Her brow dips into a low V, and she emits a huff so quiet it is barely audible. “You are saying what?”
“Nothing really.” My shoulders fall, releasing tension as we are finally about ready to have a normal conversation. “Maybe that I’m Christian, your new boss.” I throw out my hand, offering a handshake. “Nice to meet you. I’m glad you lived. What did you say your name was?”
Her chin raises, and she receives my hand, her skin is smooth as Ivory soap. “Portia. I’m the one you spoke with over email. Everyone but me, and one other gal, quit.”
I bobble my head a few times as this isn’t exactly pleasurable news. Apparently, she is one of my only trained staff. If I want to keep this place going without closing, I’ll need her. At least until I hire and train someone else. It is the week before Christmas, though, and adding new staff now would be impossible. Better to be nice to her. “Thank you,” I manage through my racing thoughts as my to-do list continues to stack up in my brain. I hadn’t planned on needing to hire and train a whole new staff. Training can be costly, and I don’t have any spare funds.
She triple blinks. “You’re welcome.” Her words are quick, mirroring a child who was being forced to have manners.
“Now that we established you lived,” I scan the room, everything appearing to be in its place, except for the fact she is here hours after closing, “is there a reason you’re here. Do you need a ride?”
A sigh rumbles in her throat before she finally pushes it out with force. “I’m here because I am working. It took me forever to clean since I was by myself all day.”
“Okay.” I chain nod about six times, as this reminds me of talking to my little sister. The attitude. “Well, I appreciate that. I’m here now and can finish up.” I want to say, will you leave so I can sleep, but that won't win me any respect.
“I did everything, but you’re welcome to inspect if you think it needs it.” She paces to the employee coatroom, calling back, “I haven’t had a day off in three weeks. Would you mind me taking the weekend off?”
Now it is my turn to nearly choke, as she springs back out of the coatroom and beelines to the door. Of course, I never expected anyone to work three weeks without a day off. I didn’t know this place had been so depleted on staff, or I would have just shut the door completely until I got here. In our email correspondence, she always sounded as if everything was fine. The knot in my throat swells another notch as overwhelmconsumes me. I had no idea I’d have this much immediate stress. “I’ll handle it,” I grumble.
four
Portia
In my tenth-floor studio apartment, I lie on my secondhand futon with a white, goose-feather down comforter pulled over my face, blocking the burst of sunlight coming in from the bottom of my cracked open window. I could easily reach over and close it, but I’m too lazy to do that.
Plus, I don’t have control over the heat in my place. It’s an old system, and only the building manager has temp controls. Once he cranks the boiler on for the year, all the heat rises to the top floor. The bottom floor people complain about freezing all winter, while the top floor roasts in smoldering heat. Even though it’s December on Long Island, if I leave my window closed it will rise to almost eighty degrees. It’s a good thing my gas bill is included in my rent, or I’d be looking for a different apartment.
I yawn, pulling the pillow over my head to darken the room more. Finally, a day off! A text bleeps on my phone. There’s no way I can answer that.
Another text. Still not answering that.
I adjust the pillow to cover my ears.
And another one.
This better be an emergency, or I will quickly make it one.
I snake my arm out of the covers, and grapple for the phone on my nightstand slash end table. I don’t even have the screen to my face yet, and it vibrates with another text. One eye peels open.
Jade: Did you know the new owner is here? I came in a few minutes late this morning, expecting it to be you, and it was him. He’s all over my case about my clock-in times.
Jade: Why are you not here? You didn’t quit, did you? Please don’t quit. I can’t afford to quit, too.
Jade: I don’t like him.
Jade: He bobbles his head when he talks.
I stretch my hands way over my head and arch my back, setting off a chain reaction as my cat, Mr. Noodles, joins me in our morning cat stretch. This used to be the most joyful part of my day, snuggling with Mr. Noodles. Today, I had to tend to this. I grumble, flop over onto my back, hover my phone over my face, and type.
Me: I met him last night. Sorry, it was so late that I forgot to warn you.
Jade: He has some sort of OCD or something because he’s literally doing inventory on everything. Instead of helping me make drinks, he is counting Oreos. It’s so weird.
A snort blurts out of my lips, and I can’t help but take pride in that. Mr. Noodles paws at my arm, signaling it is time to fill his bowl. I drop my phone on my comforter and get up, not taking amoment to straighten my bed. I have zero plans to make my bed today. After I get some food, it’s back to bed with my laptop to do admin work for my match-making business. Heaven!
Well, the bed part is heaven. The work part is okay. I love my little matching business, but it turns out it’s harder to make a profit than I thought. To funnel people into the site, I give them a free match. Clients are meeting partners and dropping off the site at record speeds before they even sign up for a paid membership-hence why I am not making money. I’m in major need of recruiting new people. That I can’t do from my bed.
Since I'm at emergency lows with potential dates on my website, I say sure when my dad calls around noon to ask if I want to go to Home Hardware. Dad is a retired carpenter with a lower back to prove it. He doesn’t do much handyman stuff anymore, but he claims to miss the ambiance of the hardware store. Saturday outings are a regular thing for us. I tend to think it isn’t so much about the ambiance as it is his need to get out of the house. It is evident that my parents still love each other after nearly forty years of marriage, but it is no secret that retirement is bringing them a littletooclose together.
