Will Ray's Arc

Chapter 5 of 6

The rent was paid, but the shelves stayed full. Will unlocked his father's store at dawn and stared at the wine and cheese no one bought. The till held eleven dollars. He had one week of food left for Aj, the three cats, and himself. The store had to make money now, or they would starve. He lit a cigarette and looked at the upscale displays his father had loved. Rich food for rich people. This neighborhood had none. Will made a plan. He would strip the store bare and sell everything cheap. No more exclusive prices. He marked down every jar, wheel, and bottle by half. Then he propped the door open and set crates on the sidewalk. A hand-painted sign leaned against the glass: EVERYTHING MUST GO. By noon the store was full. Working people came in from the cold. They filled baskets with cheese they could finally afford. Will worked the register without a word. His face stayed flat, but his eyes turned green as the money piled up. The old cash box could not hold it. He carried the bills to the back room and spun the wheel on his father's heavy metal safe. Aj came at closing. She saw the empty shelves and stopped in the doorway. Her large hazel eyes went wide. "You sold Papa Ray's store," she said. Her voice broke. "All of it." "I sold the stock," Will said. He opened the safe and showed her the cash. "Enough for two months. Rent and food." Aj stepped closer. She touched the money like it might vanish. "So we're safe," she said. "Really safe." A small smile pulled at her mouth. Then she looked at the bare shelves again, and the smile faded. "But now there's nothing to sell. The store is empty." Will closed the safe and spun the wheel. "I'll buy new stock," he said. "Cheap food. Things people here actually want." He had it worked out. Sell low, sell fast, sell what the block could pay for. His father's luxury store was dead. A different store would live. That night Will counted the cash on the counter one last time. The sale had worked. He had food money and a plan that fit the neighborhood. But every dollar in the safe was old stock, sold once and gone. To keep the store alive he needed new goods on the shelves by Monday, and the wholesalers wanted payment up front. The money that fed them was the same money he needed to restock. Will lit another cigarette. He looked at the empty shelves and the full safe. He had won this week. To win the next, he would have to spend the very thing that kept them fed.