Alex actually opened the box, taking one pastry before closing it again, letting Caitlyn peruse the money in his wallet at her leisure. They were a fair distance from the shop, he was sure, and no one was going to come looking for them, in the unlikely event the shop owner had, in fact, called the police.
The girl seemed puzzled, he thought, as she pulled out one of the bills in his wallet, looking it over, running her hands over its surface, holding it against the sunlight.
“It is. There used to be coins, I believe, but they were too heavy to carry around, an’ too expensive to make in quantity, so at some point, they switched to paper,” Alex explained with a nod.
He stowed the wallet back in his pocket when she returned it, offering her a pastry in one of the frilly napkins they’d got from the shop with a smile. “No need for that,don’ worry,” he shrugged at her suggestion. “If we’d meant trouble, we’d have run off without payin’. I’m sure they understand.”They probably didn’t and the old gentleman was probably still fuming at the ‘youngsters’ trying to trick him, but he didn’t have the heart to tell her that.
"That's a relief to hear," she said, "Do you suppose a lot of people do the same mistake I did? That could be the reason why he was so cross for something so simple."
There was quiet as she pondered his earlier explanation. “It’s so different here,” she finally said softly. Caitlyn knew she would go back to Wonderland, eventually. It was her only home, and no matter how far or how long she had wandered she always managed to find her way back–or rather Wonderland would call her back.
But what should she do if this turned out to be a longer stay? There was so much still she did not understand.. and on top of that she had just found out that she had no appropriate money to live here. Where should she stay? Were the streets terribly cold at night? The girl spared a glance at the man sitting beside her. She couldn’t ask Alex to keep an eye on her always, surely he had his own life to tend to, she didn’t want to be a burden.
It was no little problem she was facing, but then Alex offered her the pastries, and she took one of them, a small croissant dipped in chocolate. It was still warm somewhat, and even in the first bite she could taste the rich almond filling, just the right amount of sweet. "This one's so good," she commented, smiling, all troubles forgotten for the moment.
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