Something Had to Give (28 page)

Avoiding direct eye contact with me, she started. “I know it’s been a long and crazy shift so I won’t keep you long. I am so appreciative of the work you have done here with us and just wanted to touch bases with you before I make out the next schedule.”

“OK.” I responded trying to figure out where this was going. I knew she was well aware of the dates I was available and that I had several more days that I was still available to work.

“Well, I know you will be going back to school soon and probably want a break from all the craziness of the holiday season and some time to relax.”

She wasn’t slick. I knew she was trying to get rid of me but didn’t want to fire me. I wasn’t willing to let her off the hook though. “No, I’m fine to work through the days we discussed, but thanks for checking.”

“I see. We can keep you on, but with the holiday coming to a close, you probably know that there will be a lot less traffic in the store and not a need for as many employees. We can probably do one or two more days.”

She just didn’t know she was messing with me on the wrong day. I was fuming by this point. What had I done to anyone on this day to make them crap on me? “We both know stores are crowded all through the New Year with after Christmas sales, so if you want to get rid of me, why don’t you man up and just say it.”

Her face was beet red by that point, but she was trying to remain professional. “No, my goodness that’s not it at all. Let me look at the schedule and see what other hours are available.” She said this as she grabbed her paper schedule and pretended to look over it.

“Don’t even worry about it. You’ve had it out for me since I started and I’m not even sure why you hired me, but I’m over it. So take this crap job and shove it up your ass.”

I didn’t give her time to respond. I got up and left out the back door so I wouldn’t have to wait for anyone to let the gate up to the front of the store. It meant a much longer walk to my car but I didn’t care at that point. I had to get away from that witch. During my walk to my car, it hit me that I was going to have to explain what happened to Jason. Not once had I expressed to him my frustration with how Trish had treated me, so I was sure all this that had just happened would be confusing and shocking to him. Still I wanted to get to him before Trish had the chance to put her own spin on things. After my two calls from my cell phone went unanswered, I sat there in my car with my head back and eyes closed. Part of me was hoping Jason would call back soon and another part dreaded going home where there was sure to be tension. When I realized that it was close to time for Trish and the other closers to be coming out soon, I knew it was time for me to go. I took the longest route possible home. When I finally got home Craig’s truck was gone.

Daddy was in the living room when I walked in reading the paper. “Hey, how was work?”

“It was work.”

“Shanna and Craig left.” He yelled out to me as I made my way upstairs. It was music to my ears, but he didn’t seem happy about it. “They weren’t supposed to leave for another two days, but felt uncomfortable apparently. Do you know anything about that?”

“I’m sure she’s already filled you in and made me out to look like a monster so there’s no need to talk about it.”

“Cheryl, I’m not taking sides. She was upset and you seem upset too so I’m trying to figure out what’s going on. I hate seeing you two fight.”

“It’s just a silly argument dad. It will blow over.”

I was done with the conversation and continued on to my room where I collapsed on my bed. I hated that Daddy was concerned but what was I to tell him? That Shanna couldn’t function without her boyfriend, that they both were functioning alcoholics, and on God knows what drug. It was a can of worms I didn’t want to open with him. I was just so tired. All I wanted to do was shower and go to bed.

I had missed six calls on my cell phone from Jason when I woke up the next morning. Either Trish had got a hold of him before I could or he really wanted to talk me. Morning brought on a clear mindset and I really felt bad for how I had handled things with both Shanna and Trish. I still felt like they both were treating me unfairly, but I wished that I had kept my composure when reacting to them. I was embarrassed to call Jason back and admit what I had done. It was a side of me he had not seen and I would have preferred to keep it that way. Reluctantly I called Jason back first thing that morning, mainly because I didn’t want him to think I was avoiding his call. Just as I had suspected, Trish had got a hold of him soon after I left and essentially told him that I had thrown a tantrum over my hours being cut and had quit on the spot. I wasn’t sure how much of their conversation he had watered down for my sake, but I felt certain that she had given him an ear full about my actions. It seemed so messed up and unfair that I had to defend myself against someone who had it out for me since day one. I almost didn’t want to tell my side of the story since it was pretty much my word against hers. I also felt like it would look suspect that I had not said anything previously about how Trish was acting towards me. I decided to tell him everything so that I didn’t seem like a crazy person that threw fits when I didn’t get my way. He listened to what I had to say and didn’t have much of a response. I knew it was probably a lot to take in and he was probably trying to remain objective. Still, I wanted him to be on my side and tell me that what I did was somewhat justifiable. When that didn’t happen, I was disappointed but content that he wasn’t running for the hills and seemed to be somewhat understanding. I just wanted to put the whole experience behind me.

The remainder of the break went by deathly slow. I didn’t bother trying to look for another job or pretty much anything to do for that last week. It seemed pointless to even try. The couch became my best friend and on days when I felt like I may lose it being in the house any longer I would go to the bookstore or to catch a matinee. When New Year’s Eve rolled around I was excited only because it meant it was that much closer to getting back to Wilmington. I brought in the New Year with my parents. We had dinner uptown and watched the crown drop. It wasn’t by any means an exciting night, but it was still a nice time. When we got home Shanna called and asked to talk to everyone and wish them a Happy New Year expect me. I expected it though and didn’t let it bother me. She had her actions to live with and I had mine.

