I don’t want to talk about he who shall remain nameless.
“It was great seeing my parents. I didn’t realize how much I missed them until I was hugging them.”
“That’s great. I’m so glad you were able to go. I also wanted to let you know that you won’t be delivering today. You’ll be working in the store.”
My heart jumps up as if I tapped my vein with Redbull. Sweat gathers in my palms.
“Oh? Um? What?” Questions bounce around in my head.
“Yeah, there’s not enough deliveries to warrant two delivery drivers, and Zetty’s getting through them easily enough, so you’re with me.”
I nod, ignoring everything she is saying, and responses spill out of my mouth. “Right, sounds good.”
This can’t be good. Mari and Cali don’t know what happened to me before. What if it happens again? What if I lose a lot of money? What if I disappoint them?
Several deep breaths flow through my lungs as I demand myself to take it easy.
Honestly, what are the chances of that lightning striking twice?
Noel
The day didn’t turnout as bad as I thought it would. I’m now in the last part of the day, and with it, Wednesday night, people are too busy with school finishing up for the holiday, families preparing to leave, or getting ready for loved ones arriving to be shopping.
Zetty nailed all the deliveries in record time, but we haven’t had any more shoppers for the past couple of hours, and now I’m alone in the store. So I take it upon myself and revamp the displays, changing out the blues and silvers for more traditional colors of greens and reds to liven them up. I also can’t resist filling the window with our remaining poinsettias. I can easily take one out of the display if somebody needs them. It adds a special blanket effect that looks breathtaking with the frosted edges that Cali did to the window.
I bite my lip and hope Mari and Cali will appreciate the changes. Could they fire me for this? I hope not.
The sprucing up, I thought, would make a nice change. Most businesses keep the same holiday decorations from Thanksgiving to the New Year. So what if Dirty Hoes revamps it a bit? Maybe we’ll get some more shoppers in by tomorrow.
Shaking my head, that’s an idiotic thought, and I need to remember to stay in my lane when it comes to this job.
I grab the water can, head over to the ferns, and start watering them. The Christmas playlist I had queued up stopped playing a little while ago, and I still need to go up to reselect it or find a new one.
Humming to myself instead, I focus on watering as “Silent Night” lulls in the air with my off-tune attempts at acapella karaoke.
A soft creek stops me from humming. My hand freezes with the watering can suspended in the air, and I cock my head to listen. The front door quietly closes, but the bell doesn’t chime for arrival or an exit.
My brow furrows.
“Hello? Is someone there?” I lower the watering can and place it on the nearest table.
Nobody answers.
“Weird,” I whisper.
Shaking my head, I grab for the can to finish up when soft clicks of footsteps echo inside the shop finally reach me.
Standing still, I shout, “I hear you. Please announce yourself.”
Nothing.
Goosebumps crawl up my skin, and I rush to the front desk, looking down the aisles as I go.
A tall man walks out from behind a decorated Christmas tree.
I jump. “Oh, hello. How can I—”
He throws a bag at me, hitting me in the face. “Unload the register into this bag.”