Something crashed loudly in the back room before I could say anything else. Glass shattered somewhere behind the curtain near the counter. Then somebody yelled,
“I TOLD YOU THE CIRCLE WAS TOO SMALL.”
Another voice yelled back, “HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW IT HAD TEETH?”
I glanced toward the curtain. And the old man closed his eyes for one long second.
“…Family business?” I guessed.
“Unfortunately,” he sighed and rubbed a hand across his face.
The curtain flew open and a younger guy stumbled out carrying an armful of candles. He had dark hair, a hoodie zipped wrong,and the same exhausted expression as the old man. The difference was that he was significantly more alarmed.
Then he noticed me. More specifically, he noticed the candles in my arms. His entire face dropped.
“Oh no,” he whispered.
I frowned. “That feels rude.”
The younger guy pointed at me while staring at the old man. “You sold them to her already?”
“Inside now, ” the old man said calmly.
“You gave her the whole set?”
“The situation developed quickly.”
“What whole set?!”
Both men turned to me. The younger guy opened his mouth. The old man stepped directly on his foot. The sound that came out of him belonged in an animal documentary.
“Family business,” the old man repeated smoothly while the younger guy folded sideways in pain.
At that point, I was starting to suspect the candles weren't the strangest thing in the building.
Unfortunately, the candles smelled really nice. That was the main reason I ignored every red flag in that shop and bought the entire box anyway. Well, that and the fact I was drunk and making questionable decisions.
The old man packed the candles into a paper bag while the younger guy continued recovering from whatever internal crisis he was having beside the counter.
“You should avoid lighting the black one first,” he muttered while rubbing his foot.
The old man sighed. “Stop talking.”
“I’m trying to help.”
“You are actively making everything worse.”
I pointed between them. “Okay, seriously. Are you people in a cult?”
“No,” both of them answered.
Too fast.
“…That felt rehearsed.”
The younger guy seemed ready to say something else, but the old man shoved the bag into my hands before he could speak.
“Have a good night, Eva.”