∞∞∞

I was back at school a day before I had to simply because I just didn’t want to be at home any longer. Daddy had tried to convince me to stay, but backed off when I told him it was the only way to beat all the holiday traffic. I talked to Jason on the drive back until my phone battery was close to dying and we both agreed to leave some of the battery in case I needed it. The remainder of the trip went by quickly as there truly was not a lot of traffic. It was early evening when I got back to campus and I opted to stop for a shrimp taco instead of taking a chance on what the dining hall was serving. Back at my apartment, I was the only one there and the quietness was welcomed. It wasn’t until I had eaten and unpacked that it hit me to check my room phone for any messages. I didn’t really expect for there to be one since my family and Jason had my cell phone number, but there actually was one. In my mind I was thinking it was an automated message from the school or maybe a classmate leaving me a message but instead it was a message from Eric. He had left the message earlier in the day asking for me to call him when I got in. I had no idea if he somehow knew I would be coming back a day early or if he was assuming but either way, it was a little creepy. We had cleared the air and there were no hard feelings on my end but I couldn’t disrespect Jason by keeping in regular contact with him. As soon as I deleted the message and hung up the phone, it started to ring. It was so eerie that I checked out the window to see if he was out there watching me. I didn’t answer feeling like it was too much of a coincidence for the phone to be ringing. Here we go I thought to myself, here we go.

As I settled into the routine of my spring semester I didn’t hear from Shanna. I would run into Eric in the dining hall or downtown from time to time, but he had apparently given up on calling me. The times I saw him downtown, it was obvious that he had somehow been drinking, but nothing like how he had been when I saw him at the beginning of the year. Yet, it still bothered me that he felt like he had to turn to alcohol. Occasionally, I would find myself tagged onto an annoying chain email from Shanna. I never responded though figuring that she had somehow forgot I was a part of her group mailing list. Neither of us had made attempts to call each other or apologize and I couldn’t say that it didn’t bother me. There were many times I wanted to call her and tell her about something that had happened during my day. I adjusted though and learned to call Jason instead. Still it wasn’t the same.

My main focus for the semester was preparation for the nursing school entrance exam and my application as well. I made sure my grades stayed on track and continued with my internship at the hospital. That all was going well, but there was still a lot that weighed on how well I did on the exam. I signed up for each prep class that I was able to make it to and spent most weekends studying as well. The exam was scheduled for right after spring break, which gave me a lot of time to prepare as long as I took advantage of the time available. I was looking forward to the exam to get it over with and also because it would be right around the time Jason would be coming to visit me. We had planned out activities for the week of spring break and were both excited since we had not seen each other in a long time.

Each day seemed so busy with school work, studying, and the internship that before I knew it the day had come that I was to pick Jason up from the airport. His flight came in early afternoon, so I took my packed bags with me to the airport so we could head straight to Myrtle Beach for a few days. I was excited to get away after spending so much time lately studying and it was an added bonus that Jason had never been to Myrtle Beach. It seemed like years since I had last seen him and he looked different. It was a good different though. I knew he had joined a gym and had been working out but I wasn’t expecting him to look so good and fit. I almost felt embarrassed for him to see me in the plain Jane clothes I threw on for the drive to the beach. Lucky for me, he didn’t seem to mind my outfit and was just genuinely happy to see me. The ride down to the beach was just an hour, which was a welcomed break from the four-hour or seven-hour drive to Charlotte or Chattanooga.

Our stay in Myrtle Beach was for four days. On days where it was too chilly to get in the water, we enjoyed the view from our hotel balcony, which was of the beach. Probably the best days were the ones that we had brunch on the balcony and sat out there talking for hours. We also ventured out to the outlets and did some shopping. It was the first time I had actually been to them and Jason got a kick over how excited I was over the cheap prices. Apparently the ones closer to him were much better. The nightlife of Myrtle Beach was amusing to the both of us on the strip. Each night we would walk the strip to see what craziness was going to happen and get a good laugh people watching. Our time to leave came way too soon, but I was glad that I didn’t have to say bye to Jason just yet. We still had two days left together in Wilmington.

Jason had never been to Wilmington before, so for the first day I drove around showing him the city. I had been there a while so I didn’t think there was really much to see in the small city, but Jason seemed to enjoy the tour. I purposely left the beach off our list of things to do assuming Jason had seen enough of the water at Myrtle, but after dinner that night, it was his idea to go there and watch the sun set. It still wasn’t quite warm enough to me to be out there, but we joined a good crowd of people who also thought it was a good idea to be there. Our last day together was hard but we still tried our best to make the best of it. My entrance exam was the next morning also. The plan was to get more studying done after taking Jason to the airport. We spent the day at Ft. Fisher aquarium, which was located just 20 miles from the city. I had said several times before that I wanted to go there but this was the first time I had actually made plans to go and went through with them. We spent all morning at the aquarium and Jason wanted to cap our last bit of time together off with a nice lunch. I decided Dockside was a good choice.

Dockside always had a crowd, but with the slightest hint of nice weather, it was really crowded with people wanting to sit outside. We waited around 15 minutes before being seated outside to enjoy the beautiful weather that had finally hit Wilmington and some great seafood. We could have sat out there for hours enjoying the warm weather and each other’s company, but we couldn’t avoid that Jason had a flight to catch and I had to get some last minute prep done for my exam in the morning. As we were waiting on the waitress to come back with the change from our bill, Jason excused himself to the bathroom and then quickly everything changed for the worse. I was sitting with my back to the restaurant and was not able to see people who came outside from the main dining room. This meant I did not see a drunk and staggering Eric coming towards my table with a chair he had grabbed from another table. I smelled him before I saw him and was instantly mortified when he sat down at the table. I didn’t care that he was drunk or have any interest in what he wanted. My only concern was getting rid of him before Jason got back to the table.

“Hey there stranger! Long time no see.”

“What are you doing here Eric?”

“I was just in the neighborhood. I figured I would stop and speak and meet the guy that stole my girl from me.” My tone and glare did nothing to get rid of him and I started to panic that things were going to go downhill. Before I could respond, my worst fear happened when Jason came back to the table.