Another Country. . . .. take 1
Jill Glaum stepped inside Another Country spare parts, lendings and club on a cold summer afternoon. Shutting the front door behind her, she performed a couple of courtesy pirouettes, and sat down in front of the jingle jangle man.
"So. .. I happened to see one of your flyers and decided to corne round and see what this shop is all about. I understand that its not the usual kind of parts shop." She stopped.
"Well," said the jingle jangle man, trying not to clatter," Its not particularly strange... old tradition of it here... package deals and disposables drove them out, but we only use the English wirings here... try to keep a decent small collection together along with the newer stuff, and it seems that most people prefer to use it that way. . . whats your normal sorts of gear.. anything particular. . .?"
Jill looked at him sharply. The jingle jangle man looked sharply back. For him, it was more metaphorical, for her unavoidable. She was, apart from one leg, one right index finger, one middle finger left, half an eye, throat, assorted internals and, to the jingle jangle man's interest, an unusual half spine, completely plastic.
"Actually I was recently so... unflexed... that I tried on a pair of parson's thighs that I hadn't exercised since childhood. But ,no, I usually go for the more contemporary , extremities, a bit of Glaswegian cheek, a touch of irish knee, and of course toes... toes would seem to be what I'm most in need of, to get in touch with Berlin you see.. .the streets, the parks. . . "
"Browse behind you, dear lady, for the normal run of contemporary extremities, standard classifications. Price is coloured, dust added, but you might try the locomotion section in the back for the more rigorous toes. We're slightly more expensive than normal, but the price comes back upon_return, minus a small usage fee."
After a half hour of browsing and occasional questioning she purchased a set of three irish toes, one slightly water damaged, a sailor's big toe, and a great thick Victorian ankle bone. She had not promised to return, but would try them out for size, and she surely would bring back the sailor's toe, which was for light amusement only.
"And what precisely is this club of which you boast ?",she enquired.
"Often the merest excuse for English system exercise," the proprietor replied. "But we do take evening topics, photon-based sensory systems, rhythmic venous motion, for example but perhaps the evening examining classic celluloid parts might be more to your taste, involving, as it does, more of a convivial atmosphere over the evening fare,"
Perhaps abashed at his unaccustomed attack of garrulity the propietor made his farewells. "Goodbye", saidjingle;"And good exercise", said jangle.
Jill walked off, intent both on her next adventure in consumerism, and to a certain exquisite twinge which seemed to coincide with a small patch of cellular regeneration that she had been seeking in the general area of her spleen.