“Is everything okay?” Sophia looked around the store where silk fabrics were strewn across the floor, and completely covered it. Shelves were toppled over in all directions and supplies had spilled out, littering the place with sharp needles and measuring tapes and various other things. “Were you robbed? Are you hurt?”
“Robbed?” Jeremy Bearimy turned to face her, hovering high above Sophia. “You mean burgled?”
“I think I mean burglarized, but I feel like we’re having a conversation over semantics rather than the obvious concern.”
The hairy creature shook his round head. “No, I haven’t been burglarized or robbed. Juergen happened.”
“Oh.” Sophia heard a shuffling sound coming from the back of the shop. She’d met Jeremy Bearimy’s assistant on the few occasions that she’d been there. He wasn’t the most graceful on his feet, but there was something strange about the character that she’d yet to put her finger on, as if a weird competence lurked under the surface. It was like King Rudolf. He seemed dumb as a brick, but then too often he surprised everyone by saving the day and being the most valued person in battles.
“He dropped a thimble.” Jeremy Bearimy sighed and looked around at the disheveled shop.
“By thimble, do you mean a bomb?” Sophia had to ask.
The tarantula shook his head. “When he bent over to get it, he hit his head on a stand and that spooked him so he fell back into the shelves and knocked all of them down. But then, against my pleas, he tried to catch them, which sent all the bolts of stacked fabrics tumbling to the floor. Inside of ten seconds, he’d created this mess.”
Sophia offered a sympathetic expression. “Do you want my help cleaning it all up? I could have everything back in place in seconds.” She held up her hand, ready for the command.
“No, but thank you,” Jeremy Bearimy answered. “Actually…” He glanced down at the floor and picked up a small brass button that should have been lost in all the mess. “This is quite fortuitous. I’ve been looking for this button for over three decades. I’d nearly given up hope, and here it is!”
The excitement in the tarantula’s voice grew as he held the small button up to the light, his eyes sparkling with sudden joy.
“That button…” Sophia studied the small item, but didn’t see what was so special about it. “That’s a long time to look for something like that.” What she didn’t ask was the obvious question of “Why?”
Jeremy Bearimy snapped his hairy leg back down while still clutching the button. “Oh, but my efforts were for a good reason. This isn’t any button.”
“I would hope not,” Sophia stated.
The tarantula leaned closer to her, his pinchers dangerously near her face, making her tense. Sophia knew that Jeremy Bearimy wouldn’t hurt her, or at least she hoped that, but being so close to a large tarantula was still unsettling.
“This button, well, it has incredible magical properties,” Jeremy Bearimy began in a conspiratorial voice. “I can spin silk that can withstand fatal blows and create the best protective armor in the world. However, this button…well, I’m not sure I can disclose what it does to you or anyone. It’s that valuable.”
“I’m not sure my interest will allow me to leave without knowing after that buildup,” Sophia stated matter-of-factly.
The seamster considered this for a moment, then added, “Well, I’ll tell you this much. One would never want for anything if this button was sewn on their clothes.”
“Want for anything?” Sophia thought this was too broad a description and tried to pull the real details from Jeremy Bearimy. “Like riches?”
“Like food, water, heat, coolness, comfort, joy… Do you get the idea?”
Sophia’s mouth fell open. “So wearing that single button makes it so the person is never hungry or tired or cold or anything?”
“You’re always perfect with this,” Jeremy Bearimy stated with satisfaction, still clutching the item. “It makes the wearer as fit as a button.”
“Wow, that’s pretty impressive,” Sophia stated. “So who gets to wear it?”
Jeremy Bearimy shrugged. “I lost it a long time ago, so I don’t know. It’s not right for me, but I’m sure someone will come along who will need it. Until then, I will allow Juergen to wear it since he is the reason that I found it, after all.”
“But what if he loses the button?” Sophia asked.
“Oh, he never loses a thing,” Jeremy Bearimy answered. “Juergen is my finder. This button proves it. I couldn’t find a thing without him. It turns out that he usually destroys the shop in the process, but sometimes we need chaos in our lives to create order. It is the winds of a storm that knocks the loose branches free from the trees, after all.”
Sophia smiled, enjoying the sentiment. “That’s a lovely phrase.”
“You may borrow it,” Jeremy Bearimy said good-naturedly. “Now, you came to see me for a reason, correct? Is it the dress I made for Ainsley Carter? Did it work out all right? Do you need me to make alterations?”
Sophia felt a pang of grief, missing her friend the elfin shapeshifter. “I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to ask her, but I’m sure that it’s perfect and she loves it. Thank you.”
“Oh, good,” Jeremy Bearimy stated. “Then you’re here for something new.”
“Yes, and I’m afraid it will be a large project,” Sophia began. “I’m not sure if you’ll have time, but I’ve been told that the Dragon Elite needs armor, both for the riders and the dragons.”
“That is a very large project.” Jeremy Bearimy suddenly looked overwhelmed.
“I understand if you can’t fit it in,” Sophia responded at once. “It’s just that—”
“Not fit it in?” the tarantula interrupted. “Do you think I’m mad?”
This had to be a trick question. Sophia tilted her head and drawled, “Nooooo…”
“Of course I’m not,” Jeremy Bearimy chirped. “I’d have to be to not outfit the Dragon Elite and their trusty steeds with armor at your request. It sounds like you’ll be going into an important and deadly battle. What do you know of it?”
Sophia pursed her lips. “Not a thing. I was told by a very reliable source that we’d need armor.”
“Oh, I can’t imagine how you sleep knowing that you’ll face an unknown danger.”
Sophia laughed. “Usually with the fan on.”
“What’s that now?” Jeremy Bearimy looked confused.
“Oh, I was saying that I sleep with the fan on,” Sophia imparted, still laughing. “It‘s pretty easy to go about my business knowing that in the future I’ll encounter some serious danger.”
“Right you are,” Jeremy Bearimy stated proudly. “Embrace the uncertainty in life. Therein lies the true power for those who want great adventures and therefore great achievements.”
“So you will make the armor?” Hope laced Sophia’s tone.
“Absolutely.” He glanced toward the back of the shop. “Juergen, I need the magic-measure-o-meter.”