“Yes, I am. And I’m pretty flexible. Let me know when would be the best time to come in,” I said, trying like hell not to sound as needy as I actually was.
“How about next Tuesday at eleven? Mr. Lambert and his partner, Mr. Weaver, will be conducting this round of interviews,” Wilma the sour puss explained, sounding as though she were ready to hang up the phone already.
“Eleven sounds great. Thank you! I’ll see you on Tuesday! Have a great weekend!” I practically yelled into the phone.
Dial back the enthusiasm, Ellie. It’s just a receptionist gig.
“Okay then. I’ll see you on Tuesday,” Wilma said and then hung up.
“Woohoo!”I hollered, startling Murphy who was licking his butt on the kitchen floor.
I tried to call Flynn to give him the good news but got his voicemail. I didn’t bother leaving him a message, knowing he’d never check it. After I hung up I stared down at my phone wishing I had someone to call.
Not for the first time I almost missed having Dania in my life. Not that Dania had ever been very interested in anything that didn’t have to do with her. But if I had been able to catch her on a good day, she would at the very least, feign interest.
I thought about sending a text to Nadine but figured I should wait until I actually had a job to tell her about. It was more than a little embarrassing that here I was, over a month out of school, and still with no decent employment.
I grabbed my keys and coat and headed out to my car, thinking I should get into work before the roads became icy. The snow was coming down hard and had already covered the porch steps.
My car slid as I took the turn out of Flynn’s driveway onto the main road and I knew that this did not bode well for my ride home tonight. But I didn’t think too much on that. I was still buzzing from my phone call.
A second interview was one step closer to a legitimate job. One that required more than knowing how to use a cash register.
“You’re early!” Melanie said, looking up as I came in from the back of JAC’s after arriving.
“The roads are getting pretty bad. I thought you might want to head home before it gets worse,” I said.
Melanie’s mouth popped open. “Really? Well that’s very thoughtful of you, Ellie,” she said, as though hardly able to believe that I had made the offer to begin with. I understood her incredulity. I had never been her biggest fan in the past.
“Sure,” I said, taking her place at the cash register.
“What about you? Are you going to be okay getting home? Do you have somewhere to stay if it gets too bad?” Melanie asked.
“I’ll be okay. I can always sleep on the couch in the back if I need to,” I said, not relishing the idea of setting up camp in the back of JAC’s for the night. But looking outside, I wasn’t sure I would be able to make it past Main Street.
Melanie slipped her arms into her oversized parka and put up the hood before heading out to her car. “You know I just live three streets over. If you need a place to stay—“
“Thanks. I’ll be fine,” I said, cutting her off. No way in hell I’d subject myself to that brand of torture.
Melanie gave me one more bright smile and left, the bell above the door dinging as she made her exit.
I looked around the empty convenience store and wondered what the hell I was doing.
I felt as though I was twenty years old all over again and not a day had passed since I had last been there. And while some familiarity was comforting, this made me feel…stuck.
I let out a sigh and went into the storeroom to grab the boxes of groceries that needed shelved, knowing exactly what Jeb would expect me to do.
The hours passed in a blur. It was busier than normal as a result of the weather. I sold out of milk, eggs, and toilet paper; the three essential items for being snowed in, apparently.
As night descended, the customers dwindled and the roads, now piled high with snow, were desolate. I put on my coat and walked out front. Everything was quiet in that perfect way that only comes with a snowstorm.
I stood there for a long while, staring out at my hometown and for a brief second I experienced something that felt like serenity. The cold must be short-circuiting my brain.
My phone started buzzing in my pocket and I pulled it out to see Flynn’s number on the screen.
“Hey, you,” I said in greeting, surprised to hear from him.
“It’s snowing,” Flynn said without preamble.
