"Dang it, that fridge is broken AGAIN! I've had to call a repairman." said a frustrated Jeremy Saint.
"And right when I want breakfast as well!" said Barbara, her shoulders sagging in disappointment.
"That's OK, you have mine and I'll get some on the way to the interview" he replied.
"That's really sweet of you" she said, perking up. "Wait a moment, 'interview'?"
"Yeah, I have a meeting with the personnel department at Landgraab's this morning" he said. "Did I not mention that to you?"
"You did not! I can't believe you're going through with this, after what I said on this subject!" said Barbara, pushing her breakfast to one side and frowning at Jeremy.
"I thought you'd come around to the idea!" said Jeremy.
"I said I would think about it, I have and I DON'T like the idea at all!" said Barbara, sternly.
"Look, the money's better..." said Jeremy, trying to stay positive.
"It's not the money! It's your safety! You only want that job to spy on the Landgraabs and they're pretty powerful and vengeful people!"
"It's more than just spying, darling; the Landgraabs want to evict all of us out of our homes and build some secret complex here. Well, if I'm in a position to prevent that..."
"And what if they catch you doing that? What then? You've seen what they did to Action! They've tried to kill Alan Cuffe! They've targeted Suzy!" said Barbara, getting increasingly angry now.
"Well, technically that wasn't the Landgraabs who did all those things...it was another group" said Jeremy trying to stay calm.
"And that group is working for the Landgraabs! We have no idea who they are and you want to put yourself in harms way?"
"There's actually a practical reason why I'm doing this, apart from the money side. The Landgraabs will influence the city council...and they can do that because they're working with the Fengs...to buy up all the houses in our neighbourhood at rock bottom prices. They're already spreading rumours which is putting off house buyers so when it's time to move we'll have no choice but to accept a measly offer from them. This will be bad for all of us. Geoffrey, I think, wants to steer the company in a different direction, a more reputable one and I can be well placed to stop this development if I get the job."
"Morning Mr Saint, it's Emily Hankins from the repair company...I'm here to fix your fridge" said a familiar looking woman in work overalls. Jeremy had met her before when she came to fix his stove a few months ago.
"We'll talk more later!" said Barbara to Jeremy, still unhappy.
"Yep, fried cooling circuits...typical of this model. You need an upgrade, sir." said Hankins.
Later Jeremy and Barbara shared a frosty subway journey to Pack's Clothing where he had some time to help Barbara set up shop before he had to continue on to his interview.
"How can I...erm...help...darling?" he said, nervously.
"Help me bring labelled items out from storage and hand them to me: I shifted a lot of outfits yesterday and didn't get the chance to re-dress the mannequins last night." she replied, coldly.
"I could help put clothes on the mannequins" Jeremy suggested.
"It takes some skill to do that...the arms and legs don't move much. Best left to me; you just hand me the clothes when I tell you." she sounded fierce; completely at odds with the normally happy go lucky persona she usually was.
Jeremy put his head down and did what he was told on this occasion. Since he brought up the subject of taking a job with the Landgraab Corporation he thought that Barbara was just reluctantly going along with him but it turns out she was actually seething about his decision. She said it was about being concerned about his safety in case he got found out whilst playing spy and, yes, he accepted that as part of the risk but he thought there was a bigger cause to be fought here. "All it takes for evil to prosper" he aunt told him once "was for good men to do nothing".
After an hour of helping Barbara he had to go to work and they parted on frosty terms. As for her, she didn't have time to brood on Jeremy's misplaced altruism; she had a store to open and run! As she went to get the cash register sorted out she noticed a man pacing up and down the sidewalk next to the shop. He looked very intense and she wondered whether he was interested in coming into the shop or was his pacing about something else? She kept checking on his movements as she went to switch the muzak on.
The man turned out to be her first customer of the day. She said a polite "hello", which he ignored, and then watched him walk over to the menswear section. He had a strange routine going on: He would look intensely at each outfit, feel the cloth and then breathe deeply which had an exhale that came with a murmur. She thought he might have been like that strange man last week who rubbed himself up against the female mannequins. Fortunately this guy didn't fondle the dummies.
Barbara cautiously approached him and cleared her throat to attract his attention.
"You wish to speak with me?" said the man, turning his gaze towards Barbara.
"I was wondering if you needed any help in choosing something?" she said, politely.
"I have noticed your presence and surmised your role in this establishment. Inform me: Is this particular outfit considered 'trendy'?" he asked, stumbling over the word 'trendy' as if it was unfamiliar to him.
"It is...a single breasted suit worn over a turtleneck is inspired by some of the outfits worn by The Beatles in 'Help'" replied Barbara.
"The Beatles as in the popular beat combo?" replied the customer.
"Yes...them."
