Page 50 of Horn in My Side
The couple dragged away the boy even as he screamed his displeasure.Mal watched them walk out to ensure they were truly gone.“Are you okay, Jasmine?”
“Yeah.Thanks for dealing with that.”Her lower lip trembled.“I hate rude customers; they just ruin my day.”
He tsked.“You can’t let them walk all over you.”
“I try to be as polite as I can, but it’s tough.Especially with the store’s policy about not selling to people who might not be good owners.”
“It’s a smart policy.”But it was also one of the main reasons the shop wasn’t doing too well, though he understood why Vrig enforced it, and Jasmine refused to change it even now that he was gone.
Her hands gestured around them.“The extra foot traffic has been great for the store overall; it’s also brought in the worst people.They just don’t seem to get the concept that these are living beings, not toys they can just play with when they feel like it and then put away.”
He snorted.“The customer isn’t always right.If any more give you trouble, send them to me.”
“Th-thanks, Mal.”The smile widened.“For having my back.”
“Of course.”He would always have her back, no matter what.“Actually, why don’t you go outside and man the table, and I’ll take care of things in here?”
“What?No, you don’t have to—”
He held up a hand.“I’m still the owner, aren’t I?Now, go.”
Mal didn’t much like crowds, but at least the one inside the shop wasn’t out of control.The initial scene had been jarring as it was always so calm and serene on normal days, even during the busy weekends.The foot traffic was good for business, but the animals had to be under a lot of stress.So, he spent most of the afternoon directing the flood of people, asking them not to get too close to the animals or bang on their tanks or rattle their cages.Much to his chagrin, he also ended up posing for numerous selfies.It only got busier as the day wore on and he felt bad that Jasmine had to keep going back and forth inside to ring up customers, so he took over the register.
“Hey, are you the new owner of Fantastic Tails?”said a friendly masculine voice.
“Yeah?”Mal straightened up from where he crouched down behind the screen of thePOSsystem.The first thing he noticed about the man were the large horns curling out from the top of his head and the pointy ears emerging from a nest of long, dark reddish hair.Since Mal was about a foot taller than him, a quick glance down at the thick fur and hooves of his lower half confirmed what he was—a satyr.“And you are?”
The satyr extended his hand over the counter.“Nick Amherst.You’re Vrig’s nephew, right?”
“Mal of the Urduk Horde.”He shook the man’s hand firmly before letting go.“Can I help you?Were you looking for a pet or ...”
“No, no.I just wanted to come by and convey my condolences.Sorry it took me so long, though.”
“Thank you.But how did you know Vrig?”
“We were on the same squad of the Dewberry Falls VolunteerFire Department,” Nick explained.“He was a great guy.Even went on a few calls over the last couple of years.Not that we get a lot of fires around here to respond to.Such a big loss to the community.”
“Yeah, he was a good person.”Strangely, while Mal hadn’t spent any significant amount of time with Vrig as an adult, being in Dewberry Falls, working around the shop, and living in his house had given him a sense of what Vrig must have been like.He regretted never reaching out to his uncle.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”He paused for a beat.“Say, Mal, have you thought about joining the volunteer fire department?”
“Me?”
“Yes, definitely.”Nick gave the counter a healthy pound of his furry fist.“A big strong guy like you, you’d be perfect.”
“I’m afraid I’m not planning on staying in Dewberry Falls,” Mal explained.“Just until I get the shop, and the house sold.Couple of months maybe.Seems like a waste to train me when I won’t be around too long.”
The satyr waved away his objection with a flourish of his hand.“Not at all.And we could use every hand we can get even if it’s just for a couple of weeks.The training’s not that hard and some of the stuff you learn, like theCPRand basic fire-safety certification, can be useful in real life.”
“I’m already certified in both.I’m a contractor.”
“Great!You’ll be able to start sooner, then.”
“I’m not sure I have time—”
“Our squad trains every other Thursday night and the entire department does one Saturday a month at a nearby Fire College.”
“I’m quite busy—”
