Minding The Potion Shop

Prompt from DailyPrompt.com

Oh god I never should have agreed to this. Vel made it sound easy! Went on about how she never gets customers this time of year and I’d just be watching the shop and keeping things clean but noooo it’s been manic. I swear if that frog woman comes back ONE MORE TIME I’ll-

Someone’s ringing. Not a phone - though Vel does have an oldie-style phone installed in the back, god knows if anyone ever calls it. Most of her customers just use the brass bell which hangs next to the front door.

CLANGITY CLANGITY CLANG CLANG the sound makes me shudder.

But I don’t want to let Vel down. Mostly because she’s my best friend but also because she’s a witch and especially since I’ve now seen the kind of stuff she has access to.

So I answer the door.

It’s a goose. Of course.

“You’re not Madam Velma!”

It is an observant goose.

I throttle back all the snark which springs to my lips. It’s not the goose’s fault that I’ve had a harrowing four days. They don’t deserve to get mocking cracks like ‘ooh a detective goose’, that would be ghastly customer service at the best of times.

Throttling four days of pent-up stress takes just long enough for the silence to be awkward. “Um.”

The goose shuffles their feet. “Oh goodness, where are my manners? I’m Frank. Is Madam Velma in? I urgently need a prescription filled.”

Aha I am vindicated he is a nice goose.

“I’m afraid she’s out. Family wedding.”

“Oh. Who is it this time?”

Apparently he is a nice goose who knows Vel’s family holy fuck I’m so glad I kept my customer service face on.

“Her sister Gwen.”

“Again? Well… I shall send congratulations.”

WTF do you mean ‘again’?? Vel made this sound like a once-in-a-lifetime event!

Frank gives a half-swallowed honk which I assume is the goose equivalent of a polite cough. “But, er, who’s doing prescriptions then?”

“I am, if they’re standard.” I offer my best reassuring smile, painfully aware of how un-witchy I look despite this uniform. “Anything you need mixed up will have to wait until she’s back at work Monday. Or, uh, there was an address listed for urgent-”

“That would be Tobias’s place.”

I did not know that gooses could grimace.

“There is NO WAY I would go to that reprobate for such a delicate issue! He would see me socially destroyed!”

What issues would lead to talking goose ostracisation? It’s almost certainly inappropriate to ask BUT on the other hand I’m meant to be helping him so…

“Would you like to come in and explain, and I’ll see if I can do anything?”

“I - well - alright.”

Frank waddles in and clambers up on one of the dozen differently-sized stools. Offering accommodations is a nightmare when your cliental have such varied forms.

“Y-you see, I… I need an anti-love potion.”

“For you?”

Frank’s head bobs about in a shaky nod. “There, there’s this swan boat…”

Prompt was “One evening a goose arrives on your porch. He tells you his name is Frank and he must come in.”