by Robin Janney
“I sound that bad, huh?” She tried to laugh, but couldn’t. She knew how bad she sounded. “Oh God, everyone’s going to be so upset with me.”
“Why?” he asked, his confusion clear. “We’ve all discussed this, Angela and we all agree you didn’t do anything to Susan or Cori to trigger this. You’ve been friendly towards them the entire time. Why would anybody be upset with you?”
He’d never understand. Angela knew this and struggled to explain. “It’s going to ruffle more than a few feathers in my family. Especially if I miss church. It’ll just make me look guilty to some. Mom and Pastor Mark will both give me lectures just for missing church, but when this comes out…it’ll be my fault somehow. I just know it.”
“That’s crazy.”
“I know. I’ll try not to be too late.”
There was silence, each waiting for the other to break the connection first.
Craig cleared his throat.
“I’ll try not to be too late,” Angela repeated, hastily hanging the phone up. She managed to get it all back on the bedside table before collapsing back into the bed. It didn’t take long for the drug in her system to take her back to slumber.
It seemed to her like only minutes had passed before the phone rang again. Shrill and impatient. She reached for it and managed not to knock it over this time. “Hello?”
“Angela, it’s your mother.”
“Oh, hi.” She sat up in bed. Her eyes were blurry still and she couldn’t see the numbers on her alarm clock. “What time it is?”
“Just after one. We’ve been trying to get ahold of you for over an hour, sweetheart. When you didn’t answer your door after church, we stopped in at the Cupboard to see if you were there, but Craig said you were probably sleeping. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Angela was quick to assure her mother. “I took a sleeping pill last night.”
“I understand. Flo was all a twitter at church about whatever was happening at the store this morning. Is it true? Susan and another tried framing you for stealing from the registers?”
Oh God, it was worse than she thought. Everyone knew by now. “Yes. Mr. Moore had proof.”
“How disappointing.” Her mother’s sigh hurt her. Who was she disappointed in? Angela wasn’t sure, she never was.
“I know. I’m sorry, Mom. I promise I didn’t do anything to make Susan mad at me. I don’t know why she did this.”
Her mother tsked. “I never thought you did. Well, I’m sure my sister will be calling me eventually. Clara’s always had a soft spot for her granddaughter, but you’re still my daughter so she’d better not take it out on you.”
“Thanks Mom. Is Jared still pestering for an overnight?”
Maude laughed. “He is. He’s almost begging, promising to keep his room neat for a whole month. I might even approve an overnight on a school night, just to see if he can do it.”
“Right? I’ll double-check my schedule for next week and get back to you.” Blinking her eyes, still trying to clear them, she looked at the clock again. Was it almost one-thirty? “I should be getting to work soon. I know Craig said not to worry about it, but technically I’m late.”
“Oh, I won’t keep you then. I’ll talk to you later, dear.”
Angela hung up after their goodbyes. Scrubbing her face with her hands, she still felt groggy. Maybe a nasty cup of coffee was in order? She wondered who Craig was going to have make up for the two cashiers in the schedule. Her college schedule wouldn’t allow for much more, except maybe on the weekends. She was glad it wasn’t her problem.
T he register Angela manned used to be Cori’s. While there weren’t assigned registers, everyone had their favorite one and had always worked them. There were little items around the register, paperclips and rubber bands, a stack of expired coupons, a picture of Cori’s two children. The little girl wore twin braids like Angela used too, and she had her father’s blonde hair. It had to be from her father, Cori’s blonde hair came from a box.
Stuffing the picture in the back pocket of her jeans, Angela cleaned the area anxiously. She’d get the picture back to Cori somehow, no matter what. The coupons were relocated into the trash can beneath the counter, and the paperclips she piled together. She’d find a rag later to wipe away imaginary dust.
