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    The Candy

Bar Liaison
     
    by Kiyara Benoiti
     
    Breathless Press
    Calgary, Alberta
    www.breathlesspress.com
     
    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or
    persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

    The Candy Bar Liaison
    Copyright© 2009 Kiyara Benoiti
    ISBN: 978-1-926771-10-6
     
    Cover Artist: Justyn Perry
    Editor: Rochelle Weber
    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in reviews.
     
    Breathless Press
    www.breathlesspress.com

     

     
    The Candy
Bar Liaison
     
     
    It began with candy bars, and then over the next few weeks, it progressed to small bags of chips, packages of single-serving cookies, and Slim Jims. The first time Cory witnessed the young woman stealing Mars Bars, Peppermint Patties, and Milky Way bars, he could only stand behind the two-way mirror and watch in fascination. Already tempered by such acts of thievery from the teenagers and small kids, he’d try to steer them onto the right path, but occasionally, Cory would bust a professional shoplifter for something larger. However, this woman...this woman was different somehow.
    As manager of the Corner Shop Grocery, Cory had a reputation for busting the most shoplifters in the neighborhood, which spanned a ten-block radius. He was also known for his fairness. Perpetrators were forced to repay their debt to taxpayers. The smaller kids worked off their misdemeanors by sweeping, cleaning, and mopping the storeroom and john. In the case of this woman, Cory merely took careful note of the missing items, and then discreetly put the money in the register from his own wallet. Maybe it was the casually graceful way she walked that captivated him, or perhaps the pouty, brooding expression she wore when she stole something. Whatever the reason, he was hooked. He had to meet her, get closer to her. What was her name? Where was she from? And why was she surviving out on the streets?
    Toddy and Bryant, the life partners who lived across the hall from him, urged Cory to talk to her, but so far he hadn’t worked up the courage. And worse, he feared scaring her away.
    The woman usually came in to the store about every other day or so. That week she hadn’t shown up for three days. On the fourth morning, as Cory stood at the checkout counter taking inventory of the tobacco products, she entered the store earlier than usual. Upon seeing her, Cory paused, pen poised over the clipboard, his heart jumping several gears. The young woman stood contemplating a small personal travel kit and a jar of peanut butter. Returning the jar to its shelf, she deftly slid the box of toiletries under her jacket and froze, eyeing the small, inconspicuous two-way mirror with undisguised suspicion.
    At first, Cory thought she would bolt from the store, but slowly, she withdrew the kit and returned it to its rightful spot. She crossed the market and pushed outside, turning right onto the sidewalk and hurrying away as if a police cruiser would appear at any moment.
    Stunned, Cory dropped the inventory sheets, sprinted down the aisle as if his shoes were on fire, and snatched up the travel kit. If anyone else had been in the store they would’ve thought he’d lost his mind. He raced outside after the homeless woman.
    Standing at a blue mailbox, she kissed an envelope and dropped it through the slot. She turned as Cory approached her.
    “Here,” he blurted before she could run. He shoved the toiletries at her. “Take it.”
    She wore a suspicious expression and shook her head.
    “Take it.” He continued to hold the travel pack out and took one more step toward her. “I’ll pay for it.”
    “Why?” she asked. Slowly she took the kit from him; her