I was early and the door to the church nave was closed. A sign posted on it said: SILENCE PLEASE. SMALL GROUP AUDITIONS IN PROGRESS.ENTER QUIETLY OR COME BACK AT 7:25! I needed a coffee anyway. I’d had a long day. I’d had to fire a sales associate after he showed up half an hour late, for the fifth time. Then I had to fill in for him at the register after he left. And that afternoon I’d caught a shoplifter, a punky girl about twenty. I’d seen her before, lurking around in a sweatshirt, dirty jeans and Converse sneakers. This time I was ringing up a sale when I spotted her across the floor, standing behind a table display of Henley shirts. She had her back to me, but I saw her slip two shirts into a shopping bag she carried. I got someone to finish my sale, and I snuck up on her. When I asked if she’d like to try on those shirts, she dropped the bag and ran away fast. Which was lucky. I would have had to call the cops on her if she hadn’t. I hated calling the cops. An arrest always caused a scene in the store, in front of the paying customers.
