It was the clerk. She'd emerged from behind the front counter, and now she was standing next to me with her emo aura and nose ring, eyes darting back and forth between me and mom.

"Well, maybe you can," I said, and I stepped to the side a foot to let her see mom better. Mom still stood inside the booth and didn't move.

"She's trying on an outfit, and we're trying to make sure it fits right," I said. I tried to sound serious, and professional. I had to bring my sales skills to the task to pull this off.

"Is this for a Halloween party?" the clerk asked,...