As soon as he was done ringing out his customer and Lucy was on her way out the door, an exuberant Larry started regaling Angela with the details of the morning. “You missed it this morning, Ange! It was like a good episode of ‘Cops’. Susan tried swinging at Craig, but he blocked her so easy.” The teen did a poor imitation of the moves their boss had used. “And then she tried kicking him. He put her on the floor and the cops didn’t even try to stop him. His black belt sure comes in handy sometimes. The cops stepped in then and handcuffed them both.”
“Sounds like quite the episode.” Angela began hooking the paperclips together to make a chain. “Do you know why Susan was upset enough to swing?”
“Nah.” He waved towards the back, where their boss and managers stood deep in discussion. “It happened all the way back there. The only thing I was able to hear was when Susan called Cori a dime-store whore.”
“Must’ve been a heated conversation.” Angela looked up in time to see her pastor approaching. Just what she needed. His dirty blond curls were cute, but the pale blue eyes always made her feel guilty of some crime she didn’t know she’d committed. Maybe he’d go through Larry’s line. As if. She put on a polite smile. “Hi Pastor Mark.”
“Hello Angela.” The young man smiled at her as he placed his few items on the counter. “I missed you in church today. We all did.”
Which was no doubt the real reason he was here. Aside from the crush he’d had on her since almost day one, his sermon regarding working on Sundays was a common one. Even if you were sick, you were expected to be in a pew. Her reason for missing this morning would be poorly viewed, and not just by the pastor.
“I had a rough night, but I’m fine now.” She began scanning his items. Toothpaste, a pack of markers, graham crackers and a 2-liter of soda.
“I heard. Are you going to be okay?” Mark added a candy bar and a pack of bubble gum to his pile.
Her boss had asked her the same question, in almost the exact same tone of voice. Panic began to bubble up inside her. She didn’t want either man thinking of her this way. She bit her lip and had to be honest with herself. She didn’t want it from this man. It sounded different coming from Craig, at least she wanted him to mean it differently. She scanned the pack of gum her pastor had placed on the counter, trying to keep her breathing even. “I will be. Is this everything?”
Her pastor looked down. “Uh, yeah. I heard Susan and Cori were arrested.”
Angela focused on breathing as Larry jumped in and told the story again. She wondered what she was supposed to say. The teen had made no mention of the cameras or the fact the crime was on video.
She hadn’t seen the sign posted on the front door yet, about the premises being under video surveillance. She might not be on the verge of a panic attack had she known.
“Angela?”
“What?”
She realized she was still holding the pack of gum she’d been scanning.
“My total?” Mark was smiling at her.
“Oh.” Glancing down at the register, she wondered why the price was so high. “Twenty-seven ten.”
“I didn’t realize gum had gone up in price.” Laughing, her pastor leaned over to look. “Are you sure that’s right?”
Angela stepped back, even as she set the gum down and checked the history. She’d scanned the gum how many times? “No, hang on.” She began to hit buttons, in her panic forgetting how to delete items. It was technically a manager’s duty, but David had taught her one night when it was slow. “I can’t…”
“Everything alright?” asked Craig’s voice.
Angela looked up, seeing both her boss and the male manager standing there.
“I scanned too many
gums,” she stammered.
“Here, let me see.” David touched her shoulder and moved her gently out of the way. Angela watched numbly as he performed the manager’s override. “Sorry about this, Pastor Robinson. Angela must have forgotten it’s my responsibility to cancel items.”
“No problem.” Mark had leaned back at the appearance of the two, but he was still smiling.
“I’m so sorry, Pastor Mark,” she managed to say.
“It’s alright. I’ll forgive you. This time.” He winked at her as he paid for his items. “Don’t let it happen again.”
She nodded, not responding to his lame attempt at flirting. Was he an idiot? The man even gave her a little wave as he walked out the front door.
“Angela, why don’t you come back to my office?” Craig requested.
Looking at her boss, standing there with his thumbs in his pockets, she blurted out, “Are you going to fire me?”
“What? No!”
