Chapter 83: The Market Trip
They went to the Portello market. It was busier than Milo had expected.
He stayed close to Salvatore and Roderick when they first came in through the main entrance. He was too stunned as he followed them both.
It wasn’t as if he never went out at all. But he really never went to the local market, especially on a bright day like this. He looked around. There were so many stalls and so many people around.
He didn’t know why he was so excited. His heart felt like it wanted to leap all the way to the moon.
Within two minutes, he had drifted to the right toward a row of fruit stalls and was standing in front of a display of small yellow fruits he didn’t recognize, examining them carefully.
The vendor, who was busy with another customer, glanced at him. "They’re fresh."
Milo picked up a small fruit. "What is it?"
"It’s a loquat. Never tried one? Just give it a try." The vendor quickly grabbed the fruit from the basket, peeled it, and handed it to Milo.
Milo hesitated but tried it anyway. "It tasted a bit strange at first, but then he liked it."
Then he just said thank you and walked away, leaving the seller looking a bit unhappy.
Salvatore noticed Milo was gone and turned around.
Milo was three stalls back, picking up one of the fruits from another seller and turning it over in his hand while the seller explained something to him.
Salvatore waited.
Milo set the fruit down, nodded at the seller, and jogged back to catch up. He fell into step beside Salvatore, still looking around with wide eyes.
They walked on. Roderick was on his phone, reading something and navigating the market by instinct without looking up.
The market was a mix of open stalls and permanent shopfronts, with food on one side and clothing and goods on the other, people moving in both directions without much order.
Milo drifted off again about a minute later.
This time, Salvatore didn’t notice right away. He was talking to Roderick about the property they were going to look at later that afternoon.
He finished a sentence and turned to say something to Milo, but there was no one there.
He stopped.
He looked back down the walkway.
Milo was standing in front of a toy stall about fifteen meters back. It wasn’t a large stall. It had a hand-painted sign, and the front was covered with small boxed items hanging on hooks.
Milo was standing very still in front of a section of miniature cars. He wasn’t touching anything; he was just looking at them with an expression of complete focus.
Salvatore sighed and walked back.
Milo didn’t notice him arrive. He was looking at a small red car in a clear box, reading something on the back of the packaging.
Salvatore looked at the display. There were several rows of them. Small die-cast cars in individual boxes, different colors, different models, all of them the size of a hand.
"Do you like those?" Salvatore said.
Milo looked up quickly. "Oh, sorry, I stopped without telling you."
"Get it if you want."
Milo shook his head. "No, it’s fine. I was just looking at them. They look cool."
Salvatore looked at the seller and pointed at the display. "Give me those."
The seller looked at the display. "All of them?"
"Yes."
Milo opened his mouth. He looked at the rows of cars. He turned to look at him. "Sir, that’s too many."
"You were standing here looking at them."
"But..."
Salvatore cut him off. The seller was already boxing them up.
Milo watched with an expression that couldn’t decide whether it was pleased or embarrassed, and ended up being both.
Salvatore looked at the stall again. On the lower shelf were two remote-control cars in larger boxes.
He looked at Milo. "Don’t tell me you want one of those too."
He was only teasing Milo.
But Milo nodded. His eyes sparkled with excitement. "Yes!"
"Really," Salvatore said, shaking his head.
Milo nodded again.
Salvatore sighed and pointed at the larger boxes. "Those two."
"Two?" Milo asked.
"Give one to Teo."
Milo grinned widely.
The seller added them to the pile.
Milo took the remote-control car out of the bag while they were still standing at the stall. He read the side of the box for about four seconds, then opened it, inserted the batteries from the small pack included inside, and set it on the ground.
It moved forward and hit the leg of the stall.
Salvatore just looked at him. He realized Milo had missed out on his childhood, so he didn’t mock him for asking childish things.
"You press that button to turn," Salvatore said, reaching down and adjusting Milo’s grip on the controller without taking it from him.
Milo tried again. The car turned, moved forward, then turned the other way.
"Oh," Milo said. "It’s so cool!"
Salvatore straightened up and looked at him. Milo was watching the small car move across the floor with the enthusiasm of a child. He was genuinely interested in the car.
Salvatore looked at Roderick, who was watching the scene with a neutral expression, though he smiled afterward.
Salvatore looked back at Milo. "If I keep buying you things like this, you’ll stay in your room and forget you have a job."
Milo picked up the car and carefully put it back in the bag. "Oh, no. Don’t worry. I’ll work harder. And I used the card today."
"I put the money in that account. Don’t forget that."
Milo grinned. "So I have a lot of money now."
"Enough to buy food, maybe. If you want to support yourself properly, you need to earn more over time. Think about what happens if I die tomorrow. You need to be able to take care of yourself."
Milo looked at him. The pleased expression from a moment ago had vanished. "Sir, don’t say that."
"It’s impossible I’m not going to live forever."
"But I don’t want you to die tomorrow."
Salvatore looked at him for a second, then smiled. "Good news. I don’t want that either."
He picked up two bags from the stall. "Come on."
They walked back to the street, and Salvatore grabbed Milo’s arm to keep him from wandering off. He pulled him toward the boutique.
