Michael Malone - Weebly

danced naked on Dingley Green. He found it difficult to
go back into the supply room at all, but impossible,
finally, not to.
Luke, he knew, had too few words to understand,
himself, much less to say, what he felt. Smalter had too
many, and none would do.
"Excuse me. Luke? What say we let things go for
the day and close up?"
Luke stacked one carton of mouthwash on top of
another.
"Okay. If you want to." He squared the edges
precisely. "All right, just let me finish."
"Luke? I heard the news of your friend.…I'm
deeply sorry, deeply sorry. I don't know what I can
say." He placed his hand on the box on the opposite
edge from where Luke tore at some loose tape.
"Thank you, Mr. Smalter." He had the defenseless
smile of someone trying not to cry. "Kind of crazy, isn't
it?" His eyes filled with the question, then wetness
brightened their color, and he turned away to pick up
another box. Smalter stared at it. Inside were twelve
kits that promised to remove all signs of age from the