Chapter 6 - Across the Street
The pharmacy across the street was a narrow, cramped storefront wedged between a dry cleaner and a run-down bakery. A faded neon sign in the window flickered with a rhythmic, buzzing drone. Inside, the air smelled of rubbing alcohol, cough syrup, and old paper receipts.
An elderly pharmacist with thick glasses and a white coat stood behind the high wooden counter, peering suspiciously over his half-moon spectacles as the heavy glass door chimed.
When he saw Ethan Carter—a six-foot-tall man in a bespoke charcoal suit—step into his modest shop holding hands with a barefoot girl holding a cardboard box, his eyebrows shot up toward his hairline.
“Can I help you folks?” the pharmacist asked, his voice dry and raspy. “If you’re selling insurance or corporate audits, mister, you’re in the wrong neighborhood.”
“We aren't selling anything,” Ethan said calmly, releasing Maya’s hand so she could step up to the counter. “We are here to make a purchase.”
Maya stepped forward, standing on her tiptoes just as she had at the bank, but this time her expression was filled with fierce determination. She placed the ten-thousand-dollar check flat on the wooden counter, right next to a display of throat lozenges.
“Mr. Pharmacist,” Maya said proudly. “I have the money now. Can I please have the green medicine for my little sister, Lily?”
The pharmacist looked down at the slip of paper. He adjusted his glasses, leaned closer, and read the bold print, the Carter Atlas corporate header, and the handwritten numbers zeros after zeros.
He stared at the check for a long, agonizing minute. Then he looked up at Ethan, then back down at Maya.
“Little girl,” the pharmacist said slowly, his voice softening with deep concern. “Where did you get this? Did someone trick you? This is... this is ten thousand dollars. You can’t just walk around with a check like this.”
“He didn't trick me,” Maya said, pointing her thumb back toward Ethan. “He bought my dolls at the bank because they have value. And now I want to pay for Lily’s medicine.”
Ethan stepped up beside her, resting a hand gently on the edge of the counter. “The check is entirely legitimate, pharmacist. You can deposit it at First Continental Bank tomorrow morning. Right now, I would like you to package the exact medicine this young lady’s sister requires, along with any other supplies, vitamins, or nutritional necessities she might need to make a full recovery.”
The pharmacist swallowed hard, nodding slowly. He pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “You two wait right here.”
Ten minutes later, a heavy brown paper bag filled with medicine bottles, vitamin syrups, sterile bandages, and a box of honey lozenges was placed gently on the counter.
Maya clutched the bag to her chest with both arms, tears finally spilling over her eyelashes and rolling down her dusty cheeks, but this time, she was smiling so wide her face ached.
May you like
“Thank you,” Maya whispered, looking up at Ethan with absolute reverence. “Thank you, mister.”
“You’re very welcome, Maya,” Ethan replied, his stern features softening into a warm, genuine smile that he rarely showed anyone in the corporate world. “Now, I think it’s time you take me to meet your mother and your little sister. We have a lot of things to discuss.”
