In a China Shop

Julia clinked the fourth teacup onto its saucer, the set was complete. Her grandmother's memory would live on in the store she opened half a century before. This particular set of china would never be sold. She placed a glass case over her grandmother's set and moved to unlock the door. It was time to open the store and start the morning.

Before she reached the front of the store, she heard a rapid rapping on the door. Her first customer was here! She clicked the locks over and swung the door open to find Mateo, her husband. He was not alone, but he hadn't exactly hand-delivered her first customer of the day either. Instead, he was holding a thick, dirty rope. Her eyes followed the rope towards what it was holding. The oversized loop encircled nothing other than the neck of a young bull, the young bull that was supposed to be at home, on their farm.

"Why have you brought him here my dear?" Julia said smiling, kind of.

Mateo went on to explain that the young bull and three milking cows had escaped after Julia had left home earlier that morning. He had chased the bull first and finally cornered him just a block away. He continued to explain that he needed to leave the bull with her so that he could run back home fast enough to find their lost milking cows. She shrugged her shoulders and pointed to the metal bar underneath the flower pot that decorated the front window.

"Tie him up there and be back before siesta!" she suggested.

He half smiled and half frowned as he reminded her that today was the running of the bulls, a feat that they both hoped one day their young stud would get to be a part of.

"You'll have to keep him inside honey, I'm sorry." slurred Mateo.

"A bull. In a china shop. You. Must. Be. Kidding." she laughed. But Mateo was not laughing. In fact, desperation covered his face. Mateo knew that if something happened to their milking cows that far too much of their income would disappear to survive. One of the reasons that Julia and Mateo were perfect for each other was because they could sense the emotions of one another with near perfection. Julia knew that this situation was beyond crazy. She also knew that she had no choice but to oblige.

The store was small and there were only two aisles. The backroom was filled with her grandmother's possessions, possessions that Julia just hadn't yet had the heart to sort through. Stress barely gave way to laughter as she clunkily maneuvered the bull down the slightly larger of the two aisles and back behind the checkout counter. The bull had been uncharacteristically calm while he had been outside. He must have used up all of his energy running from the farm into town because he was usually a bull of the raging variety. Julia was certain that he had been the culprit who had broken the fence to set the captives free. The likelihood that the sweet milking cows had done so was maybe 2%.

As his horns clunked against the cash register and his backside knocked receipts off of the back table, Julia remembered that the store next to hers often left used wooden pallets outside to be picked up and hauled away. She kept her eyes on the bull as she backed towards the door. She kept both hands raised and moved them from front to back as she begged the bull to stay put. A quick poke of her head out the door revealed that the most recent stack of pallets has already been picked up. She was on her own, however, she was no longer alone.

Off in the not-too-distant distance she could see and hear the rumble of the running of the bulls headed her way. This meant two things. The good news was that her bull-sitting stint inside the store was almost over. The bad news was that a young bull was trapped inside her store while other bulls, whom he'd undoubtedly be wishing he was running with, were moments away from storming by outside. If he got spooked even once, he could do countless amounts of damage. The rumble got so close that they could both feel it now. She placed her hand on his head and gently rubbed as she prayed for him to stay calm. A snarling noise escaped his snout and his shoulders began to shake. She rubbed a little faster as her toes began to tap. The china by the front window shook as the bulls ran by. It was over. She stood in stunned silence as she pondered her lucky fate.

Before long, Mateo slowly cracked the door open, fearing what he might find. He was beyond relieved though to see Julia, still instinctively rubbing the bull's head, standing between the bull and the merchandise, everything in tact.