A quasi-regular customer
browses the shelves and asks Fernando, “Hey, you got any Battleship
back there?”
“No, sorry,” Fernando
answers. “But I've got one copy coming back yet tonight, if you
wanted me to hold it for you, then give you a call.”
“Yeah, do that.” The
man leaves.
Turns out the one copy
that was supposed to have come back that night did not come back,
though it returns the following day. The extra day's charge is paid
off and Fernando calls the gent who'd wanted the movie reserved for
the previous night on the off chance he might still desire it.
-Ring ring ring-
“Hello?”
“Hey, this is Fernando
at the Dominion of Movies. I got back Battleship and was
wondering if you still wanted me to hold that for you.”
“You never got it in
yesterday?”
“No, the person who had
it kept it out an extra night. No biggie. Like I said, I've got it
here for you.”
“Okay. Hang onto it for
me. I'll be right down.”
The man arrives at the
store about an hour later, pays, and leaves quite content.
The movie goes unreturned
the following day. On the next day, the man pulls up and comes inside
the store. He sets the case on the counter. “I don't owe anything
on this, right?”
“Actually, it's a
buck-fifty, if you wanted to kill that off now.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, you had it out
for an extra night.”
“Yeah, but I had to
wait to get it.”
“And?”
“If that other guy had
it out longer, why can't I?”
“That other guy paid
for the extra night.”
The guy's shoulders slump
as the realization sets in that his argument is not working. “I
don't have any money on me right now,” he mutters, perhaps contrite
and perhaps in a last-ditch attempt to avoid paying what he owes.
“That's fine. You can
take care of it next time you're in. I'm not going to break anybody's
kneecaps over six quarters.”
In this way did Sanity remain in the Dominion.
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