Black Friday - A North American Insanity

A short story for your amusement and maybe to give you something to read while you stand in line today.

I don't own Bones.

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Feeling the bed shift next to her, Brennan opened one eye to check and see what was going on. Watching Booth slide out of bed, Brennan witnessed him walk over to his dresser and pull out a pair of jeans and a ZZ-Top t-shirt. Once he had a pair of socks in his hands, Brennan opened her other eye and glanced at her bedside clock.

Frowning, Brennan asked, "Do we have a case?"

Startled, Booth turned to face Brennan, "No, go back to sleep."

Curious, Brennan sat up and asked, "If we don't have a case then why are you getting dressed at 2:30 a.m.?"

Poking his tongue in his cheek, Booth flicked his eyes at the ceiling and then replied, "It's Black Friday."

Turning, Booth walked towards the bathroom.

Brennan, still not clear on what was going on, "What do you mean it's Black Friday?"

Walking into the bathroom, Booth called out, "Hey, some of the games Parker wants are on sale this morning; so, I have to be there when the store opens or I'll miss out. Plus, I want to buy Christine that new Dancing Bear and I think that my only shot to get one for her for Christmas is today. None of the stores can keep the damn thing in stock and I refuse to pay what those locusts on e-bay want."

"Booth, it's ridiculous to get up this early to go shopping. We've been bombarded for the last week with ads for Black Friday on TV, in the newspaper, on the radio and on the internet. It isn't worth getting up at 2:30 a.m. to buy a toy at a discount price."

Walking back into the room, jeans and socks on, t-shirt in his hand, "Not to you Miss Moneybags; but, it is to me. If I can get my stuff for half price then losing a little sleep is worth it. I don't have to be at work until nine today; so, I have time to shop, come home and take a nap before I have to go in."

Sighing, Brennan slid off of their bed, "This is crazy."

Pulling his t-shirt on, Booth asked, "Go back to bed. I should be back by six."

Shaking her head, Brennan grumbled and walked over to her dresser, "I'm going with you."

Shaking his head, Booth protested, "Bones, go back to bed. I don't want you to miss your sleep. Besides, someone has to stay home and watch Christine."

"No Booth, we're a family. If you're going shopping at 2:30 a.m. then we're all going shopping at 2:30 a.m., you, me and Christine."

Scratching his head, Booth smiled, "I'll go warm up the truck, dress warmly, it's 38 degrees outside and we'll be standing outside the store for a couple of hours."

Jerking around, Brennan protested, "38 degrees? Are you insane?"

Laughing, Booth jogged out of the room and then downstairs. Muttering imprecations, Brennan hurriedly got dressed and then walked down the hallway to Christine's room to dress her sleeping toddler.

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Seeing her child's breath mix in the air with her breath, Brennan turned to look at Booth, "Booth, there are over two hundred people in line in front of us, I'll pay you whatever you want if you'll take me and Christine home. I'll buy the games Parker wants at whatever price they cost and I'll pay what the locusts want on e-bay for the Dancing Bear even though I think it's a bad idea to give a child a dancing bear."

Looking into Brennan's cold face, Booth felt guilty for making her stand outside a store in the cold. Looking down at his bundled baby, Booth sighed, "Yeah, well, they'll probably grab all of the cool games before I can get to them anyways. . . . Let's go."

Turning, Booth put his hand on the small of Brennan's back and pointed out into the parking lot. A teenager, glad that two rivals were leaving, called out, "Wimps."

Turning towards the teenager, Brennan stalked over to the mouthy kid. Glaring, Brennan replied, "I would advise you to learn better manners."

Seeing the icy eyes boring into him, the young man swallowed hard, "Sorry."

Booth, shaking his head, called out, "Come on Bones. Don't hurt the boy."

Giving the teenager one last evil look, Brennan turned and walked away. The teenager, crossing his arms across his chest, thanked God that the big guy had called off his wife. For a minute, he had actually been afraid that he was going to get hurt. Feeling an elbow poking his ribs, the kid turned to look at his best friend who complained, "I've told you a thousand times, some day that smart ass mouth of yours is going to get you killed."

Clearing his throat, the mouthy teenager nodded his head, "Yeah, I see what you mean."

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A little story about the insanity known as Black Friday. I normally participate every year; but, this year, I gave it a pass. I decided that I really didn't need anything that required me to go shopping at 5 a.m. surrounded by thousands of frantic shoppers.