Black Magic Friday

smiles broadly up at me, showing the wide gap in her teeth. “Okay.”
I step back, so the adult with her doesn’t think I’m accosting the kid. I bump into something, and when I turn, I find it’s the man in the plaid coat. He’s backed away from the fight, dusted with white stuffing, looking extremely sheepish.
“Be careful out there,” I tell him and edge around him to find Lin.
She’s picking herself up from under the coat rack. Gathering the items that have spilled out of her jute bag. Behind her, the fight has ended, as abruptly as it started. One of the women is crying and several people have circled her, offering comfort, but everyone else has wandered away, now that the excitement is over.
“How’d you get over there?” Lin asks as she stuffs the towels back into her carrier bag. “I thought you were in front of me.”
I shrug, something I’ve had to do a lot with Lin over the past two months, since I don’t want her to know anything about my involvement with the infernal.
Lin gives me a sharp glance. “Did it have anything to do with that?” She nods back over her shoulder at where the fight took place.
Possibly. Probably. “Can we go get a cup of coffee? I could really use a coffee.”
Lin, who is more than passingly familiar with my caffeine addiction, rolls her eyes.
“Seriously,” I say. “Can we go? This place is nuts.”
With another eye-roll and a grimace that says I’m going to hear about the deals I made her miss for the rest of my life, Lin nods. I help her to her feet and link my arm through hers.
“Starbucks?” Lin asks.
“Yes, please.” I’d actually rather go to Borders, but it’s a bit of a walk and there’s a Starbucks right on Winter Street.
“Okay. I’ll even spring for a gingerbread latte, if you tell me what really happened,” Lin says, squeezing my arm as she steers us towards the check-outs.
I can’t, and I never will be able to, not if I’m going to keep Lin and everyone else around me safe. But I’m getting good at making up convincing stories. “That’s a deal,” I say.
“Too bad it’s not a bargain!” Lin says.
Chuckling together, we join the line at the registers.
About the Author
E J Frost is an American living in the wilds of North-West England.
Connect with the author on Facebook (EJ Frost), Twitter (@ejfrostuk), and www.ejfrost.co.uk.