Blooming by Patty Somlo
The narrow aisle reeked of ammonia and old dust. My coat brushed the counter’s edges. I could feel the merchandise leaning in my direction. No one noticed me slip a bottle of Be Delicious and a fake pearl necklace stapled on velveteen into my pocket from my hand.
I glided one aisle over to the eye shadow blooming in tins and palmed two into my bag. The lint-filled corners of my life began to blossom.
I had only slipped one small lipstick tube into my pocket when a hand grabbed me right above the wrist. Curled black hairs nearly smothered lines on the wide fingers, above each puffy knuckle.
“Come with me.”
The voice was deep and ripped like stepped-on glass.
Those fat hands hauled me up a set of metal stairs into a dark room, crowded with paper and shelves. I emptied my pockets as I’d been ordered.
Fistfuls of shredded Kleenex floated down. A wrinkled wrapper clutched a wad of pale gray chewed gum.
The lipstick tube smacked the gray metal desk, mocking the silence of that dark place. I told the man the lipstick was mine. The lie slid from my lips as easily as the necklaces, perfume and nail polish flirted with my heart.
The man whose dark face needed a shave twirled the lipstick tube with his hairy fingers and accused me of lying. Instead of a flower, he saw a girl in a faded brown coat that needed replacing.
I stared at my feet, in a shiny pair of black suede slip-on shoes. The tear on the right side opened, like an eye about ready to cry.
My naked pinky toe considered our options, before deciding that we’d best make a run for it.
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About the Author
Patty Somlo
Born: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Now Resides: Portland, Oregon, USA
Online: www.paraguasbooks.com
Bio: Patty has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Her first short story collection, From Here to There and Other Stories, will be published in November 2010 by Paraguas Books. A former journalist, Patty sees fiction as a way of shining a light on reality and transforming it through characters who find unusual, and sometimes magical, ways of coping. The daughter of a career military officer, Patty spent her life moving from place to place. Through writing, Patty finds the place she feels most at home.
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image by MYvonne.
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