A fly buzzed lazily in the sultry afternoon air. A rolled up newspaper sailed through the air, missing it by a fraction of an inch. The shopkeeper grunted, annoyed, and resumed glaring at his customers, as if daring them to shoplift, or worse, ask for discount. The sign over the door read ‘Herman’s Modern Antiques, Est.’
A rather harried young man entered the shop, clutching a violin case in one hand, and his threadbare coat in the other.
“Established when?” he asked the shopkeeper.
“I’m sorry?”
“The sign over the door says Est. Shouldn’t it say when?”
“Should it? I dunno. What do you want, then?”
The young man brought himself back to the matter at hand. He placed the violin case on the desk, and opened it, revealing a beautiful instrument with a glossy wooden finish.
“I need a loan of a hundred dollars.”
The shopkeeper admired the item, and then said “Alright, but you pay me back a hundred and ten by the day after, or I’m selling it.”
The young man looked as if he was about to argue, but stood down and took the money quietly before leaving the shop. He had been in no position to argue with the shopkeeper, strapped for cash as he was. The shopkeeper smiled to himself. He did not feel guilty about ripping off a customer. In his view, that was what they were for. He knew all the types of people who frequented his shop; the genuine antique hunters, the browser and sifters, the shoplifters, and the desperate ones, ready to flog their dearest possessions for a quick buck.
The day progressed, relatively uneventfully, until that evening, a gentleman entered the shop. The shopkeeper immediately recognized him as one of those rich old collectors. The man browsed the wares for a while, before his eye settled upon the violin.
“Oh, I say! Thant’s a genuine Cremona! How much will you take for it?”
The shopkeeper looked surprised.
“I’m afraid I can’t sell it yet. I’m holding it as a deposit for somebody. Is it worth much?”
“At least five hundred dollars. Here’s my card. Could you give me a call when the owner returns? I would be interested in purchasing it from him”
They made a little more small talk, and then the man left. A few days later, the young man returned with the full amount due, ready to take back his violin.
“I’ll tell you what, I’ve taken quite a shine to this piece, so I’ll let you keep the cash in return for the violin. Hell I’ll even throw in another fifty buck, what do ya say?”
The young man considered his options, and then decided that his need for money outweighed his need for a musical symphony. He took the cash and left, minus a violin.
The shopkeeper smiled the oily smile of a miser who has just taken advantage of someone. So, the kid got his cash, the shopkeeper would make a three hundred dollar profit, and the gentleman would get his fancy violin. Once he managed to sell it, of course. The shopkeeper took out the gentleman’s card to call him to pick up the violin.
“The number you have dialed does not exist. Please try again later.”
