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Seconds tick away.
He closes his eyes for a moment, then pulls in a deep breath and retrieves the ice pack, resting it on my knuckles. “I’ll get you an Ibuprofen.” The chair scrapes against the floor as he gets up.
“I took one already. But if you don’t mind, you can grab the pitcher of cold brew from the fridge for me. I need a boost before work.” My smile is as forced as my light tone.
“You’re working tonight? With a sore hand and busted window, it might be a good time to take a night off.”
“I’ll be fine. Misty is picking me up. If I don’t go, Silver will have to cover for me, and you saw what kind of day she’s having.”
Arlow sets a glass in front of me and fills it with ice and coffee. “She needs a good friend like you.”
Yeah, that’s me, a good friend.
The bitter sarcasm in that thought is unfair, born from frustration at not getting what I want, and it’s the kind of gut reaction that I don’t let myself ruminate on anymore. “That’s sweet of you to say.”
Arlow might not be ready to move on from his ex but there’s something between us. Maybe in the future, things will be different. For now, I need to accept that we’re only friends and let that be enough.
I spend a lot more time with Silver over the next two weeks. She takes me to get my window repaired, and we stay at her place some nights when I’m not working. The betrayal of her friend hits her harder than the break-up and cheating. Maybe because we’ve come to expect that from men. With everything women go through, there should be a lot more loyalty between us.
I’m rolling out a batch of dough for cinnamon rolls and Misty is filling a tray of jelly donuts while Silver hangs out, chatting to us when someone knocks on the locked front door.
“Anyone else scheduled tonight?” Misty asks.
Silver frowns, shaking her head, and peeks out through the kitchen door. “It’s Charlotte.”
“Who’s Charlotte?” I ask Misty once Silver has gone out to talk to her.
“She worked the overnight donut shift until about six months ago.”
“Oh.” I glance in the direction of the door, straining to hear the conversation but it only reaches us as mumbles. “You don’t think this is like a disgruntled employee situation, do you?” It’s past eleven at night, not the time you expect someone to show up.
Misty laughs, handing me the cinnamon. “No, Charlotte is nice as can be. And she wasn’t fired or anything. She quit to take care of her grandmother who had cancer.”
Silver spends fifteen minutes or so with Charlotte before returning. “How’s she doing?” Misty asks.
Silver snatches a fresh donut hole and pops it into her mouth. “She’s alright. Just got back in town. Her grandma passed a couple of weeks ago so she’s looking for a job again. I told her to check with Secondhand Thrift and More. They had a sign up recently.”
The conversation drifts to other things but I’m not paying much attention. I’ve requested a week off work to meet up with my concert friends for a music festival, and though Mona was fine with it, I know it leaves them short-handed. My friends tried to convince me to hit a few more concerts with them, travel with them for a few weeks as I’ve done before, but I didn’t consider it since I have a responsibility here. I like working here, but I also hate the thought that I may be taking the job from someone who actually needs it.
“How long did Charlotte work here?” I ask Silver, a few hours later when we sit at the counter to take a break.
“Three years. We waited as long as possible to replace her, but with Misty needing more time off and everything, it was too much for me to handle alone.”
“Was she a good employee?”
“She was. I told her if we get an opening, she’ll be my first call. Eva on morning shift swears she’s going to be a stay-at-home mom as soon as her husband gets out of jail next month, so that’s a possibility.”
We get back to work but I use the hours to think it over. My impulsive nature often gets the best of me. But I knew when I moved that I’d be trying different things. Jobs, hobbies, whatever. That was the point, to figure out what I want. I’m not sure what that will be, but I know I love living in the country. I’d love to learn to garden or maybe keep bees like Arlow does. This job was never a permanent plan and maybe I can help someone by letting it go.
Misty leaves about a half an hour before us. Silver locks up and as we’re heading out to our vehicles, I pause and grab her arm. “So, um, would you want to hire Charlotte back if I quit?”
She blinks at me. “You don’t want to work here anymore?”
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s been great and I love working with you, with everyone, really, but I don’t need the job. I took it to meet people, make some friends and keep myself occupied. I’ve done that. She needs the income.”
“Are you planning to leave town?”
“No! I love it here. I’ll find a volunteer opportunity. Plus, I’ve been thinking of taking some classes at the community center. I don’t want you to think I’m not grateful for the job but if Charlotte is capable, I think it’d be the right thing to do.”
