fandomtownies | The Emporium is open -- Tuesday

The Emporium is open -- Tuesday

Michael trudged down the stairs and open the shop. Too many late nights, not enough sleep. As much as he loved his son, he'd be glad when the kids headed back to Pittsburgh.

The sign is still in the window:

Cricket bat special: $15
Buy one, get the second for just $10!
One week only!
Be prepared for whatever might come your way!

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Since Yazoo was already in town (http://www.livejournal.com/community/fandomtownies/521142.html), he let Loz and Kadaj go get their lunch and while he headed down to the store.

He stood in the door for a moment, staring in the window before he pushed in and headed to the counter. "Hey."

As he had a large chunk of free time after speech and before sociology, Bel headed into town and stopped by the Emporium. "Hey," he greeted Michael. "I'm looking for some silk cord, preferably in white, maybe about a yard? Do you carry anything like that?"

"Hey." Michael nodded. "You're looking a lot better than the last time I saw you." Michael figured Yazoo wouldn't stand for any fawning over him, but he at least wanted to acknowledge what had happened.

"Hmmm...ribbon and sewing items would be on aisle 12. I'm not 100% certain we've got silk cord, but if we do, it'd certainly be in basic colors like white." Michael walks to aisle 12 and looks around. "Maybe this?" He holds up a card (http://www.craftland.net/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=938) wrapped with beading/crafting silk cord, in white. "It's 2 meters, should cover what you need, unless you're looking for something thicker."

Bel inspected the cord. "Thicker, if you have it," he said. "Something about the width of a shoelace."

"Feel better, too," Yazoo said. He looked around the store. "Is..." hesitating on the name, Yazoo clenched his teeth and looked at the counter, "Ben around?"

"Shoelace," Michael muttered to himself as he looked through the selections. He finally triumphantly came up with another card of thicker, braided white silk cord. "5 yards, two-and-a-half bucks. Work for you?"

Michael's eyebrows shot up. While Ben had been primarily responsible for saving Yazoo, both Ben and Michael had presumed that would go unacknowledged. Unless that was not what this was about and Yazoo had something else up his sleeve. "He's upstairs working on his book. Would...you like me to call him down?"

He gave Michael a short nod. "Yes."

Ben picked up the upstairs phone on the first ring -- mostly because he wasn't having any luck on the book. Michael's request that he come downstairs seemed a little stilted, and he wondered what was wrong.

By habit, he stiffened at the sight of Yazoo, but he forced himself to relax as he finished descending the stairs. "You're looking well," he acknowledged.

"That's perfect," Bel said. "I'll take it."

Michael brought the item back up front, rang it up and found a small bag for it. "$2.61 with tax."

Bel handed Michael a $5 bill to pay for the cord. "Thanks for your help," he said. "Great store you got here."

"No problem. Always glad to help." Michael returned the change along with the bag and receipt. "And thanks. It's tough trying to gauge what anyone might need in this town, but we try."

"You've been doing a good job for me," Bel said with a grin. "Thanks again, I'm sure I'll be back."

"Well, at least we have one satisfied customer." Michael grinned back. "Have a good day."

Pippi enters the shop with a wave to Michael. This time she grabs a cart rather then a basket and fills it overflowing with pizza fixings.

"What's with the sale on cricket bats?" she asks as she pushes the cart up for checkout. "Is there a team?"

"Yeah," Yazoo said looking up at Ben. He could feel the tension flood the store and it caused him to smile. But he wasn't there to torment Ben. Not today.

He placed a bottle of wine on the counter. Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac (1996). "You...didn't have to and still you did," Yazoo said softly, pushing the bottle toward Ben.

"Not exactly," Michael replied. "They're sort of a self-defense item around here."

Ben blinked a few times before picking up the bottle and looking at it. "That's very generous of you. Not necessary, but appreciated. Thank you."

The concept of have to was different for himself than for Yazoo, he was fairly certain. Ben could not have lived with himself if he'd refused help to someone who needed it, regardless of who. He was pretty sure Yazoo would have -- and probably would still -- leave him to die if the situation were reversed, but that was simply a reflection of their different priorities, different values. Ben couldn't find it in himself to hold it against the other man.

Nodding again, Yazoo stepped back from the counter. He'd done what he came to do and that was thank Ben, in the only way he knew how. There was no way to make it even between them, not that he knew of.

"Who much do I owe for the clean up?" he asked Michael, waving to the front of the store.

Pippi thinks about this and adds two to her pile. "Do I use up my store credit with this?" she asks. "And if not can I just buy the cart too? I mean. I'm quite strong but this all will be awkward."
((OOC: at work posting from phone sry if slow.

"Don't worry about it," Michael said, giving a sly smile. "The place needed a good scrubbing anyway."

Michael shrugged. "Go ahead and take it, if you've got a place you can put it. The gold market is pretty good right now, you'll still have a few dollars left on credit even with the cart added on." He smiled. "I assume the first pizza experiment went well?"

Giving Michael a dubious look, he shrugged. "If you say so," glancing from Michael to Ben.

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The Emporium is open -- Tuesday

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Mid-Morning

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