(Even Squirrels have personal brands) Buster had read the invitation twice. It said: Digital Nomads and Location-Independent Professionals — Amersfoort Chapter. Connect. Collaborate. Grow Your Brand. He was fairly certain he had misread Professionals as Hedgehogs the first time. He came anyway.

Buster had never been to a Return Counter before. Especially not one in the back garden of a Trader Joe’s. But there it was—carved into a rosemary bush and staffed by a porcupine in a smock that said “Hilde.”