I didn’t turn. My voice came out cold. “Olivia. What have I told you about interrupting me when I’m with a customer?”
“But, Mom—” she tried again, pointing frantically toward the window.
I turned then, just enough to meet her eyes. It wasn’t rage I gave her—it was something heavier. A look carved from exhaustion, from battles she didn’t understand. A look that said—Do not cross this line.
She froze. Her hand dropped. Her voice faded.
“Never mind,” she muttered, shrinking back. “It can wait.”
I returned to the doll, my fingers trembling slightly as I again turned it.
Its eyes were still watching me.
“Olivia?” I called.
A moment later, I heard her startled gasp and the scuffle of hurried footsteps. A coin clattered somewhere in the back of the store, spinning wildly before rolling beneath a shelf.
“What is it?” she called out, her voice tinged with embarrassment.
“Could you come here for a moment?” I said, keeping my tone calm and measured but with just enough weight to ensure she heard the importance. “I need your opinion on something.”
I heard her hesitate. She rarely questioned me, especially when I spoke like that. After a beat, she emerged from the back aisle, brushing dust from her fingers as she approached the counter.
I lowered my reading glasses and gave her a small, curious smile. “What do you think of this one?” I asked, gesturing to the doll lying between us like an accusation.
She blinked. Froze.
The moment her eyes met the doll’s, something changed in her face. Her shoulders tensed, and she swallowed hard.
“Me?” she asked, pointing to herself, unsure.
“Yes, you,” I said, forcing a smile. “Tell me what you see.”
She didn’t hesitate this time. “I hate it,” she whispered, eyes locked on the doll as if afraid to blink.
My smile faltered, replaced by a flash of something darker—something protective. I turned to the old woman on the other side of the counter, who watched us with a polite, expectant grin.
“I’m sorry,” I said, my voice steady now. “It’s a no today.”
The woman’s smile twisted. “Are you sure? I can offer you a good price.”
“No,” I said again, sharper this time. “It doesn’t belong here.”
A beat of silence passed. Then the woman muttered something I couldn’t catch and shoved the doll back into her paper sack with a rustle of dry irritation. As she turned and stormed out, the door slammed shut behind her.
And just like that, the heaviness in the room seemed to lift.
I exhaled.
“Wasn’t that an odd doll?” I muttered, letting out a breathy laugh that didn’t quite reach my eyes. I stretched, pressing a hand to the small of my back. The tension was still knotted in my spine like wire. “Today’s been long. What do you say we go get some ice cream?”
Olivia’s face lit up like a switch had flipped. “Yes! But… who’s going to watch the store?”
“Your father, of course.” I raised my voice toward the back room. “Jack!”
A muffled grunt followed. “What?”
“Olivia and I are heading to Cool Scoops. Do you want anything?”
