Encounters: Mikey and the Housewife

 "No honey, I am not going to buy that for you," the woman who was blocking the milk cooler said into her pink phone. After a pause, she added, "Because it's too expensive and you have a roomful of things you don't play with now."

Mikey waited patiently for her to finish her conversation or at least move on. He noticed that humans had a tendency to forget there was a whole world of activity going on around them when they started talking on their cell phones. It wasn't as though he could push past her either; drawing any kind of attention to himself was something he'd been trained to avoid since an early age.

Pulling the hood on his sweatshirt further over his head, Mikey pretended to be picking through the apples as he waited for her to move. He hadn't realized that the carton of milk he'd polished off with his cookies was the last one until he'd started looking for more. If Raph got up in the morning and didn't have milk for his cereal, Mikey would spend the entire day trying to dodge headlocks and noogies.

"I do not want you to pay me back for it," the woman said, finally moving out of the way. "Save your money for something more important. Elizabeth's parents may have the money to spend on that kind of stuff, but we don't and you are not going to get into the habit of trying to keep up with your friend."

Mikey slid over to the cooler and grabbed a gallon of milk, wondering if the woman even realized that she was telling the entire grocery her business. A quick glance through well trained eyes had told him the woman was probably in her forties, about five feet five in height, and close to a hundred twenty pounds. She had a blond pony-tail pulled through the back of a ball cap and was wearing workout clothes.

Grabbing a couple of other items that they needed, Mikey sauntered up to the check-out and set a bill on the counter while the clerk rang up his purchases. As Mikey headed out of the exit with his sacks, he saw the woman coming towards the front while tucking her cell phone into the purse that dangled loosely from her arm.

Once he was outside, Mikey didn't think much more about the woman other than to notice a dark blue Honda parked a half a block from the grocery. It was in the opposite direction from where he was headed and he figured it belonged to her.

Reaching into a bag Mikey grabbed an apple, rubbed it on his sweatshirt, and took a big bite. It was fresh and juicy and he was glad he'd bought several because they were Leo's favorite.

A high pitched strangled scream stopped the apple partway to his mouth and Mikey spun around to see the woman from the grocery struggling with a man who had a grip on her purse.

Tossing his bags aside, Mikey raced down the sidewalk, partly wishing the woman would let go of the purse so she wouldn't get hurt. Just as the thought crossed his mind, the mugger lifted a gun and as the woman tried to fall away from him, he pulled the trigger.

"No!" Mikey shouted, seeing the woman collapse on the sidewalk.

The mugger turned partway around when Mikey yelled. His gun came up again and he fired at the form barreling towards him.

Mikey leaped to the side as the mugger shot at him, doing a quick handspring that put him behind a mailbox. The mugger fired once more and then took off running.

Jumping out from his protective barrier, Mikey saw the man turn a corner a full block away, the woman's purse dangling from his hand.

"Help me," the woman's feeble call drew his attention and Mikey turned towards her, kneeling on the sidewalk at her side.

"Don't move," Mikey said, his voice firm and full of assurance.

"Sh . . . shot. He shot me," she stuttered, staring up at him with wide brown eyes.