"Pay Me No Mind" by Nancy Corbett
"I can't just take them. That's stealing."
"So?"
"So, well, what if I get caught?"
"Natie, no one's paying any attention to us. Don't you know that by now? Women our age, well, we're about as invisible as anyone can be."
Natie knew it was true. But she'd never stolen anything before. Her heart was pounding so hard, she could hear it crashing inside her head. She walked away from the jewelry counter, and Misty rolled her eyes.
"Coward."
"Be quiet. I just want to make sure no one's around." Natie did a quick survey of the store and saw that the cashier was sitting on a stool behind the register, reading a magazine. Heart still audibly pounding in her ears, she slowly strolled back to the jewelry counter and slipped the earrings in her purse.
"Let's get out of here," she told Misty, who wore a satisfied grin on her face. Natie's face felt like it was on fire. As they walked rapidly out the door, she was sure that, if the counter girl were to look up, she would either immediately become suspicious or alarmed at the glowing red color of Natie's face. But, of course, the counter girl's eyes never lifted from her magazine.
They had walked three blocks before Natie began to slow down. When they got to their houses on Phinney Street, Natie was glad when Misty bid her farewell and went into her own house. Natie needed some time alone. She felt slight shame for taking the earrings, but she also felt a lot of other things. She had not felt this alive for years. The blood was tingling in her fingertips. Her scalp was damp with nervous perspiration. "This must be why people jog," she thought, as endorphins blinked through her brain.
That evening, Natie walked over to the Hitching Post for an early supper. Just as much as she had wanted to get home that afternoon, now she wanted to be out. It was good to feel restless.
"Something to drink?" asked the waitress staring at the pad in her hand.
"Coffee, please," said Natie. The waitress walked away without looking up.
Over the twang of country music, Natie could hear the men talking in the booth behind her.
"I'm telling ya, Bob, those houses on Phinney are not vacant," said the one right behind Natie.
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