by Tara Ford
Tasha snapped a look up at the viewing mirror and then shrugged her shoulders too.
Back at the counter, Jenny waited patiently for the customers to be served and leave. “I didn’t see her go, did you?”
“No,” said Tasha, shaking her head and frowning. “I was serving a few customers but I kept a look out.”
“Well she’s gone and I don’t know if she took any toilet rolls with her. Crafty-cat, she was too quick for me.”
“Are you sure? I didn’t even see her walk past the window.” Tasha stood on tiptoes to see as far as she could through the viewing mirror. “She wouldn’t have fallen right into the freezer, would she?”
Jenny laughed out loudly, “No, I’ve just been past the freezers – she’d have to be buried pretty deep for me to have missed her.”
Astonishingly, Tasha burst into raucous, uncontrollable laughter and crossed her legs while doing so. She couldn’t stop the horse-like neighing that was coming from her mouth.
“I’ll take over for a minute,” said Jenny, somewhat startled by her employee’s sudden turn and the loudness of her peculiar laughter. “Do you need a glass of water?”
Tasha shook her head, “No…” she managed to splutter.
The two ladies who had been at the far end of the shop approached the counter and stared hard at what could only be described as a demented young girl – coughing and spluttering everywhere as she neighed and snorted.
“Please…” pleaded Jenny. “Please Ignore her – she’s got a fit of the giggles, I’m afraid. Goodness knows what set her off.”
As soon as Jenny had spoken, Tasha began to neigh even louder and left the counter with her legs tangled together in an attempt to walk and cross them at the same time.
The two, austere women, who appeared to be extremely unamused, huffed and mumbled under their breaths as they put their goods down on the counter and drew their purses from their bags.
Tasha had disappeared down the far aisle and could still be heard making the strangest of hee-haw sounds, somewhere near the pickles.
Once the sour-faced women had left the shop, Jenny peered up at the mirror and could see Tasha standing, cross-legged, by the toilet rolls, cupping both hands over her mouth.
Two more customers out of the way and Jenny sighed before calling out to Tasha. “All clear – you can come back now.”
“I looked at the toilet rolls while I was down there,” said Tasha, pulling the hem of her top down and straightening her hair. “I’m sure Marj must have taken one, there are two gaps on the shelf.”
“Ok, well not to worry, we’ll catch her next time. Fancy a cup of tea after all that laughing?”
“Yes please. I’m really thirsty now.”
“I’m not surprised… I mean, the way you laughed, I’m amazed that you haven’t got a sore throat.”
Tasha’s face turned pink, “Yes… my friends say that I sound like a donkey when I laugh.”
“Really? I suppose it could be described like that.” Jenny laughed aloud (very much unlike a donkey… or even a bog-standard horse). “I’ll go and get that tea – you ok for a minute?”
Nodding her head, Tasha grinned sheepishly and then swapped places with Jenny, behind the counter.
Filling the kettle with water, Jenny placed it on its base and flicked it on. A discarded, half-filled glass of water stood on the worktop. Picking it up, she tipped the contents into the sink and placed the glass on the drainer, ready to be washed up. Although a very placid person normally, it did annoy her when people left drinks or other things lying around and it could have only been Tasha who had left the glass almost on the edge of the kitchen top. The kettle began to crackle and pop as it started to heat the water. Jenny reached for the tea canister, grabbed two tea-bags and popped them into two clean mugs. Then she spooned the sugar in and poured the milk, before slumping down onto the stool by the side of the door. Listening to the water bubbling inside the kettle, she closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. Sundays were going to be her favourite day from now on – finishing at six o’clock would be heavenly.
The bubbling sound of the water, inside the kettle was mesmerizing… bubble, bubble, pop, bubble…
Then another watery sound added to the dulcet tones of the kettle. A whooshing, gushing, much louder noise. A flushing of water. A rustling.
Startled by the sudden interruption to her watery meditation, Jenny opened her eyes and bolted upright on the stool. The toilet, at the back of the staff room, had been flushed and a rustle of movement could be heard behind the closed door. Jenny’s heart thumped heavily in her chest – there was someone in the toilet. Someone was using her toilet in her private staff room.
