Whatever It Takes

Chapter Nine

Peter carried himself down the street in a light jog to Delmars Deli - Grocery, slapping down two packs of gummies on the counter and next ordering a sandwich.

Mr. Delmar leaned on the counter with his elbows crossed, "so hows your aunt?" He asked. Peter folded his arms too, "yeah, shes good." Then, in Spanish, Mr. Delmar stands to comment on Aunt May. "His aunt is a very hot Italian woman!" Peter translates in his head, Mr. Delmar kissing his fingers for effect. The other worker comments back "Oh yeah?" Peter smirks, shifting his arms on his chest and surprises the clerk, asking slyly how his daughter is in Spanish. Mr. Delmar's smile drops, now ordering ten dollars from the boy.

"It's five dollars!" Peter argued.

"For that comment, ten." Delmar pushes. Emma probably would have argued, suggesting maybe he should pay up for the comment on May. For a second he was thankful she was late leaving school. She'd done something similar before. Peter quickly apologized, insisted he was joking, and pulled a five from his wallet to which Delmar grumpily accepted. Peter shuffled to the side, finding a fluffy, pudgy cat laying on a shelf top. Peter scratched his fur, earning a happy "murp!" from the feline. "What's up Murph?" He greeted happily, "how ya doing?" The cat eyed him happily, but then apologized to the cat. "Sorry Emma's not here."

Emma loved cats and animals alike. Murph was her buddy. The cat would jump up in glee if he caught Emma walking through the door in his vision. Emma could sit there all day and pet him, bringing him treats and insisting "no cat is ever too well fed!" It would make Delmar smile. And Peter would smile seeing Emma smile.

Peter moved back to the counter, taking his gummies. Delmar struck a new conversation. "Hows school?"

"Ah, you know, boring. I've got better things to do." Peter brushed off.

"Stay in school, kid," Delmar opened his arms and veered to the deli, "otherwise you're going to end up in a place like this."

"This is great," Peter breathed. Then, Delmar handed him his sandwich. "Best sandwiches in Queens," he said, as if it were a motto he were paid to say.

Peter bolted across the street, barely missing honking cars and people and after checking if the coast was clear, ducked into an alley. Feverishly, he stripped down to his boxers and tore the red and blue suit from his backpack. The suit was baggy before he tapped his abdomen and on command, the suit fitted itself to every contour of his body. Peter tossed up his bag which he casually webbed to a dumpster. Spiderman took off into the city.

***
Emma crossed up to Delmar's after not finding him the rest of the walk and texting proving useless. The bell rang out into the shop as Emma scanned the halls for her brother. Nothing.

"If you're looking for your brother, he just left," Delmar broke to her from the counter. Emma sighed, until a familiar purr and the sound of paws bounced toward her. Delmar smiled, "Murph is always here though. He missed you." Emma gladly bent down to pet the cat. Scratching his head and ears and picking him up to give him a hug. Murph purred loudly in appreciation. "Good to see you too, Murph," Emma smiled warmly.

"I'm surprised that cat doesnt follow you home," Delmar said, still smiling at the cat and the young girl. Emma kissed the animals forehead and placed him down gently. After a couple pats on the head to the cat, she stood back up. "He knows where home is. All animals do." Emma said.

"If you're looking for him, Pete ran put of here pretty quick across the road. Looked in a hurry." Now, Emma's face dropped. Shit.

Emma turned on her heel, thanking Delmar. "Thanks, Mr. Delmar. Sorry I'm not buying today. I need to go find Pete before he gets hit by a car." Delmar grinned, waving her off. Murph perched once more on the counter.