Think of the Devil

Three

Jane could feel Alberto's excitement radiating from him as he heard her coming down the stairs. As she turned the corner into the shop, he was already facing her with that warm smile she'd become so familiar with.

"There you are!" he exclaimed, making the only patron in the store jump in surprise. She still couldn't hear the customer's annoyance over Alberto's pure joy of seeing her downstairs again, especially so quickly. He'd expected her in another day or two.

"Papá, calm down," Angélica chided. But inside, she was just as happy to see Jane, and she hopped off her stool at the end of the counter and rushed over to give her a hug. Her thoughts raced as she squeezed tightly, not sure where to start but thrilled nonetheless.

Jane couldn't help but feel a little cheerful too, surrounded by her chosen family. Looking at the sixteen year old, she asked, "Did you miss me that much?"

"Of course!" she shouted, startling the customer again. This time Jane could definitely hear his aggravated (Would they knock it off?) as he came around an aisle with his six pack of beer and chips. He set it up on the counter, so Alberto began to ring him up.

Angélica continued, "What's been going on with you? I mean I know you work and everything but we haven't hung out in forever! And my grade in math is going down because you stopped helping me with my homework. Papá doesn't know how to do this stuff! Why don't you--"

"Alright, alright, slow down," Jane laughed, moving towards where Angélica usually sits behind the counter. As Angélica jumped back onto her stool and continued to talk a mile a minute, Jane picked up another one of the patron's thoughts.

(Shit, I guess I better buy another pack of smokes while I'm here.)

Without thinking, she grabbed the brand of cigarettes the man was picturing and set it on the counter beside Alberto, who was just now hearing the additional order. The two men gawked at her, and she realized her mistake just as she stood behind Angélica.

"How the hell did you know I wanted these?" the customer asked, sniffling. Alberto was curious too, but he kept his question to himself. 

In these situations, Jane did her best to keep her cool. She'd never been caught, but she still managed to slip up from time to time. Fortunately for her, she'd gotten pretty good at deflecting.

"Because I can read your mind, obviously," she said, lifting her voice to sound like a joke. Inside, she was picking the man's brain to figure out if he'd ever bought cigarettes from Alberto before so she could spin this. From this far away, all she got was that he usually only came for beer and he was allergic to their shop cat.

The customer shot her a dirty look. She thought it was funny how nobody believed her when she told the truth. (Dumb broad. She thinks she's funny?) he thought. "Yeah, I'm sure you're a goddamn Avenger too."

"I don't know, man," she continued. "I've seen you around before. Must've seen you buy them or something."

"I go to Benny's to buy smokes," he said, narrowing his eyes at her. "They're cheaper."

She'd learned that native New Yorkers usually just argued for argument's sake, but if you went along with them for a minute they'd get bored and let it go. Sarcastically, she said, "You know what, man? You're right to worry. I follow you all around God's green Earth because I've been dying to know what you were smoking. You caught me."

(Stupid bitch. Who does she think she's talking to?) "You better watch your mouth," he warned.

Alberto was becoming anxious, looking between the two of them. He knew Jane tended to be a rather sarcastic person, but he didn't need her to be picking fights with customers. Especially a big one who was so irritated with her. He couldn't remember if he'd sold the man cigarettes before either, but if he was buying them today he must've bought them before. (Please,) Alberto thought, (just let him leave.)