“Oberi’s right,” Ava said. “The aisles here are simple to navigate. I can get my chair around easily!”
That was so rare. Usually, there were a lot of places Ava’s chair didn’t fit, but the aisleways here were wide enough that she could not only roll down them, but turn around.
I reached out to feel the racks of shoes, and my fingers landed on a box. I felt around and noticed dots that I easily recognized. They spelled out the wordMedium.
I was completely floored. My hands traveled along the boxes, and I found thatevery single productwas marked with braille, so I could easily read what it was.
It was so unusual. I always had to have someone help me when I was shopping, because nothing was ever marked in a way I could understand. Now, I could read whatever was in front of me, because all the information was there in a way I could comprehend.
It was marvelous.
“Hey!” I called to Ava, who was already halfway down the aisle. “The sizes are marked with braille!”
“What?” she sounded astounded. She rolled beside me and studied the box I held in my hands. “Holy shit, you’re right! You canreadall the labels!”
The box nearly shook in my hands. This was such a gift. Were all the stores here like this?
At this point, I was having just as much fun as Ava was. Shopping had never been a good time before— kind of a pain in the ass, really— because nothing was accessible. Now, I had a better understanding of what was going on around me, and it was great.
“Charlie, come here.” Ava handed me a denim jacket when I approached her. “You’d look hot in this.”
“You think?” I took the jacket off the hanger and slipped it on.
“You look particularly dashing,” Eddie said.
I shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t like the way the fabric feels on my skin. Let me try a different one.”
I ran my fingers over the racks to find my size in the men’s section— which had tags that were all marked with braille, I really couldn’t believe it. I felt the fabric until I found one that was soft. I tried the jacket on, and Ava gasped.
“Yes, absolutely, that’s the one. Wehaveto get it!” she insisted.
What’s the point?Oberi cracked.You’re just going to take it off of him.
“That’s the fun of it,” Ava teased.
She took the jacket from me, and I continued flipping through clothes on the rack. Ava tried on a bunch of dresses and modeled them for us. I had to feel each one, and Oberi kept cracking jokes.
Eddie liked all of them. I couldn’t decide if he was being a kiss ass, or if he really did enjoy this. The employees were really nice and helped us find anything we asked for. Although I knew they’d be nice to us because we were royals, I genuinely thought they were the kind of people who’d help anyone no matter who they were.
We must’ve stayed in the shop for over an hour, until Eddie reminded us there were tons of other places to visit. I didn’t really want to leave, because the shop was so accommodating. It was a rare experience, for sure. I was certain the other shops wouldn’t be like that.
Ava must’ve bought at least six dresses. With my jacket and several hats for Oberi, we left with tons of bags that Eddieinsistedon carrying. As we took an elevator upward, Ava tugged on my arm.
“Look at that!” she said as she rolled out of the elevator and onto the second floor. “There’s an information center where you can get audio headphones to assist you when shopping.”
That was exciting news. “I’ve never been to a place that had something like that before,” I remarked. “Let’s check it out.”
Eddie cleared his throat behind us. “There’s no need for that,” he insisted sourly. “I’mhere to assist you.”
“I just want to see,” I told him. He shut up, but let out a haughty grumble. Hell, he was jealous over a pair of headphones taking away my attention. I get he wanted to be our only guide, but still. This was cool.
We approached the information booth. An audio recording started before we made it to the counter. “You are now approaching the Ilamanthe Mall Information Center. Please wait behind the raised line until an attendant is ready to assist you.”
I felt a groove under my feet, like the ones at a traffic intersection. Raised dots on the pavement were there to guide blind people, to let them know where to wait before they walked into the road by accident, but I’d never seen them be used for something like this.
A couple of quick footsteps approached us. “How can I help you?” the attendant questioned.
I asked for the audio commentary headphones. I put them on, and I was amazed at how detailed the descriptions were. A slightly robotic voice spoke. “You are standing on the south side of Ilamanthe Mall near the information booth. To your right, you will find The Crystal Corner. To your left is the food court.”
