Fred laughed to himself as Katie left and turned around to come back in. Upon her return, he cleared his throat and regain his expression of solemnity as he let out a heavy sigh. "I guess that was slightly better. But you were right to put the emphasis on insane," he replied, keeping his stony face for a moment longer. And then he grinned, meeting the magnitude of hers easily. Her constant cheerfulness was just so contagious.
"Alright, alright, so that was good. Doesn't mean I'm giving you any more free fireworks," he relented with a laugh, leaning forward on the counter just after yelling out a greeting to the latest customer the walk in the door. "Unless, of course, you ask nicely," he winked and then nodded to Verity who cam over to take over the register while he walked around to talk freely with his guest.
Smiling as he hooked an arm around her shoulders so that he could lead them both off the the side of the registers, he said, "So, to what do I owe this pleasant surprise?"