Moments after the voice called out, a young man who looked to be around the same age as this body emerged while wiping his glasses on a
microfiber cloth
. I know the weave is different, but the fact that it is the same material as my
undergarments
is strange.
An untucked, button-down,
yellow flannel shirt
with the sleeves rolled to his elbows covered his large chest and broad shoulders. Surprisingly well built, for someone that works in a place like this.
Dark hair was
longer on one side
than the other, and was pushed around the
dark rimmed glasses
as he reseated them.
"Welcome to Welken’s. I’m Marco. Parents are off today, so you’ve got the son instead. What can I help you with?"
The way he mentioned his parents confirmed this must be a
family business
. Not that I
doubted
Edgar.
His overall demeanor suggested someone only
temporarily
minding the shop rather than fully committed to the
retail life
. A quality I’ve seen before.
Which - probably along with his
youth
- explains his gym-made chest and forearms. Altogether as relatively impressive a
specimen of male
as any I’ve talked to so far.
For a human.
"I need to buy a charger for my phone."
I reached into my pocket and produced the device to show it if necessary. The man’s eyes widened as he
recognized
the model.
"That’s a Sentinel X7. Don’t see many of those walking in..."
He leaned close without reaching out. His tone was
astonished
, but it shifted quickly to
cautiousness
.
"Military-grade casing, satellite capability, encrypted communications... you a private contractor or something?"
The question caught me off guard. I hadn’t fully considered after it was returned that the phone might be recognizable as
something unusual
.
> A silly oversight of mine... Something I do not have enough defense against... A nervous habit I used to be better at avoiding... This is a completely frivolous purchase. Please help me stay strong. Please? <
Vrika seemed
surprisingly supportive
for once. I blew out a breath and put it back where he found it.
"Hm. What about storage? If I remember, the X7 has 256 gigs of internal storage."
I turn and blink at him. Wondering if
whatever
that was he just said was meant to be
special
.
"And?"
"Oh, just saying that’s more than enough for most uses. Unless you’re recording hours of high-definition video end on end, you shouldn’t need an SD card."
As he turned back to the displays, my eyes caught a rack of decorative phone cases and
decals
. Most were
garish
patterns or human cartoon characters I didn’t recognize.
But a
small pack
in the corner caught my attention. I pointed at them, with a voice that sounded
hoarse
.
"What about those?"
Strained
... from trying not to say anything at all!
"Ah? Basically fancy stickers that don’t leave residue when you peel them off."
He grabbed
directly
for the pack I’d indicated.
"This is one of the wildlife series. Has a fox, wolf, deer, and bear."
The
blue fox
on the front of the packaging stared back at me with stylized eyes. A
caricature
, but one that resonated with me.
"I’ll take that. And the selfie stick."
My sins
multiplied
suddenly, and Marco looked pleased but not surprised as he grabbed for the item I had put back. Confirming my suspicion about his
merchant instincts
.
Some of the newcomers to the trade always went on about how
hereditary merchant dynasties
were hogwash - and that it was more hard work and learning that got any of them there. Not something the
royals
liked hearing, obviously.
But I swear it truly is in the
blood
in some cases. Like any
talent
.