The bookstore...closed for me and slippedhalo

[Camas28]

CJ is in his mid twenties, his family has owned a bookstore thats passed down for generations, named, Reader's Retreat...They carry all kinds of books, and there are comfy chairs and sofas all throughout the store for people to sit and just read, they arent really too concerned about making a lot of money, its more of a joyous thing for them, a love of books has also come down through the generations so they just love the store...They have a cafe as well that generates quite a bit of money because many people come and sit for hours...CJ worked there when he was in college and high school, and a girl named Wendy had worked there...she was a monstrous sight, and she was the most annoying girl he had ever met...Though once he graduated college, he left and started his career, he majored in business knowing that at some point the store would be his, so he was a manager at a nearby retail store. His father grew ill though, and decided that now was the time to put CJ in charge of the store, so knowing it was his legacy he immediately came...Not much had really changed, some of the same old employees, most of the same furniture in the same exact places, overall he was quite pleased...Until he was told Wendy still worked there. He decided then that on his first day there Wendy, who was now pretty much store manager, would be fired, he hated that girl and couldnt believe the loser was still there...

She opened the store most days, and today was one of those days so he came in around noon to see how the store was and finally caught his first glimpse of Wendy, man was she different, but that was of no matter, he couldnt stand her, and he would find a way to get rid of her...

 

[slippedhalo]

Wendy had been there when Mr Addison had his stroke. He had always been like a father to her and she was the one who'd called 911 and performed CPR, keeping him alive until the ambulance came. She's worked at the bookstore her whole adulthood, since she was 15 years old, and her life, for better or worse, revolved around it now. She had been going to nursing school last year at the community college but family problems left her having to stand up and pay the bills to keep her mother, older sister, and baby nephew from being homeless since her father walked out. Wendy looked up, it was the busiest time of day (still nnot very busy for their store) and she tucked a stray of red hair behind her ear as she watched HIM walk in. He had always hated her, she knew it. She never could figure out why because before he had begun college and started acting like an asshole she used to have a crush on him. Now, she was wary. As he walked in, authority in his stance as he looked around, she wondered if he was still going to treat her like dirt, just like old times, or had he gained some humanity out in the real world?

 

[Camas28]

He walked into the bookstore that morning, looking for something that she had done wrong...He looked around as he walked in browsed a few bookshelves...Damn everything seemed to be in order...He continued examining the store and briskly walked to the counter when he had found nothing..."I see YOUR still here...how sickening, still little miss perfect it would seem...I'll find something though..." He walked behind the counter and stood next to her and finally for the first time noticed how different she was...she was strikingly beautiful, whatever though, she was still the same person it seemed he had known years ago...annoying little miss perfect. He walked to the back of the store and finally found what he had been looking for, her one weakness. She had never been quick at stock, in the back appeared to be stock for the cafe...He walked back out, "Why is there stock in the back for the cafe? Why is it not already over in the cafe, how do we sell something that is not out for sale?!" He yelled at her.

 

[slippedhalo]

She was speechless for a full second before regainning her compsure and answering with a sarcastic, "Well, nice to see you too after so many years. And, your welcome for saving your father's life, by the way...the stock isn't on the shelves yet because there isn't room enough due to poor sales. It's been a slow morning but they'll be out by afternoon. Things usually pick up by then." she answered, still a little dissappointed that he was apparently quite unchanged and that a small part of her still cared how he treated her, dammit. She didn't let it show, though.

 

[Camas28]

"I never said nice to see you after so long because its terrible seeing you here! I hoped it would be a nice homecoming, you're one of the big reasons I went elsewhere to work before the store became mine...And as for my father's life...thanks for calling 911 he could have done with your mouth all over him trying to play the hero...Im sure the only reason you did it was to get in good standing hoping I would come here grateful that you were here...Well Im not!" He briskly walked away from her heading to look at the cafe...He glanced around and saw that nothing here had really changed either... He got himself a coffee and sat at one of the tables pulling out his laptop to do some business junk...He realized while he was trying to do this though, that his gaze kept straying to Wendy, man she was a beautiful girl now, and she seemed to turn him on and it made him sick, why could he not ignore her...It made him boil inside.

 

[slippedhalo]

Wendy glared at CJ as he stormed off. He hadn't changed at all. She never understood what he found so repulsive about her but she wouldn't let him get to her anymore. It wassn't worth it. She breezed through the rest of the morning and into the afternoon withoout having to speak to CJ at all. She was relieved at that but soon it was time for her lunch break. She went out to her car and sat there alone eating a homemade bologna sandwich with a thermos of stale coffee, bitterly thinking about the nursing school she had to leave to pay the bills for her newly divorced, highly depressed, alcoholic mother....she hated her life and now having CJ back in it just made it all worse.

