It was a slow Tuesday afternoo, one of them days where the sun was out but nobody really wanted to do much. I was at my usual spot behind the cash register at Pet Palace, just kinda watchin the front door and makin sure all the chew toyz were straight on the rack. My job aint too hard, mostly just scan stuff and smile, but you get all kinds of people in a pet store. All kinds, believe me.
My brain is good at rememberin little things, like the colors of all the cars in the parkin lot. Today, there was a real shiny blue Honda Civic, new lookin, and a faded red truck with a dent in the bumper right next to it. That truck was always there, belongs to one of the guys who stocks the shelves. I was thinkin about how that blue paint was gonna fade in the sun after a few years when the bell above the door jingled.
In walked this young lady. She looked pretty confident, walkin like she owned the place, even though it was just a pet store. She had on a bright pink track suit that was a little tight, and she was carryin one of them fancy cat carriers, clear plastic on the top so you could see the cat inside. This cat was a Russian Blue, I could tell by its grey fur and green eyes. I only know that cuz a lady once told me how much they cost, like, a lot more than my whole paycheck for a month. This girl, she was maybe 20 or 21, wore a lot of makeup, like she was always ready for a party, but her face had that kinda squinched up look, like she was already annoyed at somethin.
She came right up to the counter, settin the cat carrier down with a thump. The cat inside gave a little meow. She didnt say hi or nothin, just pointed at a big bag of special grain-free cat food we had on a display end. It was our most expensive brand. She looked at me and said, not askin, but tellin, that her cat got sick from the last bag she bought here and she wanted a new one, for free, and her money back for the old bag.
Now, I’ve heard this story a few times. Sometimes people got receipts, sometimes they don’t. This time, she just stared at me, waitin for me to magically know what bag she was talkin about. I told her I understood, but I needed a receipt to do a return. She rolled her eyes, real slow, like I was the dumbest person she ever met. She said she didn’t have no receipt, cuz she never kept them, but she paid in cash last week. And that her cat, she called it Princess, was still real sick and it was our fault.
I tried to explain, as nice as I could, that without a receipt, our store policy says I can’t give cash back. For a new bag, I’d need to see the old bag of food, and still, a receipt for a refund. She just kinda sniffed and leaned over the counter, whisperin at me like she was tellin me a big secret, but loud enough for the two other people waitin in line to hear. She said, and I quote, but not out loud, I just thought it, that she was a good customer and that she spent a lot of money here. She said she was too pretty to argue over a stupid cat food bag and that I should just do it, or she’d cause a scene.
I don’t like scenes. Scenes make my head feel fuzzy. So I told her again, real calm, that my computer won’t let me do a return without proof of purchase. She then did somethin unexpected. She unzipped the top of the cat carrier and Princess, the Russian Blue, jumped out real fast. The cat landed on the counter, then jumped onto a display of small fishbowls we had with fake plants in them. It was real quick, quicker than I thought a cat could be. Princess knocked over one of the fishbowls, and a little plastic pirate ship went rollin across the floor, right under the feet of the lady behind her.
The lady behind her gasped and jumped back. Princess then decided to try and climb up the big stack of dog food bags we had near the aisle, makin a bunch of them wobble. I knew I needed to get that cat before it did more damage, or before it ran out the front door. I looked at the young lady, who just stood there, hands on her hips, lookin at Princess like it was a show just for her. She wasn’t even tryin to grab her cat. She was just watchin the chaos she made.
I quickly pressed the button for my manager, Ms. Gloria. Ms. Gloria is usually around, but sometimes she gets caught up in the back office doin paperwork. I hoped she’d come fast. In the meantime, I tried to gently shoo Princess off the dog food bags. The cat hissed at me, a tiny little sound but still scary. The other people in line were just starin, not really knowin what to do.
The young lady then said, still in that low, pretend-secret voice, that if I just gave her the free food, she’d put Princess back in the carrier. She tried to make it sound like a good deal. I could feel my face gettin a little warm, but I just kept thinkin about all the other times people tried to pull stuff like this. You gotta stick to the rules, otherwise everyone thinks they can get away with it.
Ms. Gloria didn’t come. The light on my register for a manager call just kept blinkin slow. Princess was now tryin to climb up the shelf with the bird seed, makin little bags fall down. I knew I had to do somethin. So, I took a deep breath. I told the young lady, real clear, that if she didn’t get her cat back in the carrier right now, I was gonna have to call animal control. I said that was store policy too, for safety. She looked surprised for a second, like I actually had a brain in my head. Then her face got all red. She said I wouldn’t dare. I just looked at the phone, real steady, and started to reach for it.
She musta seen that I was serious. She let out a frustrated sound, like a deflatin balloon. She stomped over to Princess, who was busy knockin over a display of catnip toys, and roughly grabbed the cat. Princess let out a loud meow and struggled, but the girl forced her back into the carrier. She zipped it up real fast, then picked it up. She then looked at the mess on the floor from the fishbowl and the birdseed. She looked at me, then at the mess, then back at me, like she was hopin I’d just clean it up.
I just stood there, still lookin at her. I didn’t say nothin. She finally sighed, a big loud sigh like she was doin me a huge favor. She put the carrier down, walked over to the pirate ship and the birdseed bags, and started pickin them up. It took her a little while. The other people in line just watched. When she was done, she put the carrier back on the counter. She then just glared at me. I still didn’t say nothin. After a long minute, she just turned and walked out the door, the bell jinglin again. She didn’t get her money back, and she didn’t get no free cat food. And Princess made a mess she had to clean herself. I watched her drive off in that shiny blue Honda Civic, the one I had been thinkin about earlier. She didn’t even look back.
