Page 86 of Seasons of Love
“Yeah, she’s very stubborn, Gerald,” Jimmy says, retreating to his checkout lane.
Gerald narrows his eyes, clearly not believing a word we’re saying.
“Well, she’s not here anymore. Back to work, and I better not see you two messing around again.” He turns around with the air of superiority he likes to display.
He’s only the manager of a chain store. He’s as much of a nobody as we are. He’s just a better-paid nobody. But since he’s in charge, he loves to make sure we all know he’s the boss.
“Gerald?” I call, trying to gather my wits once again with the newfound information from Pauline. “I know you said you can’t give me more hours because of budgets. The thing is, I’m struggling to get by on just three days a week, you know, with trying to raise a baby and all. Are you sure you can’t stretch it? Just maybe an extra half-day?”
He puts his pudgy hand on my shoulder, and I almost recoil. “Sorry, Milo. It’s the powers above. You understand, right?” he asks, pointing up as if his boss is god herself.
“You’d tell me if there was a new job opening, wouldn’t you?” I ask, knowing he’ll never tell me what he told Pauline. “I don’t mind traveling to another store either.”
“Of course,” he says in a suddenly sickly-sweet voice without missing a beat.
The fucking bastard.
He leaves me to get back to work, and I struggle to find my usual spark. I like to be in a good mood when I talk to my customers. Sometimes people have bad days at work, and you never know if smiling and talking to them could cheer them up and turn their day around. But right now, I’m as deflated as a three-day-old balloon.
I’m looking down at my hands, lost in thought as I wait for my next customer, when someone clears their throat.
I stand up straight.
“Mr. Bradford…um…good day…well, it’s really evening, isn’t it?” I say, fumbling with my words like my brain has melted.
“Hi, Milo. You were in a world of your own. And what have I been saying about calling me Ellis?”
“Okay…Ellis.”
God, his smile does things to me.
“Yeah…um, I was just thinking about the library.”
“The library?”
I scrunch my face. He must think I’m an idiot.
“Yeah, I need to return some books I got for Sara and get some more. She loves them.”
He smiles again, and I melt a little inside.
“It’s good to get children used to touching books and listening to stories, even when we don’t think they can understand. They can take in a lot more than we think.”
I nod. I want to say that Sara loves touching her books and turning the pages. Well, mostly trying to chew them, but I’m afraid my brain-to-mouth function has been temporarily disabled.
A few months ago, I was going about my life. No need for relationships. Wasn’t thinking about boyfriends—let’s face it, Sara had just been born. I didn’t need anything else. Until Ellis Bradford moved to Stillwater and started to live rent-free in my brain.
The elementary school teacher with a gentle manner, who always has a smile for everyone and is far too intelligent and refined for someone like me.
But what can I do? It’s those kind eyes. The hair that already has a hint of salt and pepper on the sides.
He’s older than me. If I was to guess, I’d say he’s already forty, which would make him fourteen years older than my twenty-six years, but I don’t care. All I know is that my heart beats a little faster when he’s around, and that’s never happened with all the guys I’ve messed around with in the past.
He only has a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates today. I wonder if he’s going on a date, and my heart sinks a little.
“These aren’t your usual purchases,” I say before I stop myself. “Crap. I’m sorry. I mean…not that I notice what you usually buy.”
Yeah right. Or commit it to memory.
