I grabbed a pack of gum and a bottle of soda from the cooler and headed to the front. I recognized Melanie Stanton behind the counter and groaned inwardly. Melanie had been a permanent fixture on my shit list when I had worked at JAC’s. Her incessant perkiness had been more than my moody, bitchy self could handle.
I dropped my items on the counter and waited for Melanie and Jeb, who were too busy looking at an inventory sheet, to realize they had a customer.
“What does a girl have to do to get some decent service in this town?” I asked, giving the two my trademark scowl.
Jeb looked up and blinked a few times as though trying to place me. If he didn’t recognize me after all the time I spent working in his damn store, I’d smack him in the face.
“Ellie?” he asked, leaning forward. Melanie gave me a wide smile and then came around from behind the counter, holding her arms out.
“Ellie McCallum! Oh my goodness! It’s so good to see you!” Melanie enthused, folding me in her perfumed arms before I had a chance to move away. I patted her back mechanically and then extracted myself.
“Well I’ll be damned! What the hell are you doing back here? I thought you had gone off to some fancy college,” Jeb said, tucking some Skoal in his lip and spitting into an empty water bottle.
“Yeah, I did. I just graduated,” I said, puffing up a bit with pride at being able to say that.
Hell yeah. Ellie McCallum graduated from college. Takethat,shitty upbringing.
“Wow. Really? That’s great, kiddo. So what the fuck are you doing back in this shit hole?” Jeb asked, spitting in the bottle again.
I shrugged as Melanie rang up my items.
“Well you know, Wellston has that crazy gravitational pull that just makes it impossible to stay away,” I joked.
“Have you taken to smokin’ crack while you been away?” Jeb laughed, slapping the counter with his hand, tobacco juice dripping from his lip.
“Don’t be so crude, Jack,” Melanie scolded and I watched as she swatted his arm playfully. Huh. There was definitely a vibe between the two that had never been there before.
And she called him Jack. Was that Jeb’s real name?
Jeb put his hand on Melanie’s back and left it there. Yep. They were definitely screwing. Yuck.
“My boyfriend still lives here. I came back to be with him,” I explained, surprising myself with my honesty.
“You’re not with that dumbass Nolan boy that I used to see you run around with are you? He’s a POS, Ellie.”
I almost choked. “Oh god, no,” I exclaimed.
Jeb wiped some spit off his chin with the back of his hand. “Good. You’re a better girl than that fool. So what are your plans now that you’re back? Whatcha gonna do with that fancy degree?”
This time I did feel a little embarrassed. I hated that I had no real plan to speak of when it came to my future employment.
“Uh, well, I guess I’ll look for a job.”
Jeb came around from behind the counter and draped his pudgy arm around my shoulders. He smelled like cigarette smoke and body odor. It made me want to gag.
“Well, you know you always have a job here if you want one. I just had to fire the fucker that worked the third shift last week. He was stealing lottery tickets. Dumbass forgot that I have cameras all over the place. Had to call the sheriff’s department and file charges and everything.” Jeb shook his head.
“You may know him actually. Stu Wooten.” This time I shook my head, not surprised in the least that Stu hadn’t matured at all. He was still a dumb criminal.
“Sounds like Stu,” I muttered. I was only surprised he had bothered getting an actual job in the first place.
“Yeah, that guy’s a couple cans short of a six-pack. So anyway, I’ve got an opening. If you need some extra cash, the job is yours.” Jeb grinned with a mouth full of yellow teeth.
While I appreciated his offer, the thought of working at JAC’s again made me want to run away screaming. Coming back to Wellston was hard enough. But finding myself working at JAC’s would be enough to drive me insane. I could only go backwards so far before I fell over.
“Thanks, Jeb. I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, taking the bag Melanie held out and grabbing my change.
Jeb held the door open for me. “Good to see ya, kiddo. Don’t be a stranger. Though there aren’t any strangers in Wellston, are there? You can’t get away from anyone, no matter how hard you try,” Jeb chortled and I knew he was all too right.
