Chapter Fifty-four – 'I promise'

"Is that a car coming towards us?" Bart was either messing with Comic Book Guy, or there was actually a car coming, and he was trying to hurry them along.

Comic Book Guy pressed the roll icon on the MyPad and loud booms echoed across the sky. "Lucky number seven." Comic Book Guy replied. "This could be our lucky day after all." He hoped it would be, but it was too soon to tell. "Ready to see where we end up?"

Bart was already in his miniature silver wheelbarrow, waiting for Jeff to climb in his... which may take a minute...

"Can you take this? I'm having trouble this time..." Comic Book Guy tossed the MyPad to Bart as he finally fell into the larger silver wheelbarrow. He repositioned himself to be upright, facing forward. "Onward!"

The wheelbarrows slowly accelerated as Comic Book Guy wondered who else would join his team. Bart was a good teammate so far. He found important non-game related information, can walk up stairs in a single breath, probably something else valuable in time.

They took one last, and hopefully not final, look at the run-down brick building housing large barrels full of... something they didn't confirm. Could it be chocolate root beer rocket fuel, or it might actually be a vintage Cabernet Sauvignon? Whatever it was, someone needed to find out...

The silver tokens made a right turn as Bart looked around for the car he thought he saw, the delivery truck, or anyone else who would wonder why they are there. The thought of other players being around was on his mind as well.

"Look!" Bart called out to Comic Book Guy. "I pressed the MyPad and a menu came up."

Comic Book Guy stretched his neck to see what Bart wanted to show him, but his wheelbarrow was slowly losing ground to Bart's miniature ride. "Go faster." He tried to persuade the automatic movement to catch up to Bart.

The harder he tried, the further back he fell. There was no catching up to Bart, who wanted to show the newest secret of the game. "Can you hear me?" He yelled at the distant Comic Book Guy. "I have a question... just answer yes or no." He studied the MyPad screen and had clicked on the menu item labeled 'Offers' because it had a one next to it. "Luann wants..."

But his words filled an empty street as Comic Book Guy's wheelbarrow made a turn at the previous intersection, while Bart continued straight. His partner was now gone. His token kept going, he still had the MyPad, but he wasn't the actual game player.

"And he's gone..." Bart didn't know what to do, so he focused on the MyPad again. "Let's see..."

Carefully, he studied the proposed trade from Luann. It seemed fair, a one-for-one trade: Connecticut Avenue for Kentucky Avenue. Bart shrugged, as calling the properties by names didn't mean anything to him. It didn't help to show him Kentucky was red and Connecticut was light blue.

There had to be something else... he eventually tapped on the name Connecticut Avenue, and a pop-up window showed him a wooden pier with an archway for the entrance and an anchor in the background. "Pass." He tapped back and chose the title for Kentucky Avenue.

He gasped as a picture of a run-down three-story brick building appeared.

"The Box Factory..." Bart instantly recognized where he had come from and the property he thoroughly explored before finding Comic Book Guy. "Wait a minute..."

The MyPad was giving him a golden opportunity. Luann didn't have half the knowledge him and Jeff had acquired during the last day. The Box Factory was pivotal to finding out what the chocolate root beer rocket fuel was for, along with Luigi's barrels in the wine cellar.

"She is offering us the Box Factory if we give her the Squidport. This is a no-brainer." Bart's eyes lit up as two choices appeared on the screen: Accept or Decline. Slowly, he moved his finger towards the right answer, the answer which helped him and Comic Book Guy move one step closer to solving the mystery of this world. One button from...

But in a stroke of bad luck as if the wheelbarrow knew his intention, the silver token hit the curb as it drifted too far and Bart hit the Decline button, closing the deal of the century.

"No!" He frustratingly slammed the MyPad against the edge of the wheelbarrow. The screen went blank. All the shaking in the world would not turn it back on. "Come on. Come on." Nothing was working. What would Comic Book Guy think of this...

"Bart!" The wheelbarrow team leader rejoined Bart at the next intersection. "Thank goodness I found you... well, I guess we took different routes through the city."

"I need to tell you something..." The boy was slow to admit what happened. He was sure Comic Book Guy would blame him and might dismiss him from... "The MyPad showed a trade offer from Luann to trade her the Squidport for the Box Factory. I wanted to... but... but... the wheelbarrow hit the curb and I declined. I'm really sorry."

Comic Book Guy could see the frustration on Bart's face. Instead of disapproval, he was appreciative of Bart's help. "It's alright." His tone was lighter. "There will be other chances."

The wheelbarrows raced down the street and the scenery barely changed before they came to a long strip mall with a huge parking lot. None of the smaller stores were open this early in the morning, but the one with steel bars over the windows was.

"This must be it." Comic Book Guy called out to Bart as the wheelbarrows circled the parking lot and cam to a halt in the second spot from the entrance, just beyond the handicapped space. "We couldn't have parked one space closer. I had one of those special hangers..."

