Last time, I told you all a bit about my job and the custom side of the business, which involves my inhuman clients. Of course, these custom jobs aren’t always my favorite, but most of the time, I prefer them to working with the open hours clientele. These are some of the most rude and entitled people I’ve ever met. With the custom clients, there are usually clear boundaries in place, and as long as they are respected, they will respect mine as well. The humans, on the other hand, don’t give a shit about boundaries or respect.

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So I want to tell you about the first time I ever witnessed a breach in our open hours.

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It was my fourth month on the job, and I was starting to get pretty comfortable with custom fittings. I knew the basics of measuring, note taking, and how to recommend fabrics for different skin types (do NOT give tweed to a werewolf, trust me). I was working with my coworker, Patrick, and we were waiting on our eight o’clock appointment to arrive. Patrick was mindlessly scrolling on his phone, and I was mentally preparing myself for the next hour of anxiety.

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The elevator was locked for human use, as always, but we heard the front doors open and a seemingly human voice.

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“Hello? Are you guys still open?”

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My heart dropped. I knew the client we had coming in tonight, and this voice was not his.

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“Oh shit,” Patrick hissed, dropping his phone and rushing to the floor. I ran right behind him, and we found a human man browsing the racks.

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“There you are! Do you guys have any leather jackets?”

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I’ve never seen Patrick so angry.

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“Sir,” he started, trying to keep his composure, “we have been closed for well over an hour. How did you get up the elevator?”

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“The elevator wasn’t working, so I took the stairs,” he said with an obnoxious smirk. “If you’re closed, why are your doors unlocked? Seems to me like you’re open, seeing as you’re both still here, so why don’t you just show me your leather jackets, ‘kay?”

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This response shocked me. Not necessarily the blatant rudeness, but the fact that he had taken the stairs. The staircase door was always locked, and was only accessible with the keys we carry on our necks at all times.

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“Sir, it is clearly stated on our door that we close at seven o’clock. I don’t know how you gained access to the staircase, but you need to leave. We will be more than happy to help you when we open tomorrow, but for your safety, you need to leave immediately.”

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“Excuse me? For my safety? Is that a threat? I need to speak to your manager right now. I can’t believe this. I have never been disrespected like this. I’ve heard only wonderful things about this shop, and given the prices of your pieces I would assume you would be eager to serve me!”

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With that, we heard the elevator door open. Oh fuck, I thought, and the look on Patrick’s face showed he felt the same.

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“Sir, you need to follow me right now. You will have to wait in the back office-”

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“I’m not going anywhere with you, how dare you-”

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Suddenly, the man froze. And not froze like he saw something that frightened him, I mean froze like time stopped for him. There was still a stream of spit stuck mid air in front of his angry red face. I looked around him to see our appointment, Richard, standing behind him with his golden cane touching the man’s ankle.

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“Good evenin’, folks!”

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Richard is a very short man, standing only three feet tall. He has a white beard that falls all the way to the top of his gold-studded cowboy boots, and extremely long white hair that usually drags behind him like a cap. Tonight, his outfit of choice was a pair of dark wash denim with gold detailing, a black button up shirt with gold threading, and a flashy bolo tie decorated with real rubies. This was actually toned down compared to his usual attire. The first time I met him, he was wearing a three-piece suit made out of woven gold. He spoke with a thick southern drawl, and had that classic southern charm to him.

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The most off-putting thing about him are his eyes. They are golden yellow, and are accentuated even more by his love of gold clothing. His pupils are almost cat-like, long ovals that are almost human, but not quite.

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Patrick smiled at Richard nervously.

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“Hello sir, it’s great to see y-”

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“Is this young man givin’ you troubles?” he said, tapping his cane against the man’s ankles. Each time he lifted it up, the man briefly unfroze, and I watched incredulously as the line of spit inched further from his mouth.

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“No no, not at all! He just simply was confused with our hours, I was just explaining to him-”

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“Your store hours are very clear on the door there, and judgin’ by the crimson shade he’s turnin’, I take it he ain’t welcome here.”

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“Richard, you know everyone is welcome in our shop. If you could just let me explain to him that he needs to leave for your appoint-”

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“Now, Patrick,” Richard started slowly, walking around the frozen man, careful to keep his cane on him, “I’m aware everyone is welcome here, and that’s somethin’ I love about your shop. However, I know you are aware that I believe men should be held responsible for their actions. And this young man here, the one I heard screamin’ and hollerin’ from three floors down, needs to be taught a little somethin’ about respect. This is the type of behavior I’d expect from a toddler, but a grown man? And in front of a lady nonetheless?” He motioned to me, and I already felt the guilt from whatever he was about to do in the name of my honor.

