Case By Case

Some semi-regulars come into the store one sunny March afternoon, a married older couple with whom Fernando has butted heads in the past. The male half saunters in the slumps across Fernando's countertop. “Hey, you got any of these cases for sale?” He holds up one of Fernando's beautiful clear movie cases, the ones which are nigh-invulnerable.

“No, sorry.”

“The old owner used to sell them to me all the time. She kept 'em in the back room.”

Fernando is not sure to which old owner the man referred, though he was correct in that boxes of them had been housed in the rooms beyond Fernando's happy place door. However, over the four years that Fernando had been in charge of keeping the Dominion afloat, he had put all of them to use holding movies. “I don't have any available for sale, I'm afraid.”

Fernando's words are apparently not enough to placate the man. He desires empirical evidence. “Well, let's go look and see.”

“Um, no. I don't allow people into the back room. There's nothing of any real interest back there for them.” Aside from Fernando's roleplaying materials and food and shower and many other unimportant items in life. “Besides, like I said, I don't have any of them for sale.”

“Order some more then.”

Well, Fernando did deserve that for not making clear his chief roadblock regarding ordering in cases for the man. “I can't find any of them anywhere anymore. The place from which I get my cases no longer stocks them and I haven't been able to find anywhere else to get more.”

The man leans forward a little bit more and squints at Fernando. Fernando returns the gaze, sans squint. The awkwardness grows as neither men speak over the next ten or so seconds.

“If I ever find a supplier, you'll be the first to know,” Fernando says at last, clasping his hands before his belly.

The man grunts and departs.