Fearing the worst, Jenny stood up and opened the staffroom door. She waited in the doorway. The kettle came to a boil and flicked off. Jenny glanced up the shop’s first aisle. Unless Tasha looked in the mirror, she wouldn’t be able to see Jenny from where she stood. With a shortened breath, Jenny watched and waited. The toilet door’s interior lock turned. Jenny held her breath. Slowly, the door opened. Jenny gasped. Thoughts raced through her mind – what would she say? Who was in there? Should she tell them off for entering her staffroom? Should she have a go at them for using her toilet without asking? What should she say? What should she do? She waited, fearfully. The slow motion of the door turned Jenny’s fears in to anger and then back to fear. “Hello?” she called out, too scared to enter the staffroom and venture towards the wash area and toilet for fear of an intruder, a burglar or a knife-wielding maniac (although they would hardly be using the toilets while breaking into a shop – would they?). “Excuse me –who is there?”
Silence.
“Oh for goodness sake,” exclaimed Jenny, slapping a hand to her chest “What are you doing in there?”
As the little grey haired woman poked her head round the toilet door, Jenny slumped against the frame of the staffroom door. “You frightened the life out of me. What on earth were you doing?”
“I needed a piddle.”
“I’m sure that you did but couldn’t you have asked first?”
“Why do I need to ask to go for a wee?” Marj tottered away from the toilet door and climbed up onto a stool. “And where’s my glass of water gone?”
Shaking her head, Jenny went back inside the staffroom and pointed to the glass on the drainer, “Is that yours then?”
Marj nodded her head, “Yes, just water thank you.”
“Argh!” Gripping her head with both hands, Jenny glared despairingly at the defenseless old lady before snatching up the glass and filling it with cold water. “There… drink that and then you’ll have to come out of here. This is our staffroom, Marj.”
“Oh yes, I know it is…”
“Well it’s private, Marj.”
Marj grinned and took the glass from Jenny. “I expect you like it that way when you’ve got your husband in here.”
“Pardon?”
After a large gulp of water, Marj wiped her lips with the sleeve of her coat and placed the glass on the edge of the worktop, where it had rested earlier.
“Sorry, Marj, what exactly do you mean by that? And I haven’t got a husband, for the record.” As soon as Jenny had finished speaking she realized what Marj had meant. “That man in here, the other day… he was not my husband.”
“Oh, I see dear.”
“Do you?” Jenny really wasn’t sure if Marj saw or understood anything at all. “You’re not supposed to be in here, Marj – it’s private, staff only – it says so on the door.”
“But I thought it was all right for me to come in here and have a glass of water. I’m sorry that I needed to use the toilet – is it really a problem?”
“Sheesh,” exhaled Jenny, “Marj, it’s not a problem to use our toilet…”
“What are you getting in a flap about then, my dear?”
Just as Jenny’s head was about to explode, Tasha appeared at the doorway looking as perplexed as Marj was. “How did she get in
here?” asked Tasha, pointing to Marj. “Sorry, I don’t mean to sound rude but – how did you get in here?”
“Good heavens above, don’t you start as well, young lady.” Marj shuffled on the stool and placed her hands inside her coat pockets. “This good lady and her husband said I could come in, sit down and have a glass of water. What is wrong with you two fine, young ladies?”
Both Tasha and Jenny stared at each other disbelievingly, just before Tasha burst into horsey laughter again. Jenny could see the funny side to it but not quite enough to laugh and certainly not to start galloping around the shop neighing. “Look, Marj, I need to talk to you properly,” said Jenny in desperation.
“You sound perfectly proper and normal to me, dear. I can hear you perfectly well. Although, your poor friend there sounds like a braying mule.”
“Yes, she gets the giggles a lot… and yes, she does sound funny when she laughs… but that’s not the issue here.”
The door at the front of the shop opened and a cold draft tore down the aisle. Jenny turned and then tutted. “I’ll be back in a minute,” she said.
