The girls had accompanied Veronica, Grace, and Kate earlier that afternoon on their shopping trip to Stigall’s Department Store, Cheaver’s Western Store, and Discretion Boutique in Morehead. The shopping trip had been fruitful, and a little expensive, but she’d needed a few items if she was going to be staying further into the holidays in Divine.
She’d also managed to find a costume in sizes that she, Hank, and Travis would all be able to wear. Trying to explain to the girls why she needed pink tights and a tutu in a “big and tall” size had been interesting but she thought Emma might have caught on to what she was doing, because she’d started helping her searching for other parts of the costume and mentioned that she knew of a good online costume outlet that carried plus-sized and tall-sized costumes.
The afternoon had been a rich people-watching experience for her, especially at Stigall’s where she’d had the pleasure of meeting two of the store owner’s daughters. Leah, the store manager, hurried to and fro, giving instructions, praising her workers and greeting her customers, while the other one had been…interesting.
Her name badge plainly said “Presley Ann—sales clerk” on it, but when she’d approached Veronica, she’d introduced herself as “the owner’s daughter.” Veronica had asked her questions about the bras she was looking at, but Presley Ann’s answers had either been unclear or she didn’t know the answer at all.
Being an observer of people, Veronica had lost interest in the bras and had asked Presley Ann a question or two about her job. She wished like hell she could’ve taken out her voice recorder or at least a pen and paper to record the young woman’s responses. It was the oddest thing. Though she was a grown woman, it was clear she hadn’t been working there—or anywhere—for very long. She spoke like a teenager and clearly felt that her job was temporary, until she found the right husband or her dad gave up and let her sister fire her.
“Are you not interested in working in your family store?”
Presley Ann rolled her eyes and waved a dismissive hand at her surroundings. “Ohmygawd. It’s like so obvious, right? So, my dad is all, ‘Princess, you have to get a job and support yourself,’ and I’m all like, ‘No way am I accomplishing that on what you pay me, Dad,’ and he’s all like, ‘Young lady, you need to know how to take care of yourself,’ and I’m all like, ‘Let me off of work, Dad, so I can find a man to take care of me…’” She went on and on before asking Veronica, “So, do you have a job?”
Veronica wondered if she had happened onto a movie shoot for a second. “Yes. I’m a published author. I write romance novels.” She took out a business card and handed it to her. Presley Ann looked at it and then seemed like she wasn’t sure what to do with it.
“So…I’m like not much of a reader?” the young woman said, ending her statement as though it was a question. “I haven’t read anything since high school? No offense, but not even romance novels? Like, reading is just boring to me?”
Stifling a giggle, and not taking any offense, Veronica nodded with understanding and said, “You know…I’ve heard that books are boring only to those who lack imagination.”
Presley let out a gasp and raised her hands to heaven as though finally someone got her. “See? I knew you’d understand!”
After she’d walked away in obviously expensive designer high heels complaining about how “like horrific” the pain in her feet was, Veronica had found a quiet corner to jot down a few notes before she forgot the nuances of the conversation.
She was still writing at a feverish pace when the girls found her. They all nodded in understanding when she described Presley Ann to them.
Rachel said, “She’s a trip.”
Grace watched Presley Ann as she wandered around the store and finally zeroed in on another customer, and shook her head. “The sad thing is that she’s like that because her daddy has pampered her all these years. I can’t be around her without wanting to correct her grammar and speech. I kind of hope she finds a nice, understanding man to take care of her. Bless her heart.”