MALL ‘85

Steve Perry             Oh Sherrie              not in # The Book

Mall security guard Steve was doing his rounds. It was a slow day in the small mall, so I stood outside where he could see me. Most people rarely walked our way unless they were actually headed to Radio Shack, but word had gotten around that we had a desktop computer in the store. We were beginning to attract curiosity seekers and our on call computer expert Mike was contacted more frequently.

“Have you seen that girl in here before?” Steve asked.

“She’s here almost every day.”

“Do you know what she’s here for?”

“Sure, I asked her one day. She was so exasperated, I felt sorry for her.”

“Well, you’re the only one that knows.”

“Nobody asked me. I would have told them. But, you know, I’m the outsider.”

“Once they get used to you, you’ll be the hit of the mall.”

“If we were staying, I would have gotten to know everybody by now. As it is, I gave David my notice today.”

“I thought you were here for another year.”

“We are. I got a job at the factory. It’s practically across the street from our apartment.”

“That’s good,” Steve said patting my shoulder. He grinned, “I saw you pedaling your ass on the highway the other evening. Riding your bike home at ten o’clock at night is not safe.”

“That’s what David said. He wouldn’t let me ride the night we closed together. He grabbed my bike up and put it in the trunk of his car when he found out. He said if he’d known, he wouldn’t have hired me. Fact is, when I got hired, my husband was on a different shift. I had the car.”

A customer walked in the store. “Gotta go,” I said softly.

“See you.” Steve turned and asked, “Why does she come here every day?”

I giggled, “She’s looking for you.”

“Me? I passed her, she didn’t say anything.”

“Someone told her Steve Perry comes here every day. She’s his number one fan.”

“Journey?”

I shook my head.

Steve Perry, mall security, rolled his eyes heavenward and walked away.