killing heat

I've been bitching to just about anybody about how terrible this summer heat is. The moment I step out of my office to go to a meeting, I begin to wither, melt or fry, depending on my mindset and what I'm wearing (or my lighter spontaneously explodes).

It's worse for my animals. I sent one of my pet store employees to pick up a bale of turtles (as in "a murmuration of starlings", "rhumba of rattlesnakes" or "a piteousness of doves") for my pet store. She got ten from our trusted supplier, all nice and healthy, placed them in oxygenated water in our carrying case, and proceeded to head back to the store. While stuck in the traffic in the hideous heat that could not be combatted by the taxi's beleaguered aircon, the driver asked about her animals. She explained about the store and inventories, pointing to her guinea pigs.

"What's in there?" the taxi driver asked, pointing to the turtle case.

"Turtles," my employee replied.

"Can I see them?"

"Sure," she said, lifting the case.

The driver peered in and asked why they weren't moving. My employee checked and was shocked that the entire bale of turtles had expired. The small mammals were also rather dehydrated. It was just terrible.

She went back and tried to exchange the dead reptiles for living ones but our supplier refused, arguing that all ten were fine before they left. I instructed her not to argue and to begin looking for another supplier. In the meantime, my store has no green turtles.