"Good. Here comes your boyfriend. I'm leaving you at the register. I don't mind if you talk to him, as long as you don't neglect any of the customers. And as long as you don't get into any lovers' quarrels. Tends to be bad for attracting walk-in business." Jon smiled at his own dry humor and took off for the back of the store.

"Hi," Rick said. Checking to make sure no one else was around, he leaned over the counter and gave Christy a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hi," Christy said, startled at his greeting.

"I have a surprise for you," Rick said. "But you don't get it until tomorrow. Think you can wait until then?"

"I guess. If I have to. Jon figured out that you were my boyfriend. He said he didn't mind if you hung out as long as it didn't keep me away from the customers."

"Oh, and did you happen to tell him what a wonderful salesperson I am?"

Christy giggled, remembering the night Rick sold the hedgehog and the rabbit. "No, but I'll be sure to mention it when the time is right. Why don't you find some poor unsuspecting person and sell him one of the tropical birds tonight? Those are expensive. Or I know, better yet, why don't you find a new home for Walter? Jon would love you forever."

"Who's Walter?" Rick asked.

"The snake back there. The huge, ugly, neglected one."

"And you're one of his biggest fans, I can tell," Rick teased. Then turning more serious, he said, "I won't be able to sell Walter for you tonight, babe. I'm going for pizza with some of the guys and then to the game. I only stopped by to tell you what time I'm picking you up in the morning."

Christy's heart sank. First she had to give up time with Katie because of her date with Rick, and now he was going to the football game while she worked.

Rick must have read the disappointment in her eyes because he said, "Hey, come on. We'll have all day together tomorrow, remember? I'm going to pick you up at eleven o'clock, so be ready and bring a jacket."

"Okay," she answered, trying to look more cheerful. "I'll be thinking about you all night though."

"You're not going to miss me a bit," Rick teased. "Not when you have Walter and Tarzan to keep you company." He checked again to see that no one was looking and gave her another quick kiss on the other cheek before jetting out the door.

Fortunately it turned out to be a busy evening, and Christy didn't have much time to feel sorry for herself.

Jon left at eight, and Christy had customers at the register right up to nine o'clock. None of them were big sales. Most were small things like fish food and dog bones. She couldn't figure out why on some days they had only a few customers, while on other days, like tonight, the store was packed with people.

At nine, Beverly took hold of the metal door that shut them off from the rest of the mall and pulled it halfway down. "We're closed!" she called to the three kids at the back of the store.

The kids scampered out, laughing and punching each other in the arms.

"A bunch of ten-year-old delinquents," Beverly muttered, closing the door the rest of the way. "Don't they have homes? Where are their parents?"

"Do you want me to do anything else?" Christy asked. "I ran a final total on the cash register and bundled all the checks."

"I can do the rest. Thanks."

Christy got her backpack and said good night.

"Before you go," Beverly called out, "could you check all the cages? Make sure all the critters are bedded down for the night."

"Sure," Christy called back. She checked all the birds, rabbits, kittens, and puppies. They were all fine. She did a quick check on the fish, lizards, and turtles and was ready to tell Beverly everything was okay when she saw it.

Walter's cage was open, and Walter was gone.

"Bev-er-ly!" Christy yelled, scanning the floor. "Come here, quick!"

Christy ran for the back room and hopped up on a chair, which is where Beverly found her.

"It's Walter," Christy explained. "He's out of his cage."

"Oh no," Beverly groaned. "Now I know why those kids acted like they had some big joke when they left. We have to find him before he slips through the door and gets loose in the mall."

Christy grabbed a broom that was propped up against the wall and cautiously came down from her chair. "You go first."

Beverly stuck close beside her as they slowly made their way down each of the aisles.

"Here, Walter," Beverly called under her breath.

Christy couldn't tell if she was acting nervous or silly.

"Where would he go?" Christy asked.

"Just about anywhere. We probably should get on our hands and knees to look, because he likes tight, dark spots."

"Not me," Christy said. "There's no way I want to get on nose level with that monster."

Just then Walter shot out from under the bags of dog food and slithered under the cash register counter with a speed that surprised Christy.

She screamed, "Get him!" and held the broom over her head.

Beverly yelled, "Don't hit him. I'll try to corner him."

She bravely grabbed a trash can, dumped out its contents, and stepped behind the counter. "Here, Walter, Walter, Walter. Come here, boy."

They could hear a rustling noise like someone trying to open a bag of potato chips and squashing most of the contents in the attempt.

"Come on, Walter. We know you're here somewhere," Beverly said, her nervousness peeking through.

Christy cautiously moved back in case the villain decided to make a run for it in her direction. She scrambled on top of a stack of fifty-pound bags of dog food, using the broom as a support.

All went completely quiet. Too quiet. The only sound was the gurgling of the fish tanks at the back.

"Where is he?" Christy whispered.

"He's not on this side. Can you see anything on your side?"

Stretching her neck and leaning on her broom, Christy bent all the way forward to view the floor by the counter. It was too much strain for the bags of dog food, and the top bag began to slip. Christy tried to stop the landslide, but the broom bristles gave way to the sudden weight. She crashed to the floor, her arms and legs splayed in different directions, with chunks of dog food spilling from the torn bag and raining down her back.

"Are you all right?" Beverly ran over and grabbed Christy by the arm.

Christy groaned and opened her eyes. Then she froze.

Not more than two feet away lay the beast, as frozen as Christy was.

