June 22, 2021: Irreplaceable Pt. 2

Edit: Fixed Links

Continuation of June 20, 2021: Irreplaceable  

Pt. 1 

"Do you want a baby carrier for that Bear?" asks Anthony, as we walk around the beautiful Europa center. It seems like a great idea to me but I can tell he's being sarcastic.

"You're the one who wanted to immediately go shopping," I said, rolling my eyes. "This is the third shopping center we've been too, and we haven't even gone three thousand meters!"

"Okay, okay," he says, "We'll go to the Zeiff store. Where is it again?"

"Like, a ten minute walk up the Kurfürstendamm."

"What did you call me?"

"Knock it off, you goof," I say, punching his arm. "You should at least learn the street names while you're here."

"Whatever," he says, holding up his shopping bags. "I've got what I wanted. Now all I need is a McBurger's Heartstopper and I'll be happy."

"Charming," I say, rolling my eyes again. "You are clearly a man of culture."

Ten minutes later, I can see the oversized stuffed bear that graces the entrance of the store.

"Are we there yet?" asks Anthony. "My arms are about to fall off!"

"Yes, right here," I say. I have refused to help Anthony carrying any of his stuff, and I'm pretty sure it's the only thing that stops him from buying more stuff. When we walk inside, he practically collapses on the floor, but I'm too in awe to care. On every shelf and table there is row upon row of fluffy friends.

"Look, WooWoo Bear, how many brothers and sisters you have!"

"Sir, can I help you?" asks a concerned attendant in a button-up uniform as my boyfriend struggles to right himself.

"He's fine," I say. "He's just being dramatic. Anthony stop embarrassing us."

Anthony sits up, and huffs. "You're the one carrying that bear around everywhere," he said, muttering to himself.

"Oh! A vintage bear!" says the attendant, spotting WooWoo Bear. "May I see?"

"Holy moly! Look at these prices!" says Anthony loudly enough to make people turn their heads.

"It's quality," I call over to him. "You're talking about one of the finest bears money can buy." He backs away slowly, as if he is in a fine China shop and afraid of breaking something.

"Yes," says the attendant. "It is indeed quality. Oh it's such a treat to see an old friend return. Yes, I think he was sold at this store too. A very rare one, this. Part of our eternal youth line."

"But he's not looking too young right now, I'm afraid," I say, taking him back and looking at his threadbare muzzle. "That's why I came all the way from the U.S.A. I want to bring back his youth, in a manner of speaking."

The attendant smiles. "You flew all the way here for that, hmm? He must really be special. Although most people would have shipped their bear."

"Oh, no, this bear never leaves my sight. And he must be repaired by the hands that made him. None other will do. He told me himself."

The attendant gives me a strange look and after a moment's hesitation he smiles again. "Well, you've come to the right place. We offer a repair service for all our fuzzy friends. Only... we don't do the repairs here. We send them off to the Steiff factory in Giengen an der Brenz."

"Oh no," I say. "That won't do at all. Is there... I mean do they... Listen, I know this is a strange request, but do you think if I take him there, they'll let me watch as he is repaired?"

The attendant thinks for a second. "Believe it or not, you aren't the first one to ask this. In fact, strangely enough, this particular model has been showing up more and more often for repairs. I suppose it has been almost 30 years since they were in circulation..." The attendant muses for a while and finally took me to the counter and wrote down a number for me to call.

"You can call here and arrange for your friend to be repaired. I hope you can change your hotel reservations because it's a bit of a drive."

"Pack your bags, Anthony, we're going to Giengen!"

"Are you serious?" he says, but I grab him by the collar and drag him along. "Hurry up or no  McBurgers for you!"

"Hold on!" says the attendant, before we leave. Anthony and stop and look at each other. "I saw you eyeing that stuffed badger," he says to Anthony. "Don't be shy about it."

"Oh, ho!" I say, crossing my arms and smirking with a satisfied grin. "Sounds like somebody wants a plushieeeee."

Anthony blushes. "Y-yeah... He's... kinda cute. And... I don't know..."

"Come one, Anthony," I say, grinning. "Spit it out. And what?"

"It's gonna sound weird but he kinda... speaks to me, ya know?" I know exactly what he means. "But I could never afford that..."

I look down at the loads of shopping bags he's carrying then back to him in disbelief. "Come on, really? And how much did you spend so far?"

Even the shop attendant can't suppress a grin at his obvious bashfulness around wanting a plush toy of his own. "It's perfectly all right," they say. "Our fluffy friends are enjoyed by people of all ages."

"Yeah, but..." he begins. He's fidgeting with his hands and looking like a bashful little boy who got caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

"No buts," I say, picking up the badger and pulling out my wallet. "This one's on me."