Page 3 of Paper Hearts & Plot Twists

“I have some pretty long shifts,” Emily said as she scanned the last item. “Your order comes to thirty-nine dollars and fifty-three cents.”

“If you ever change your mind, I’m a regular,” he responded with a wink. He put his information into the keypad.

“Of course. Have a nice day,” she said as he moved to grab his bagged groceries.

“You too, sweetheart.”

Emily continued smiling, but felt it twitch. She shuddered as the man turned his back to her then flicked her hands, trying to shake the feeling. The creepy flirtatious customers were her least favorite, and there were a lot in the running for that position.

She turned back to the conveyor belt, already filled again, and grabbed the first item to scan. She robotically asked the customer questions, enquiring about their day, if they’d like to purchase a bag, and if they’d like to round up to donate to the “Make a Wish” foundation.

“Excuse me!” a shrill voice demanded. Emily blinked and glanced up, startled out of her routine with the current customer, who was entering their information in the credit card machine. The loud voice belonged to a tall and thin woman with an asymmetrical bleach-blonde bob. She wore designer sunnies and had deep plum lips, currently shaped into a sneer.

“May I help you with a quick question, ma’am?” Emily responded, ignoring her innate urge to snap at the woman. Just looking at her told Emily she’d be a problem. Her body language screamed irrational from her angrily tapping toe to her crossed arms, not to mention the heavy sneer.

“I do not have a quick question,“ the woman said, cutting in front of an older gray-haired woman in a mobile scooter who was next in line, her purchases already on the belt. “I need help, and you need to help me.”

“Well, I have one person in line before you, so I’ll happily help if you jump in line. Otherwise, customer service is very willing to assist,” Emily said, trying her best to keep the smile on her face. She gestured toward customer service, though she tried to hide the cringe at the long line already there. When the woman saw that same long line, her angry foot seemed to move at double speed, and the frown deepened.

“It’s like this store doesn’t care about their customers,” she said, getting louder as she spoke. Emily fought the urge to flinch. Confrontation was her worst enemy.

“Of course we care, ma’am,” Emily said, trying to salvage the situation. “I’ll help you as soon as I’m finished with my current customer.” Emily looked at the woman whose transaction had been interrupted by this exchange. She mouthed “I’m sorry” and the woman shrugged in response. Thank goodness for customers who were understanding.

“She doesn’t mind if you help me first,” the woman snapped, stepping up in front of the other woman, while simultaneously using a foot to push the scooter back. The other customer blinked, a bit shocked by the exchange and by being manhandled in such a way.

Emily opened her mouth to say something, though she really wasn’t sure what, when her current customer spoke up. “It’s okay. I can wait a moment. Worst case scenario, I can gather my stuff real quick and go to a different line.”

“Sorry for the inconvenience,” Emily murmured to the angel of a woman, before turning back to the customer who was quickly becoming her worst of the season.

“I can’t believe you’re calling me an inconvenience,” she snapped. “It’s like these stores have no standards for hiring anymore. I don’t know why they don’t hire people with integrity and real-world work ethic.”

Emily took a deep breath in and counted to five before releasing that same breath to another count of five. When she felt like she could respond without cussing out the woman, she asked, “What can I do to help you?”

“If this store ran the way it was supposed to, you wouldn’t need to help me. I want this in red,” the woman said. She shoved an item under Emily’s nose and into her hands, which Emily reflexively grabbed. She blinked and unfurled the item, revealing a ruffly monstrosity of a sweater. Emily grabbed the tag and looked it up on the computer, pulling up the store’s current inventory.

“It looks like there’s gray, blue, pink, and green available in stock. The red is available for online order, but we’re sold out,” Emily explained. She started to hand back the sweater, noticing the woman’s face was progressively turning a darker and deeper shade of red with each passing second.

“I can’t believe you’re treating me, a paying customer, like this,” she shouted.

“What would you like me to do about this?” Emily asked, feeling annoyance seep into her every pore. She hoped it wasn’t coming out in her voice, because that definitely wouldn’t help the situation.

“Go and get me a red one,” she snapped.

“The closest store that has a red one for sale is two hours away,” Emily explained. “You’re free to drive there. I can even place a call for them to hold one for you.”

“Either you need to drive there to get it for me, and deliver it today, or I need my gas tank filled and compensation for five hours of hourly wages.”

“I can’t do either of those things,” Emily explained. Was there an award for having the patience of a goddess, because surely she was earning it today? The woman who was waiting for her order looked back and forth between Emily and the customer as though watching a riveting game of tennis. She had an amused quirk to her lips. Emily couldn’t blame her. Looking in on this situation was funny.

“I can’t believe you’re treating me this way. How is this place still in business?” Emily opened her mouth to respond, but snapped it closed as the woman continued. “I need to speak to the manager.”

Emily closed her eyes, though she nodded her head. She’d happily pass this customer along, but then she’d be forced to have yet another interaction with her manager. He might be slightly better than this woman, but they were comparable. Maybe their strong personalities would cancel each other out. She knew that wasn’t true, but a woman could hope. This would be a long day, she told herself. She wasn’t wrong about that.

“Free at last,” Emily mumbled. She untied the apron around her waist and shoved it into her work locker, grabbed her purse, and started toward the door. She hurried when she heard Jeff’s voice off to the side, a couple aisles away. She didn’t want him to see her and try to get her to stay later. They were always short-handed lately — they really didn’t pay well enough for retention to be worth it — and Jeff seemed to think working double shifts was an appropriate solution. That might be acceptable occasionally, but it wasn’t sustainable long-term.

Emily ducked around a shelf and took a detour to the front. She smiled when his loud voice faded into the distance. Any direction was the right direction if she couldn’t hear him any longer. She started toward the garden center exit to avoid any chance of an interaction with her boss today.

The sliding door flew open as she approached. Emily smiled into the open air of the garden area, alive in greenery and flowers. The sweet scent of blooming flowers wafted up through the air, permeating each and every crevice. She loved this area of the store more than others, though her requests to work there were always declined. Jeff hated this section so much that, if he had the power, he’d do away with it in a heartbeat.

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