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Part of me feels bad for her because she might be telling the truth, plus it can be embarrassing to have this happen. But on the other hand, maybe she’s a criminal trying to guilt me into letting her off the hook. You never know—people like that are often really smart—plus, I already haven’t had a good feeling about her. Maybe that’s because she’s up to something and not merely because of her attitude.
I pull out the form for item holds so I can try that one more time. “We can keep items on hold for forty-eight—”
“IsaidI’m not leaving and coming back! So you know what?” She reaches over and smacks at the pile of merchandise waiting to be bagged, sending clothes, three shoeboxes, and a heap of jewelry onto the floor. “Forget all of this. I’m not coming back to this storeever. You just cost yourself business, idiot.”
She stalks off, and I sigh, “Have a nice day.”
Grace comes up to me with a tsk. “Dang, Liv. Sorry you had to deal with that. Thanks for covering for me.”
I cancel the transaction, log out of my employee number, and start gathering up the abandoned merchandise. “Not your fault. Retail life.”
“Right? People can be so dumb.”
Yep, and now I have to put back all this shit. And, oh, nice, a gemstone broke off one of the necklaces when it hit the floor. I’ll have to make a stop at the customer service desk.
It takes me a little while to return to Juniors, but once I’m there, I slip back into my work. Luckily, my only other interruptions of the day are my breaks, so by the time I’m clocking out for the weekend, I’ve accomplished everything I wanted to. The department looks great.
I’m feeling good on the way to Rae’s after-school daycare, and when I pull up to the front door, I’m genuinely excited about seeing her. She’s always thrilled when I get here, and I’m always cheered by her toothy smile, sweet face, and entertaining report on her day. It’s something to look forward to even when I’m already in a good mood, like now.
But when I get inside and find her standing in a corner with her teacher, that good mood disappears. Her swollen eyes are cast down and her face is shiny and splotchy—she’s been crying.
Worried, I hurry over to them. “Rae?”
She jerks her head up and sees me. Relief spreads over her face, but a moment later, her bottom lip sticks out and the rest of her expression crumples. She’s crying again before I even get her swept up into my arms.
“Oh, my girl. It’s okay. I’m here.” I comfortingly pat her hair as she cries into my neck. “What happened, baby?”
She says something unintelligible, so I look at her teacher, who’s watching Rae sadly. She knows as well as I do that my niece is typically a happy kid.
Guessing she also knows what’s going on, I ask her now, “Ms. Darby, what’s upset her?”
Sighing, she meets my eyes. “There was an incident a little while ago, during snack time. An older girl made fun of her.” She holds up her hands and mouths, “Her fingers.”
Anger bursts through me.
“What? Who was it? Where is she?” I peer around to see if any older female kids are watching us. “Does she go to school with Rae?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t give out any of her information. The best I can say is that her parents will be made aware of the situation when they pick her up.”
I inhale slowly and try not to snap at the woman. She’s just doing her job, like I was earlier with that rude customer. Of course, Rae’s emotions are much more important than a ruined shopping trip, but the root of it all is the same, I suppose: rules are rules, and demanding they be changed for personal satisfaction isn’t going to accomplish anything.
That is, I won’t demand changethis time.
“If anything like it happens again,” I finally say, “I’m going to need some better answers.”
Ms. Darby nods understandingly. “Of course.”
We all say a goodbye, and she walks away.
Outside, I don’t put Rae in the car yet. I mosey around under the awning with her and try to calm her down.
When her crying has been reduced to sniffling, she trembles out thickly, “Annie.”
“Yeah, baby.”
“That girl said I’m a—a—ugly freak.”
Ooh,God, that makes me want to beat someone’s ass. I guess it was naïve to hope her deformities would be approached tactfully by other kids, but still.
