Cameron was one of the few people who actually followed through. After all, he had never once asked Peri how she got burned.

"You know," she offered while taking a sip of lukewarm coffee, "if you need to scratch the role-playing itch, Mark's got an open spot in the Extra Life game coming up. All the other players are locals so it'll give you a chance to meet them. Mark's an amazing Dungeon Master. You will be engaged all twenty-five hours, I promise you."

Cameron briefly chewed on the inside of his cheek before answering. "Maybe. Are you playing?"

She shook her head. "I have to run the store. It's the last Saturday before Memorial Day so there's usually enough tourists getting a head start on summer that I do decent business."

"Um...I don't know," he said cautiously. "I haven't played in a year. I might be rusty."

"Hey, no pressure. It's a one-shot and Mark uses pregenerated characters so there's no gaps in abilities or skills. If you do decide to play, let just him know and he'll whip up a character for you no problem."

"I'll think about it then," he told her. "And that's not lip service, promise. So, we've talked about gaming. Let's talk about your store. How did you end up owning the Dragon's Trove?"

"Motivation to get my parents off my back." Peri laughed at the look of slight confusion on Cameron's face. "My older brother owns a general contracting company in Aspen and when he got started they pressured him to hire me as an office manager." She reached up and tapped the burn mark along the left side of her face. "My folks love me but they never got over me getting scorched. Eventually I decided the best way to show my parents I was OK was to follow in my brother's footsteps and own my own business. I saved money, took some online classes, got a loan from my brother as well as hired him to do the interior work, dragooned Mark into helping, and eventually I had a gaming store. I've gotten lucky enough to keep current on the bills, repay my brother, and line a little nest egg. That's all you can really ask for."

"I'm surprised a small town like this has a gaming store. Where I grew up people thought Dungeons & Dragons was a path to the Devil."

"There's actually a number of gamers around here. Mark's been running his D&D campaign for...God, almost seventeen years, and there's a couple other players here and there. Most of my business comes from the fact that the only other gaming store in the area is Fusion Comics, and they're over an hour away in Glenwood Springs." Peri leaned against the back of the booth. "The Dragon's Trove," she proclaimed with a dash of bombast, "proudly serving Emerald Pines, Aspen, Copperton, Snowmass, and Carbondale. And whatever tourists happen to walk through the door and buy something splashy and shiny."