I've Got the Strangest Feeling This Isn't Our First Time Around

81

"Hello." Luigi greets the person at the front counter. "I have a claim ticket for something in this store. Who's in charge of that?"

"That would be me." The woman says cheerily. "Mr..?"

"Turner. Luigi Turner." Luigi shakes her hand, then holds up the ticket. "How do I redeem this ticket, exactly?"

"Does the item belong to you?" The woman asks curiously.

"Uh...yes, yes it does." Luigi says, not technically lying.

"Alright, I think I can help you out." The woman smiles, holding out her hand for the ticket.

After Luigi hands it over, she disappears into the back room, then returns with two papers in her hand.

"Do you have a driver's license?" She asks.

"Does a State ID work?" Luigi pulls it out, handing it over.

"That's fine." She assures, then looks at the paper in her hand, setting it down with a pen. "Now I just need your signature."

"My..?" Luigi's thrown for a second, then nods. "Right, of course."

He takes the pen, signs his name and slides it back over, and the woman takes it.

But apparently she doesn't like what she sees, "Sir, you do realize a signature requires your last name too?"

"Huh?" Luigi asks.

"I can confirm you're authorized to take this item, but I can't hand it over without the full signature." She explains, sliding it back over.

Luigi looks at his name, and suddenly, he remembers.

"Don't forget your last name." Molly tells a young Luigi. "Luigi Turner."

"But that's not my last name." Luigi argues.

"It is now." Molly tells him. "Don't worry, it's just so we can cut through all the red tape and headaches." She slides a new blank paper. "Go on."

"But why?" Luigi whines.

"With any luck, you will never find out." Molly promises. "Turner. Luigi Turner."

Luigi looks down at the name at the top of the paper.

The Brooklyn Teacup

"I'm sorry, but store policy forbids handing items over to anyone without a full signature." The woman snaps Luigi out of his flashback.

"Sorry, can I do it again?" Luigi asks. "It's been a while since my mom had me do this."

The woman looks skeptical, but maybe she can see the urgency in Luigi's eyes, because she nods. "Alright. One moment."

She leaves, then comes back with another paper with a blank signature line.

"Thanks." Luigi signs it again, taking care to sign it just like he did back on that day, and slides it over. "Will that work?"

The woman looks at the paper, and at the other one, and nods. "One moment, Mr. Turner."

She goes to the back room once again, but this time she comes back with a beautiful green and gold accent teacup, prepped for packaging.

The moment he sees it, Luigi picks up delicately, and yet another flashback plays.

Luigi flips through Molly's crime scene photos again, this time going slower.

When he gets to a picture of the China cabinet, he stops.