 

[Camas28]

CJ watched her most of the morning...unable to shake his newfound appreciation of her beauty, but as he did, his anger at her grew inside him, how he loathed her...He didnt even know why he still did, he just knew he did...He watched as she took her lunch break and took over, doing a couple odd ended things keeping an eagle eye on the clock...She had one hour to return...He saw her sitting in the car and wondered why she didnt eat in here, but that was an unimportant matter now, what mattered was finishing the stock she had neglected to do... He finished and noticed Wendy was 2 minutes late and was still sitting in her car...He stormed out of the store and banged on her window...

 

[slippedhalo]

Wendy had been ready to go inside when her cell phone rang. It wass her mother, threatening to take the whole bottle of pills again... Wendy was sin the middle of talking her mother out of it. Promising to talk all about it with her when her shift was over. A pounding on her window brought her back to the real world and she looked up at the angry face of CJ throough distressed tears, "Mom, I'm sorry. I have to go now. Don't do anything hasty, ok? Please, just hold on until I come home and we can talk, ok? Ok?"

More pounding. She looked up and wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "Ok, mom? Alright, I'll talk to you later."

After hanging up the phone she got out of the car, squirming past CJ's hulking form and toward the bookstore, "I know, I know. I'm late. Trouble at home...mom's not doing so well. I...had to...." she paused, trying not to allow herself to start crying again, "...talk her down. She keeps threatening to kill herself." she said softly, wiping her eyes just in case. Afraid to look him in the eyes for fear of seeing the coldness there. "I'll get right back to work, though." she said, turning to open the door and head inside.

 

[Camas28]

She was in tears as she got out of the car...He almost felt a bit of guilt that he made her cry, but then she blamed it on her mother, so he didnt care anymore...She brushed past him trying to get away and back to work...He followed her in and saw there were a few customers still browsing, so before he went to see what her mom could do that was more important than her job, he figured he would help the people out...He went to each person individually to see if they needed any help, most were just browsing but a few he helped find some books for that Wendy checked out as he continued helping others...He had to go to the cafe and get various foods and drinks for a couple of them, then finally when he had spoken to each one he finally came after Wendy..."Come with me..." He said as he walked into the back...She followed him into the back... He looked at her, "So, just what in the hell, do you think is more important than your job? I dont care who you're talking to it doesnt give you the right to be late!"

 

[slippedhalo]

That's when Wendy broke down again. She couldn't help it, her frustration had reached breaking point and as the tears flowed she explained. "Last year my father admitted to my mom that he had been cheating on her for years and had a whole other family in California. He left her to be with them and she...lost it. She had a nervous breakdown. My sister, who's boyfriend used to hit her and left her with thousands of dollars of credit card debt, has been living with my parents for the past two years with my baby nephew. Now, with my father gone and my mother in a questionable mental state...nobody was paying the bills. Within months of my father leaving I was called from college and begged to return home and help my family. So, I have been working here, all the hours I can get, to pay the bills for the four of us over there. Four months ago my mom overdosed on sleeping pills and had to be hospitalized for depression for a few weeks. I'm still paying for that bill...and now, as I was finishing up my break she called threatening to take too many pills again...I don't know what to do. I'm trying my best!" she said, weeping into her own hands.

 

[Camas28]

He glared at her...for the first time he felt bad for her, he couldnt stand what he knew was about to happen but he couldnt do it anymore...He placed his hand on her shoulder..."There now Wendy... dont cry..." He stammered, awkwardly patting her..."Im sure everything will turn out fine." He said as he pulled her closer to him, embracing her..."Im sorry about your situation...I wish i would have known sooner..." He himself feeling terrible for having been so horrible to her today... He looked at her..."Sorry I've been such an ass today...I see now you've changed quite a bit, I suppose I could tolerate you now...Is there anything I could do for you?"

 

[slippedhalo]

Wendy shook her head, accepting the embrace gladly but tentatively. "No, I would ask to be able to leave early if I didn't need every last minute of work on the clock..." she sighed, wiping her eyes and feeling embarrassed about her outburst. "I'm sorry. You don't need to hear about my problems.I'll get back to work." she offered stoically.

 

[Camas28]

"No dont worry about it...You deserve someone to confide in..." He smiled, "You sure you're up to it?" He released her and followed her out into the store..."If you'd like you can go, and I'll keep you on the clock, or whatever you want, you can just take it easy here or work or whatever, its up to you...I didnt mean to cause such a problem...Im sorry." He felt horrible that he had been so bad to her...Besides...who did she have, it seemed she had no one she could really confide in, so from that moment on, he decided he would change, and be there for her if she ever needed him.

 

[slippedhalo]

"Well...." she looked up hopefully through eyes still shining-wet. "Would it be alright if I just quickly hurry home to check on her, hide her pills and anything dangerous in the house and then come back to finish up the day?" she asked. "This way, you won't have to close up without help." she offered.

