“ Do you have the Christmas Special doll ?” a woman asked Lin .
“ I ’ m sorry , the doll is currently out of stock . Would you mind choosing another one ? This doll in the pink dress is the red-hot favorite .”
“ I would like this doll , but in a blue dress . My daughter loves everything blue .” the woman replied , and Lin immediately turned and got the doll she wanted out of a stock shelf . There was no need of salesmanship , Lin thought to herself . The French people wanted a doll , any doll , to give away for Christmas . It was just a matter of pulling boxes out of a certain stock shelf , in search of a doll with a blue dress instead of pink , a matter of calling Mr Yang to open a showcase window with his key . It was a matter of getting used to doing a job of no meaning .
Seeing the French customers come and go every day , Lin thought , behind the cold , powdered faces of these French women , who were the most arrogant generally and who hurriedly bought the most expensive dolls , the dolls with sparkly dresses and shimmering hair , there was a certain degree of goodwill or love in them .
Their eyes met at the same time -- Lin glancing up from a box she was about to open , and the man turning his head to look directly at Lin , as if the two lit a passionate spark of fire . He was tall and fair , strong and charismatic . Her eyes traced his tall slender figure , from his messy blonde hair down to his worn boots two sizes too big . Lin didn ’ t quite get the chance to look at him , so she turned after grabbing one of the boxes from the shelf to have a more detailed look . His eyes were dark , yet dominant as fire , and , Lin could not stop looking away . His cheeks were chiseled like a finely-carved Michelangelo statue . His nose was perfectly symmetrical . His lips were slightly full : the kind that end in a cute little smirk at each corner . The rays of light highlighted the dimples in his cheeks and chin . He heard the customer right in front of her replicate a question , and Lin stood there , speechless . Though there were other salesgirls in the department store , Lin felt absolutely sure that the man would come to her . Then the man walked , step by step , slowly and carefully towards her counter . All of a sudden , her heart started to race and her face started to grow cherry red . The man came nearer and nearer as an inexplicable sensation mounted within Lin ’ s body and soul .
“ May I see one of the toy trains , please ?” the man asked eagerly and leaned on the counter .
Lin turned around and took one of the toy trains from the bottom of the stack . When she stood up , the man was looking at her calmly with his dark blue eyes that Lin could neither quite face directly nor look away from .
“ That ’ s the one I like . The train set over there . It is intriguing in a way that somehow fascinates me . But I don ’ t suppose I can have it , can I ?” he said , pointing at the show window behind Lin .
“ No ... I mean ... yes ... YES .” Lin answered nervously .
Lin went back to the storeroom immediately for the key . The key was on Mr Yang ’ s table , but no one was allowed to touch it . Lin took it anyway . She opened the window , took the Christmas Bear down and put it on the counter .
“ You ’ re giving me the one on display ? Thank you .” He smiled . Lin took a deep breath , inhaling his strong cologne that she found herself almost gagging on the powerful scent . However , his smile of such charisma prevented that from happening and instead , transformed that night into one she would never forget . The man filled in the order slip , and , went away afterwards , with a step as slow as when he had come . Lin watched him go as she tried to take him all in -- his mannerisms , his style , everything . He turned back for a moment and pointed to Lin ’ s cap .
“ I like your hat ,” the man said tenderly .
Lin was flattered and her face reddened . Then the man vanished into an elevator . For a moment she watched as the vacant spaces left behind were filled by shoppers and staff members . She craned forward to have one last look but it ’ s no good . He ’ s gone . Lin sighed . She looked down at her doll desk and noticed the order slip that the man had just completed . Lin scribbled down the address immediately on her notebook .
NAME : MR J . DUJARDIN ADDRESS : 1538 AVENUE JOFFRE ITEM ( S ) BOUGHT : TRAIN SET
That day after work , Lin went down to the third floor of the department store and bought a card in the greetings-card department . It was not a particularly interesting card , but at least it had colors on it . She took a