“Oh, usually cash,” he said, and drank.
“Usually?” Gabe sounded about to laugh again. “What does that mean? She sometimes pays in stacks of pennies or stamps?”
“Try the best blueberry lemon marmalade you’ve ever tasted.”
“So she cooks instead of needlepoint.”
“No. She can’t make anything that’s not instant. I have no idea where she gets it.”
“Now I have to know what else,” said Gabe. Surprisingly, he seemed not to be put off by any of this. How he still thought Ian was genuinely in the know about antiques, Ian didn’t know.
“An entire fantasy series, all new copies. Three unopened packages of socks. Once she gave me a full basket of ramps.” Ian paused. “What are you doing?”
“Looking up ramps.” Gabe sipped at his beer, thumbing his phone.
“They’re sort of a wild leafy onion.”
“Huh.”
