“Hey, hey, hey.” Hersh leaped off the bed and pinned Noam in a headlock. He punched him gently in the cranium. “Ya got somethin’ in there. I told you you could do it.”

Noam smiled but inside he felt like dying. What if the pharmacist had seen him? What if he was reporting him to the police right now? What if they threw him in jail and let him rot?

What if? What if? What if?

The whole thing started out like an exciting adventure story. It had turned into a nightmare.

Hersh said, “Where are they, Nick-O?”

Nick-O? That’s right. He wasn’t Nolan anymore. He was Nick-O. Noam liked Nolan better—like Nolan Ryan. But Hersh insisted on calling him Nick-O cause that sounded more tough.

“In my pocket,” Noam answered.

Hersh reached in and pulled out the condoms. “Did you get the extra large?”

Noam turned red. “I…I didn’t know they were sized—”

Hersh let go with a wicked peal of laughter. “You are so fuckin’ stupid. You really don’t know shit. But you still did good, Nick-O. You did good.”

Noam studied Hersh’s smile. He was genuinely happy. Boruch Hashem.

“You did good,” Hersh repeated. “Real good. Like a pro!”

Noam shrugged, embarrassed by the compliment. No one at home ever, ever complimented him. Criticizing him all the time. Still, all he could think about now was how to get home. How he could manage to call them. But if Hersh found out…His throat tightened, he began to feel weak inside as if the first bout of vomiting hadn’t emptied his stomach.

He felt a sharp rap on his head. Hersh had him in another headlock.

“You still up in there?” Hersh said, knocking on Noam’s brain.

Noam struggled until he was free from Hersh’s grip. “I had to wait a long time before the cashier left the checkstand.”

“That’s what took you so long?”

Noam nodded.

“You wouldn’t be thinkin’ about callin’ anyone, would you, Nick-O?”

Noam’s eyes widened. “Oh, no way, Hank. No way. Who would I call?”

“Liar,” Hersh said. But his voice was light. He grabbed Nick-O by the neck again. “You did good.”

“I didn’t call anyone,” Noam said. “I swear I didn’t.”

“I believe you,” Hank said. “Now shut up about it.”

Noam clamped his lips together.

Hank said, “You only took two packs. Why’d you only take two packs?”

“I just took what I saw—”

“You know, Nick-O, you do somethin’, you do it all the way.” Hersh slapped his cheek gently. “What you did is like robbin’ a bank for five bucks, know what I’m sayin’? But what the hey. You got time to learn, capich?”

Noam hated it when Hersh spoke Italian.

“Besides,” Hersh went on, “this is only the beginning. I was just checkin’ you out, seein’ what kind of balls you have. And they’re not too bad.”