Supermarket - Bobby Hall Page 0,46

her it was he who had hooked up with Rachel.

“The phone, it’s ringing . . . it’s Frank!”

That’s when Mia gave me a look she had never given me before—complete horror. She stared at the phone as I picked it up.

“Frank, Frank . . . you’ve got to help me, Mia is here right now and she thinks I’ve been with Rachel! Please, Frank . . . tell her that it’s you who’s been with her!”

With that, I handed Mia the phone. She shook her head no, eyes wider than ever.

“What do you mean? Take the phone, baby, please! He can tell you the truth!”

Finally, she extended her shaking hand, gripped the phone, and raised it to her ear. A few seconds later, as if she’d been told everything she suspected was true, she dropped the phone. Tears continued to fall.

“Please leave me alone,” she said, walking backward toward the door. “Don’t ever come near me again, Flynn.” Her voice was cold, distant, and definitive.

“What do you mean?! What are you talking about—”

“Don’t you ever fucking come near me again!”

The door slammed shut.

I stood frozen, staring at the closed door. Beside it was a bag she had left. Peeking out was a psychedelic-looking twelve-inch that read Tame Impala, Currents. It had a note taped to it:

Flynn, I hope you love this record as much as I love you—xoxo, Mia

I started to cry, thinking of who I had just lost. But then the tears stopped. I started to feel numb. My head felt cloudy, my stomach hurt. I couldn’t think. I felt like I was floating out of my body.

I leaped for the phone.

“Frank! Frank, are you there?!” A few seconds later, I heard chewing. Frank eating yet another banana, I was sure. “Frank, what the fuck did you say to her?!”

There was a pause.

“Nothing, man,” Frank said nonchalantly.

“WHAT DID YOU TELL HER, FRANK?” I yelled, holding the phone out in front of me.

“NOTHING, FLYNN!” Frank yelled back.

“Don’t you fuck with me!” Outraged and unable to think clearly, I kept going. “What did you tell her on the phone?”

Another pause, then Frank finally spoke.

“What she needed to hear.”

And the line was dead.

CHAPTER 10

CLIMACTIC EVENT

I was at a loss. As I saw it, there was no way to recover. Two days passed and Frank didn’t come into work. I kept my distance from Rachel, as I didn’t know if she was in on whatever Frank had been up to. For all I knew, she would try to cause a scene in front of Mia, making it look as though something was actually happening between us.

It was like the fucking Twilight Zone. The whole place had changed. It was a radioactive toxic zone now.

As for Mia, well, she was still coming to work, but I couldn’t bear to speak to her. I almost wanted to quit to avoid the whole situation. Every time I tried to muster up the courage I just remembered the look in her eyes when she left me. I tried to stay to myself, which wasn’t easy as a floater. I was feeling low. I’d find myself staring into the distance, zoned out. Outside the plateglass window, the old man sat, playing chess against himself.

Walking through the aisles, I came across old “Joe” clutching his cup and repeating, “Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee.” Again! He hadn’t missed a day since I had begun to work there. And then, of course, there was Ann with the multivitamins. And as much as I wanted to bark at her to stay the fuck away from me, she was just so damn sweet I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead, I said hello with as big a smile I could, took the pills, pretended to pop them, and placed them, yet again, in the right pocket of my brown jacket.

Under the weight of my own thoughts I headed to the loading dock to get away from things. I needed some fresh air. On my way there, I passed by the deli. Kurtis was smiling—a mocking smile that came with a side of pride. By now, he had gotten wind of me and Mia’s breakup, a breakup I know he caused because he had feelings for her. I wanted to bash his head in. But in that moment I remained calm. I didn’t act, I didn’t do anything. I didn’t even dream of doing so.

I couldn’t risk harming Kurtis, or even verbally scolding him, in the off chance it would get back to Mia.

I