"Thank you, Mrs. Johnson. Here are your claim checks."
Samantha hands a stack of ticket stubs to the customer.
"Don't forget. You'll need these tickets when you come back to pick up your furs next fall."
"Yes, dear... Samantha..." The old lady squints as she tries to read the clerk's name badge. "I've been bringing my furs here for storage since before you were born."
Samantha blushes, slightly. "Well, these are some of the most beautiful fur coats I've ever seen!"
"I'm not getting any younger!" the old lady says in an informational tone.
"Mrs. Johnson, I don't think you're too old!"
"Don't patronize me! We both know somebody my age can't take care of this many furs the way a young woman like you can!"
"But, Ma'am! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend!"
"None taken." After a pause, the old woman continues. "Furs like these are a handful for anybody to take care of, let alone an old woman!"
Samantha looks over the collection of furs hanging on wheeled racks. There are dozens of them hanging neatly in rows. The coats are made from every type of fur imaginable. There are many full length foxes, several minks and beavers but, notably, there is one gorgeous, oversized chinchilla. She eyes each one, gingerly running her fingers up and down the sleeves. She pretends to inspect them as she slides the hangers along the metal rod.
"That chinchilla on the end!" Mrs. Johnson points out. "I haven't been able to take care of that one, properly, in years."
Samantha looks it over, acting as if she has been working with fur coats her whole life.
"I think it's the most beautiful coat I have ever seen!" she compliments.
"I don't have what it takes to handle a coat like that anymore!"
Samantha furrows her brow and nods her head. She tries to hide the fact that she has no idea what the lady is talking about.
"The last time I wore that coat was more than twenty years ago. Even then, it took all my strength!"
"It looks like a very heavy coat."
The expression on Mrs. Johnson's face changes. "You have no idea what I'm talking about. Do you?"
"Ma'am. I'm sorry. I've only worked here for two weeks."
The woman turns her attention to the man talking on the telephone at the other end of the counter,. "Mister Hedges!" she says, waving her hand in the air. "Mister Hedges! May I have a word with you?"
The man signals back and quickly finishes his conversation. He hangs up the phone and walks over to the other end where Mrs. Johnson and Samantha are standing.
"Mister Hedges... Ron... How long have I been a customer in this salon?"
"As long as I can remember, Mrs. Johnson!"
"How long has this young lady been working for you?"
"Not long, Mrs. Johnson."
"You can cut the crap, Ron." she interrupted. "You know my name. Call me Gladys."
"Yes, Gladys. She's been working here for about two weeks."
"Haven't you been teaching her how to care for the furs?"
"Why, no. She's only just begun her training."
The woman frowns for a moment as she surveys Samantha's sexy, young body. "A young lady as pretty as her doesn't know anything about furs?!"
"Things are different with kids, nowadays, Gladys. They just don't learn these things anymore."
"That's going to change right now!" she barks.
Mrs. Johnson motions to Samantha. "Take that big chinchilla you were drooling over and put it on!"
Mister Hedges tries to intercede. "But Gladys! She can't handle a fur like that! She never..."
"Baloney!" the lady barks out. "When I was her age I couldn't get enough of that fur!"
"Gladys, couldn't we get one of the other girls to take care of this one for you?"
"She's going to have to start sometime. It might as well be now.
"But she doesn't..." stammers Mister Hedges.
The old lady cuts in, "Do as I ask or I'll take my business elsewhere!"
Mister Hedges nods. "Go ahead, Samantha. Put it on."
Samantha takes the oversized chinchilla off the rack. Mister Hedges moves over and helps her slip it on.
"Oh! My God!" she gasps as her arms slide inside. "It's got fur on the inside, too!"
Samantha feels like she is being swallowed whole by the giant fur coat. Her whole body seems to disappear into a furry gray cloud. A musky, animal smell seems to surround her. She feels a tingle of fur against her cheeks while Mister Hedges pulls the oversized hood over her head. Her whole face is covered. She can see only a thin sliver of light at the end of a dark tunnel of fur.
"Fasten it up!" Mrs. Johnson orders. "Let her get used to it."
Mister Hedges fastens the front of the coat, wrapping Samantha in a tall mantle of soft, gray fur. It reaches clear to the floor. The sleeves are so long, her arms don't come all the way to the ends. Samantha feels disoriented, swimming in the giant fur coat. A brief burst of panic overcomes her when she hears a soft, low purring sound. It's almost imperceptible to her ear. It seems as if she's hearing it inside her mind.
Samantha's body tenses up and a chill runs down her spine at the sound she hears. A sudden rush of sexual energy overcomes her. She gets a sinking sensation in her stomach as warm, sexual impulses radiate from her pelvis, outward through her body. She luxuriates in the warm, snugly fur. Samantha closes her eyes and softly sighs with pleasure.
**********
"Samantha, honey!" The old lady pats her on the cheek. "Are you awake?"
Samantha opens her eyes and looks around to find herself standing in the middle of the room again, without the fur. She looks around to get her bearings and to see what happened to the fur she was wearing. She eventually spies it hanging on the rack.
"Oh... Yes... I'm okay." she says in a dreamy voice.
"You see!" Pleads Mister Hedges. "She can't handle a coat like that! It'll tear her apart! Let me give it to one of the other girls!"
"Hogwash!" the woman says, sternly. "That fur LIKES her! It won't hurt her."
"Well, maybe we should let her start with some of the other ones first!"
Samantha stands there, gawking, as Mister Hedges and Mrs. Johnson argue back and forth. She has no idea what they are talking about. She listens, intently, trying to figure out some clue to their meaning.