Re: Kit/Mari/Dinah/Cris: the convenience store
Cris was workin' on the bodega thing, huh? He didn't even have somea the messed up wiring that led into the counter working yet, so give him a few days, Mari, and a couplea phone calls at least. The lights hanging overhead, as blindingly fluorescent as they were, didn't hum nothing you could hear, 'cause those were new too. New tubes and everything. No magnetic ballasts were used, huh? That's what made that buzzing. Nah, see, the new ballasts were electronic. It was too much work to switch to LED right now, so it was gonna hafta do. The space stayed relatively dim, even midday like this, 'cause the windows were partially covered with the usual ads Cris hadn't scraped offa panes yet. But, the neon and fluorescence made up for it.—Anyway, back to the wire Cris had. He'd looked up when he heard somebody come in. The footsteps, he figured, sounded male, and, lo and behold, there came a Lou-like voice outta the Great Above. Followed swift-like by cubana-accented confirmation that it was, in fact, Kit who was there.
Cris sat back, ass to his heels, just as Mari's head popped over the sidea the counter, her bangles announcing her approach and arrival real loud. Cris' sonrisa came automatic, but it wasn't nothing forced or feigned. "Oye, mami, you wanna come down here, while I do the greetin'?" He asked, all charm that meant he had forgotten (somea) what Mari had told him on the phone. With a hand on onea the lower shelvesa the counter, Cris started to pull himself upright. "¿Cómo huele?" The food. 'Cause it was right there. Once he was straightened and alla that, he boxed onea the tupperwares with his palm and pushed it toward Mari. There were a fewa them. Cris didn't have no paper plates yet or nothing, so he just brought some from home. They were kinda pushed off to the side, but not far. If she let him, he leaned in to kiss her cheek. After that, Cris looked toward Kit. "Hey, asere." Cris straightened his cap a lil with one hand, letting himself take in details 'bout the gringo, just as la gringa came through the door Mari was motioning to. "Hi," was Cris' greeting, no familiarity, no petname, but he still smiled for her, even though she looked a lot less like somebody he'd cross the street for than, say, somebody waiting for the ax to fall. "There's food, huh? And we can figure out what to do. I still think we should go outside." He glanced at the store around them. "I kinda like the place."