Beverly didn't see him. She continued her first aid survey. "Is anything broken? Can you move at all?"

Before Christy could breathe or even blink an eye, Walter turned and made a slithering getaway through the barred door and out into the mall. Beverly saw him make his escape.

"Oh no!" She jumped up and unlocked the door. "We have to get him!"

Christy, realizing her paralysis had come from fear, not broken vertebrae, pulled herself to her feet and numbly followed Beverly into the empty mall.

"Which way did he go?" Christy asked.

"This way. He's headed toward that big planter," Beverly said, running after him.

When they turned the corner, a security guard yelled out, "Halt right there!" He stood with his feet apart "It's okay!" Beverly yelled. "We work here. At the pet store. One of our animals escaped, that's all!"

The guard joined them by the planter and asked, "What's loose? One of those frisky rabbits?"

"Not exactly," Beverly said, looking at Christy and then back at the security guard. "It was Walter."

"Walter?" the guard said.

"You know, our fifteen-foot python. Walter." Beverly cautiously peered into the foliage.

"A snake? You two girls let a snake get out? I'm calling for backup." The guard whipped out his walkie-talkie and began to issue commands. His commands included Beverly and Christy. "You young ladies step back. We have animal control coming."

"Make sure they don't hurt him. Jon has had Walter forever, and we'd be in big trouble if anything happened to him," Beverly said.

Several of the other employees who were closing up their shops noticed all the commotion and came out to see what was happening. Within ten minutes, the center of the mall was filled with people. Animal control arrived first, then the fire department with a paramedic backup unit, and a dozen curious onlookers.

After all that, Walter's capture turned out to be uneventful. An older man, dressed in padded gear, stepped into the planter, located Walter, and quickly extracted him with a long pole that had a sort of la.s.so on the end.

Wiggling his protest, the fifteen-foot runaway was marched back to his cage with a parade of followers. Beverly stayed behind to file a report with mall security, and Christy led the entourage to the pet store.

"Be careful," she warned, noticing the dog food still on the floor.

Walter was returned to his cage, the lock was secured, and for good measure, Christy placed a large bag of aquarium rocks over the top. Then she picked up the broom and went to work, sweeping up the dog food and trying to save as much as possible in a bucket.

Beverly returned, and the two young women laughed away the remainder of their tension.

"Should we tell Jon?" Beverly joked. "Or let him try to figure out why Walter suddenly has such a huge appet.i.te?"

Christy laughed and glanced up at the clock. "Oh no! It's after ten o'clock! I have to call my parents."

Surely her parents would understand why she wasn't home by ten. They wouldn't put her on restriction for this, would they?

"h.e.l.lo, Dad?"

"Where are you, Christy?"

"I'm still at work. You see, Walter was in the mall-"

"Walter?" Dad interrupted. "I thought you were going out with some guy named Rick."

Christy swallowed her laugh. "Dad, I can explain everything when I get home. I'm leaving right now."

She hung up and, laughing, told Beverly, "My dad thought Walter was my boyfriend!"

Beverly smiled back. "Maybe that's his way of telling you he thinks your boyfriend is a snake."

Not only were her parents understanding about her getting home so late, but they also entered into the adventure. Mom scooped up bowls of ice cream, and the three of them sat around the kitchen table while Christy described every detail of the great snake escape.

She hadn't noticed it at the time of her tumble, but Mom pointed out a big bruise already blackening above her right elbow. Christy also guessed her knee was bruised from the way it was throbbing.

"Too bad you're not going to work tomorrow," Mom said. "Your boss might have more sympathy if he saw your bruises."

"Why aren't you working tomorrow?" Dad asked.

"I'm going to the beach with Rick to fly kites, remember? You said it was okay."

"Oh, right," Dad said. "I forgot. Flying kites, huh? Where does this guy come up with all these creative ideas?"

Christy explained about Rick's list and how he had wanted to ask her out for almost a year. It felt good telling Mom and Dad about this side of Rick. They couldn't help but think more highly of him for his persistence.

"Is this the same guy who called here on your birthday when you were in Hawaii and wanted your phone number?" Dad asked.

"Yes, that was Rick."

"Where was the kid calling from? Sounded like he was at the end of a long tunnel."

"He was in Italy."

"You mean he called you in Maui, all the way from Italy?" Dad's bushy red-brown eyebrows pushed up. "Maybe we've underestimated this guy."

The next morning Rick called at 11:10 to tell Christy he was running late. She had been ready since 10:30 and didn't feel like waiting around for him much longer.

"When do you think you'll be here?" she asked.

"As soon as I can. Some people dropped by. I can't leave yet, but I'll be over soon."

His "soon" turned out to be after one o'clock. Christy had cleaned her room while waiting, her stomach gurgling its nervous antic.i.p.ation the whole time. When she heard the doorbell ring, she felt like jerking open the door and ripping into Rick for being so late.

Mom let Rick in, and when Christy joined them, she masked her angry feelings and smiled at him as if nothing were wrong.

"The weather has certainly taken a turn today," Mom said. "Do you still think it's a good idea to go to the beach? It looks like it might rain."

"This is the best time to fly kites," Rick answered, acting cool and confident. "I have a jacket in the car. Did you bring one, Christy?"

"No, I'll go get it."

How can he be so calm after making me wait for hours? I'd better relax or else I'm going to blow this whole day. He's here now, and that's all that matters.