Passing by Tasha, whose discordant braying had intensified, Jenny tapped her on the shoulder and ushered her into the office. ”I’ll be back in a minute. Wait in here – don’t want to upset anyone else.” With that, Tasha’s braying amplified and Jenny had no option but to close the office door quickly.
“Phew,” sighed Jenny, under her breath, as she headed to the counter. The customers always seem to arrive in surges and at the most inappropriate times, she thought, as two more people walked in. Then another one.
It was growing dark outside as Jenny finished serving the last customer. A rough calculation, in her head, suggested that the last twenty minutes had been very productive for the shop’s takings.
Tasha had stayed out of sight, hidden in the office and as for Marj… well, Jenny prayed that she was still in the staffroom, or at least somewhere in the shop. As long as she wasn’t flailing about inside the freezer, everything would be ok. Wouldn’t it?
Gone. Vanished, like before. But this time another pack of the familiar, turquoise toilet rolls had disappeared too and Jenny knew for a fact that she hadn’t sold any in the last mini, retail-rush.
Tasha had morphed from a prized racing horse back to a reasonably normal, pole-dancing human being while Jenny had clock-watched, willing the hands to go faster around the dial. She’d had enough today – a bubble bath was calling her from a distant place of sanctuary and normality. Away from the insanity hovering around the shelving of J’s Convenience Store.
“I don’t know how I missed her,” puzzled Jenny. “She’s got her wits about her, you know.”
“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault.” Tasha looked down sulkily. “If I hadn’t been laughing so much, I could have served and then she wouldn’t have got away again.”
“What’s done is done, Tasha. We’ll stop her next time she comes in – without fail.”
Warm bubbles wrapped around Jenny’s shoulders as she sank further down, into the hot water. Closing her eyes, she ran the events of the day through her weary mind. She had to catch Marj and talk to her about a few things. She had to find out if Marj had any family and did they know about her condition? She had to get a paperboy… or girl. Jenny knew that she had to get more sleep too. The long weekend had taken its toll and she hadn’t coped well, at times. She had to make sure that Tasha didn’t get in to too many of her fits of giggles… or to rephrase it… hee-haws, either. Jenny had to knuckle down and get the paperwork sorted out more frequently. She had to take proper breaks, during the week, when there were three of them and she had to try and get that man, Aaron, out of her head. There was no time anymore for socializing, dating or anything else for that matter. The shop and the colourful characters it attracted, had to be her life completely, at least until it got off the ground and she could afford more staff. So many things she had to do and so many things she couldn’t do, didn’t want to do or shouldn’t do. Do, do, do.
Thoughts drifted around her head aimlessly, floated away and then popped, along with the bubbles, as she lingered in the bath, dangerously drifting in and out of sleep. In and out of dreamy dreams. I do, I do, I do.
Chapter 17
The first boy hardly spoke and when a sound did pass his lips, it was no more than a grunt or a snort. His expressionless face couldn’t rustle up a smile and he passed wind freely, noisily and potently.
The second had a vacant stare, apart from when he threw in a random cheesy grin here and there, but always at the wrong moment and he couldn’t even read the name of the shop, let alone anything else.
Number three obviously smoked and by the red, veiny appearance of his eyes and lacklustre demeanour, Jenny wasn’t so sure that it was only tobacco that he smoked at such a tender, young age.
A teenage girl, with over-sized breasts, was the fourth to arrive, on the second day. Giggly, dopey and caked in black mascara and a cheap foundation, which would have been more of a colour-match for a dusty camel, number four was far too vain and flirtatious in her manner.
The fifth one arrived late, blamed his school for keeping him in to do a detention, declared his hatred for all of his teachers and briefly mentioned what he’d like to do to them (which involved stones, bricks and car vandalism). He left the interview early.
