The Kissing Thief.

“Good morning, and welcome to Illiterates. I’m guessing since you came in this shop, you are very literate.” The bland tone in my voice was by no means a way to harass the customers. I was bored with my job. Val slept with her head on the counter beside me, and I was just having a bad day. I rested my head on my hands, while my elbows supported my frame. The prank on Sam was good humour for yesterday. Today, I was stuck with the image of Aaron giving up all of his love and being to this one woman who had had her shot at a life.

As the old A.C machine kicked to life with a rumbling roar, Val jumped awake and wiped drool from her cheek. The A.C was at least twenty years old, and looked prehistoric. I shuffled to the door and closed it with a rough push. Through the delivery door at the back of the shop, the door slammed open, and with a shrill voice, someone sounding very similar to Sam screamed.

“VALERIE ROSE!”

“Oh shit, the ‘Po-po’s on our tail! Split homie, split like a banana!” Val shouted, as if she were a “Gangster”. Val dove behind a shelf of books and peeked out at me. I laughed, and turned to see a very angry Sam, with Aaron tagging behind her cautiously.

“Val, don’t be immature.” Aaron stated glumly. I noted the distance he kept from Sam, as if she had a disease. Val stood to her feet, trying to look innocent. But when you were Valerie, there was no such thing.

Trying to loosen up the situation, I smiled politely. “Hey Sam, how’s the baby?” I asked.

“Shut up, Juniper.” Sam snapped back, hastily. I backed away, raising my hands as if to call a surrender. “Valerie. Can you explain this to me?” Sam held up a pair of her panties, coated with powder. I covered my mouth, making my eyes go wide with shock. I was really just suppressing a laugh.

“Baby powder, mother?”

“Don’t get smart with me, you little bitch. I had to go to the clinic this morning-”

“Oh SAM! Is the baby okay?!” I asked.

“Yes. But it seems as though I’ve developed a bad rash, and possibly some other things I would rather not mention.” Sam said through gritted teeth. Aaron shuffled his feet, slowly moving toward the counter. I walked around to the other side, so I was looking at his slicked-back, feathered hair, but I could still see Sam clearly.

“That’s terrible!” Val feigned shock, lifting her eyebrows in to an arch. “Mama, you should go get that checked ou-”

“I just DID.” Sam snapped back. A customer with his young daughter walked in, but quickly turned away after seeing the sight near the front cash.

“Excuse me, Sam, Aaron, Val, we are running a store here. We need those customers and their money. So if you really don’t mind, I would like you to take this out back, or save it for another time.” I intruded, actually annoyed by the loss of the customer.

“Juniper, mind your own-”

“No.” Aaron said. “Joon is absolutely right. Sam, babe, we can deal with this later.”

The way Aaron said ‘Babe’ made me want to vomit. I opened the front door, and let Sam and Aaron file out. Before I had a chance to slam the door, Aaron placed a hand on the glass door, and grinned. “I was wondering if I could get an application for a job.” He said to me. I nodded my head and leaned toward his blue eyes.

“I will give you a form to fill out before I move.” I said politely. The glint he always had in his eyes seemed to die out. For a moment, he frowned. A sincere, legitimate frown that made my heart break.

“Right… okay.” He nodded his head a few times, before smiling a small smile and following Sam to their car.