Sad Boys
Up came a foggy face like a goldfish drowning, up through the crowded aisle leading to the register. "I heard you had soft boys here.", he wheezled behind a desperate mustache.
"We've no such thing. If you are looking for sad boys though we've got those. They are all like a bust from the chest up. We've got the 6" ceramic version. The shoulders are 6" across that is. And at the top of the head it is also about 6". We have two kinds, both in a yellow jacket, one with a softly glowing hand formed face with bare indications of eyes and a mouth. The nose is just a small bump of clay. The second 6" variety is exactly the same only with the head of an old seaman, complete with yellow hat. The 8" versions are the same as these only proportionately scaled up. Then there are some 12" varieties which only feature the hand formed face. Then we have a 2' version which comes in three styles, an aqua jacket, a burnt orange jacket and a dark brown version. All of them have a head that looks like Fernando Pessoa."
The more I looked at the goldfish, the more he was looking like a sad (or soft) boy himself, which made sense considering that I only saw him from the chest up due to the glass counter top between us. "I guess I'll take one of those." he said, gesturing to the 2' version in burnt orange. "Only, how will I carry it? I'm sure it's pretty heavy."
"Oh no, the 2' variety uses a durable plastic which gives it enough weight but is easy to carry. And all of them have a handle that springs up out of the hat."
Our sad boys had been going slowly the last day or two so it was encouraging to make another sale. How to keep a store up and running when all it sells is sad boys and ceramic afghan hounds?
"So, what if I need to bring him back?"
"Well, sorry, but no refunds on sad boys."
If that dogged goldfish comes floating back in here with that dummy the store will vanish.
11/18//21