'Don't knock it. No news is good news, as they say, and if we're fortunate enough to live in a place where a store opening is a major news event, we're pretty damn lucky.'
Ginny touched Bill's arm. 'I'm going to look at clothes. You take the cart.'
'You don't want to be interviewed for the paper?' Ben said. 'I need some reactions from local shoppers.'
'Maybe later.'
The editor turned toward Bill as she walked away. 'Come on. How about you?
You don't want to make me actually work, do you? I figured I could hit up friends for quotes and not have to annoy real people.'
'Real people?'
'You know what I mean.'
'If you really want a quote from me, I'll give you one. But I don't think it's what you want to hear.'
'You think right. The Store's our biggest advertiser now, and word came down from on high that negativity would not be appreciated in Grand Opening coverage.'
'Newtin's caving in?' Bill couldn't believe it. The publisher had always told Ben that the content of the paper was up to him, that he would not interfere with the presentation of the news or attempt to influence the paper's editorial slant.
Ben shrugged. 'It's a new dawn.'
Bill shook his head. 'I never would've believed it.'
'So you don't want to lie? Give me some fake words of praise and encouragement?'
'Sorry.'
'I'd better find some other suckers, then.' He nodded. 'Later.'
'Later.' Bill pushed the shopping cart forward. He looked to the right, thought he saw Ginny's head above a blouse rack in the crowded women's clothing section but could not be sure. He continued forward down the center aisle, past rows of housewares, past shelves of cleaning supplies. He stopped by the book and magazine section. He was impressed by The Store's selection, he had to admit. The giant magazine rack contained not only _People_, _Newsweek_, _Time_, _Good Housekeeping_, _Vogue_, and the usual mainstream mass-market periodicals, but such obscure specialized publications as _The Paris Review_, _The New England Journal of Medicine_, and _Orchid World_. There were even copies of _Penthouse_, _Playboy_, and _Playgirl_. A first for this town. The bookshelves next to the magazine rack were stocked with works by King, Koontz, Grisham, and other best-sellers, as well as novels by Wallace Stegner, Rachel Ingalls, and Richard Ford.
Even the music selection was impressive. He moved on to the electronics department and glanced through the CDs, finding everything from currently hot rock and rap groups to such little-known contemporary classical artists as Meredith Monk and the Illustrious Theatre Orchestra.
He had been prepared to hate The Store -- he _wanted_ to hate The Store and he was disappointed that there was really nothing he could find to criticize or disparage. Indeed, he found himself grudgingly, against his will, having fun, enjoying his exploratory trips down the endless aisles. It was not something he would ever admit to aloud, but he actually admired The Store for what it had done here.
He felt guilty for even entertaining such blasphemy.
He met up again with Ben in front of the crowded espresso bar near the automatic double doors that led out back to the nursery. The editor, sipping a cafй au lait, gestured expansively about him as Bill approached. 'Quite a place, here,' he said. 'Quite a place.'
Bill nodded. 'Yeah,' he said. 'Quite a place.'
Ginny walked slowly, looking around her in awe, filled with a pleasant feeling that was at once immediate and comfortably nostalgic. The Store was beautiful. It was like being back in California -- only more so. Aisles stretched endlessly before her, stocked nearly to the ceiling with merchandise so new she wasn't even familiar with it.
She remembered the first mall she'd ever been to -- Cerritos Mall -- with Ian Emerson, her boyfriend at the time. That had been like this: the size, the scope, the wonderful impressive newness of it all. Cerritos at that time had been a small dairy farming community in the middle of the Southern California sprawl, but it had taken only a few years for an entirely new city to spring up around the mall. It had been like a catalyst for change, a magnet for houses and businesses and other stores, the hub around which everything revolved. Would this be like that? Would Juniper's population suddenly explode and a rash of development sweep through the town, obliterating their quaint, rural lifestyle?
She hoped not.
But it might almost be worth it.
The Store was a godsend.
She touched a pair of Guess jeans hanging on a rack, fingered an Anne Klein blouse. She hadn't realized how much she missed having easy access to all this. Driving down to the Valley and shopping at Fiesta Mall or Metro Center had always been fun, something she enjoyed and looked forward to, but having contemporary fashions here in town, being able to try on nice clothes anytime she wanted to, without having to plan a trip and spend an entire day, was totally different. She felt as though she'd been holding her breath for a long period of time, conserving her oxygen, and now she'd been set down in a rich atmosphere and was able to breathe freely, deeply. She'd been depriving herself, doing without, and while she'd adjusted to such an extent that she hadn't even noticed what she was missing, now that it was again available she was grateful.
This was heaven.
They'd never have to go to Phoenix anymore.
Everything they needed was right here in Juniper.
The Store was wonderful.
Shannon wandered happily through the Juniors clothing department. The items here were as good as or better than those in any mall she'd ever been in.
It was as if they'd taken all the best clothes from all the best shops and combined them in one store.
A discount store.
It was like a dream come true.
She pulled a skirt off a rack, held it up. There were fashions here that she'd only seen in magazines.
She put the skirt back, looked around for Samantha. Her sister was over by the shoe section, talking to Bernadine Weathers. Bernadine was a bore and a half, and Shannon didn't feel like listening to the older girl drone on in her usual monotone about what _she_ thought of The Store, so she moved away, deeper into the clothes department, past mothers and their daughters, past old women and middle-aged housewives, until she found three of her own friends by the lingerie.
'So what do you think?' Diane asked as she walked up.
Shannon grinned. 'Awesome.'
'No kidding.' Diane glanced around furtively, as though checking to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Ellie and Kim, next to her, giggled. She leaned forward. 'Have you seen some of the stuff they have here?' She motioned toward the lingerie.
Shannon shook her head.
Diane glanced around again, then walked back a few steps into the nearest aisle. She surreptitiously lifted a red lace teddy from one of the hooks on the aisle partition. 'Crotchless,' she said. She shifted the garment, holding the crotch out, and Shannon saw a large slit that had been intentionally incorporated into the design.
'Maybe you should get one,' Kim said.
Ellie giggled.
'I bet Jake would appreciate it.'
Shannon reddened. 'Yeah, right,' she said.
But she stared at the teddy as Diane put it back and thought that Jake probably would like it.
And she would like to wear it for him.
2
Ky Malory looked straight ahead at the shelves of the toy department, his eyes widening. Firecrackers, cherry bombs, and M80s in a multitude of colors were arrayed in a beautiful display before him, and he reached out and tentatively touched one, shivering with excitement as he felt the cool rough paper covering.
Weren't fireworks illegal in Arizona? Or had he and his friends been lied to about that? It wouldn't be the first
