12 Sidetracked

The lingerie shop is a few blocks away. We happily chat along the way as I notice one of those novelty weapon shops. It has a mannequin dressed like a ninja and another as a samurai. I pause and say, "hey can we go look in there?"

Mom looks over at the store and smiles, "alright, these types of stores can be fun to look at."

On the other hand, Brigit complains, "why do you want to look at weapons?"

"I just thought it looked interesting. It's a three-hour trip. We should take our time," I respond with a shrug.

Brigit kicks her foot as we look at her. "Fine!" Brigit gives in, and we enter the weapon shop.

We enter the shop and see a burly man doing curls with a dumbbell. He has a tight wife-beater shirt that shows his muscles rippling every time he moves. He doesn't even look up at us when the bell above the door rings.

I look around at the store and am overwhelmed. I thought it was just a sword shop, but there are even guns inside. Guns may be strong against fantasy world adventurers, but I might end up killing myself without proper training. I note it as something I might want to look into and start examining the swords.

Most of them are very artistic and state they aren't made for use. Most of the ones that say combat-ready are expensive. Eventually, I find a katana with a simple black sheaf that said sharpened and ready for combat.

I look over to the man running the store and point at the sword, "Is this really alright to use?"

He glances up without much interest, then replies in a deep voice, "Yeah, you want it?"

I pause for a moment and then nod, "yeah."

He nods and goes to the back and grabs a simple box with an image of the sword on it. "I need an ID. These are for 18 up."

"Sure," I pull out my ID, and after he quickly glances at it, he returns it. As I receive it, I ask, "What do I need for a gun?"

"Hmm," he eyes me for a moment and shrugs, "We're a constitutional carry state. So you need to pass the background check. It usually takes a few minutes, but sometimes it can take over an hour. Please don't ask me why I don't know."

"Oh! Ok. I was just curious," I say with a smile.

"It's better to get some basic training first. They'll also help you choose a gun that's right for you," he gestures to a flier. I'm surprised that the firing range listed was in my town. So I take it and fold it up, placing the flier in my pocket.

I then pull out a debit card and pay for the sword. Well, it's my mom's money, so it's not like I truly paid for it. I feel awkward about it, but mom always tells me not to worry.

Brigit looks at the box as we leave. "I know you've been into anime lately. But I didn't think you were getting into the culture that much."

"It's for self-defense," I explain while shifting the box.

Mom takes the box from me and mentions, "if you wanted something for self-defense, you should have gotten a taser. Swords aren't easy to use."

Ugh, I'm so dumb. I'm not sure if I'm ready to kill someone. A nonlethal thing would have been better! "Maybe you're right. Should I return it?"

Mom shakes her head, "It's fine. It wasn't that much anyway. We should go somewhere else though he didn't even offer a bag."

Their mom goes again. She always expects people to act perfectly. Well, she overlooks our mistakes and just smiles. But that makes me feel even more worthless. Like I'm not even worth scolding.

Brigit looks over at me and then mom. "Whatever, mom, we're almost to the lingerie store!"

As we reach the store, it makes me pause. It looks more like an adult sex store than a traditional underwear store. I'm honestly 100% interested now that I'm capable of using the stuff. But going in with mom?

"What's wrong, honey?" mom asks me, seemingly oblivious to the type of store this is.

Brigit has already opened the door and walked in. I guess I have no choice. I tighten my ponytail. "It's nothing," I say and follow them in.

Inside it's exactly what I expected. The walls were lined with toys and other kinky sex stuff. However, there is a distinct lack of lingerie. Well, there is the BDSM rubber stuff, but I don't think that counts.

Brigit also notices this and frowns. She walks up to a woman who is restocking some dildos and enquires, "We were told this was a lingerie store. Are we at the wrong place?" She holds out the card we got at the boutique.

The woman looks at us and smiles happily. She's wearing a sexy maid outfit from the selection of costumes available.  "We do have a lingerie section, but it's on reserve only."

"Reserve only?" Brigit questions in confusion.

"Yeah, it does say it on the card. I told her it was too small, though," the woman complains with clear frustration. "Anyways, that's not my section. I'll go get my sister and ask her if she has time. This early, we sometimes still have space."

Well, we wait. Mom grabs the card and looks. "It does indeed say that it's by appointment. How strange."

The woman comes back and says, "you're in luck. Someone canceled at three. Do you want a half-hour or hour slot? Any more than that, and you'll have to do a different day."

Mom looks at her watch and nods, "We'll take an hour. It's just about noon, so we can eat and look around a bit more, then come back."

"Perfect! I just need your contact information. I'm glad things worked out for you. I hate seeing cute girls sad," the maid shop keep explains.

"Alright, It's Dikê. My phone number is ***-***-****"

"Great. Are you all shopping then?" She looks at us quizzically.

Mom shakes her head, her luscious red hair flapping about, "Just Hedone. If we have extra time, Brigit will also pick out something."

"Ok, I'll write one person."

Even though I'm interested in looking at the sex toys, everyone else seems more interested in filling their stomachs. We leave and look up restaurants on our phones. After a quick search, we find a diner back near our car. We return and store away my weapon and head to the restaurant.