Summary

Tommy is irritated by one of the regular customers at his store, a ten-year-old girl who comes in to buy colored tissue paper. The girl, who resembles her stern mother, has been a routine customer since summer, coming in every Monday for red and yellow tissue paper. Though Tommy is initially irritated by her presence, he notices how pale and shy she seems, particularly when she picks up the tissue rolls. One Monday, while retrieving the tissue paper from the back of the store, Tommy glances in a newly hung mirror and sees the girl steal chocolate bars from the candy case while his back is turned. Shocked and furious, his first instinct is violent—he wants to grab her and make her pay for what she's done.

But before he acts on his anger, Tommy is struck by a memory of his Uncle...