Bart shrugged and jumped out with the MyPad. "You have arrived at a Special Space." It announced and showed the seven spaces they traveled in addition to the ten spaces they went to the restaurant previously purchased before disappearing. The tiny sidekick rapidly tapped at the MyPad screen to revive the display, but it was too late.

"Let me try." Comic Book Guy grabbed the MyPad from his hand. "How do I... where... oh, forget it." He gave it back to Bart. "You take this... kids seem to know more about hand-held electronics than adults."

The time was relaxing was over. Bart was already looking through the secured windows at the glorious prizes inside. "This thing said we arrived at a special space and there are numerous treasures inside. Let's go."

Bart wanted to pull Comic Book Guy along, but that would prove impossible. "Go on ahead of me. I'll catch up." Half of Bart would have run ahead and got lost in the store.

But the half playing the game as Comic Book Guy's partner was a kinder, gentler boy. "Let me get this for you." He held the door open and saw the glory which awaited them.

"Holy Batman! You see all the expensive things in here?" Jeff asked Bart as he entered the building. "Where do we start?"

This was a new property and the Burns statue could not be seen from the front door. It was time to explore, one of the things Bart was good at. The idea pulled him away from Comic Book Guy, but he decided to stay with him. They were a team, and Bart was taking it seriously.

"Lead the way, big man. I'll be right beside you." Bart suggested. "Let's go other there." He pointed to the makeup counter full of every cosmetic known to man.

Mirrors, scents, brushes, and plain-looking boxes lined the countertop as Comic Book Guy approached. "I don't need any of this stuff." It was all too fancy, and probably expensive, so his eyes traveled around the store. "The smelly scents are too strong for this nose, and the makeup makes me look like a clown. Next!"

"Everything is currently on sale..." A soft voice came from behind the counter. A young saleswoman stood up and handed Jeff a black spray bottle. "Try this..."

And he did, then coughed. "Ugh. Musty and dark. No thanks." Bart coughed as well as the smell hit his nose. Jeff set the bottle down and continued his visual journey around the store.

"Maybe you need..." She bent down and pulled out a matching red bottle. "...a scent for that special someone."

"The only special someone is in a different place, and I hope to get back to her one day." Comic Book Guy remembered the one girl he had first met down by the river and the tomacco field: Brandine. The light bulb went off... "I should get something super special for Brandine."

"In that case, go to the display case beyond the purses. There are better gifts over there." The saleswoman disappeared as quick as the holograms did. Bart took a step in that direction and stopped until Comic Book Guy started moving that way.

She was right. The gifts got shinier and more expensive the further they walked. Purses were nice and name-brand, but the display case looked too rich for their blood. The pricier the item, the faster the service.

"Yes! Hello! How may I help you?" A bright-eyed, smiling businessman greeted them. "I'm Mr. Costington, the owner and mayor of this wonderful pawn shop, flea market, yard sale, and department store. What are you looking for?"

From junk to luxury, this place had it all... but Comic Book Guy wanted the finest gift for Brandine. "I'm looking at this... expensive looking jewelry and wanting something nice for a special girl..."

"I have just the thing." Mr. Costington pulled out a diamond ring with a stone around four carats. "The finest..."

"A bit too much. Not even going to ask how much. Next!" Comic Book Guy was slightly annoyed, starting at the top, and having to negotiate down. "I need something more affordable."

The next choice was unacceptable. Why Mr. Costington put a cubic zirconia on the counter showed how cheap the items from the yard sale would sell. "How about a nice birthstone neck. I can have two stones put in a necklace. You like turtledoves?"

There was a significance to turtledoves, but Comic Book Guy didn't know it. Two meant partnership, and that's all that mattered. "What stones? I have multicolored stones embedded in a glove in my shop."

"Not those stones!" Bart corrected him. "He means birthstones, like my mom has in a bracelet. Five stones for five family members."

"Exactly! Five stones which can destroy the..." Comic Book Guy missed the point as Mr. Costington directed him back.

"We have your choice of garnet, amethyst, aquamarine, diamond, alexandrite, ruby, peridot, sapphire, tourmaline, citrine, and topaz..." The jewelry expert recited in one breath. Bart counted on his hands and only came up with eleven.

Comic Book Guy confirmed. "You missed the most important stone: emerald." He corrected.

"Your girl's?" Mr. Costington playfully asked. "I can make sure we have emerald in stock.

"Not hers... mine." There was a slight tone from Comic Book Guy as his birthday was more important than anyone, but the thought crossed his mind. "I don't know hers... so this necklace won't work."

This was disappointing. He wanted a gift for her, but could not make a one-in-twelve guess. He paced along the display case, looking for a substitute gift. Nothing had price tags. Everything was shiny. Choices were overwhelming. There had to be an easier way.