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“Richard, please-”

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“Patrick, I don’t wanna waste both of our time by arguin’ over this. Please take the little lady to the back office. I’d like to have a word with this gentleman before my appointment, if you don’t mind.” He had a sternness to his voice I had never heard before, and almost in a trance, Patrick turned and motioned for me to step in the back. I looked at Richard, who gave me a solemn nod, and decided I didn’t want to see what was about to happen.

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As we walked away, I heard the man unfreeze.

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“-you speak to me that… wait, who are you?”

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Patrick closed the office door just as we heard the man screaming.

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“What the fuck are you?! Please stop, don’t do this, oh my god HELP ME!”

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I covered my ears, trying to block out the horrifying squelching sounds coming from the floor. I was tempted to look out, convinced whatever I was imagining in my mind had to be worse than what was actually happening, but decided the sound was traumatizing enough.

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I noticed Patrick was just staring at the wall. I walked up to him carefully and waved my hands in front of his face, but he didn’t even seem to notice. His eyes began to water, and I noticed he wasn’t blinking. I assumed Richard had done something to his mind to allow his vengeance on the customer, so I closed his eyes for him.

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After about 10 minutes, Patrick opened his eyes and turned back to the door, opening it and motioning for me to exit. I carefully stepped out, and when we got to the curtain, he did the same thing, politely holding it open for me. I saw Richard standing alone, wiping off his cane with a bright red cloth.

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“I apologize, young lady. Men nowadays don’t understand how to behave themselves. It grinds my gears hearing those with no respect treatin’ kind folks like y'all as less than them. I hope this doesn’t tarnish our relationship, and I hope you understand why I had to take matters into my own hands.”

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I took a moment to look him up and down, and noticed a splash of red in his beard. I felt myself grow queasy, and hoped he hadn’t noticed my staring, with no luck. He caught my eyes, and quickly wiped it with his red cloth. I forced a smile, and decided I did not want to seem rude for staring.

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“Of course, Richard. I appreciate your efforts to protect us and our store.”

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He smiled at me, and I glanced at Patrick, who was still staring mindlessly. “If you’re ready, we can go ahead and begin your appointment! I believe in your notes you mentioned you’re looking for a new suit?”

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“That’s correct, darling,” he said with a kind smile. He approached Patrick, looked him right in his eyes, and said, “Alright son, let’s begin!”

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Patrick quickly blinked back to reality. He looked around the store in a slight panic, and after seeing the look on my face that said don’t ask any questions, let’s just do this, he smiled at Richard.

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“Absolutely! We have some new fabrics in, and our warehouse sent over a sample of our latest gold threading!”

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I was completely caught off guard by Patrick’s cheery façade, but after stealing a glance at him during the measuring, I knew he was just as scared as I was.

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After Richard left, Patrick and I spent the next hour trying to figure out what was wrong with the staircase door. We checked the lock, and sure enough, it wasn’t working. The door closed perfectly fine, but the lock was blocked by something. We tried prying it out with the key, a screwdriver, and even some sewing scissors.

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“I don’t understand, what is stuck in there?” he asked himself, getting increasingly frustrated. He began banging on the door forcefully, and I was about to yell at him to stop, but a small ruby fell out of the lock. I picked it up, and the realization dawned on me.

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“Richard? Why would he do that?”

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Patrick turned away from me slowly, silently checked the lock, and it worked fine. He then went upstairs, and I followed him quickly.

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“Patrick, why would he do that? He was so set on everyone being so respectful, yet he jams our lock?? Who the fuck does that??”

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He turned to me abruptly and I had to back up to avoid running into him.

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“Monsters. Monsters do this. He was hungry, and he must have seen this man trying to get into the store. He gave him a way in, and when the man made the decision to act indecent, he gave Richard the excuse he needed to feed. Everyone we deal with has rules, and if anyone breaks them, they pay the price. That’s the way it is. Get used to it.”

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He sounded angry, but I could see something in his eyes that gave me a chill. They looked… hollow.

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“What did he do to you, Patrick?”

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He sighed before turning away to continue packing up for the night.

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“This isn’t the first time Richard has done that to me. When his mind is set, he will make sure nothing stops him from finishing what he started. The thing is… When he has you in his mind, you see everything he sees. I saw… what he did to that man.” He looked at me carefully. “Maybe I’ll tell you tomorrow. Just be careful with Richard. He seems to like you, but you never know.”

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With that, he walked out, and left me alone with a million questions and a full store to clean.

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Since I’ve worked here, I find myself even more scared on the bus ride home. Every person I encounter gives me anxiety. If I saw Richard on the street, I wouldn’t think he was some being that can freeze people or is capable of swallowing a person whole, I would just think he is a very short man who likes gold and likes to wear colored contacts. But, knowing what I know, I find it much harder to trust strangers on the street.

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One positive thing I’ve taken from my time here, though, is just be fucking polite. It might literally save your life.

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Part 1

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9