She'll Take It by Mary Carter

Author:Mary Carter
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2011-03-14T23:00:00+00:00

CONTRACT WITH SELF

I, Melanie Zeitgar, being of sound mind and body (minus five and a half pounds), do solemnly swear:

1. I will never steal from a mom and pop store.

2. I will never steal items worth over $100.

3. I will never steal from the same place twice.

*No Exceptions!

Contracts are guidelines. Everyone knows rules are meant to be broken. And I have good reasons for breaking mine. First of all, next Saturday is Valentine’s Day. Second of all, since I missed Ray’s birthday, he deserves something really nice. He deserves something he really wants. He deserves the watch on page four of the catalog underneath my pillow. He saw it in the window of a jewelry store we passed by on our second date and stopped to admire it. He’s going to be gobsmacked that I remembered.

The small store is just around the corner from Grand Central Station. I’ve been passing by it quite frequently the past week and I’ve just happened to notice that on most days there is only one woman manning the store. It would probably be easy to slip in and out of there with the plan I’ve come up with. But the watch is worth way more than the hundred dollar limit I’ve set for myself. Try eighteen-hundred dollars. Which explains why I’ve spent all morning shaking and pacing and bargaining with the Saints. I am a woman who follows the rules, and so far my rules have kept me safe.

I’ll just go to the jewelry store have a little look. That’s all. I’ll just look and that will be that. Maybe I’ll put it on layaway. I could give it to him in July—as a joke. Not that the watch would be a joke, but the fact that from now on we will celebrate his birthday in July. It will become one of our favorite in-jokes. And this watch will mark the occasion.

It sits in the center of a glass case reflecting silver rays of light like a metallic starfish. Rays, I think. For Ray. I’m simple like that sometimes. I press up against the counter, tilt my head down, and allow my long black hair to fall all around me on the glass. I twirl a strand of it around my index finger and wiggle my bright blue fingernails. “I’d like to see this,” I say, tapping on the space directly above the watch. The sales woman behind the counter throws me a tight smile and holds up her index finger. She is in the middle of a phone call. Perfect. I clear my throat and tap again. Click, click, click, click, click. I predict it will only take a few seconds to annoy her, but she doesn’t even look up.

“I’m in a hurry,” I say finally in a haughty voice.

“I’ll be right with you,” she answers through clenched teeth.

“Could you just—” I point to the watch and then to the phone. “At the same time?” She sighs and purses her lips. “Could you hold a moment please?” she says into the phone.

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