"You’re looking awful pale." Vi commented when the flurry had died down. She was old enough to be Joan’s mother and sometimes she couldn’t help herself.
"Why don’t you take a break? Go out the back and sit down for a bit."
"I’d rather just snatch a breath of fresh air, if that’s okay with you?"

Joan was grateful to go outside. She’d been in the shop for five hours and was getting tired. No point in sitting down though; she’d just seize up. One of the attractions of the job was its proximity to the beach, only minutes away from the seafront. She loved the muffled sounds of the sea, the cry of the gulls, the sharp, salty tang of the wind. Some days she liked to walk along the sand but not today because she wasn’t dressed for that, with her smart black skirt and shiny shoes.
Fifteen minutes later she was back in the shop.
"That’s better! You’ve got some colour in your cheeks now."
Joan held out a paper bag and shook it at Vi.
"Look what I’ve caught. A couple of big, fat doughnuts!"

Three young women were roaming around the place as if it were a museum or an art gallery, calling out and announcing their interest to each other. You sometimes got that kind of customer in a town like this. Vi raised her eyebrows and retreated to the back. When Joan took her position behind the counter, the tallest of the three was cradling and petting one of the pink fluffy poodle bags.
"It’s so cute!"
The smallest one was showing off the book she’d chosen.
"Earth Worms and their Allies, with illustrations."
Meanwhile, the middle-sized one was reaching into the window for the ashtray.
"It’s like something from Habitat, circa 1960’s."
They were happy as they left the shop. "We’ll have to buy something in every one!"
Customers were like the merchandise Joan decided, unquantifiable and varied.

The phone was ringing. Vi appeared.
"Can you get that? Everytime I answer it they hang up." Joan took the call.
"Hello. Sue Ryder. Can I help you?"