Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Author: Prodigy S.
Title: Nice Dreams, Tuning In...  003 (M inc nosex ScFi)
Summary: In the future, a man discovers there is more to do in life than
pleasing his daughter.  There's always that, though...
Keywords: inc, nosex, ScFi
Universe: World Family Group
   Word Count: 996 Series Word Count: 3103
   Chapter 3
   Stephen Barrowman knew what mall Hilda was talking about because it was
the only one within walking distance.  Did it have a name?  He didn't think
he had ever been in it before.  Not a mall person.  He had only lived in
this neighborhood for two years, since the separation.  Hilda lived with
him half the time for the first year, then barely any amount of time the
second.  Until now!
   The thought of that other name crept into his mind as he walked. 
Someone named Ace her mother was seeing, huh.  Crept into his mind because
Mr Barrowman was a talent at not letting thoughts take over his field, and
he knew this could be a bad one.  Better take time and care in ascertaining
his role.  Keep Hilda's life at my apartment more separate.
   He wondered what she was doing at the apartment right now, then stopped.
Had he already tread onto unstable ground here?  Was it obvious to everyone
who looked at his face what he was thinking?  No one around right now.  Was
that unusual?  He should skip driving more months.
   When he thought he was within a quarter mile of the mall district he
pinged his expense accounts for the last year focused on his daughter's GPS
trail in the vicinity, then subtracted data from the mall itself, since it
was closed already.  Sure enough, the network came up with two purchases
and an incidental.
   The first purchase was pet-related; she didn't ever tell him about that,
he'd have to ask about that too.
   The second purchase was at a store called Jellyblatt.  Never heard of
it. The way she described these stores around the mall he thought they
might be full-blown XXX shops, but apparently they were just risque.  He'd
find the answer to that riddle in a few minutes in any case.  The
incidental: a traffic light request.
It was a low two-story affair, black cage with yellow boxes design. 
JELLYBLATT, the Home Ec Store.  That didn't sound too bad.  In terms of his
mood, in that way, it didn't look too good.  Well, let's see what the
purchase was exactly.
   The network hadn't shown him any image of the purchase, just the
barcode, because that's what he asked for.  Didn't want to spoil it!
   Ding.  Entrance chime.  No greeter, electronic search in the foyer,
cleared adult entrant.  Sent data to store network, light trail to section
of store where product is located.  Inside the store, little bits where
humped up on stilts in their own secondary cages, hundreds of square feet
here and there.  In the middle was a large caged-off area for management,
it looked like.
   Almost there, stairs, hone in on, zoom, got it.  Now at first he thought
he had it wrong because the box was the wrong size for any amount of
clothes, really.  It was a flat box not much bigger than a magazine.  The
clothes!  What kind are they, man?  Hold on a second, read the fine print,
ah, they send the clothes over customized from the factory to home
separately after purchase.  The magazine sized box must contain a magazine
sized product customizer, a catalog of sorts.  That was traditional in
those days.
   He had a knack for selective info analysis.  It was mostly his job in
Atlantisco, if not his lot in life.  He could pretend away blobs of data
for future observation almost perfectly.  Part of that was
network-supported, part of that was in his DNA, he guessed.
   Seeing the clothing image now...  Not bad, he thought.  Purple vinyl boy
shorts, matching halter top.  Bare midriff, all the legs, all the arms, up
to the wearer to fill it out, and she wouldn't, not much that is.  His
daughter's tits had, let's say, hadn't started yet.  Really hadn't started
yet!  Something to look forward to.
   Okay, so this item, he wouldn't mind it at all but it just wouldn't do,
'cause it wouldn't arrive 'til the morning if he purchased it at this hour.
What else, then?  Should he call her and ask?  Hmm, no, make command
decision.
   Looking around in that section, it was one of only a very few clothing
options for that product line.  Explore the rest of the store.
   He picked up a fluffy red robe for her and brought it to the register.
   "Can you hold this for a few minutes?"
   "No problem."
   "Who's that?" he asked, pointing at a blonde in the management cage.
   The register worker turned around less lackadaisically than tiredly. 
Probably drugs did that.
   "That's Jenny Jellyblatt."
   "Is she the owner?"
   "Boss's daughter."
   "She's not your boss?"
   "Not exactly."
   "What's the boss's name?"
   "Did you like lose something or what?  What's your deal?" Yeah, drugs
would do that.
   "Just answer the question, I'm a paying customer here."
   "I think it's just Jellyblatt."
   A jean-jacket-wearing secret-shopper type just passing by interjected.
"No, it's Rugarth."
   The register guy broke into a toothy smile.  "Rugarth Jellyblatt, that's
it." Proud of himself and Mr Barrowman didn't mind.  "I knew that,"
register complimented himself.
   "Thank you," Stephen bowed.  Come back later and sell some product. 
Never hurts to pick up a lead.
   Free from the encumbrance of the robe, he continued shopping.  There
were a few adult items but mostly cooking, party, refrigerator magnets,
useless toys.  Then he found the big people toys.  Yes, those kind of toys.
It was in a marginally-protected space near one of the walls.  Walk through
a doorway into another world deals.  Like the porno section at an old video
store.  Seen one in a documentary, just kidding, we still had videos.
   Dildos/vibrators, feelers, smellers, all of that stuff.  Lubes and
candles and standees.  Posters and cupcakes and incense.  Over there, a
clothing menagerie.  One rack of tops, boxes of deliverables, and yes,
bikini kind of things on hangers.  Well that would just have to make do,
now wouldn't it!
   *** End of Chapter 3 ***
  
chapter003