Page 7 of The Beginning and End of Everything
“Yeah. I gotta get something."
The bus stop at the end of the road was empty. Connor frowned when I took a seat inside the little wooden shelter, tearing at one of the advertisements plastered to the wall. "You gotta pay to ride the bus.”
I held up a fiver, and Connor’s eyes bulged. "Where'd you get that?"
"Dad was asleep. So, I borrowed it."
Connor smacked a hand to his forehead. I inhaled, preparing myself for a lecture on all the ways that stealing was a sin, but thankfully, the low hum of an engine interrupted him before he got past commandment number three. The bus sputtered to a stop in front of us, expelling a toxic cloud of exhaust that made me cough as the doors creaked open. I handed our fare to the driver, then we took seats at the back.
Connor fidgeted in his seat the whole way into town, continuously mumbling about getting into trouble. By the time we stepped off the bus, I was ready to find a Milkybar and cram it down his throat to make him hush. That’s all that kid worried about, trouble—and food. And that’s all I seemed to stay in.
The bus disappeared around the corner, and my attention went right to the bright red and yellow awning of Callaghan’s Toy Shoppe. It reminded me of a circus tent with its tiny flags waving in the breeze from the top of the canopy.
Just before we reached the toy shop door, I held out my arm, and Connor’s plump chest bumped into it. The last thing I wanted to do was get him into trouble. I gave him a stern look while thumbing behind me. "You have to wait around the corner, okay?"
"Why?" Connor frowned. "I want to come in and look at the new lightsaber."
"No. You have to stay here. Wait around the corner from McDonald’s." I pointed to the half-lit golden arches a few stores down.
"Fine." He rolled his eyes. Even at that early stage in our friendship, Connor had realized sometimes it was best not to ask questions. "But you owe me a Big Mac,” he mumbled and started down the sidewalk.
The bell over the door tinkered when I stepped inside the shop. The older man behind the counter glanced up from his newspaper when I approached the Star Wars display spread out at the front of the store. My pulse raced when I picked up a box with Darth Vader wielding a lightsaber. I didn’t care about Darth Vader, but I had to look normal. A woman at the back of the store got his attention, and I watched from the corner of my eye as the man folded the paper, placed it on the counter, and disappeared around the corner. That was my chance. I took off down the aisles, stopping at the one where the shelves were stuffed full of obnoxious pink boxes. Blond Barbies. Brunette Barbies. Pageant Queen Barbie and Scuba Diver Barbie…
I quickly glanced over the shiny packages, snatching one with a doll that had brown hair like Poppy's. I shoved it under my arm and walked back through the shop with my heart in my throat. When I neared the till, I took one good look around, then bolted straight out the door.
"Hey!" a man shouted behind me. "Hey, kid. Stop!"
I glanced over my shoulder at the hefty security guard weaving between people on the sidewalk. That made me kick up my run to a full-blown sprint. I zoomed around the corner, already shouting for Connor to run.
His eyes went wide, and he started down the street with the speed of a sloth.
"Run!" I shouted again. Catching up to him, I grabbed his arm and yanked him around a building and into an alley where we ducked behind a rusted Volvo.
Connor sidled beside me and coughed. I slammed my hand over his mouth. "Do you want us to get caught?" I whispered.
"Caught?” He panted for a second, swallowed, then shoved me, knocking me against the brick wall. “What did you do? Why are we running and hiding?"
I proudly held up the crumpled Barbie box. "For Poppy." The guard rushed past, blowing his whistle.
Groaning, he covered his face and dropped his chin to his chest. “My ma’s going to kill me when she finds out."
His ma would never find out if he didn’t tell her, but knowing Connor, he would go home and confess his sins the second she offered him tea.
I grabbed his hands and yanked them from his face, tossing them to his sides. "Don't tell, or I'll break all your video games."
"You play them, too!"
"I'll still do it.” I jerked my chin toward the street. "Come on. I think they're gone."
My ma would have smacked me with her slipper if she’d found out I nicked that doll, but I had broken Poppy's Barbie and made her cry.
I didn’t want her to be sad, even if she was a girl.
* * *
When Connor wenthome for tea, I went to Poppy’s.
Nerves churned my stomach when I knocked on the door, and when it swung open, I nearly lost my lunch. I had to crane my neck to stare up at Mr. Turner. His thick beard and impressive height made him look like a lumberjack, and suddenly, I was dwarfed.