The boutique was a small shop set back from the market’s main walkway, quieter than the stalls outside, with actual walls, lighting, and a ceramic floor.
It looked like it belonged in a different part of the market. Salvatore went straight to one of the sofas near the back and sat down. Roderick took the other one and went back to his phone.
"Go find some clothes for yourself," said Salvatore.
Milo nodded and walked slowly through the shop, looking at the racks.
A young woman from the shop came over and positioned herself about a step behind him, ready to help and watching what he looked at.
Milo glanced back at her once and then looked at the rack in front of him without touching anything.
"Leave him alone; you’re scaring him," Salvatore said to the woman from the chair.
The woman looked at him. He didn’t look up from his phone. She moved back toward the front of the shop.
Milo relaxed slightly and began going through the rack properly.
Salvatore had told him in the car what he needed: formal clothes for occasions when he accompanied him to meetings or events, and a few everyday items. Nothing complicated. Milo had nodded and seemed to have a clear enough idea of what that meant.
The door opened, and Felix came in. He wanted to join them after dropping off Gallo. Salvatore had told him where he was. They were going to view the property that would be built next to the market.
He looked around the shop, found Salvatore, and walked over. He greeted Salvatore and said a few words to Roderick.
He didn’t look at Milo right away. He sat on the arm of the spare sofa and said something about Gallo.
Salvatore listened and responded.
Then Felix looked over at the racks and spotted Milo.
He stood up and walked in that direction. He stopped beside him and looked at the items Milo was holding over his arm. Then he looked at Salvatore.
"Buy me something too," Felix said.
Milo looked at him and said nothing.
"You have a lot of clothes. Why do you need more?" Salvatore asked.
Felix raised his voice slightly. "If you’re buying Milo clothes, you should buy me some too."
Salvatore didn’t look up. "Milo is using his own money."
Felix looked at Milo. "Really?"
He didn’t believe it. Then he looked back at Salvatore. "Come on! You have plenty of money!"
Salvatore clicked his tongue. He knew Felix was just jealous and would do anything to annoy him.
"Buy whatever you want," Salvatore said from the chair.
Felix grinned. He walked toward Milo and shoved him aside.
Milo stepped sideways, but his foot caught the base of the display stand, and he fell to one knee. The clothes in his arms dropped to the floor.
"Sir..." He knew Felix had done that on purpose.
Felix turned around. "Oops, sorry. I didn’t see you."
Milo tried to stand up. He picked up the clothes one by one. He didn’t say anything for a moment.
Felix looked at him with hatred. "Why don’t you just go home? Are you so poor that you have to ask Salvatore to buy you clothes?"
He wanted to make Milo feel small. But Milo just looked at him and nodded. He straightened up and looked at Felix.
"Sorry, but I didn’t have money to buy my own clothes."
Felix frowned—Salvatore had just told him that Milo would use his own money. That man had lied to him!
Milo didn’t seem angry or hurt by his words either.
Felix stared at him. He had expected something else. Embarrassment, or an argument, or for Milo to try to defend himself. The direct, simple answer hung in the air between them, and Felix had nowhere to put it.
"Shameless," Felix said, but the word carried less force than he’d intended.
He turned back to the rack and started pulling items out. He went through it quickly, selecting things without looking at prices or spending much time on any of them.
He moved to the next rack and did the same. He wasn’t shopping. He was making a pile.
He never bought clothes of that quality for himself. He had his own taste in that regard. But he just wanted Milo to know that he wasn’t special enough to get Salvatore’s attention.
Milo took his four items to where Salvatore was sitting.
Salvatore looked at what was in his hands. Four pieces total. Two formal, two casual. He stood up.
"You plan to come back here every week?"
Milo looked at the clothes in his hands. "You said formal and everyday things."
"I said things, not one of each." Salvatore took the items from him, handed them to the shopkeeper standing nearby, and walked into the main aisle.
He went through two racks in under three minutes, pulling items out and handing them to the shopkeeper without asking Milo’s opinion on most of them.
Occasionally, he held something up and looked at Milo, and Milo either nodded or shook his head, and Salvatore either accepted that or put it on the pile anyway.
When he was done, the shopkeeper had a significant amount to carry to the counter.
Milo looked at the pile. It was too much. But he didn’t say anything.
Felix appeared at the counter at the same time with his own stack. It was larger. He set it down, crossed his arms, and looked at Salvatore.
Salvatore looked at the pile. "Why do you need all of them?"
"Of course to change. I need new clothes!"
"You won’t wear them. I know you."
Felix was so strict about clothes. Salvatore knew he would never wear anything unless it came from his usual boutique.
"You won’t. You’ll put all of this in a bag and forget about it."
"That’s my choice."
Salvatore looked at the pile for another moment. Then he took out his card and paid for everything on the counter. Felix’s pile, Milo’s pile, all of it.
Felix looked satisfied, which Salvatore ignored.
Milo looked at the five full bags being packed just for him and then looked at Salvatore.
Salvatore picked up two of the bags. "Stop looking at me like that. You needed clothes."
They walked out of the shop.