"I see" said the customer, looking intently at the mannequin again. He let out an audible exhale whilst staring.
"Would you like to see anything else we have in stock that is contemporary and currently trendy?" asked Barbara.
"I require to see all such outfits. I work for a fashion magazine" he replied.
"Oh yes? Which one? Hey, Wow?"
The man sneered. "I work for SMOGUE!" he growled.
"Well...if you care to look over there you'll find some more men's outfits and...oh look, I have more customers; I must go and see to them" she said, scuttling off to great more people who had just entered the shop.
The relative calm of having to deal with everyday shoppers was soon disturbed by one man who entered the boutique and he wasn't just being weird...he was being angry.
"Materialism is evil! Reject the corporate structure! Smash the state! *BLEEP* CAPITALISM!" he ranted.
Barbara let out a sigh of despair, apologised to the woman she was serving, and headed over to where this man was standing.
"Excuse me, sir, would you mind keeping your voice down?" she said to him.
"Why? YOU WORK FOR THE GOVERNMENT? You want to stop my freedom of expression?" he said.
"Right now you're getting in the way of my right to run this shop!" she replied. "Now if this establishment is not to your liking then you should probably leave"
"Establishment...yeah, that's right lady! You're the establishment! You're the one keeping us down with your so-called 'fashion' and clothing!" he continued.
"Clothing? What are you talking about?" she replied, puzzled.
"Clothing is the government's tool to keep us all oppressed! Reject garments! Take your clothes off! Let it all hang out!" he said, taking off his shoes and socks and starting to remove his sweater as well.
"STOP THAT! You've had your say so if you're not going to buy anything then GET OUT! LEAVE MY STORE!" said Barbara, scowling and standing as tall as she could.
"Fascist!" he growled. "I will fight the fight....but somewhere else!"
The man picked up his shoes and socks and stormed out of the shop. All the customers looked shocked but one of them congratulated Barbara and soon they all stood around Barbara applauding and telling her she'd been perfectly right in standing up to that guy.
"An appropriate use of verbal force to counter an aggressor" said the strange customer in a flat, monotone voice.
"Erm...I'm sorry you had to witness that" said Barbara, struck at being the centre of attention. "OK...for the next hour all items purchased come with a 5% discount" she added, quite spontaneously.
Despite the announcement of a discount, business was only just above average for the day. The strange man from Smogue ended up purchasing nothing but instead walked around, asking bizarre questions about all the different outfits. Barbara hoped news of today's incident, plus the number of weirdo customers she'd been dealing with lately, didn't drive business down...on top of everything else, she really didn't need that as well.
At closing time she started locking the place up and switching off the music and some of the lights when Jeremy appeared at the door, holding a bunch of flowers. She let him in and he smiled sheepishly.
"Peace offering?" he said. Barbara took the flowers and looked appreciatively at them.
"Hmmm, they're lovely. Thank you." she replied.
"So, how did it go here today?" he asked, nervously.
"Ugh, some weirdos invaded my shop...one was a communist nudist..."
"You don't meet many of them" replied Jeremy.
"And the other was this really creepy and unsettling guy from Smogue magazine who spoke in really overcomplicated and weird ways...."
"Oh him...Davis Goode. We met him once before, at the Humor & Hijinks Festival where he ate a plate of live bugs and worms."
"OH MY GOSH! Him! I remember now...yes, that was him. What is it with that guy? It's like normal human interactions are beyond him. I'm telling you Jeremy, this place is full of bizarre goings on, strange people and all I can say is that I take back everything bad I said about growing up in Montreal, that's all."
"Bizarre goings on, strange people with hidden agendas...sound familiar?" said Jeremy. Barbara turned to face him and nodded.
"Touché. So you want to get to the bottom of the mysteries of Sim City, do you?" she asked, folding her arms and giving him a hard stare.
"Aren't you just a little bit curious about it all?" he replied.
"Hmmm, maybe" she said, pouting.
"You know you are! You know it! You're doing that indignant French pouting you do when you know I'm right but don't want to admit it."
"I am half-French you know" she said with a shrug.
"And there's the Gallic shrug as well. You can take the girl out of Quebec..." he said, smiling and moving closer to her.
"I still don't like the Landgraabs" she said, still staring and pouting at him in defiance.
"I know you don't. Neither do I" he replied, still inching his way closer to him.
"Then why...?" she said, her resolve melting as he got closer.
"I want to be James Bond" he said, their faces only inches apart.
"I think....you're halfway there..." she said, her resolve now melted she moved closer to him. Their lips met and they began to kiss. Dropping the bouquet she threw her arms around him.
"Oops, sorry, is the store closed now?" said an old lady, emerging from the bathroom. She looked shocked at the young couple kissing. Jeremy and Barbara immediately broke off from their embrace.
