"Just look at this shit!" Dwight gestured all around as he entered the gift shop, followed closely by his assistant and then his wife. "Setting up shop like this on my property! Roberta, talk to me. Is there anything I'm missing? Anyway to get these clods off my land any faster?"
"Unfortunately not, sir," Roberta said. She was quite adept at maintaining a professional composure in the midst of her boss's tirades. "We'll have to wait for the police to respond before any immediate action can be taken."
"Damn it!"
Iola, trailing quietly behind as her husband cursed his way from one end of the gift shop to the other, took a moment to actually look at the merchandise that was on sale. A lot of their stock was made up of the usual gift shop knickknacks; coffee mugs, key chains, and T-shirts. Nothing that she found interesting or particularly exciting. But as she moved along, she noticed a shelf filled with small stuffed animals. And on top of a small stack was the most adorable stuffed tiger she had ever seen!
Iola reached out to touch it, but then hesitated. Her husband hated everything about this place. What would Dwight say if he saw her buying a stuffed animal here at the gift shop? I...I really shouldn't...
"Iola!" Dwight called from the other end of the shop. "Cone on, damn it!"
"S-Sorry, honey! I'll be right there!" Iola's voice, even when load enough to carry across the gift shop, was meek. And she took one last look at the tiger, intending to step away.
Except she didn't. She stood there, staring at those cute little glass eyes. Those eyes really did seal how cute the stuffed tiger was. And she realized that if she left, she'd probably never see them again.
Oh...I'll do it. Iola picked up the stuffed tiger and hurried to the register counter. If Dwight demands to know where I got it, I'll just say I found it on the ground outside. If he does't know I bought it, no harm, right?
Iola paid for the tiger in cash, and when the cashier offered her a receipt, she declined. She didn't want to leave any possible clue for Dwight to find. He watched the credit card statements like a hawk. Holding the toy tiger under her arm, she hurried to the exit and hoped that she wouldn't fall too far behind.
If Iola had noticed her reflection in a window on her way out of the shop, she might have noticed something unusual. Streaks of black, almost like tiger stripes, had started to fade into her red hair.
Mon Feb 22 07:42:36 2016
3 comments Last updated: Mon Feb 22 16:13:01 2016