Boss of Me

“Patton, stop.” He’s right in my ear, and I see the crowd gathering, all with phones out taking photos.

Struggling against my friend, I glance down to see Jerry on the floor holding his face. “You’re going to pay for that, Fletcher.”

“Then I’d better make it worth it.” Marley’s not strong enough to hold me, and I’m going in for another punch when two men grab me, hustling me from the lobby out the doors.

“That’s enough, Tough Guy.” The big one holds me outside as Jerry’s crew quickly files onto the elevator. “Don’t let me see you back here tonight, or I’m calling the cops.”

This guy’s the size of the Rock, and even though my insides are on fire, I back down. Marley has his keys, and I follow him to the car. He studies me like I might go off again.

Hell, I might.

I breathe slowly, doing my best to calm my wrath. The worst thing I could do tonight is get arrested.

“Take me back to the office. I’ve got to try and fix this.”

29

Raquel

“Another mermaid… No, what is it?” Renée holds up a pearl-glazed mermaid statue. “Oh! It’s a lamp.”

I’m standing behind stacks of boxes holding a price-scanner gun. “Hand it over.” She holds the base toward me, and I zip it. “Inventory is fun!”

She gives me a look. “That’s because you’ve got the counter gun.”

I point it at her. “Drop your weapons. I said drop ‘em!”

“Stop quoting Star Wars and keep scanning.”

We’re in the small storage closet at the back of Ms. Hazel’s store. It’s Saturday morning, and all week I’ve trailed Renée on her daily rounds.

Every day we do our cat care… Every night, too, with the tiny kittens. I feel like a new mom getting up every four hours to help her bottle-feed Binky and Midnight. After breakfast, we ride our bikes out to the beach and walk around, then we do whatever Ms. Hazel needs at the store in the afternoons. Today she has us doing inventory to get ready for the holiday rush.

Renée and I have talked about everything except why I’m here.

I know she’s waiting. I’m waiting. I’m afraid if I start talking about Patton, I’ll start crying again, and thankfully, the water works have stopped.

I’ve only heard from him once since I got here, a lone text sent late on Wednesday night, after I’d gone to bed.

None of this works without you.

Reading it made my heart beat too fast. It made the tears start again. I cried myself to sleep and was late to help her on that day, and now, just remembering it, my chest aches.

I still haven’t decided what to do about California, and my time is almost up. I’ve got to do something. Can I honestly work with him when I still feel this way?

“I love getting ready for the holidays.” She pulls out another mermaid lamp and holds it to me to scan before arranging it on what is now the mermaid shelf. “We get to order tons of new stuff, and when it all starts coming in, it’s like Christmas morning.”

Speaking of boxes, I open a new one that’s filled with crinkled paper and bubble wrap. “What’s this?”

Reaching inside, I take out a glass vase that’s deep purple on the bottom and blue on the top.

“Oh, those must be our pieces from SCAD.” She walks over and takes the vase, turning it side to side. “It’s blown glass.”

“It’s beautiful. It looks like it’s made of water.”

“The art students send us their best pieces to sell. I love seeing what they make.”

She pulls back more paper, and we both gasp. Inside are blown glass balls with swirls of colors through them. Some are rainbow, some are blue and white like the ocean, some are amber and green like the sunset.