"Hello, Just Rose," John replied with a small wave. It was awkward, but so far he thought he had been a pretty good sport about all of this. He was overwhelmed.
That reaction changed when Rose told him this was all his fault.
"Now hold on, that is not fair. I would have never knowingly hurt any of them. If I had known, I don't know what I would have done. Doesn't exactly seem like something the police could deal with, assuming they would have even believed me...."
His voice trailed off and he rubbed the back of his neck. He felt helpless, judged and more than a little defensive.
"Three months ago, new brand."
John frowned.
"There's got to be something we can do. Some way to help them?"
She was so rapid fire. One moment, accusing him of brainwashing an entire shopping mall of people (maybe more, if the street outside was any indication) and the next asking for his name.
He looked down and pulled off his magnetic name tag, thought about tossing it petulantly to the floor but pocketed it instead. "John," he said and the amended, "John Smith."