Chapter 52: The future

“Have you ever committed a crime?” He had asked one night, over desert in a Japanese restaurant.

“Not unless you count shoplifting as a child,” she had replied. “When I was about six, I was in this store, and there were these candles in the shape of Santa Claus. I was playing with one, while my mom was checking out. In the course of my playing, I broke the figurine. I was so frightened that I stuffed it into my pocket.”

David had recalled several similar situations.

“Anyway, we weren’t even back to the car yet when I broke down crying. My mom asked me what the problem was. I couldn’t say anything, all I could do was pull out the candle and show it to her.” She had smiled then, brushed hair out of her eyes in a way that made David’s spine tingle. “She took me back and made me apologize. I haven’t done anything illegal since.”

“That’s odd,” he had told her. “I would always just put the broken toys down, the pieces together, and let whoever picked it up next think they broke it.”