Ticket 1207 Read Free Page B

pouring the liquid in her hand and began shaking the contents out of the bottle onto Jill’s face.
    “Stop that! It smells, what’s in it? If it’s the testicles off of anything, I will beat your ass!”
    Theo stabbed a finger at Jill. “Don’t you threaten me in my shop. I was sprinkling a little joy juice on you since you don’t seem happy.”
    “Don’t you judge me,” Jill snapped. “Just because I’m not wetting my pants over the creepy shit you have in your shop doesn’t mean I’m not a happy person.”
    “Enough,” Theo said calmly as she set her bottle of joy juice down. She pointed her finger at Jill’s forehead. “There you shall grow a horn.”
    “Stuff your horn,” Jill said as she turned around and stormed out.
    *******
    Jill washed her body twice while she showered to rid herself of the foul-smelling so-called joy juice. Theo’s elixir had caused the opposite effect—the more she thought about their conversation, the angrier she became. As hot water sprayed on top of her head, Jill reluctantly acknowledged that she wasn’t ticked off at Theo, but at her own stupidity. The truth was, she really did want something, and she had gone in search of it in Theo’s store, even though she knew it was futile.
    Theo had nailed it earlier that day. Jill was lonely. The holidays made it worse. The Christmas Eve celebration at her mother’s house would be filled with her siblings and their spouses and children. Jill’s aunt would ask yet again, “Why haven’t you found anyone yet, what’s wrong with you?” Christmas morning was the worst; Jill would awake alone with no one to open the gifts under her tree—if she had one.
    “This will pass,” she reminded herself as she stepped out of the shower and dried off. “Everything will go back to normal until freaking Valentine’s Day.” Jill raked a comb through her hair and narrowed her eyes as she moved closer to the mirror. In the center of her forehead was a circular red mark.
    *******
    “Good morning,” Rene sang out as she entered the jewelry shop the next day, her hair shiny and full of loose curls. “Theo is a—jumping jingle bells, what is that?”
    “My face has decided to break out for the holidays,” Jill said grumpily.
    Rene moved closer, unable to tear her gaze from the burgeoning pimple. “That’s an eye, you should draw a brow over it.”
    “Go ahead, get it out of your system.”
    “No, I won’t make fun,” Rene said as she removed her coat. “But it did just wink at me. You should put something on that.”
    Jill grabbed a pair of sunglasses, the frames of which covered the blemish on her forehead. “I finished work on half a dozen tickets. You can go ahead and call the customers.”
    “Wow, you must’ve worked late last night.”
    “I couldn’t sleep, so I came in early.”
    “You need to see a doctor about that insomnia. Hey! Ask Theo if she’s got anything that will knock you out.”
    “I’m not asking that crazy old woman for anything,” Jill snapped just as the door flew open and the bell clanked against the wall again.
    “I didn’t sleep a wink last night, and you know why?” Theo yelled as she snatched the chicken foot from her dress. “One of the wires on this thing poked me and tore my pillowcase.” She shook a finger at Jill. “You tryin ’ to kill ol’ Theo?”
    “Darn, it didn’t work,” Jill deadpanned.
    “Theo, look at my hair.” Rene twirled around. “It’s beautiful.”
    “You gon ’ be bald before noon if she don’t fix my foot.”
    Rene looked panic-stricken. “Fix her foot.”
    “I’m not touching that thing again.” Jill folded her arms and set her jaw.
    “Why you got them glasses on—you hungover ?” Theo asked as she strode over to the counter.
    “She has a huge pimple,” Rene explained. “It looks like a bee stung her right between the eyes.”
    Theo set her hands on her hips as a smug grin spread across her face. “Like the beginnings of a horn? I told