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“Dunno,” Gary said. “She kept pointing and pointing and pointing, and we moved it all out. If there’s something you don’t want, I can take it to the Goodwill for a fee.”
“Well, let’s take a look first,” I said, wondering if Gary’s definition of ‘Goodwill’ was his house.
Not that it mattered. If he wanted it, he could have it as far as I was concerned. I didn’t have a need for a bureau or a doll cabinet.
Slowly, we went through the contents of the truck, pulling off the big pieces I certainly wanted to keep and putting them out by the front door.
A couple of hours later, everything was inside, and I paid a tip to the movers, partly for being as good as they were at their job andpartly because they were going to be taking at least half that stuff away. Once they left, I went back inside and looked at my time-warping house.
Some of the items were clearly mine, dark oak and chestnut furniture Sarah and I had picked out together in the good days of our marriage. The guest room bed was now in the bedroom, taking the spot of the queen-sized one that had been there which was now mostly in the shed and partially sitting against the wall. My television stand was in the living room now, which was nice since it was somewhere for the Xbox to sit.
But the real change, the one that mattered, was the recliner sitting in the middle of the living room. Battered, torn, beaten up, and stained, it represented ten years of gameday television watching, movie marathons, and video games. It was my favorite piece of furniture, and it had pained me to stick it in the basement, so that it wouldn’t get tossed.
Settling down in the most comfortable seat I had ever been in, I pulled out my phone, ordered a pizza, and cracked open a beer. I deserved a night off.
6
MELANIE
Blowing past Amy was probably the meanest thing I had done in a long time. Amy was a sweet girl and didn’t deserve me being rude to her. I just couldn’t stick around, though. Amy was good at her job, and I had every confidence that she would be able to handle any situation that came by until Norma showed up to take the late afternoon shift.
Norma was not a woman to take bullshit either. I’d leaned on her often when I first got into management because she had been there forever. The only reason she wasn’t the store manager herself was because she had a very specific schedule she was willing to work and nothing else. Instead, she’d trained me and had been my backbone for years.
It made me feel pretty shitty to keep ignoring her calls like this.
I had to be careful how I responded. It could be a pretty explosive situation, honestly. If I caused enough of a stink about it, it was possible some of the employees that the business depended on would quit. While that would be emotionally gratifying, it was extremely short-sighted if I planned on continuing my bid to get it back. As much as I wanted to fliptables and burn my uniform, I was still fighting for my rights, and that would certainly not help.
But I was too emotional to talk just yet. So, Norma would have to wait. My guess was she came in, heard the story from Amy, and figured she would give me a call and get to the bottom of it.
She was a particular kind of bulldog when she wanted to be.
Deciding to put the phone on silent, I sat in my car and stared at the park where I had ended up. When I left, I had all the intentions in the world of going home, starting a bubble bath, and possibly drinking the rest of the bottle of wine that I’d opened last night for dinner. Instead, I made it about six blocks and pulled off.
The park overlooking a playground and a large grassy area was a special place for me. Dad used to take me there at least once a week, usually on Saturday mornings when Mom would work the afternoon shift. Dad would work the mornings while Mom stayed home, then Mom would take me to the store, switch with Dad, and then go to the park. Then, Grandma would pick me up, and Dad would go back for the evening shift with Mom.
I spent so many good days there that when they died, I used to come and do exactly what I was doing now, sitting in my car and just breathing in the air of the freshly cut grass. I also bawled my eyes out. Back then, it was for the loss of my parents, and right now, it was for the loss of the one thing that kept us connected.
Grandma had passed just six years after my parents, leaving me alone by the time I was twenty-two. If it weren’t for people like Norma, I didn’t think I would have made it, really. Norma treated me like any other employee, but then would take me into the back and show me how things worked. Just in case I wascurious. I always was. And learning the ins and outs of the store helped me feel more connected to the parents I was still grieving.
The main part of downtown was just beyond the park, a street over. Figuring I could do with some fresh air, I got out of the car and locked it up, heading down the sidewalk toward Main Street. When I got to the corner, I stopped and looked both ways before heading east. West would have the store five blocks away. East would eventually lead back through town and out the other side.
I wandered for a while, looking in various shops and kind of meandering. I had plenty of time before sundown, and since I was avoiding anyone and everyone from work, I had nothing much to do. It was kind of sad when I thought about it. I didn’t really have many hobbies. My only options for downtime seemed to be bubble baths and trashy TV. Maybe I should take up crochet? Or racquetball?
As I was wandering aimlessly through town, I ended up at a diner. It was a casual place, but not one I went to often. It had changed ownership since I was a little kid, and since it had been a place I occasionally went to with my parents, I’d lost the appeal of going there once the place changed too much. The only time I could remember even going inside was a couple of years before when it was still a place called ‘Maude’s.’
“Afternoon,” a waitress said as I sat down at one of the booths just inside. The place was empty, and I had barely gotten my ass in the seat before she was on me with a menu and silverware rolled up in a paper napkin.
“Afternoon,” I said.
“What can I get for you?” she asked, and I glanced at her nametag.Suzettewas written in pink glittery marker, surrounded by a host of smiling faces and hearts.
“Just a water for right now,” I said.
“All right, I’ll grab that and be right back,” she said.
As she moved out of the way, I saw a familiar face coming in the front door of the diner. I stuck my hand up and waved and caught her attention, and she bounced over, smiling.
“Carmela,” I said, standing and offering a hug.
