Closed for Christmas - The Shop

The Small Business Chronicles: Closed for Christmas - The Shop

Chapter 1: Morning routine (8am-9am)

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Jack slowly woke up from his sleep and blindly searched for the blaring alarm with his hand. It finally found its target and silenced the noise. He breathed a sigh of relief once the alarm was off, setting a mental reminder to purchase an alarm with a less annoying alarm…one he would likely forget in a few moments time.

Jack looked at the clock. 8am: the same time he woke up every day. The date on the clock read December 25, 2135: Christmas day. If Jack were an ordinary person, he would have gone back to sleep and enjoyed his day off, but he was not ordinary. He was about to crawl out of bed before a noise behind him attracted his attention and put a smile on his face.

There was a lovely woman with dark colored hair in the bed beside him and she was beginning to stir following the disturbance the alarm caused.

“Hmmm, good morning,” she said, waking up gracefully and stretching contentedly.

“Good morning dear,” Jack said, rolling over and planting a kiss on her waiting lips.

“You know what day it is?” she asked with a smile.

“Yes…my favorite day of the year,” he answered back.

“Mine too,” she agreed, “Did you want to stay in bed with me a while longer?” she offered.

“I’d love to,” Jack said, “but I’ve got a lot of work to do, and my new employee is arriving later,”

“Alright, I’ll get up and start breakfast for you and Henry,” she smiled, pulling the covers off herself and getting up out of the bed. She put a robe over her scantily clad body and headed for the bedroom door.

“Thanks Gabby, I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he told her, also crawling out of bed.

He slowly took off his pajamas and looked out his bedroom window at his back lawn with the heavily wooded forest at the perimeter for several minutes before sighing and heading into the shower.

Jack was a rather ordinary looking man in his early 30s. Though he was still relatively young, his piercing green eyes framed by his jet black hair gave the impression that he was far older and wiser than he appeared to be.

Jack got out of the shower a few minutes later, taking much less time than he would have preferred. He quickly got dressed in a comfortable pair of work clothes and then headed out of the bedroom into the kitchen, where the smell of his wife’s delicious cooking invited him.

“Mmm Gabby, that smells good,” Jack said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before sitting down at the dining room table; she had already loaded the latest news reports on his tablet.

There was a young boy, approximately 8 years old, also sitting at the table, reading a book on advanced physics and engineering principles.

“Merry Christmas Henry, did you sleep well?” Jack asked him.

“Yes Jack, Merry Christmas,” Henry responded. Henry stood out in the room because his blonde hair and foreign features gave clear evidence he was not related to either Gabby or Jack. Jack was close friends with his parents after they learned their son, like Jack, was a genius. When they died in an accidental fire, Jack was granted legal guardianship of the boy in order to cultivate his growing intellect.

“Are you looking forward to presents later tonight?” Jack asked.

“Yes, but I’m also looking forward to the parade later,” Henry answered, “Do you think you could go with us this year?” he asked.

“I’m afraid not Henry,” Jack apologized, “I’ve got to thank all my employees for the hard work they’ve done for me the past year,”

“It’s alright Jack, I understand,” Henry said, just as Gabby came to the table with their breakfast, a delicious mix of potatoes, ham, and bacon covered in cheese.

“Hmm, I wait all year for this meal of yours Gabby,” Jack said, once they were all seated and eating the delicious meal.

“Well, I wait all year for this day too,” Gabby said with a knowing smile.

“I know you do,” he smiled back.

“I wish I could get my presents now,” she playfully pouted.

“I know,” Jack said regretfully, “Maybe someday we can be like most other families and open our presents in the morning, but until I can get some more help around here, this is the way things have to be,” he said, looking at Henry.

“Don’t worry Jack, I think I’ll be able to help out in a few more years when I am bigger,” Henry said.

“Don’t feel pressured to get bigger,” Jack said, “Just get smarter,”

Henry just nodded his head and continued eating.

After they all finished eating, Gabby quickly cleaned up the kitchen while Jack got Henry ready for the parade. Just as he had Henry all bundled up to protect him from the cold and snow, Gabby finished up in the kitchen and came out to join him.

“Henry, you’re looking pretty snug,” Gabby smiled as she saw him, “We’re going to have to buy you some new cold weather clothes later, if that’s alright with you dear,” she said with a sidelong glance at Jack.

“Go ahead Gabby, he is starting to outgrow them,” Jack agreed, “Aren’t you going to bundle up dear?” he asked.

“Yes, give me a few moments,” she smiled, heading into the bedroom. A few moments later, she came out bundled in a fashionable down parka with a cute looking forest green hat and matching scarf and gloves to compliment her green eyes.

“You look nice dear,” Jack said, giving her a kiss, “You keep Henry safe,” he told her with a serious look in his eyes.

“I will,” she responded with equal seriousness.

Jack then walked both Henry and Gabby to the door, opening it for them so they could head out into the cold. A thick layer of snow had fallen overnight, but the heating elements in the street and walkways had melted it to give people a safe path to walk on. Jack’s front yard was just as vast as his backyard, extending several hundred feet forward to a gate leading out to the main highway.

As Gabby and Henry headed for the car, Jack called out to them. “Have a good time!”

“We will!” Gabby called back, and then she climbed into the car and drove off with Henry into town.

Jack watched as the car pulled out of the driveway and into town, then he closed the door and headed into his bedroom. He put on a light jacket and a hat and then headed outside himself. He walked a short distance from his front door and then followed a second path that went off to the right towards a small building at the outer corner of his property. He pulled a passkey from his pocket and waved it over the security panel, unlocking the door and letting him in.

Closing the door behind him, Jack found himself in what looked like a small office. There were a few old fashioned filing cabinets next to a small array of data processing terminals. There was but one desk in the room, and sitting behind it was a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties. The odd thing about her was that she was completely motionless, looking as though she had frozen in place.

Instead of heading over to her, Jack merely smiled and then walked through a large door into a loading dock. There was another young woman standing motionless near the loading door control. Again, Jack merely passed her with a smile and passed through another large door into what looked like a general store. There was a large checkout stand with yet another motionless girl, but Jack headed straight for the front doors, where he unlocked them and walked out into the gated parking lot.

From the lot, Jack could see the highway and the motel and strip malls that neighbored him. This general store had been built by Jack’s great uncle in the center of the sprawling town, on a highway that connected the commercial/downtown district in the northern part of the town with the residential district in the southern part of town. A vast forest lay at the foot of a mountain on the eastern side of the road, where Jack’s property resided, and there were farmlands on the western side of the road.

After breathing in the cool, fresh air, Jack smiled and head back in. He closed the door behind him and then walked into the checkout stand to look at the girl. From inside the checkout stand, he could see a power cord running from the small of her back to a port in the floor. The girl standing motionless before him, as well as the other two, were androids.

Jack smiled at her as he pulled a tablet from his pocket. He activated it and then said, “Well, let’s get started,”

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