Take the Skunk
The old man squinted his eyes at it. “Which one? You mean the skunk one?”
Jared felt a tad embarrassed. “Yeah.”
The old man smiled. From across the room Jared could see how cerulean his eyes were. “Perfect. I didn’t think I’d be selling that any time soon. I’m glad you showed up.” He walked around from behind the counter towards the window. He grabbed the mannequin and hoisted it off of its stand. Jared made to approach and help, but the man held him back with a polite show of his palm. “I’ve got it, son. Don’t worry.” He unzipped the front zipper. As he slid it off the mannequin, Jared wondered. Was that zipper there before? The old man cradled the onesie in his hands, which Jared noticed were conspicuously without wrinkles. “Yeah, this is a nice one. I worked extra hard on it. Wanted it to be as real as I could make it.”
Jared was afraid to ask. “What’s it made out of?”
The old man rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, trying to remember. “Ah, nylon? I think?”
Jared relaxed. “OK, that makes sense.”
The old man gave him an assuring look. “No skunks were harmed in the making of it, I promise you.” He brought it to the front desk and laid it out. As he rang it up, Jared ran his fingers over the surface of the suit. The old man said nylon, but nylon didn’t feel anything like this. This was coarse and scratchy, the exact same texture he’d expect on a wild animal. He’d never had the pleasure of petting a real skunk, but this was what he expected one to feel like. “That’ll be $35,” the man said.
That was cheaper than Jared expected, but he wasn’t going to complain. He pulled out his card and the man rang him up. “Can I, uh, get a bag to put this in?”
“Not ashamed of anyone seeing you with this, are you? There’s nothing wrong with it.”
“N-no,” he lied. “I just need something to carry it.”
The man nodded. “Of course. Let me get you one.” He reached behind the desk and produced a large paper bag. He neatly folded the onesie into a square and put it inside. With a gentle push he slid it towards Jared’s side of the desk. “Here you go. Have fun with it, Jared.”
“I will, thanks. Um…” Did I tell him my name? He remembered that he gave him his card. His info probably popped up there. “What’s your name?”
“You can call me Leland. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Leland.” He took the bag off the desk. It felt heavy, like there was a small animal inside of it. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you. Until next time.”
“Yeah, see you.” Jared headed out of the store, clutching the bag’s strings tightly, Leland’s blissfully blue eyes still shimmering in his mind.
Written by TheGreatJaceyGee on 04 December 2022