Page 51 of Shame

Like hell she can’t!

“She’s done it before,” I say carefully.

What I want to do is shout in his face. But if I show even an ounce of annoyance with him, he’ll buckle down. He’ll make it worse for me later. That’s always what he does, and I learned it the hard way.

“That was before. This is now. You can’t have those days off.”

“But, Norman, my father—”

“Is there anything else you need?” he asks, leaving no room for argument.

I stare at him, trying to work past the vomit crawling up my throat. I need this time off. Ineedit. There is no way I can send my father to this surgery, a surgery I am nervous as hell about, all by himself.

“Is this because of the other day?” I ask quietly.

Norman grits his teeth, sitting forward and putting his hands on the desk.

“Are you suggesting this is retaliation?” he asks, raising a brow.

“No!” I answer quickly, taking a step forward. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. I—”

“Then whatareyou saying, Cora?”

My jaw drops open and though there are a million things I should say, I can’t find the words. This is an issue I’ve always had. When I’m put in tough situations like this, I freeze. My brain stops working, and though I know what I should do, I just can’t. There’s flight, fight… and freeze. I’m a freezer, and I’m not proud of it.

I need to rearrange my schedule for my father. I need those days off to be with Dad during the procedure in case anything goes wrong, and at home with him after for the same reason. Irene will be there too, but I’m his daughter. I should be there.

I made sure to talk to Fia about the switch after getting a date from the doctor’s office. I put in the request on my next shift. There’s at least a week’s notice, which is what’s required. Norman has no reason to deny my request, other than he’s angry that Kaison told him off. Which only angers me. I feel sick. Because this is retaliation, but if I start calling it that, Norman is going to make a big fuss!

The job options in this town are far and few. It’s not like I can quit and go to another diner down the street. There isn’t one! My work experience ends and begins with food. First it was the grocery store and now it’s the diner. It’s all I’ve done and all I know.

“Nothing,” I mutter.

“Then I suggest you get back to work before we lose customers,” he snaps.

With my shoulders drooping, I walk to the front, unsure how I’m going to get through the rest of this shift. And things only get worse when I walk into the dining room and lock eyes with Kaison.

My heart does a little flip, then it burns with rage. He’s just going to show up here after ignoring me for two days? I don’t think so.

He smiles at me, but I scowl and pull my pad from my pocket, noting the table that was just sat in my section. I walk toward them, feeling Kaison’s gaze on my back the entire time.

I force a smile. “Morning, folks. How are you today?”

“Living the dream,” the man mutters.

Well, lucky you.

The woman across from him huffs out a laugh. “You always say that in public, yet you’re miserable at home.”

There isn’t any anger in her voice, seems she’s just joking around. It’s cute, sort of.

“Oh, come on, Lydia. I’m not that bad.” The man grins at her. She grins right back, shaking her head.

“Twenty years of marriage,” she says with an eye roll.

I force another smile, and this one is harder to maintain than the first.

“What can I get you to drink?”

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