Kicking off her shoes, Jenny sighed as she lifted her feet up to the desk and stretched back in her office chair. Maybe she should see the first boy again – perhaps he was so nervous that he didn’t come across very well in his interview. His flatulence had been embarrassing, but then again, it wasn’t as if he would be sat in the shop all day, so it might be possible to tolerate a short burst of farting, here and there. There was only one more boy to see and that wouldn’t be until four o’clock tomorrow. Jenny needed someone quickly as the paper-round was growing by the day. Word had obviously got around that she was delivering newspapers and all of the elderly folk from the area were pouring in or phoning up, requesting papers, magazines and subscriptions. According to several residents, the other local newsagents, less than a mile away, provided a pretty poor service at a pretty expensive price. Many of Jenny’s new customers had complained fervently about the service and were moving their custom to J’s Convenience Store.
Dayna had been a star for the last two mornings. She’d delivered more and more papers without a hint of resentment. But then nothing could have compared to her infuriation, regarding her dear son, Xaylan, and his latest antics. And no one could even understand how he’d managed to perform such an animalistic act either. Dayna’s treasured didgeridoo had been chewed. Tooth marks heavily engraved the outer edge of the mouthpiece. How Xaylan had succeeded in opening his mouth wide enough to clamp around the didgeridoo’s circumference and then bite down hard on it, was anyone’s guess – and no one could make a reasonable guess as to how he’d done it. When questioned, Xaylan’s response had been, ‘Dunno’.
Pondering over the paper-round, as she wiggled her toes on the desk top, Jenny came to the conclusion that she couldn’t make an informed decision until the end of tomorrow. By the weekend, she would, hopefully, have a paperboy or girl joining the payroll, even if she did have to backtrack and employ one of the previous candidates.
A gentle rapping on the office door brought Jenny back from her muse. “Come in,” she said, “I told you before, you don’t have to knock Tash…”
Snatching her feet from the desktop, Jenny almost toppled off the chair in her hasty retreat to the floor. Fumbling and fretting, she attempted to pull her shoes on. “Err… sorry… I was just… err… well, tired feet, you know?”
“Please, don’t mind me… and I know too well what it’s like to have tired, aching feet.” Aaron stepped inside the office. “The woman said to come down and knock the door,” he added, pointing with his thumb, over his shoulder.
“Yes of course… err… no, that’s fine.” A red-hot flush coloured Jenny’s face. “Sorry, I’m all over the pl
ace here, aren’t I?” Retrieving a wedged thumb from the back of her shoe, Jenny looked up and met with those familiar eyes. “Can I get you a drink?”
“No,” Aaron grinned, “I was passing and thought I’d drop in to check that you hadn’t had a change of heart about the EPOS system. I can’t stop.”
“Ah, that’s a shame. No, I’m good to go on Saturday, if that’s still ok with you.”
Aaron nodded. “I thought so and yes everything is still running to plan for Saturday.” Leaning against the doorframe, he put his hands in his trouser pockets. “How are things going?”
“It’s going ok. I probably look a wreck though. Been a bit tired lately – it’s been harder going than I thought it would be.” Jenny adjusted her hair and looked down at her chipped nails, before quickly clasping her hands together, in an attempt to conceal them.
“Yes, I remember my mum used to say how hard it was when she first started out.” Aaron’s casual stance and cool, calming voice were soothing. “That was well over 25 years ago.”
“I can imagine. She’s one of the most successful, independent retailers in the area. I’ll get there one day,” said Jenny, doubtfully. “I’ve got a few stories I could tell already though.”
“Yes, I know. I could testify to one such tale,” Aaron sniggered. “Seen any more of her?”
“Seen any more of her? She’s our number one, most wanted villain at the moment.”
Aaron frowned in puzzlement, “Villain? Why?”
“It’s a long story…”
“Well maybe you could tell me over a couple of drinks one evening?” Aaron looked down at his shoes. “What do you think?”
“Yes, I’d like that… the only problem is – when?”
“Saturday?”
“I don’t finish until ten on Saturday – and Fridays as well.” Jenny sighed, “I don’t have any free time at all really, that’s the problem.”
“How about Saturday lunch then?” Aaron peered up from his shoes. “We could go to lunch again, if you’d like?”