“Oh, okay.” She started walking away, knowing David was apparently her coverage while she was in the office.
“Maybe you’ll get the whole story,” Larry said.
Angela turned on her heel to look at him flatly, vaguely aware of Craig and David both giving the teen a firm look.
Under their wordless gazes, the teen boy shifted uncomfortably. “Or…maybe not.”
Angela turned away again, conscious of her boss following a step behind. She could feel herself calming down the closer she got to his office and noticed as he squeezed around her to open the door for her. He led her to his office chair and had her sitting in it, all without managing to touch her. Did she have cooties?
The man did as he had done the night before, straddled the wooden chair she had sat in for her interview. Only this time instead of sitting by her side, he sat in front of her, arms crossed across the slatted back.
“Look at me.”
She didn’t want to comply with the soft command, but she did.
“Now tell me, are you ‘fine’?”
Her head bobbed up and down and he dared to question her by raising his eyebrow. Her head shook before she could stop herself. “No, not right now. I will be.”
“You don’t need to be here today then.”
She was going to start crying again. No, no she wasn’t. She fought the urge and swallowed hard. At least it was tears and not a panic attack. “Does everyone know?”
Craig sighed. “Yes. I’m sorry, but there was no other way. We’re putting new rules into effect. Even though I know no one presently working here would do anything like this, I need the rules followed for anyone I hire in the future.”
Angela nodded. “I understand. Do you want me to quit?”
“What? No! I don’t hold you responsible, and neither does anyone else here.”
Why did he looked almost panicked at her question?
“Both Cori and Susan have been arrested and fired. Tomorrow I’ll be filing a restraining order against both. They won’t be allowed to set foot in the parking lot by the time I’m done with them.”
She wished she was brave enough to ask him if he was protecting his store or her. But she couldn’t handle romantic notions right now. Even the thought of asking him if they could give Princess her bath today was too much for her to consider. Going home didn’t sound appealing, she didn’t want to be by herself, but she could use the time to focus on her homework.
Losing the pay was going to hurt too.
But the longer she sat there looking at him, the more she knew the truth of what he was saying. She didn’t need to be here today. He smelled incredible, clean and warm. And male, he smelled male; in a good way. It made her feel safe. He made her feel safe, and it scared her. She needed to get out of here. Now.
“Okay, I’ll go home. Make sure Princess gets her dish of food tonight?”
“I promise.” He almost smiled. “And don’t worry about her bath. We’ll get to it one of these days. It doesn’t look like she’s going anywhere.”
“Thank you.”
“Would it be alright if I gave you a call in the morning to check on you?”
“Yeah, sure. I leave by seven-thirty on Monday mornings.” This was taking too long. She rose to her feet.
Craig followed suit, sliding the wooden chair out of the way. “I’ll call about quarter after then.”
“Fine.” She let him open the door for her and walked towards the break room. Had she looked back, she would have seen him in the doorway watching her.
She grabbed her purse from the break room and headed for home. Having walked to the store, she walked back to her apartment briskly even though no one was out and about now. The only person she saw was her neighbor Maggie Witherspoon as they passed on the steps to the apartments on the bottom level. She waved hello to her neighbor and disappeared inside her own little corner of the world.
Angela was irritated when her phone rang not ten minutes later, her homework spread out on the kitchen table before her. Now who? “Hello?” she said, answering the phone.
“Hi Angela.”
“Hi Pastor Mark.” She sat back down at the table, the phone cord trailing across the room.
“I saw you walking home just now and wanted to check on you. You weren’t fired for your mistake, were you?”
“No. Craig thought I shouldn’t be there today.”
“It has been busy there today. Lots of excitement and scandal.”
“No kidding.” On the table next to her, her mug of tea was cooling. The tea bag rested on a paper towel she had set down for a coaster. Her fingers picked at it restlessly.
“No doubt he’s concerned about the stability of his store right now. If Susan and Cori tried to implicate you in any of this, he could suspect you of being involved no matter what video proof he has.”
