Tony hadn't been to this mall in a long time. It had not since improved, but he heard on the radio that a new store had opened up.
Coming back to Brick Township in NJ for vacation was going alright. It was close enough to Seaside Heights for him to hit the Aztec and other bars on Casino Pier. His fiancee Sindi was joining him, but was back at the rented bungalow unpacking. Tony was out to pick up some supplies. They needed food and water, drink and lotion. It would all be cheaper here than up north near New York City.
This mall obviously was not the right choice. He grew up coming here for haircuts and clothes with his mother when he was growing up but three fourths the storefronts were closed... and there had only been twelve. It seemed a lot smaller than he remembered. One store looked as dingy as the rest, but caught his eye. It wasn't selling trinkets or tobacco products or hair weaves. It was a magic shop.
Such an unimaginable addition to his childhood mall couldn't go unexplored.
Walking in, there was a counter on the left with a young girl behind it marking items, maybe twenty years old. Tony stopped and looked around. The store was not too large, was well lit, and nothing was dusty. But a smell that reminded him of theme park jungles hung around. Picking the first aisle, he browsed. Nothing looked like pranks or tricks. Everything looked more like what you would find at an exotic or fair trade shop. Silver teapots, vials, baskets, candies and masks... Why was it called a magic shop? When he got to the end, Tony walked along the back of the rows. The wall was covered in costumes... and kinky wear. Looking to the left back down the aisles, things looked much more first-world and adult. The middles aisles seemed to have a selection of all kinds of clothing in small amounts - only one or two of each thing. There were even ties and briefcases. The next aisle, as he walked had some sex toys.Then Hollywood knock-off toys and replicas like wands. He picked another row and browsed down it. Books of all types - some predictably about magic judging from the spine art and titles. Getting back to the front of the store, he got a look inside a drink refrigerator. Not everything inside was labelled in English... or a drink. The back wall to his right had chocolates and smaller packages. Tony spied a rack of condoms and went to investigate.
There were a few brands on there: Lover's Desire, Chiron, Shadow, Total Coverage... Tony saw that all the ones other than Lover's Desire had specific things written on them. The shop was already weird enough, he decided not to embrace the strangeness. Still, why not re-stock while he was here? Picking up a three-pack of Lover's Desire standards from the rack, he went to the cashier.