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Forty-Two

Rosie

“I don’t like bologna ,” I said as the mean man shoved a sandwich at me. I kept my hands tucked under my butt so I didn’t have to take it.

“Then go hungry.” His nose flared the same way Uncle Mike’s does when he gets mad. I pulled away, afraid that he might hurt me.

“How long before they get here?”

I looked up at the woman who was yelling into her phone. She looked familiar, but I didn’t know why. I tried to hide against the wall and make myself as small as possible on the chair so she wouldn’t see me. She was mad. Really really mad. I didn’t want her to get mad at me again.

“What do you mean that they’re gone? Your guys had one job. ONE. JOB.”

She stopped walking around and I was thankful because her shoes were really loud and hurt my ears every time they clicked on the floor.

Mommy’s shoes sounded like that when she wore her high heels, but she didn’t do that too much anymore.

She said she was too tired to worry about running around in death traps.

I didn’t know what she meant by it, but I thought maybe they made this lady mad too.

Perhaps she could take them off for a while, or someone could loan her a pair of shoes that she liked better? That might make her less angry.

“So what you’re telling me is that not only did your team let them get away, but they killed them first, then stole the truck AND Paco’s phone?”

The louder she yelled, the more I thought about asking someone to give her different shoes.

She started walking again and pinched her nose.

Mommy also did that when she had a headache.

Maybe something was wrong with her and she needed help.

I looked around for a nurse or someone that could help her.

Everyone else looked scared or mean, so I didn’t want to talk to any of them.

I shuffled in my seat and tried to make myself invisible again.

“Well, given that your team botched the first job, you’re obviously not getting paid. What’s the status of the other assignment?”

The mean guy with the gross sandwich walked by again and looked at me but didn’t stop, so I knew I must have finally turned invisible.

It was something that I used when I went places with mommy and didn’t want people to see me.

I didn’t know if it really worked until now.

I couldn’t wait to tell her about it later.

“Well, at least you guys got half of the job done. I want proof sent to me in ten minutes. After that, find the other two and deal with them.”

She hung up the phone and turned around to look at me.

I panicked, wondering if my invisibility had worn off or if she had special powers like Mommy and could see me.

I held my breath and grabbed the seat of the chair tightly as she walked over and squatted in front of me.

“When someone offers you food, you should take it. You never know when it might be your last bite to eat.”

She stood up, grabbed the sandwich from the mean guy, and shoved it at me. When I didn’t take it from her right away, she got really angry and shook it in front of me.

“Take it!” she screamed at me, jerking her head so hard that her red hair looked like fire on top of her head.

I reached up and took the sandwich.

“Good girl.” She smiled at me but it didn’t make her eyes sparkle like my moms did when she smiled at me.