My day got worse. I had an email awaiting me when I came back, dripping puddles, into the office and plopped down into my chair. It was time to do payroll. I’d been dreading this day; afraid I’d find out that my paycheck wouldn’t cover my rent. Unfortunately, I was smart to be afraid. Cat was paying me more than minimum wage, but barely. I printed checks for me, Brad, and Trisha. It irked me that Trisha’s check was for more than mine. Never mind the fact that she’d worked more hours, it still burned by buns. My hair was a frizzy, damp mop. My slacks were soaked up to my knees. My shoes squished any time I took a step. And my dreamboat date stood me up. Yeah. My day was crap.
I heard a new customer talking with Brad, so I peeked out into the shop. It was the postman. He was young, fit, and had blond, surfer dude semi-dreads. He wore the postal uniform with shorts, and he had defined calf muscles like a runner. If I hadn’t looked like something the cat dragged in, I would’ve gone out to flirt. Maybe I’d have more opportunities to find someone to date than I’d imagined. The hottie left the shop, and Brad brought the mail to me.
“Who was that?” I asked in the most innocent voice I could muster.
“Postman. Here you go.” He dropped the envelopes into my in box.
“Yeah, but what’s his name?” I picked up the mail and sorted through.
“Joel. He’s a righteous dude. Used to travel all over the world, surfing in contests. Never won the big prizes, so he finally gave up. Now he’s living here and delivering mail.” Brad shook his head in sadness for his hero. I planned to be out front tomorrow when the guy showed up.
I started humming. I was determined to be upbeat. No more time lost on guys that didn’t come through for me. There were other fish in the sea. My day was looking up. I texted Vee to tell her about the new prospect. She must have been busy, because all she sent back was a thumbs up emoji. I was sure I’d hear back from her that evening. She always wanted the juicy details. I didn’t tell her I’d been stood up. I wasn’t ready to deal with her anger and my disappointment at the same time.
Cat came in to close up again. I had the routine down, but if being there made her feel more secure, I was down with that. She wore ripped and faded jeans like a supermodel. I tried not to feel jealous. She pushed her hair behind an ear. Dangling dolphin earrings fell almost to her shoulders.
“Nice earrings,” I said.
“Thanks. I made this design a couple of years ago. It’s one of my favorites.”
“Well, they look great.”
“Tomorrow, I’m making a trip to our wholesaler. I’d like you to come along.” So much for my being in the shop when the hot mailman came by.
“Where is this wholesale place?” I wanted to see that end of the business, even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to work at the shop for very long. I needed to make enough money to pay bills after my savings dried up.
“Fresno. Do you know where that is?”
“Yep. Not that far away. How come I never heard of this place?” She browsed through the mail I hadn’t opened with a frown on her face. Most of the stuff looked like junk to me, but I’d been distracted and hadn’t opened anything.
“It’s the largest shell wholesaler in the United States. If you’d been in this business longer than a couple of weeks, you’d know about it.” She smiled at me. She had dark circles under her eyes covered with makeup. This close, I could tell how tired she was.
“We’ll be talking to Bob. Everyone in the biz knows Bob. You’ll like him.”
“Are you alright? I mean how’s your husband doing?” I stammer when I’m nervous, and I didn’t want to pry. There’s a fine line between being concerned and being nosey. I wanted to stay on the side that was concerned.
“I’m tired, but your being here is such a great help. I’m so glad you took the job.” She hugged me. Dang, talk about a guilt trip. Here I was thinking I needed to quit, and she’s hugging me and thanking me for helping her out. Maybe I could get a second job. My day wasn’t as good as I thought. I was on a danged roller coaster ride! I wanted to scream, “Let me off!” at the top of my lungs. Instead, I leaned into her hug and cooed like a meek dove.
I drove to the bank to deposit my measly paycheck. I knew I would have to stretch those dollars, but I loved being surrounded by all those shells every day. I decided my new mantra would be, “Good things are coming my way.” I repeated it all the way. All four blocks.
