Temptation

I knew her name from the tag that hung crooked on her sweater. Gina. With her short hair streaked blonde, and badly in need of a touch-up, along with her plain features on an even plainer face, there was nothing special about her. Nothing would set her apart from all the other tired cashiers at the grocery store. If she committed a crime, I doubt I could have picked her out in a line-up. At least that was before we made a connection. She sized me up in a hurry, and before either of us knew it, she had me pegged exactly right. From my salon-styled hair, and boutique clothing, right down to the gem-filled rings on my nail-polished fingers, she had me figured out from the start. An easy target.

I can't even remember how it all came about. One of us complimented the other, and from that moment on, our . . . alliance was formed. I never dreamed I'd do it, never dreamed I could be party to a crime, but I was desperate. I had no choice. I really believed I had no choice.

The next time I went to the grocery store, I even considered avoiding her, not giving in to the temptation that overwhelmed me. Almost against my will, I moved from the shorter line at checkout five, to her line. Checkout four. We smiled, and as she put my few items in the bag--a tube of toothpaste, yet another bottle of nail polish, a carton of milk--she leaned over to me.

"I thought about it, and I can get you some if you're interested," she whispered. She glanced furtively at the man next in line. I looked nervously at the bag boy with a full cart following a stout man out to the parking lot.

"Okay." I said with a terse nod.

"I wrote out the information you need. It's in the bag," she said.

I gave an imperceptible nod. "Maybe." I said with a shrug. She winked and laughed, showing a gold tooth. She took my money for the purchases and handed my change back.

"Have a great day!" she said as I hurried away from her till, anxious to get out of the store, to get some air. I felt scared, yet at the same time, a strong feeling of exhilaration swept over me. I strode to my car, and threw the bag on the passenger seat, fighting the temptation to read the note then and there. I'd read it once I got home, and, I knew, I would follow the instructions she'd given me. I'd heard about this stuff, read about it on the internet, but had never tried it myself. I'd been dying of curiosity, never dreaming I'd have the opportunity to actually try it myself; and then along came Gina.


Once home, I waited 'til the time she'd given me. I had to wait until she was off shift. Three agonizing hours passed before I was able to lift the receiver off the cradle and punch in the numbers she'd written in her messy scrawl.

"Hi, Gina? It's me. From the store."

"Oh yes. I knew you'd call. It's just too hard to pass up, isn't it?"

I studied my nails and pressed the receiver closer to my ear. "Yes."

"You know what you want?" she asked. Her voice was so silky smooth, I could hardly believe it belonged to such a drab little woman. I looked at the list she'd given me and in that moment, I threw all caution to the wind. I didn't care if it was illegal. I didn't care if our getting caught cost Gina her job. If she was willing to take that risk, so was I.

"Yes!" I cried. "Yes, I want . . ."

"I think I can guess." she cackled and rattled off some cute little term for my order and again, I could only say "yes."

"When you come into the store tomorrow, buy something but add the extra amount when you pay me for your store items--exact amount. I can't give you change back, so make sure."

I agreed to her demands.

"If my boss found out . . ."

I knew already. I said something that would put her mind at ease and ended the call, anxious for the following day when I'd see her again. To make the time go by, I indulged in a full body scrub. I washed off all my make-up, steamed and exfoliated my face, removed my nail polish, and soaked myself in a soothing aroma-therapeutic bath. When I was done, I was almost as plain looking as Gina herself.

******

The next morning, I was there at checkout four, a carton of juice in my hand. To my delight, the whole exchange went off without a hitch. I hurried home, euphoria encouraging me to press my foot a little firmer on the accelerator, turn the music on the CD player up just a little louder. I was heady with joy.

Once home, I hurriedly opened the package and nearly cried for the sheer bliss I felt. The small bottle felt right in my hands. I turned the top on it, the familiar aroma filling my nostrils reminding me how wonderful the little things in life really are. "Grape and Cotton Candy" I said aloud, reading the label. This nail polish not only wasn't available in my country for resale yet, it changed color! It went on purple, and turned various shades of pinky purples depending on the temperature of the room and my hands.

I quickly applied the beautiful, beautiful polish and knew there was no stopping me now. I'd buy all ten colors from Gina. She didn't need to flash her fancy nails at me anymore to get my attention. She had it! She had me as her new customer. I could sleep soundly knowing that once again, freaky quirk or not, I still had the greatest nail polish collection on earth.