The next morning, Buzz sat in the waiting area of the bank, tapping his feet. He had kept the idea from Bo, but knew it was going to be great, he just needed the funding. He began to get anxious and went to check his pocket watch when he heard the door of the bank manager's office slam open. A woman walked out.
"Come along, Leonard, we're leaving. The woman said. This bank only wants to lend money to people with money." She spoke to someone, who when they stood up, surprised Buzz. The man turned out to be a dwarf, standing at a mere four feet tall. It astounded Buzz that there was such a person who looked like this man that it made him stare. Leonard, the man, took notice that Buzz was staring.
"What are you looking at, flop doodle?" Leonard scoffed. Buzz was taken back as the man walked away with the woman.
"Mr. Lightyear." The bank manager said, calling him in. Buzz gathered his things and took a seat in the office. The manager looked at his papers and looked up at Buzz. "This venture you propose, Mr. Lightyear, is risky and somewhat bizarre."
"It's a good bet, that's what that is. Buzz retaliated. Sir, people don't want to admit it, but they are fascinated with the exotic and the unimaginable, things that cannot be explained. Hence, why we feel the need to stare at it."
"The bank is going to require substantial collateral."
"Oh but of course. I wouldn't suggest it otherwise." Buzz pulls out papers from his briefcase. "Here is the deed and title to my entire fleet of trading vessels."
Buzz walks his family to the center of town as he tells Bo what happened at the bank.
"But I don't understand. She said. Why would the bank give us a loan of ten thousand dollars?"
"Turns out we had collateral." Buzz said, a sheepish grin on his face.
"What? Darling, we don't have collateral."
"Oh, but we do, in the South China Seas, deep in the south china seas." Bo gave him a look. She immediately knew the game he was playing, but went along with it.
"And just what did we buy with this loan?" Buzz stopped them and turned to an old building.
"I give you 'Lightyear's Museum of Curiosity. Come in, come in." He led them inside where a bunch of figures stood. One was a giraffe, another was a tiger, and two were famous historical figures.
"What kind of museum is it?" Evelyn asked.
"A place to be transported, Buzz said. A place to see things that people have never seen before."
"Wax figures?" Bo asked.
"They are all the rage in Europe, Bo. Look!" He went over to the two historical figures. "Marie Antoinette, Napoleon. You see? Two famous beings you've never met before. And they aren't all wax, this is the great Albert O'Brian. Master at hand."
"You don't look like a magician." Charlotte said.
"I'm a thief." Albert said.
"But a very good thief. Buzz laughed. I caught him trying to snatch my watch. But look what else?" Buzz pointed behind him.
"An elephant!" Charlotte said.
"And look at this, Buzz gasped, the tallest giraffe in the world!"
"Can I climb up it's leg?" Evelyn asked.
"Absolutely not." Buzz showed them other things and the girls went off to look around. He turned to Bo, who was not amused by her husband's con at all. Buzz grabbed her shoulders. "Hey, I know what this looks like."
"I'd be worried if you didn't." Bo said sternly.
"It just needs a bit of work is all..."
"Buzz, the loan needs to be paid every month!"
"Oh we're gonna pay, darling. We just need to spread the word and get some customers in here. We cover every inch of the city and let them know about us!" And with the help of his daughters, that's just what Barnabas did. He put up posters in every window, banners on every carriage, and handed out flyers to every person who walked past him. He even got to the point where he would offer half price to anyone wearing a hat! But no one came. People scoffed at him, turned up their noses and kept on walking. Those that had flyers balled them up and tossed them to the ground. One woman passed him the next day with a flyer.
"Garbage." She said, balling up the piece of paper and tossing it in the trash. Buzz was mortified, but kept a brave face. He went to Albert at the ticket counter.
"How many today?" He asked.
"Just three." Albert said. Only three tickets were sold? That couldn't be right. Buzz turned and saw his family, each holding up a ticket. He sighed, but gave them a small smile, happy for their support. That night, Buzz went home, exhausted and depressed that his museum was failing. Bo was already asleep on the couch. He grabbed a blanket to cover her when he saw a sheet of paper in her hand. On it was a list of their expenses. Buzz felt sick to his stomach. How could he do this to his family? He covered his wife and went to go to the kitchen when he heard Charlotte calling for him. He went into the girls room and saw they were both wide awake.
"Did you sell any more tickets today, daddy?" Charlotte asked.
"I did, just a few. Buzz said. It's Friday. People were rushing home."
"I think you have too many dead things in your museum, daddy." Evelyn said.
"Oh is that so?' Buzz asked.
"I think so too. Charlotte said. You need something alive."
"Something sensational." Evelyn said.
"Something that isn't stuffed, Charlotte said. Like a mermaid!"
"Or a unicorn!" Evelyn said.
"Unicorns aren't real!" Her sister said.
"Well neither are mermaids!" The little girl replied back. Buzz couldn't help but laugh and smile at his girls.
"Alright, to bed with you two. Get some sleep." The girls continued to argue quietly as Buzz left the room and thought about something. Unicorns and mermaids don't exist, but they were things that people had never seen before. But Buzz knew he needed something else. Something alive, something curious. That gave him an idea.
