“Fascinating,” Kenneth remarked in a voice that sounded uncaring, but had just enough of a genuine touch to it that James and Nicola could both tell he was on some level sincerely amused. Rather than ask questions, though, Kenneth went straight to business, flipping through the pages of his book.
“Okay. Nine-Two-Four-Seven. Hollyoake, Elspeth. Ordered two days ago for a total cost, shipping and handling, of ninety-seven pounds and sixty eight pence. Is this correct?”
Elspeth nodded. Kenneth continued, reading through the book. “What was the authorization code given to you upon your request for your purchase?”
“Bumblebee horns”, Elspeth stated as if she were repeating back the answer of a memorized math problem. Much like with Oliver, this conversation more or less went on and on in a repetitious manner: Kenneth would ask for confirmation about something to do with Elspeth’s order, Elspeth would either say yes or no, et cetera, et cetera.
James eventually got bored, as did Nicola, and their disinterest must have been visible, as Elspeth politely asked Kenneth to “hold that thought” before placing them on the floor.
“You two can look around, but don’t touch anything. I’d be shocked if what happened at Meredith’s didn’t teach you that enough,” she chuckled. Kenneth started to protest the idea of having two strangers/animals observing his store, but Elspeth reassured him that they would be on their best behavior.
Nicola walked past James, still not in the mood to look at or speak to him, as James gently hopped in short bursts across the wide wooden floor. The store was rather large, with a spiral staircase in the corner leading up to a second floor where dozens of shelves and bookcases could be seen through the cast iron railing.
James, who was too busy looking around at the jars of strange, glowing liquids and assorted objects of unknown origin, didn’t notice the young woman stepping out from a doorway he was walking right in front of. The woman, looking down, saw James and reacted in horror.
She screamed, putting her hands to her face, causing the jar she had been carrying to drop and shatter a few inches from the toad. No glass shards cut him or got lodged into him, thankfully, but James was utterly soaked by the viscous, syrupy contents of the jar. Kenneth and Elspeth both hurried over, saying things such as “I should have told you she was working here today”, “James, are you okay, dear?”, and the like.
As James tried to readjust himself, spooning from the shock of what had just happened, he managed to read the label on the broken jar.