 

[Camas28]

He smiled at her..."Thats perfectly fine with me, dont worry about clocking out or anything, and take your time...alright?" He smiled and walked away to get some work done... he was unsure why it was he had never liked her, she seemed to be a perfectly fine young woman, oh well he would attune for the years of mistreatment now that he ran the store...

 

[slippedhalo]

She really had been quick. Not an hour had passed before she'd returned looking more relieved. Her mother was less depressed when she had gone to check on her. She did better when someone else was home and Wendy's sister, Jenny, had also gotten a call from their mom and had made it home first. She had already calmed her down and had her laughing at a funny movie by the time Wendy came. "Thanks, Jen." she said to her sister before heading back out to work.

"It's ok. Little Kenny and I can keep mom company until you get back. My boss told me to take the afternoon off." explained Jenny, proud to be finally working again. She had a part time job which made minimum wage and basically just paid for hers and Kenny's groceries every week. Still, it helped to take some of the pressure off of Wendy lately. Not much, but some.

Wendy came back into the bookstore and smiled at CJ. It had been uncharacteristically nice of him to have let her go. Maybe he had changed a little bit after all, she began to think.

 

[Camas28]

He had been extremely busy while she was gone, trying to take care of everything so she wouldnt have too much to do when she came back...Finally less than an hour later she arrived, he smiled at her, "Welcome back Wendy, I hope you got everything taken care of..." He knew he had changed...his father nearly dying and all the pressures of school and his old job had changed his outlook on things, he become much more compassionate since the last time he had worked with Wendy. And this time around he wanted to show her the real him...

 

[slippedhalo]

She told him what had happened as they worked. He expressed his hope that her mother would get better soon and she appreciated his kindness. Thhe rest of the afternoon flew by as she slowly got to know him better. He opened up and started talking about some of hiss experiences since college and what he'd been up to. She didn't think he'd ever talked to her as much as he had that afternoon. Before she knew it closing time was upon them.

 

[Camas28]

He thouroughly enjoyed their conversation, closing time came quickly and he had shared more with her in a couple hours than he had in years working with her... As they closed down the store, he thought that he would like to know a little more about her, since he never really knew much about her to begin with..."Hey, would you like to go grab some food or something after we lock up...On me?"

 

[slippedhalo]

"Sure, just give me a minute to ensure my sister will stay with my mom a little longer." she said, surprised at CJ's offer. She made her phone call and then came out of the store room with a relieved smile. "I have plenty of time. They found some old photographs and are working together to make a scrapbook...anything to keep my mother busy and focused on the good things in her life..." she said. "I'm ready. Where to?"

 

[Camas28]

He pondered...He hadnt been to town for a while, his old job having been somewhere else...He shrugged..."Wherever you wanna go, lets get in your car and wherever you decide to stop is where we'll go...How does that sound?" He asked her, smiling, happy she hadnt declined his offer.

 

[slippedhalo]

"Ok." agreed Wendy. She let CJ into the car and then got inside driving to her favorite restaurant when she had extra money or time to go out which had not been for almost a year. It was a moderately priced place with a good variety on the menu and had meals ranging from as cheap as chicken fingers and fries for 5.99 to steak, potato and veggie dish for 17.99. So, she felt comfortable taking CJ here because it would be a place where likely they could both find something they like and not break the bank. When they pulled into the parking lot he seemed to have recognized the place as a restaurant he used to go to a lot with his college buddies.

 

[Camas28]

He smiled at Wendy..."I love this place...Good choice." He hurried out of the car and opened her door for her, giving her his hand as she got out of the car...He led her into the restraunt and they got a booth... They sat across from each other and began looking at the menus..."Get whatever you want Wendy...the money isnt an issue..."

 

[slippedhalo]

"They have really great burgers here." commented Wendy as she perused the menu. "But, I have actually been craving their baked chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy." she said. "I haven't been back in a long time....no extra time or money for just going out for the hell of it." she said. "I think that's what I'll get, and maybe a side of steamed vegetables. What are you going to get?" she asked. As the waitress came, she ordered a lemon iced tea and they were asked if they'd like to share an appetizer. She shrugged and looked at CJ, "It's up to you, the dish itself is enough for me but if there's a starter you'd like I can pick at it a little to help." she said in her easy going manner which used to get on his nerves and now suddenly made him smile. It was strange being out with CJ but not bad. Se was enjoying herself so far.

 

[Camas28]

He smiled at Wendy and ordered a coke for himself, and some cheese fries...He also decided that the chicken sounded good... He ordered some for himself as well. "Its a shame we didnt do this back in the day, I was a real dick then, sorry about all the shit I used to give you, I guess you were more mature than me." He laughed off the statement and smiled as their waitress brought their drinks.