Fancy Lights

'Who would've thought that it would be so tricky to find the right lights?' mused Anja. 'When we took on the job of redecorating Countess Latriciana's palace I was sure that the five purple and gold marble bathtub would be the hardest thing to find. But we sourced those almost immediately. Same with the ten foot high gilt-edged mirrors for the entrance hall. Even the jewel encrusted doorknobs were easy, compared with this.'

'It's not so surprising really,' said Maya. 'I mean, the Countess was very insistent when she hired us that the lighting was to be a key feature of the redecoration. She kept saying that she didn't want ordinary lights. She wanted them to be... what was the word she used again?'

'Fancy,' said Anja.She wasn't the type to give up easily, but what did fancy even mean anyway?
'We'll find something,' said Maya reassuringly. 'We have loads of cash and the Countess told us to take as long as we needed.'

'You're right, of course,' said Anja,  finding herself glad, yet again, that she and Maya had decided to set up this interior design business together. She had known from the day when she'd sat next to Maya during a Furniture and Fittings lecture and had both pulled out matching leather-bound notebooks and silver pens that they would work well as a team. They had the same taste, the same commitment and the same drive for perfection. The only real difference between them was that Anja liked socks whereas Maya preferred to spend her money on belts and bracelets instead. But this was minor and other than this the two young women got along perfectly. Only two years out of uni their business had expanded to the point where they had recently taken on a third partner, David.

David was different to Anja and Maya - he was a guy, for one thing and a little more excitable than they were, but Anja had a hunch that David would prove to be a valuable addition to their business. Which reminded Anja. Where was David?

There was the sound of running footsteps coming up behind them. It was David, breathless with excitement. 'Stop!' he cried excitedly. 'Literally do not take another step! You guys will not believe the shop I just found!'