These Bills Are Gonna Kill Me...

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As Autumn began peeking through clothes, I always kept a close eye on her. She looked so cute, holding sweaters up against herself in the mirrors. Glancing over at one of the shelves, I noticed a brightly coloured coat adorned with patterns. Autumn loves bright colours, every single one of them. Pulling it off the rack, I decided against Autumn paying for it and kept the soft clothing in my arms. As Autumn walked back over to me, I saw the longing in her eyes as she felt the coat. It would look so beautifully large on her, wouldn't it?

Looking at her selection, they were all neutral shades and not even her size. "Maybe we should start looking for something that would fit you, darling. These are much too small." I told her, stroking her hair away from her face. Her face was relatively cold for a summer day, and Autumn leaned into my hand. "Alright then, I suppose we could." She responded, refusing to meet my gaze.

As we browsed through the other clothes sections, I noticed how excited she got looking at the jewelry in the display cases— especially as her eyes passed over the most beautiful asymmetrical ring, centered with an emerald and accented with real diamonds. Every time she passed by the ring, her tail wagged faster. Pulling out my phone and checking my account, there was no way I could... wait.

When I looked back at the displays, I couldn't find the ring again. Autumn was looking at shirts from bands long since parted. There was no change in demeanor from before. When she looked back at the shelves, there was a disappointment in her face seeing no emerald ring. I wished I had taken more hours at work so I could've bought it for her now. I wish I read her favorite poetry book to her at night, so I could fall asleep knowing she was safe with me. I saw her selections, clothes her size and in her style; flowery and feminine while having a punk energy radiating from it at the same time. There was also a green zip-up sweater with a sheep wool interior that was just...there. No serious styles that set it apart, but something cozy like a mother's love.

As we made our way to the checkout and the prices started piling up, something inside me withered knowing this was only the first part of our day out. Autumn winced as the numbers rose, and gave me a sheepish look. Pulling out my wallet, I started counting bills before e Zhu handing the cashier $300. "Have a nice day, you two." She said, as I returned the farewell.

Autumn bounded ahead of me gleefully as we stopped in front of a BoxStop. Her mouth started watering looking at the macaroons they offered, and she practically lost her mind looking at the boba selection they had. "Can we go, Roa? Please?" She asked me, tugging on my sleeve. I smiled at her, just glad it wasn't a steakhouse and I could fill her up here.

When I looked at the cashier, something crawled down my spine. "Hi, my name is Justin, how can I help you?" He started, not looking up from his phone. "Yes, she'll have an earl grey milk tea, and I'll just have a milk tea." I said. Could you add the Japanese Hotcake Stack, please?" I said, a lump in my throat. He looked up at me, ears flattening back and body twitching in fear. "I'll take my business elsewhere." I muttered, grabbing Autumn and walking to the

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