He parked in the parking lot, while walking to the mall, I tried to imitate once again his particular way of walking, now each time I did it, it looked almost as if I were jumping, and I moved slower than regular walking; I was so focused with that that I didn’t notice he was way too far ahead, so I had to run to reach him. We arrived to a rotating door, I was amazed, I knew of them, but I had never step in one before. We went inside one of the spaces, but just before we arrived to the exit, we stopped, we kept pushing, but the door didn’t move; we looked around to see if something was blocking the movement, but we saw nothing; we looked at each other and shrug, then we heard someone cleaning his throat, we saw a little white man with a big nose and a hat of security guard at the other side, pushing the door, but without being able to move it, he indicate us to keep pushing in the same direction he was pushing, we did as he said, and after some seconds, we felt it moved, but I think the three of us pushed too hard, because the door spin so fast that we were pushed against the opposite crystal, finally, we were pushed out of the door, sliding with our rears through the floor, we turned to the door, but we didn’t see the security guard, I wonder if he was launched outside too; I really thanked that the Panther gave me a trench coat, even when I was wearing shorts, I wasn’t sure if anyone could maybe notice I was wearing no undies.
The first stop was the lingerie shop, but he told me he was not going in, I asked him if they didn’t allow men inside, he told me that’s not the reason, is because he will feel really embarrassed surrounded by women underwear, I was nervous because I didn’t know how to know my size, he also didn’t know, I will need help of the saleswomen for that, “Ok, that would help” I told him, “Still, I’ll need the money to pay, and you are the one carrying it”; he had to cede, to banish his worries, I took his hand, and told him that from now on, we had each other for support, with a big smile, he nodded and we went inside the shop. Once inside, the panther kept his eyes closed, while I looked the different models, then a saleswoman approached to us, I explained her that this was the very first time that I was buying underwear, and I didn’t know how to know my right size, she explained me how I could see if a size was right to me. After thanking her, I decided to go to look for some models, when I asked the Panther how many should I buy, he suggested me 12 of each piece, so I had also to wear for when we had to do laundry, so while I went to look for them, he was going to wait next the cash register to pay when I returned, I nodded and went in my quest. I got astonished with the amount of varieties of underwear existed, some simple, some very fancy, ones so padded that felt more like an armor, some inflatable (I don’t know why), and others that one wonders why they sell it if literally it covers nothing, there will be no difference between use them and go without anything, like me right now. I selected a variety that was simple, not very expensive, soft texture, and pink, just because. I returned with the panther, once he saw me, we went to the cashier, who started to registers the clothes; the Pink Panther asked me why I only selected pink colors, “No particular reason”, I replied, I saw how his mind was trying to analyze something, but in the end he just shrugs and paid.
The next stop was a clothes store, this time, the Panther helped me to make the selection, but this time, my selection was more toward blue and white clothes, with some of them with accents of pink. I took like five shirts, three shorts, two skirts and a pair of trousers. The Pink Panther took me to the dressing room, where I could try the clothes to see if they fit me, while he waited outside. I tried the clothes, some of them fit me but I didn’t think they looked good in me. Its weird, before, I didn’t think how good a cloth looked in me, I just cared that I had something to wear… maybe is because this time is someone who is buying it for me, and I wanted to look good as a way to show my gratitude, “I hope he doesn’t think I’m trying to seduce him” is what I said while I was changing to the next set of trousers, then I froze, thinking that maybe that’s the reason why he asked me about the color of the undergarment, I turned red as a tomato, I really just picked them because I thought they were nice and soft, but I never considered what impression would that give to the Pink Panther. I felt like a fool in that moment, but after some seconds, I decided to brush those thoughts away, “I’ll apologize with him later for making him feel uncomfortable with my selections, but I better hurry to try on these clothes and see what fits me better”, I said to myself. After I finished, I selected the trousers, two skits, a pair of shorts, three shirts, and also a pair of pajamas.
After that, we went to a shoes shop, I couldn’t be with my flip flops all the time, especially with how wear-off they were, so to have new shoes was not a bad idea. At first, the seller bought me some high heels, I had never used those, so trying them felt like if I were in the tight rope, the Pink Panther had to hold me because I really felt I was going to fall; I tried some sort heel synthetic leather shoes, but the sole was so hard that it was like to walk over metal, the change from flip flop’s soft sole to shoes’ hard sole was going to be a hard one. The salesman brought me some sneakers with a button in the tongue, the sole was softer than the previous pair, it was a nice change, the salesman explained me that these sneakers were using a new air technology, that when the button is pressed, air is pumped inside the sole to ease running with them, and invited me to try. I did it, but I think I overdid it, I was so excited to try it that I filled the soles so much that they inflated as balloons, and turned me upside down, making me float towards the ceiling, luckily for me, the Pink Panther and the salesman grab me and pulled me down, while the Panther hold me, the salesman untied the shoes from me, and those floated to the ceiling. I could see the salesman was becoming frustrated because he was having a hard time trying to complete the sale, then, when I turned my head, I saw a pair of simple sneakers that looked made of blue fabric with some pink decorations, I walked to them and grab them, the salesman approached, explaining that the inside was covered in foamy; I tried them, and they feel really nice, I tried them for a solid minute, I liked them, I asked if I could keep them, the salesman and the Panther agree, the Panther asked for a second pair for me, we paid and went out.
Three shops and we were carrying many things, and we still had to buy the groceries, so we had to go back to the car to leave our bags, and we returned to the mall. My stomach growled, and the Panther’s stomach followed mine, we both chuckled and he invited me to the food courtyard, he asked me if I had a special craving, I answered I could eat anything in that moment, he asked me if I had eaten pizza before, I told him not, and he said that pepperoni pizza will be then, everyone should taste it at least one in its life, and he was going to give me that chance. We ordered a familiar pizza, and took seat while we waited it. During the wait, we talked a lot, he asked me about me, but I had too little to say, just a girl who found herself trying to survive day after day, nothing interesting of mention, but I was really curious about him, with that story that he have had a lot of jobs, I wanted to know more. While we ate our pizza, he continued telling me about his life, if not were because of the events I lived the previous night, I would have think he was just trying to make himself more interesting than he was, I just could describe for what he was telling me, is that for some reason, what should be a run of the mile situation, becomes in something more, and that he also is a prankster, but only against those he saw as abusive. After we finished our pizza and buying the groceries and a dozen of socks for me, we passed in front of a book store, I saw in the window a book titled “home maiding for dummies”, I stopped while I read the subtitle “A guide with tips for all those who are dealing with home chores from laundry to meals”. I had been thinking how to thank the Pink Panther for his kindness, the least I could do is to help with home chores, I didn’t know how to do most of them, but I can learn. I was trapped in my thoughts, when the Panther approached next to me, and asked me what I was watching, I release a little scream before seeing it was him, “You scared me”, I told him relieved, he replied that he can see that, I asked him if he could buy me that book, when he saw it, he asked me why, I told him that, if we are going to live together, I can’t let him do all the chores, I could take care of the things in home to thank him for what he is doing for me, he told me it was not necessary, “But I want to do it… I want to be helpful for you, to support each other, remember?, I want you can rely on me too”; the Panther just grinned, and went inside the shop, then a couple of minutes later, he went out of the shop with book in hand, I launched to him to hug him, he gave me the book, and we proceeded to the car, and back home.
