Page 5 of The Healer and the Wolf: Part One

Frozen Coffee Rich?I’d never heard of it, but the name gave me a pretty important context clue.

“Ah! Everything frozen is kept in our frozen section in the corner of the store.”

“It’s not there.” The man said it with such fierceness, you’d think I’d suggested he slap his grandchild.

I blinked, taken aback, and blurted exactly what I was thinking. “Are you sure?”

“Of course, I’m sure. I checked twice.”

I had no idea what to say. My area of expertise was the fruit and vegetable section of the store while Carlton was the expert in frozen, and Tiffany, the closest thing I had to a nemesis, had dairy. Although we didn’t get along, we made a great team.

“If you’d like, I can walk over there with you and find it.”

The man puffed up again like I had suggested some sort of act of violence against his family. Jeez, was he having a bad day or what? I hatedwhen people took it out on me, and as much as I tried to empathize, sometimes it was just so out of pocket.

“Why don’t you just do your job and find out whereFrozen Coffee Richis?”

I breathed in. I breathed out. I liked to think I wasn’t a violent person, but the temptation to deck the little old man was palpable. I didn’t, however, because I needed my job, so instead I nodded tersely.

“I’ll go get a manager.”

It wasn’t a long walk to the manager’s office, where I knew I would find Chuck, but I took my sweet time. Once I popped my head in, I relayed the conundrum.

“I’m pretty sure thatFrozen Coffee Richis kept in the frozen section,” the middle-aged man said, a heavy sigh quickly following his words. It might have been just me, butFrozen Coffee Richwas beginning to sound like a random jumble of sounds rather than actual words with meaning.

“That’s what I told him, but he won’t believe me.”

“All right, I’ll take him there without telling him we’re going to frozen. But while you’re here, I need to update you on something.”

“Oh?” Were we getting a new shipment in? Did he need me to pick up overtime? I’d taken the next week off, so I could use the extra funds to make up for it.

I wasn’t going anywhere, but I had some big projects to do on the corner of land I was renting, and it would be nice to have a physical and mental break from biking to and from work.

“I’m afraid I have to cancel your request for time off.”

“What?” I blurted, my mouth moving faster than my brain again. “But it was already approved!” I’d made sure to get the request in two monthsahead of time.

“Look, we have a massive restock coming in for the holidays, and we need all hands on deck.”

“I’m sorry, but I already made plans,” I said, trying to put all the steel into my voice I could. Sure, my manager didn’t know that I was having a little staycation, but he didn’t need to.

“That may be, but I need to ask you to move them around. Remember our conversation yesterday? That point still stands. I need you to be a team player, especially if you’re ever looking to move into management.”

I bit my tongue, wanting to tell him where to shove it while also knowing I very much couldn’t. Technically, it wouldn’t hurt to bump my time off to a week later, and I could use the extra money from working overtime.

“Okay. I’ll see what I can do.”

“That’s my girl,” Chuck said with a grin and headed out. “You’re a lifesaver.”

I grumbled under my breath, but it didn’t really matter. What was done was done, and I would just have to live with it.

Still, I was rather glum for the rest of my shift and just went through the motions. Thankfully, I wasn’t approached by theFrozen Coffee Richguy again, and hopefully I wouldn’t be, becauseyikes.By the time my shift ended, I was happy to bike home and be in my own little world, away from the demands of everything else.

As I passed by the same place I’d stopped the other day, my thoughts went to the wolf. Was it okay? Was it even alive? I wished the rangers could have gotten to it before it disappeared. It really was a shame to lose such a majestic wild animal, even if that was part of the circle of life and all that.

For the rest of my ride, I daydreamed about what the life of a wolf must be like. After locking my bike to the stair rail outside my door and throwing the battered blue tarp over it, I headed inside.

“Mudpie, Goober, Fork, I’m home!” I called in my normal greeting, and just like every other day, I heard them jump down from their favorite cat-watching spots and rush down the stairs.

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