Sally was in the window waiting for me to get home and feed her. She was growing fast. I told her all about the rest of my day, and I was sure she felt sorry for me. It was hard to tell, because she had her head in the bowl I’d just filled with fish stink cat food. When she finished eating and bathing, she joined me on the couch to watch a little mindless drivel on the television. She had fish breath, but I let her sit on my lap anyway. I needed the company.
The phone rang. I’d nodded off and jumped when the ringtone sounded. It was Vee. I swiped to answer.
“Yo,” I said.
She screeched so loud I had to hold the phone away from my face.
“What are you screaming about?”
“I’m coming to see you. I’m so excited!”
“You are? When?” I stood up and knocked a sleepy kitty off my lap. She meowed angrily and climbed onto her tower. Her tail switched as she watched the palm fronds swaying in the wind.
“This weekend. I’ll drive down Friday after work. We can work on our tans together. I’m bringing money from the sale of your table and chairs.”
“How much did you get?” I turned the sound off the television but left it on. Baywatch was on. I know David Hasselhoff is older now, but he looked yummy on that show.
“A hundred seventy-five buckeroos, sista!”
“Awesome. And the person who bought it picked it up already?” I did a little happy dance there in my living room.
“Sure did. I love Craig’s List.”
“Great, because I did payroll today. I’ve gotta sell all that stuff to survive.” I stretched and yawned as Pamela Anderson’s boobs bounced around. Mine had never done that. I looked down and clucked.
“Maybe I’ll have more by Friday.” I could imagine her crossing her fingers and smiling.
“Thanks for doing this. I don’t know what I’d do without you, girl.”
“You’d be a sad old cat lady.”
“Probably. Especially after what happened today.” I had enough energy from my nap to discuss my heartache now.
“What? Tell Auntie Vee all about it.” She snickered. I sat down and put my feet on the coffee table.
“I had a lunch date with the hot vet. He stood me up.”
“He what?” I held the phone away again to handle the scream.
“Yep. He told me he’d pick me up at work for lunch, but he was a no show. I waited way too long. My stomach was rumbling like a summer thunderstorm by the time I got home and warmed up a can of soup. So disappointing.”
“So, this guy shows up, turns on the charm, asks you out, and then doesn’t show? Did you call him and read him the riot act?” At least she was back to using her inside voice. I switched channels when Baywatch ended. The Property Brothers were talking to a couple with an ugly baby, so I left it there.
“I don’t have his cell, and he didn’t get my number. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I know better,” I said. The ugly baby was hitting one of the twin brothers in the face. I can never remember which is which, but the guy was smiling like he loved having baby spit covered hands on his cheeks. What a way to make a living.
“You’re not stupid. You are trusting. The guy’s obviously a creep. Forget him. Move on, babe.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“There’s a lot of fish in the sea. Or that’s what I’ve heard, anyway.” She sighed. I figured she was wondering when her fish would swim up and take her away.
“Funny, that’s exactly what I told myself today.” I closed my eyes and envisioned the mailman in those shorts.
“Good thinking. Sorry you had a crummy day.”
“Well, there was one good thing that happened.” I told her about the mailman and got her screaming again. When she settled down, we talked about what we’d do over the weekend. I needed to get some groceries, but was ready otherwise.
“I can’t wait!” I said. Friday night would take forever to get here, but at least I had something to look forward to. After we hung up, I danced around with Sally and told her all about the upcoming visit. She meowed her approval.
It was time for a walk on the beach. I loved the fact that I could do that so easily. When I’d been living in Houston, I had to drive an hour to get to Galveston. The beach there wasn’t as pretty as down here, either.
“Trent Jensen has no idea what a good thing he’s missing out on,” I said to Sally as I headed out the door. She watched from the window as I walked away with my head held high. I wouldn’t let any guy get me down.