Page 28 of Her Wonderful Wonder Bell
He doesn’t say anything because he’s a dog.
“I’m gonna go to her store to see her.”
Catcher huffs and it sounds frustrated, but I’m sure it’s a coincidence.
I put on a nice, cropped Wonder Balls t-shirt and some low-sling sweatpants to show off my abs, lace up my fresh, white high-tops, and my wraparound shades. Then, I jump in my red convertible, and speed to Rosa’s Dulcería.
I park in the closest spot to the front door. I think it’s a disabled spot, but no one ever usesit. They can just come inside and ask me to move if they need it. I will. I’m a reasonable guy.
I shut the car door, smooth my hair back in the rearview mirror, and make sure my teeth are still dazzlingly white. I paid a lot of money for these teeth to look this good, so I take care of them.
As soon as I open the door to Rosa’s and lift my sunglasses, I see her: Sharon Cristina Silva y Pacheco. The most beautiful woman in the world.
“Go away,” she says as she slaps a sticker on a bag of licorice.
Her black hair nearly covers her eyes, but I don’t need to see it to know what expression she's making. I know her inside and out. I’ve been studying her since we were kids. Right now, she’ll look the same as she almost always does—bored to death.
“Is that any way to speak to your favorite customer?” I reply leaning against the shelf nearest the registers so my shirt rides up nice and high.
I flex my abs and grin. A few things on the shelf fall somewhere, but I’m sure it’s fine.Sharon mumbles something, but it’s too quiet for me to hear. I notice that she changed her hairstyle. I’ll mention it with a compliment. Show that I care.
“I like your front hair today. Looks nice.”
“Myfront hair? What the hell does that mean?”
“The hair in front.” I hold my hand where my forehead is.Hmm. There must be a girl word. Oh, right. I remember.“You cut your bongs. Looks nice.”
“Ugh. Something is wrong with you. What do you want?” She slaps another sticker on some licorice with enough force that her big knockers jiggle inside her black lace top.Hell yeah.
“I want something sweet, of course.” I set my elbows on the counter and lean toward her. “But I want it very, very spicy.”
“Ugh.” She slaps a sticker over my mouth and walks away.
Rosa, her mom, walks out from the back room and sees me leaning there with a sticker over my mouth like a moron. She quirks her head to the side but smiles andwaves anyway.
I peel the sticker off of my mouth and wave back. The sticker reads “Welcome Belles.” I frown. Those must be gifts for the Wonder Belles. They’re the reason I can’t play baseball.
“Hello there, Mr. Baseball Pitcher. What would you like today?”
At least Sharon’s mom is nice to me.
“He said he wants spicy candy,” Sharon says to her. “Very, very spicy.”
“Hmm. I don’t want to sell him something too spicy. Maybe we just do some cinnamon or—”
“Hey mom.” Sharon bumps Rosa with her elbow and points out the front windows. “Look at his car. Nice parking job, huh?”
I look out at my car to see what she’s talking about. I guess I did a pretty good job. I’m right in the center of that blue rectangle. When I turn back to the ladies, they’re both looking at me with huge grins.
“Very, very spicy it is,” Rosa says. “A strong man like you can handle it, I’m sure.”
I flex my bicep as she walks past, heading to the taffy wall. Rosa gives it a squeeze just asI’d hoped. I’ve got this one in the bag. Won the mom over, now to win the girl.
Rosa opens the only taffy in a glass case and takes just one piece to the counter.
“One piece? That’s all I get?”
“All you need,” Rosa replies. “You just take a nibble and it’s enough for anormalperson.”
