A Gangster's Wife •Lee Felix•

Chapter.1

Chapter.1

_________________________________________

"Ma'am" I looked over at the short woman dressed in a white cardigan and a shirt covered in hair. She approached the counter with a children's dress. I picked it up right as she placed it on the counter. "Is this what you will be getting?" I asked her.

"Well, yeah" She replied in her southern accent, I rung up the dress, she was silent as she watched me bag the dress. "Is it for your daughter?" I asked her, trying to break the awkward silence.

"It's for me" She replied as she grabbed her card from her wallet, she smiled as she handed me the food stamp card. "Ma'am" I said, she was busy trying to put her wallet back in her purse. "Ma'am" I said again.

She looked up from her purse and met my eyes "Yes?" She asked. I looked down at the card she gave me and then back at her. "You can't pay with a food stamp card" I told her.

"Oh my" she said as she quickly snatched the card from my hand. "I'm going blind nowadays" she said, I laughed but she didn't, I coughed and scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "Here you go" she said as she handed me a card that I could use.

I tapped her card and handed it back to her. "You know what food stamp cards look like?" She asked me.

"I am very familiar" I replied, she smiled as I handed her the bag with the dress in it. "How old?" She asked.

"Seven" I replied with a smile.

"And you?" She asked.

I sighed and leaned against the counter "Young" I replied. Her expression quickly changed, she almost looked disgusted. "You have a nice day" I told her.

"You too" She said on her way out, it didn't sound that genuine. I threw the coat hanger under the counter and pushed my hair out of my face.

The bell rang as the door opened, I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before turning around to face the kind customer. I felt my heart skip a beat when he met my eyes. He had wavy blonde hair and beautiful brown eyes that I couldn't stop staring at. He wore a black t-shirt and ripped jeans. His tattoo sleeve and ear piercing intrigued me.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked him leaning over the counter. He smiled, a very a dimpled smile, I smiled in response to his smile but caught myself.

"Yes ma'am I was wondering I could return this" his Australian accent caught me off guard. An australian in Atlanta? I had to tear my eyes from him so I could see what he had placed on the counter.

It was a brand new hoodie with the tag still attached. "I bought it for a friend but got the wrong size" he explained.

"That's alright" I said, grabbing the hoodie from the counter. He smiled "Thank you" he said, "Of course" I replied, I started typing on the computer, he stood their for a few moments tapping his fingers on the counter.

"I'm guessing you're not from around here" I said, I glanced over at him. "No I was born in Korea but I was raised in Australia" he explained.

"Ooh Korea, I've never been there before" I said, I had finished my shitty job on the computer and turned to face him. "Yeah I'm currently living there but I came to Atlanta for work" he said.

"Do you like it here?" I asked him.

"No" he laughed, I chuckled and let out a snort making us both laugh harder. "I'm sorry" I said with a reddened face as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

He laughed but didn't say anything, a silence fell between us, I turned to the computer and began drawing out his money. "I know this is very cliche to ask" he started, I began drawing the money out. "But... would you like to go get coffee sometime?" He asked.

I smiled and closed the register, I turned to him again "Funny thing, I'm not a coffee person" I told him.

"That's alright, I know this coffee shop that has coffee and smoothies" he said.

"Ooh that sounds nice" I leaned against the counter. He nodded "It's about five miles from here" he said. I nodded slowly, I couldn't take my eyes off of him. "Are you free Sa..turday?" He asked me.

I had think about it.

"I would have no one to babysit my kid Saturday" I said.

"Bring them with you" he said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah of course, we're just hanging out" he licked his lips in the most attractive way possible and then smile. "Alright" I replied, he pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it to me, he already had it on contacts.

I laughed and grabbed his phone, he watched me closely as I typed my number into his phone. My hand shook has I handed him his phone back. "Thank you" he said, I nodded with a smile.

"Oh here's your money" I said.

"Keep it" he replied, I furrowed my eyes "No, it's your money" I told him. I mirrored my expression "What's wrong with tipping a beautiful woman?" He asked as he approached the exit.

My cheeks reddened once again, I was too shook to speak. I looked down at the $16.23 in my hands, I stuck it my pocket and went to peek out the window to look at him.

He walked across the street, thanking the driver for stopping. He approached a blue 1969 camero. I turned away from the window and placed my hand over my heart.

I can't believe that just happened.

**

"Mom can you make some popcorn while you're up?" Reese asked.

"Sure honey" I replied, I pulled my phone from my back pocket and checked my messages. I opened the cabinet and grabbed a bag of popcorn. I closed the cabinet with my elbow and made my over to the microwave.

His number popped up on my phone, my heart jumped, I don't know how to handle phone calls. I hate phone calls with a passion but I guess can make an acception. I gulped and placed the popcorn in the microwave.

After starting the popcorn, I answered the call. I pressed the phone to my ear and waited for him to say hello but their was silence, I hate this...

"I never got your name" he said, his voice breathy over the phone.

"Oh, Elodie" I said "My names Elodie" I replied.

"Wow I've never heard that name before" he said, I laughed and looked down. "Well, it's nice to meet you Elodie, my name is Christopher but you can call me Chris" he said.

"It's nice to meet you as well... Chris" I said.

He laughed like a little kid when I said his name. "I'm sorry" he apologized.

"You're good" I reassured him, "Umm... does three o'clock sound good?" He asked me. I grabbed a notepad and a pen from one of the kitchen drawers. "Yeah of course that sounds great" I said.

"Okay, I will send you the address and hopefully I'll see you tomorrow" he said.

"Sounds like a plan, Stan" I said.

Why the fuck did I say that?