Chapter 29: Meating Out Justice

                                    

                                          
"Thank you both for your patronage! Come again!" The Butcher chirped as he handed a happily married couple a pair of wrapped T-bone steaks. 
"Thanks! You, too!" the woman replied before peeking inside the bag and spotting something unsavory. "Umm.....is there supposed to be hair on the meat?" 
The Butcher, who was not only wearing a hairnet on his head, but also had one on both of his eyebrows, his eyelashes, and his mustache, abruptly shot the customer a look. "You're going to take it and like it." 
Both of them stared in stunned silence. 
"I, uhh.....I guess we could just wash it off when we get home," the husband suggested, attempting to defuse the situation. "Come on, sweetie, let's get back to the house. The cookout's tomorrow, and we need to have everything ready!" 
He then took his wife by the hand and began taking her out of the butcher's shop, with her giving The Butcher a disapproving glare all the while. "I'll be giving this place a bad review," she threatened as she left. 
The Butcher scoffed at her remark and rolled his eyes. "Seriously? I've run this place for so long.....I'm already used to customers like you, lady. All of that just went in one ear and out the other." He scratched his head with his right hand, causing him to shed even more hair which then fell onto the counter. "Ugh....this hair net is itchy....." 
Then, Mavis exited from the back rooms, wielding a stainless steel meat tenderizer in her left hand. "Okay, sir.....I went and tenderized our inventory, as you said." 
"Oh, so you're done beating the meat?" 
Mavis's face turned red. ".....Yes.....I got done 'beating the meat'. I think I liked my expression better." 
"My business, my rules, lady." 
"You could have phrased that literally any other way, you know. 'Hammered', 'tenderized', 'prepped', 'softened'....." 
"No time for that now! I need you to start splitting the rib racks in storage. Slice it every seven to thirteen ribs; that's how many are usually in a 'rack'." 
The princess sighed. "Fine....." 
She turned around, but initially headed in the opposite direction of her destination, instead going to the restroom. 
"Hey, hey, hey! Where are you going?" The Butcher inquired. 
".....To wash my hands before I start working?" 
"Why? Is the Queen coming?" 
Well, you are looking at a future Queen, Mavis snarked on the inside. She longed to have a chance to snap back at him for his impulsive, aggressive behavior, but she couldn't risk her and Garson's plan going off the rails. So she opted for something more subtle.
"Right.....sorry," she responded. "Forgive me for thinking about my hygiene. I must remember to be more like you." 
"That's more like it," The Butcher said, completely oblivious to Mavis's insult. "Get to work, now." 
When she was halfway to the room, though, he stopped her again. "Wait.....scratch that. I need to see you for a moment. Lose the safety equipment." 
The vampire rolled her eyes, removed her clear gloves, and took off her hair net before returning to the main store and standing on the opposite side of the counter from The Butcher. "Yes? How can I help you?" 
"Look.....Garson having to drop his shift at the very last second really messed me up," he confessed. "I guess I've just been feeling high-strung because of it. That, and I'm worried about how my clients might respond if they see a vampire working for me."