He glanced at Bart, who shook his head. Bart wasn't old enough to pick a piece of jewelry for a girl. His mother only wore the same set of red pearls Homer had given her decades ago.

"Do you have any more suggestions?" Jeff asked the man in the suit behind the display case. "Some nice, inexpensive, and shiny."

"Yes! Wait here." A smile engulfed his face. Around a corner, he disappeared then reappeared after a minute. He placed a single small box on the counter. "This..."

The mystery box was inviting. What was inside?

Comic Book Guy lowered his head to get a closer look. Ever so slowly, he opened the present and the light caught the gemstone set on the ring. "What is this?" His jaw dropped at the presence of a very shiny stone. There was no price tag attached to the box, nor was a sticker indicating the damage.

"Whoa man!" Bart was instantly impressed. "We can't afford that."

"You're right." Jeff conceded, shut the box, and set it back on the display case. "Two things..." He counted on his fingers. "One... not looking to propose. I spent part of a day with her and had a nice conversation down by the river. Two... I already turned down a diamond. Too expensive for my blood..."

Mr. Costington was quick to step in. If he worked on commission, he wasn't losing this sale. "I can solve both of those issues." The salesman was ready. "This is not an engagement ring. It looks like it could be used as an engagement ring, but it's actually the step before that. You want to show your Brandine how much you care... just promise." He emphasized the last words.

"What's a promise ring?" The boy questioned, as he had never heard of promising with a ring. "What are you promising?"

"Promising to be there through the good times and the bad ones." He reopened the box for the light to refract and reflect off the gem. "Secondly, it's not a diamond. It's a new gemstone. Better than all other gemstones, cheaper than most, and the shiniest of them all." The sales pitch was complete. Time to close the deal. "...moissanite."

It sparkled like a diamond, but the price tag didn't. "How much cheaper are we talking?" Now was the time to negotiate. With no starting number, where does one begin?

"I'll tell you what..." Here goes Mr. Costington. "Since you are the first customer on this sunny morning, I'll make you a deal..." Here it comes. "Take this ring to the register in the front and tell them this ring is on special discount today."

It seemed too good to be true. Bart turned and took half a step towards the register before Costington changed his mind. "Let's go, man."

"The boy is right. Good luck." Mr. Costington left the counter and vanished behind a display of purses.

"This is only half of my plan. We still have to find a way back to her..." The thought lingered as Comic Book Guy followed Bart to the front of the store, which was the logical place the registers would be. They were right, except for...

"The statue..." Bart was surprised and not surprised at that moment.

"Every space has a statue. That's how the game knows how and when to proceed." Comic Book Guy placed the MyPad into the hands of the statue, and a yellow hologram appeared. This was a new color for them, plus it had a harder look in its eye.

They stared at the hologram for a moment, and it stared back. Who would blink first? Time froze as the staring continued, before the hologram broke the silence. "So... you want to do something?"

Bart was ready to take a swing at the hologram or kick it in the shin for being rude... but it's a hologram, so that wouldn't be effective.

"Greetings and welcome to Costington's, formerly known as the Luxury Tax Space. I will deduct your luxury tax from your total..." The hologram paused. "I hope you picked out one special gift from this store because you are paying for one regardless."

"A promise ring... and Mr. Costington said it was on sale for a special price." Bart jumped in to defend Jeff. "So don't overcharge us."

"I promise to charge you the standard luxury tax..." The hologram seemed reasonable. "...of seventy-five dollars." Bart thought the price was too high, while Comic Book Guy just shrugged. "I also promise to see you again." It seemed like a threat, but the holograms were everywhere.

Comic Book Guy removed the MyPad from the statue and a single paper printed below. He read it aloud. 'Promise ring, size six, seventy-five dollars spent, seven hundred eighty-seven remaining'.

"Worst receipt ever, but may need it if Brandine needs to exchange it." The most important paper he folded and carefully placed inside the box.

"Do you..." Loud echoes booming across the sky interrupted Bart, but so did the purses falling off the display. "...do you think we will find Brandine?"

It was a good question and Comic Book Guy had no answer. This game was as random as the weekly comic book delivery to his store. They could see her later, tomorrow, next week, or never. Reality was harsh, and the game added to it.

Comic Book Guy shrugged and found a bench next to the front door. "Give me a moment. Take a look through the store if you want." Jeff enjoyed having the boy accompany him on this journey. "If there is anything else you want, just charge it to me."

"You really mean it?" Bart was genuinely surprised this time. "Thanks man, but I think I'll just hang out right here..." His words fell on deaf ears, as Comic Book Guy had quickly fallen asleep leaning against the window. "On second thought, maybe I'll see what I can find. There has to be a connection between all these places.

Bart started his search beyond the purse display and into the camping section. It made the most sense to him... and had the most useful gadgets for what he wanted.