A vintage what-now?

[Karen Queen]

It was one of the slower days in the shop so Karen took the extra time to work on restoring an antique music box she had gotten a hold of not too long ago. It was in a bit of a rough shape, but she didn't feel like it was beyond hope. Not in the least. It just needed a good amount of attention and some patient cleaning. The outside of it had been the easiest to fix, it having been a cherry wood that needed a little polishing and de-splintering. That had been done earlier in the morning. Right now, she had taken it's guts out and was working on getting the gunk and tarnish off of the parts. Of course, she had each intricate piece in it's own little pocket in a tackle box she used for such tasks as these so not to misplace anything.

The bell jingled, not too loudly, but enough to get her attention. Looking up, she took a look at the man who had come through before looking back down long enough to transport the work tray down and behind the counter onto the shelf she had a space for it on. In the same motion, she took at the bathroom banned list to see if his face matched any of the photos attached to it before coming back up with a welcoming smile.

An actual adult. How rare was that? It seemed like mostly teenagers passed through here unless it was those people who came to pick up a piece they had reserved, or the few serious collectors that passed through time to time. What kind of customer would he be, she wondered. Browser? No, he looked like he was searching for something. Serious collector? Possible, even if he didn't look like the usual type. Hopefully he wasn't looking for an antique music box, she thought to herself with a mental chuckle.

"Do you need any help?" She asked, her tone balancing between business and friendliness.

[Christopher Flint]

His fingers tapped against the steering wheel as he sang along with the radio. He was enjoying the ride and a bit of his alone time. He’d had a fair amount of work lately, but got a hold of a project he hadn’t been expecting. Fixing up a great vintage chevy that had a pretty substantial accident. It was mainly aesthetic damage, in truth, but a great deal of it. Warping the metal back into place was easy enough, but it was making his joints feel stiff and old. He needed a break, and to go out and look for a piece that he didn’t have in stock: The old 1940’s Chevy hood ornament (Key to any sale of an old car). It was nice when things worked out nicely like this, and he figured he could kill two birds with one trip out of the shop. He decided to take his time trying to find it at some of the local junk yards before he’d look on the internet. Usually he could get a good deal from the locals. The old, 1940’s chevy hood ornament. Victory, he thought. The sprinting woman-like statue.

“She’s my cherry pie! Cool drink’a water such a sweet surprise, taste so good make a grown man cry! Sweet Cherry pie…” He belted to himself while drumming more fiercely as the song came on. “Play it for me Turner…” He spoke to the radio as he came to a stop behind a jeep. He looked around some while bobbing his head until he noticed a store. One he had seen a number of times, but for some reason never really went into. He didn’t often have reasons, he assumed, but… He could take some extra time to stop in. King and Queens Antiques… He wasn’t sure if you’d consider seventy years old as antique, but a stop wouldn’t hurt. He flipped on his blinker and turned into the nearest parking space when he was able to go.

He slipped on his faded leather jacket and grabbed his dark brown trilby before patting his legs to make sure he was armed with his phone, wallet, and keys before making his way down along the sidewalk. When he entered the door and the little bell jingled, he smiled for some reason. It was nice, and kind of old fashioned. It made sense for an antique shop, but heck it wasn’t the electronic beeping thing that most stores had. He appreciated it. Some old school charm, even at the entrance.

He looked over to the counter and did a quick double take when he saw who was behind the counter. Well she was… something, he thought. Quite the looker, though he wouldn’t really say or think too much about it. She was probably ten years younger than him, he could guess from a glance. He turned his attention to some of the wares, which were elaborately placed in display cases or set up to look old and unique. When she called him, however, his attention returned to her.

He made his way to the counter with a bright smile, hoping to defuse any imposing first impression he may have given off. “Hey there… Nice things here, but yeah I’m actually looking for something in particular.” He had an accent that gave away his Vermont origin. He sounded like he had been here for some time. “A vintage 1940’s Chevy hood ornament? You don’t happen to have any do you?”

[Karen Queen]

He seemed friendly enough, if his smile was anything to go by. But, having grown up in New York, she knew better than to put all her belief in a smile. But then again, she had a button on the underside of the counter if this turned out to be a robbery. That, and she could get the hell out of dodge if things turned out to where an emergency exit was needed and she needed to teleport out of there. But, those weren't surface worries in her mind right now. In fact, she wasn't even at all tense. Her head was level, and she was collected and calm.

"Nineteen forties?"

She gave a small shake of her head.

"Actually, I don't carry anything younger than a hundred years old here." She told him honestly rather than trying to string him along and get him to buy something else.

"But, I know someone who may have one available for purchase, and if you don't mind waiting two to three days, I can have one in for you" She added.

Her grandfather would more than likely have a few in storage. Maybe she should start letting in younger items to her shop..? Nah, she did well enough with the shop as is. Anyways, she always could get with her connections to gain access to the items of her customer's desire that she didn't have readily available. That was, assuming the customers felt like waiting for it to arrive.