Chapter Text
Ruby plopped onto the couch beside her roommate with a sigh. “Do we really have to watch--”
“Shh!” Belle hushed and gave her friend an elbow to the side, her eyes glued to the television screen. “He’s doing an appraisal!”
“Well excuse me,” Ruby groaned, giving her reluctant attention to the episode of Antiques Roadshow Belle was watching.
A relatively small man in a black three-piece suit with greying shoulder-length hair was inspecting a tea set. After a moment, there was a glimmer in his sable eyes and his lips curled into a smile. In a thick Scottish accent, he began informing a plump elderly woman about the history of the teaset, pointing out several examples of its fine craftsmanship. He went on about how the designer only made so few sets in this particular style, and despite the small chip in one of the cups, valued it handsomely at around twelve grand. He shook the woman’s hand and smiled at the camera with a nod before the program cut to a commercial.
Belle threw her head back and sighed.
“Seriously?” Ruby teased, raising a brow before taking a swig of her beer.
“He’s so…” Belle paused, trying to find the right word.
“Boring?”
“...Sexy!”
“I guess,” Ruby snorted. “If you’re into grandpas.”
“You know Ruby, I was very supportive of you when you wanted to watch subbed episodes of that German hospital drama twenty-four seven just because you thought the doctor was hot!”
“Yeah, but Doctor Whale actually has sex appeal.” Ruby argued. “I mean, doctors, Belle. C’mon.” she said, wiggling her brows.
Belle huffed and squared her shoulders.
“Oh great, here we go,” Ruby groaned, rolling her eyes.
“Rumford Gold holds doctorates in art history, has a law degree...” Belle listed, counting each of the man’s qualifications on her fingers.
“Not the same thing!”
“...Master’s degrees in business and literature, and Bachelor's in women's studies and European military history!” She beamed.
“So basically... he’s got about ten degrees in how to put people to sleep,” Ruby deadpanned.
“Says you,” Belle huffed, rolling her eyes. She let out a deep sigh. “I’d just love to meet him! We could talk about art and books and I could just listen to that voice …”
“And invite him over so you can find out how that voice sounds moaning your name?” Ruby snickered. She rolled her eyes back and fluttered her lids shut. “Oh Belle!” she moaned, clutching her chest and panting suggestively. “Tell me again about your thesis on gynocentrism in Victorian literature!”
“Ruby!” Belle shot back, throwing a pillow across the couch at her face. "He's an intellectual! Eloquent! Refined!"
"Yeah, and as Granny would put it-- you'd let him leave his shoes under your bed any night of the week," Ruby teased.
Belle glared at her, unable to make a rebuttal before program returned with an appraisal by Killian Jones for an old Colt revolver. He dated the piece at around the 1840s based on its serial number, and valued it at about four grand. Belle shrugged and muted the TV.
“The show is gonna be in Boston this year,” she sighed, glancing at Ruby who was texting away.
After a beat, she stopped typing looked up at her. “Please tell me you’re going.”
“I want to!” Belle said. “But you have apply for tickets and hope you get picked! And they don't let you in unless you have something to get appraised!”
Ruby blinked owlishly. “Seriously? What is it-- the lottery to colonize Mars?” She scoffed.
“Yeah! It’s a very big deal!”
“Okay so--” Ruby grinned and shifted on the couch, turning to face her better. “Whatcha got? 'Cause I don’t believe for one second you haven’t got it all figured out already.”
Belle nibbled her lip, biting back a timid smile. She stood up and approached the bookshelf, gingerly sliding an old text from one of its shelves. She could hear Ruby beginning to laugh once she recognized the cover. Her Handsome Hero.
“I know, I know!” Belle admonished. “It’s not exactly high brow literature, but it’s old and it’s rare and in good condition! I mean, not that I’d ever want to sell it. But he does book appraisals!”
“No, no! Totally!” Ruby giggled. “Just…”
Belle frowned and narrowed her eyes at her. “Just what?”
“You get to take a plus one, right? ‘Cause I totally wanna be there to watch you freak out. ...Or totally ensnare him with your feminine charms.” Ruby shrugged. “...Either way.”
“Well…” Belle said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “If my application gets picked, I would be allowed to bring a guest...”
Ruby’s face lit up. “You already applied?”
“Of course I did!” Belle blurted. "The deadline was a month ago!”
“...Oh.” Ruby said with nonchalance. “Well, I guess that would explain the envelope we got in the mail yesterday…”
Belle sucked in a breath. “You what.” Bounding across the apartment for the pile of mail on the kitchen counter, she frantically began thumbing through the bills and junk mail. “You mean-- Why didn’t you tell-- oh my God.” She held the envelope up and admired it for a moment as though it contained all the secrets of the universe.
“You okay there, Belles?”
"Ruby." She carried it over and plopped on the couch. "This is it.”
She snorted. “Well, are you gonna open it or what?”
Slowly, Belle tucked her finger under the flap of the envelope and tore it open. Holding her breath, she pulled out the letter and unfolded the sheet of paper. When she did so, two thick cards fell out and floated down to the floor.
Belle French,
We at ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are happy to inform you that your application to attend our event in Boston, MA on July 22nd has been accepted. Enclosed are two tickets for you and one guest. Please see the attached Tour FAQ for important information about--
“Ruby!” Belle leapt out of her seat, jumping for joy. “Ruby, I’m going! We’re gonna go!”