The Devil Calls Me Sweetheart

7

     Astel drove. Ten minutes in, I realized this was not the way to the supermarket. I questioned him about it, he told me not to worry about it. But I was. And I was relieved when he parked in the mall's parking lot.

"It's not really convenient to buy groceries here..." We entered the building. A kid was running around, falling face first on the marble flooring. He burst out crying, and I could his mom's face flushing from embarrassment, trying to hush her child. This triggered him to sob louder.

"We can do that later. For now, let us go shop." He went ahead of me, eyeing the kid for a second and continued his way. The poor boy ran into his mother's arm. I jogged to catch up to Astel.

While following him, I took in my surrounding. Apart from that kid earlier, teenagers were roaming around making jokes and laughing, I see some elderly people sitting and taking in nostalgia. Most of all, I noticed other women looking in my direction.

I felt uncomfortable. Touching my face, wiping my mouth, I searched for a possible stain or mark which could possibly the source of their judgement. But my hand came clean, scratching the idea. Then, was I on my period? I tried looking at my reflection on the shop's glass, resorting even to subtly touching through my pants for a possible red stain, all while my purse awkwardly hid the view from anyone watching. My finger came clean, nothing red.

Astel entered a high-end boutique for men. Mannequins were dressed in suits. An assortment of ties was displayed, showing every single color.

"Welcome sir," a man with greying hair greeted Astel, "ma'am," he nodded at me. "May I help you with anything?"

"No thank you, I'll ask if need be," said Astel. The employee went away. I stayed by Astel's side with unease, surveying the place as if I were interested and knew what I was doing. Alternatively, he swiftly scurries through coats, pants, tie, the whole kit.

"Hold this." He handed me a navy jacket. "This too." A white button-up. This was followed by more jackets, shirts, ties and pants. My arm was full and heavy. The mountain of clothing was blocking my sight, and he just continued to pile it up.

"I can't hold on much longer." My voice was muffled from a piece of clothing. I felt a firm grip on my wrist dragging me to somewhere deeper within this boutique.

"You can put them on the chair."

Lowering my eyes, I tried to gauge where in the world was this chair. With my foot, I hit something, the chair. Carefully, I placed them so they wouldn't fall. I narrowed my eyes at the devil. He brushed it off and picked out an outfit from the pile. "I'm going to try on the clothes, and when I tell you to, give me another outfit."

He disappeared behind the curtain. It was a section specifically for changing, not separated by genders and a curtain to block the view. No doors, no lock. It was a bit empty, unsurprising judging by the price tag of a simple black tie I picked out.

I didn't know Astel had that much money to splurge. In fact, he should be giving some to me as rent. I took a seat on the other leathered chair.

The curtain opened revealing the devil in a sharp black suit, a golden watch on his left wrist to accessorize. One might mistake him for a celebrity had I not known who he was. It dawned on me that the women earlier might not have gawked at myself, but at the man in front of me.

"Any opinions, sweetheart?" he spun, giving me a 360.

"Black goes well on you."

He gave me a flat look, reaching his hand out. "Alright, next." I offered a navy suit this time, with no ties, a different golden watch bedazzled with the right amount of diamonds. While he changed, I received a phone call from Olivia.