Page 105 of The Penalty

“Is this what you use?” Xavier asked, spraying it onto a sample card.

“Every day.”

His dimple appeared when he waved the card in front of his face. “I’m putting these all over my bedroom so it’ll always smell like you.”

“That almost sounds not creepy.”

I heard him laughing when he walked outside to wait for me while I made my purchase.

“Where to next?” I rummaged through my bag as I approached him on the sidewalk. “Hungry? More shopping? Back to your place for a quickie?”

I found my lip gloss and reapplied some, observing the people around us. My sister would’ve loved this. All the stories we dreamed up while we people-watched as kids flooded my memory.

“That guy just had his heart broken,” Charlotte said, motioning toward the man across from us.

“How can you tell?”

“Easy.” She leaned closer to me. “Look at how he’s staring into nothing.”

“So? I stare into nothing all the time. My heart is in one piece.” Honestly, my sister comes up with the weirdest stuff sometimes.

“Tori, you’re not paying attention as usual,” she scolded. “He’s holding a box. I bet it’s the engagement ring she turned down. Or something sentimental he gave her that she doesn’t want.”

I shot her a skeptical look. “You can tell all this from over here?”

“You’re insufferable. That’s my story for him. What’s yours?”

I scrutinized the guy. Average looking. Medium height. Could use some help in the style department. “I bet he’s a serial killer and he stuffed some of his victim’s underwear in that box as a souvenir.”

Charlotte looked at me, horrified. I couldn’t hold back my laughter and broke character. “I’m kidding, Charlie. He looks like a high school science teacher about to meet a blind date. He’ll bore her with anecdotes about plant cells versus animal cells. But she’ll have sex with him because he’s not ugly.”

“I don’t know how we’re related,” she muttered.

I shook my head and smiled. Poor Charlotte. I don’t know how she put up with me.

“Xavier?” I glanced at him, surprised he hadn’t responded to my quickie suggestion and found him staring into nothing. Well, not quite nothing. I followed his gaze to where a young boy stood with his father.

There wasn’t anything unusual about it. They were talking and laughing. But then I noticed another little boy, standing quietly a couple feet behind them. The dad turned and asked him something. The little boy shrugged and nodded.

His eyes met Xavier’s, who stared back with empathy.

That’s my story for him. What’s yours?

Sadness poured into my heart, dulling some of today’s enjoyment. “Xavier? Are you okay?” I gently put my hand on his arm.

“I’m fine, love.” He didn’t sound fine.

“Let’s go find a café and relax for a bit.”

We walked until I spotted a small restaurant tucked away on a side street. Only a couple of tables were occupied in the outdoor dining area. Xavier and I were seated in the corner, away from everyone else.

After the server set our drinks on the table, I spoke.

“When Charlotte and I were younger, we’d make up random stories about people if we were out shopping or having lunch or whatever.” I kept my tone light. “People watching was one of our favorite things to do.”

Xavier rubbed his fingers on his lips, studying me.

I sipped my water and asked with as much sensitivity as I could, “What affected you so much seeing those boys with their dad?”

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