"I'm so sorry, Ma'am" replied Barbara. "Erm...this is my boyfriend and...erm...I haven't locked up yet so the door is open...and...well..."
"Oh don't apologise" said the old lady. "He's rather fetching I must say...and you were wonderful today, young lady."
Jeremy and Barbara had a little laugh and hugged again. "How about we put all the troubles to one side and head off for an evening out?" he suggested to Barbara.
The young couple headed down to a place they'd never been before: Whiskerman's Wharf down at Brindleton Bay. It had long been a place to visit on their to-do list but with all their busy work lives, plus their favourite haunts of The Blue Velvet Bar and Waterside Warble Brindleton Bay had been always just out of their reach until now.
"Oh this is lovely" said Barbara. "Reminds me a bit of Nova Scotia"
"This reminds me of....well, we never had anything like this back in Colorado. We had lakes and rivers...oh, and mountains. Lots of them." replied Jeremy.
They went into the local tavern, which they both found quaint and homely compared with the hip-ness of evening spots they were used to like the Blue Velvet and The Orange Peel. Barbara was impressed with the wine list.
"Hey, is that the Beach Boys? It sounds like them but I don't know the song" she said, looking at the juke box.
"Maybe it's their new one" said Jeremy. "I don't know much about them, I'm afraid."
Barbara wanted to talk about the big issue of his job interview, but not in a confrontational way this time.
"Tell me what happened at the interview" she said.
"They were really nice, actually. I took a tour of the facility; didn't find out anything suspicious but it was a nice environment and super-modern. They treated me to lunch and everything was casual." he replied.
"Do you think that's just what they want you to see?" asked Barbara.
"Oh most definitely! I'll find out more next week"
"Next week?"
"Yes, they want me to take an initiative test"
"What's that all about?" said Barbara, puzzled and suspicious.
"I go in, take a few tests to see how I cope under pressure..." said Jeremy, nonchalantly.
"That sounds creepy" she said.
"It's the latest fad in business; most companies have something like this. It's all about the efficiency model"
"O.......K......if you say so; I've not come across that before. When I worked for Hamburgerman I was only asked one question: What is your name?"
"Well, I'm being groomed for upper management so I have to undergo these formalities" he replied, calmly. "Hey, it's a nice evening, let's go out on the pier for a bit"
They stood outside the tavern, looking out at the bay. The evening wasn't freezing cold but Barbara wished she'd brought a jacket or coat with her nonetheless. Jeremy put his arm around her as they enjoyed the moonlight.
"You know I'm still not sure about this new job" said Barbara.
"I know" replied Jeremy. "But thanks for trying to understand anyway"
"I don't understand it all, but some of your arguments make sense...it's the risk factor I don't like" she said. "If only there was some kind of sign or heavenly voice telling me which way we should go, I'd feel more relaxed about it"
"Well, we could wish for a sign by the Moon" he said.
"How quickly do you think it'll reply?" she said, smiling.
They took a walk down by the harbour but now she was feeling tired and worn out after a long, often stressful day.
"Ugh...this is all lovely and romantic but I'm so tired now, let's get a cab" she said.
"I'll look out for one" Jeremy replied.
Barbara started to look around for a bench to sit on and rest her weary feet and tired legs when she caught sight of something that looked familiar. It was a cat; a ginger and white one with tiny ears and a bit chubby around the middle. Could it be the cat she met back at Pupperstone Park right before she started the boutique?
She walked over to the little creature, which looked at her with its big green eyes. Yes! She thought, it's the same cat; right down to its markings and resemblance to a Canadian provincial senator.
"It's you, isn't it? The cat from Pupperstone Park!" she crouched down and gave the cat a little stroke under the chin. It purred loudly in response.
"You couldn't remember me, could you?"
"Meow" said the cat.
"Well don't you have a habit of showing up at the most unexpected times!" she said, smiling.
"I've just hailed a cab, Barbara, it's waiting for us" said Jeremy, now back on the scene.
"Jeremy...this is that cat I told you about meeting at the park." she said.
"How can you tell? I mean, strays are ten a penny" he said, sceptically.
"I know it is! Same fur markings, same big eyes and tiny ears...and, look, he trusts me" she said, crouching down again. The cat rolled onto its back and Barbara gave it a tummy rub.
"He certainly knows how to charm you! Anyway the cab's waiting" said Jeremy.
"Well, I asked for a sign and here it is...my little Senator. Last time I saw him I had that good fortune with the shop. Maybe this is a sign to trust you on your endeavour?"
"A bit weird..." said Jeremy "...but, yeah, I'll roll with it. Well then little fella, we need to go"
"Awww, well I know where to find you next time puss-puss" she said, stroking the cat one last time.
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