House on Fire

Chapter 19

  When I came back upstairs, she was sitting on her bed, still wrapped in the towel.

  “Um, can you bring me my purse?” I nodded and retrieved the purse from her desk. It was light purple and had sparkles on it. I felt funny carrying it, even just across the room.

  “Thanks,” she said. She hesitated, biting her lip. “I feel so stupid; I’ve had symptoms for days... too much, I know. Can you go to the store for me?”

  “Yeah, of course – what do you need?”

  “Beth’s mom was supposed to take me shopping for, um, stuff last week. I’d call her now but I know she’s at work. I’ll understand if you don’t want to, but I’d really appreciate it.” I felt uneasy.

  She took out a pen and a little pink notepad, and wrote down exactly what she required, with all the details I’d need. She gave me some money from her wallet, tore out the page, and handed it to me. When I read it, I almost groaned out loud, but managed not to.

  “I’m sorry, Cory.”

  “No trouble at all,” I lied. “Anything for you, Sissy.” At least that part was true.

  Almost begging, she added, “And Cory? Would you go down to Drugco? Miller’s is closer, but you know how Mrs. Miller is... I don’t need everyone knowing my business.”

  “Good idea. Drugco is better for me too, for similar reasons. Anything else?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

  I grabbed my backpack, emptied it onto my bed, and jogged out the back door. I got my bike from the garage and rolled down to the big drug store. I should have used my inhaler again before I left the house. The cold December air burned my lungs as I pedaled. .

  The store was busier than I hoped. Getting the pills was the easy part – they were next to the aspirin. For the other things, I found the aisle, but two women were chatting right in the middle.

  There was a revolving rack of sunglasses at the end next to me, and I tried a pair on, keeping the ladies in view. I glanced at the big round mirrors by the ceiling to make sure nobody was nearby, and then I made my move.

  The packaging was exactly as Sis described, so the brand was easy to find. I grabbed the package as nonchalantly as I could, and resisted the urge to run to the register.

  I paused by the sunglasses again, and was relieved to see that there wasn’t a line at the checkout. But when I got to the counter, the clerk was stocking something at the far end, and said, “I’ll be right with you, honey.” I winced, and slid the merchandise away from me until she got back. Time crawled.

  That’s when I saw Spaz bounce in the door. Normally I’d be happy to see him. But Spaz had the biggest mouth south of the Porcupines; he simply lacked a filter. He couldn’t keep a secret any more than he could stop moving. If he saw me with Jessie’s stuff, we’d never hear the end of it. I was glad he didn’t notice me, and prayed he hadn’t recognized my bike.

  The seconds ticked away. I checked the fisheye mirror in the comer. Spaz was in the back now, getting a cold drink and looking at some chips. The clerk wandered up to the register at last, and I wordlessly pushed the supplies toward her.

  “Oh,” she brightened. “There’s a coupon for these in our flier.”

  “Uh, no thank you Ma’am, that’s fine. I’m in a hurry.”

  She looked at me and again at the purchase, and then back at me. She nodded sympathetically. Pointing at my backpack, she suggested, “Why don’t you put these away while I ring you up?”

  I was so relived to stuff and zip the backpack that I started to walk away without taking my change. Along with the bills and coins, the clerk handed me two chocolate bars. She smiled at me and said, “You’ll want these, too. On the house, little mensch.”

  I was confused, but accepted the gift. “Thank you...”I looked at her nametag. “Thank you, Becca.” I got out of there well ahead of Spaz, and raced home, praying that I didn’t run in to anybody else I knew.