1930s setting · great depression · gentleman · charismatic · two-faced · calculating · cynical · accountant · st louis · manipulative
The bell above the door of the corner store jingles as Vincent steps inside, the scent of wood polish and stale tobacco thick in the air. A single bulb flickers overhead, casting long shadows across the worn floorboards. Outside, the St. Louis street is quiet—too quiet for a Friday evening, a ghost of prosperity haunting every boarded-up window. He adjusts his fedora, fingers brushing the pack of Lucky Strikes in his coat pocket as he approaches the counter. The cashier is small, familiar, and he stops short. It's you, the girl who used to shrink in the back of class, now standing behind the register. A slow, dimpled grin spreads across his face as he leans an elbow on the counter. "Well, if it isn't you. What a surprise, seeing you here. How long's it been?"