Angela tried formulating a polite response. “Or maybe Craig realized I’m tired and upset and just wanted to show me some kindness.”
“Craig Moore does not have a reputation for being kind, especially to his employees.” Her pastor’s tone was derisive. “Fair and stern, but kind? I doubt it; the man is made of stone.”
“I’ve seen his acts of kindness,” she argued. “He let David have a whole week off when Marcy had her baby. That’s more than most places allow for fathers.”
“Angela, please. David’s been there as long as Harry Flynn was, and he probably used vacation days. Craig let him because it was fair, not kind.”
“Being fair is being kind.” This conversation was tiring her.
“Not always.”
Angela was glad he couldn’t see her rolling eyeballs. “Whatever.”
“Since you’re not working, I was wondering if you’d like some company. Elder Freeman and I could come over for a bit.”
“No, thank you. I’m fine. I’m going to do homework and rest. I need to be alone right now.” It was too many excuses, said too quickly, but Angela couldn’t undo any of it. She stood and walked across the kitchen, getting ready to hang up.
“Oh, well. I’ll leave you to it then. I’ll see you next Sunday.”
“Before you hang up, Pastor Mark, I just want to let you know you’re wrong when it comes to Craig. He’s no more made of stone than he is gay.” She refrained from slamming the receiver down on its base. She’d pay for her disrespect the next time she was at church, but she couldn’t let her pastor continue to put Craig down.
She sat back at her table and pulled her Bible out of her pile of books. The Psalms always comforted her.
I t was the dream again.
The August sun beat down on Angela as she played in a field of daisies. The scent of hay and dust was heavy, but the air was filled with their childish laughter. She was happy as they played together…and then came the sound of tires squealing on broken asphalt. Red haze filled her vision at the sight of her brother’s broken body.
Angela awoke with a violent start, almost falling off the couch where she had fallen asleep reading. She sat up and leaned over her k
nees in an attempt to calm down, trying to stop the whimpering sound coming from her.
It was the same each time. In the twelve years since the accident, the dream hadn’t deviated. Slow motion and in technicolor, every detail larger than life.
She wasn’t calm yet, but she glanced at her watch in the light of the lamp next to the couch. Almost midnight. She should try to get some more sleep. Picking her Bible up from where it had fallen upon her rude awakening, she turned the lamp off and walked around the couch to enter her bedroom. Her bedroom was cool, a chill breeze coming in the open window next to the bed and causing her light airy curtains to flutter prettily. She changed in the darkness into a pair of comfortable pajamas and grabbed the top blanket off the bed.
Sadly, she was now wide awake. In dim light coming from the light above the sink, Angela retraced her steps and walked into the kitchen, setting the blanket and Bible down long enough to fix a cup of warm milk with a drop of peppermint extract for flavoring. Flipping the porch light on, she stepped out into the cool night air with her hands full. She settled herself in the wide rocking chair in the space between her and Maggie’s doors.
Her light was the only one shining in the darkness, and she felt exposed. But she couldn’t read in the dark. She had changed the Bible out for one of her borrowed library books. It would be a good night to call Michelle, but she wasn’t ready to talk to anyone.
From here, across the gentle sloping of the terrain it was easy to see Craig’s Victorian house just beyond the store. A soft light glowed in an upstairs room. Things were too confusing for her right now. She tried praying, she tried thinking. Her mind raced back and forth between the two activities. She never did open her book.
10
I t had been an awkward at first, but once Angela realized no one was treating her any differently at work, she was able to relax. The week had flown by then, and before she knew it she was standing in Maeve O’Malley’s office early Saturday morning.
It was a modest office, pleasantly decorated in bold colors. Maeve fit the office to a T. She was a short woman who dressed in bold colors. Not right this moment. Right now, she was wearing a traditional karate Gi, as was Angela, her sweet ‘project child’ as some called her behind their backs.