Tad, desperate for a Hallowe'en costume, was mentally kicking himself for having waited to pretty much the last minute, as Samhain was now only a week away and hating the last minutes items that were being offered at the local department stores, he decided to try one of the novelty shops in town, figuring that they would still have some really good costumes left over.
Stepping into the dim interior, Tad noted a dapper man in his fifties manning the casher register and nodding in the man's direction, Tad began to browse the various selections, slightly disappointed that most of the costumes leftover were either Vampyrs, Zombies, Werewolves or something meant for a girl.
As he was thinking that if nothing else he could go in drag, somebody cleared their throat behind him and asked, "Are you looking for anything in particular?"
Looking back, Tad nearly jumped to find the dapper man standing directly behind him and wondering how the guy had moved up behind him so quietly Tad shook his head and explained in a nervous voice, "I am just browsing. You know. Hoping to find a good costume before Hallowe'en."
"Yes," the man sniffed. "Unfortunately our selection has been pretty much picked over, as you can see. We probably will not have another shipment in until after the first of the November."
Nodding in recognition of the limited selection, Tad glanced about the store, taking in what he could see and turning his attention back to the clerk, he asked, "Any recommendations for a person who probably should not have waited till a week before All Hollow's Eve and does not really like Werewolves, Zombies or Vampyrs?" as he also wondered if maybe there was another section he missed that did not involve those three categories or dressing in a girl's costume.
The dapper man sniffed again and replied, "As I said. I stock is limited and if you are not interested in Vampyrs, Zombies or Werewolves, you will currently find that the only thing we have left is tailored to the female sex and gender."
As he nodded in response Tad considered bidding the man good day and trying his luck elsewhere, but before he could say anything, the clerk offered, "We have a rent-to-buy option, if you are unsure of what you select. And if you are desperate for a costume, I can tell you that this store is the only real novelty store in town. If you do not find what you are looking for here, I suggest the local department store."
Realising that the dapper man was right and that his town only had one novelty store for Hallowe'en, Tad mentally sighed and said, "Thanks. Mind if I keep looking?"
The clerk shrugged and then sniffed, "Feel free."
Nodding, Tad glanced about the aisle that he was in, noted that it was all for children and was just about to leave when the attendant explained, "All sizes guaranteed to fit," and turning, he started down the aisle, leaving Tad to wonder how all sizes could possibly fit and how it was that a full size adult could possibly wear a child's costume.
As he exited the aisle, Tad figured that he must have misheard the clerk and turning a corner, he noted that the next aisle had primarily Vampyr costumes and skipping to the next aisle, he once again began to consider the notion of dressing in drag for Hallowe'en.
Browsing the costumes, he noted that the ones that did not come with clothes felt awfully life-like when he touched the skin-like material or the fur that covered some of the anthropomorphic animals. Taking down a costume of a white fox that clearly stood on digitigrade paws, had a red bushy tail with a white tip, ears that were also red with white tips and a red snout. As Tad held it out, letting it unfold, he took in the paw-like hands that only had three fingers and a thumb, how the feet also had only three toes and that with the chest the way it was, there was no doubt that this was a female fox.
When he saw that the head was clipped to the neckline, Tad took a closer look and to his surprise he found that the costume actually included a full body suit and a mask.
Thinking, "How else would you get it on," Tad looked at the price tag and read 'Fox, Vixen, Anthropomorphic, Immortal being of the race Kitsune, Final and current age - seventeen, Price for Body Suit: $250.00 Price for Mask: $99.99 Price for both Body Suit and Mask: $300.00
Not sure how he should take all that he was reading, or the bit of information printed on the opposite side, Tad looked back at the price instead and wondered if it really was worth spending three hundred dollars on a costume, as he looked at the other costumes on the shelf, noting that a lot of them were in the same price range, if not more expensive. Weighing his options, he considered the rent-to-buy option the store clerk spoke of, but in the long run dismissed it, figuring that if he really was going to spend three hundred on a costume, he was going to actually own it, not rent it.
Still holding the fox body suit and mask, Tad wondered what he should wear over it, deciding that he really couldn't go nude, even if the creature had fur and turning his attention to a row of clothes a bit of the way down the aisle, he began to browse, noting that some had openings in the back for a tail or in some other way were tailored for some type of anthropomorphic animal, but found himself at a lost on how to choose clothes that were appropriate for a girl.
In the end Tad settled on a blue flowered one piece swimsuit that had two straps that started between the section were a girl's breasts sat and went up and around the neck, a blue ribboned skirt and an item that was labeled as a 'Rough Stratus Jacket' but in Tad's opinion looked more like a denim jacket.
Checking to make sure that the sizes matched those of the costume, Tad took his selection up the front and laying them on the counter, he started to fetch out his wallet, the dapper man asked, "Would you be interested in our rent-to-buy option or any one of our insurance policy that we offer at forty dollars, six dollars or eight dollars?"
As he shook his head and commented, "I'll just buy the costume out right," he thought a minute and asked, "What types of insurance policies?"
Ringing up the purchases, the dapper man began to explain the differences in prices and what each insurance policies did, with the eighty dollar one offering as a bonus an escape clause if the customer was in any way unhappy with the outcome of their purchase.
Tad, making sure that he had the money on him and wouldn't have to resort to using his debit card, pondered over why a person would need an escape clause for a costume and when he saw that he had more than enough for his purchases, asked, "Does the insurance policy have to be bought now or can the person think about it and come back at a later date?"
Shaking his head, the dapper man answered, "Unfortunately because of certain circumstances the insurance policy must be activated at the time of purchase."
Unsure about this, wondering what these certain circumstances would be, Tad found himself at a loss for the moment on what he should do. He knew that he had more than enough money to purchase the costume, clothes and even the eighty dollar insurance policy if he wanted, but was unsure as to why a costume really needed an insurance policy. Thinking carefully, trying to come up with as much information as possible, he finally figured that it was better to be safe than sorry and taking out the extra bit of spending money, he told the dapper man, "I'll take the eighty dollar option."
Pressing buttons on the register, the clerk told him, "Excellent choice. Instructions and receipt are in the bag. Please enjoy your purchase," as he took Tad's money and bagged up the purchases.
Moments later, Tad was out of the shop and on his way home, stopping only once to pick himself up something to eat alone the way, sure that his mother was probably working late again and she would be too tired to fix anything for him, his brother or his sister when she got home from the law firm.