Relationship Woes

The glass begins to fog as he breathes on it; taking his hand he wipes it away. There in the display is the white leather overcoat Carol had admired, she hadn't said anything but he had noticed. Digging into his jeans he takes out his wallet; not enough he thought.

He worked for $500.00 a week but most of that ended up going toward living expenses. The jacket cost $4000.00 but soon Christmas would be there. He had been saving bit by bit but with only a week left, he was short on money with no visible way to get the extra needed.

His mind rang back to that morning, he and Carol had a fight. It wasn't any different than usual; yet he lamented. Far too often he never spoke what he thought and Carol seemingly belittled him whenever she could due to this. Poking and prodding him to no end.

Standing there on that bleak street in the middle of the night, said enough about how he feels for her. He'd just finished his shift at the department store and really he needed some sleep. The next day he had to be early to help. Carol often told him he let them push around too much.

Sighing, he turns and heads to his apartment. On the way he can't help but wonder about his life. Carol was too good for guy like him; his apartment knew that all too well. The one closet in the bedroom was filled with clothes for her; his clothes lay in a few medium sized clothes hampers at the foot of the bed.

Since the inception of their relationship the dynamic between them was a mystery to all who knew them. It just didn't make sense. The fact she even agreed to a date was hard to believe.

As he enters his apartment he tries to open the door softly but creak! The sound seemed to echo, he held his breath and hoped Carol was already fast asleep. Due to her job Carol was often up late and she hated to be disturbed, more so after 1am.

Only silence can be heard; he breathes out in relief and closes the door. He desperately needed the rest; without checking he gets ready for bed and lays down on his side, almost immediately falling asleep.

THUMP!!

"Ow! What the hell-"

"You awake now!?"

"Carol? Why'd you push me…?"

"Your phone Josh…"

Finally he notices the blaring noise. Instinctively he hops up and begins to get ready.

"Eh eh em"

"... What is it Carol, I'm going to be late."

"..."

"Carol?"

"Weren't we going to check for a new apartment?"

"... I'm sorry Carol I have go in today."

"Really?... You came home late, I'm now your out again."

"... Its the season Carol, you know that."

"Season… you're just soft. How many times do I have to tell you!! You let those bastards walk all over you."

Damn it Carol, why are you like this? Stop being a bitch, will you!

"Hey, HEY!! Earth to just Josh."

"They're shorthanded Carol. I-I'l-I'll make it up to you I promise."

"... Look at this place Josh. The pipes leak, no air conditioner. Do you think I should be living like this?..."

Then move out, not like you're paying the rent. I'm just going to give her a piece of my mind.

"No you shouldn't Carol, I'm sorry"

"Haa, are you even a man? Cause you're missing a spine."

"..."

Why me? Why does she need to…

"Your masters at work are calling… better hurry along."

Josh swells with anger but he walks away. He needs to get going; this is going to be a long day.

***

“Hey, Sue. Good morning”

“Keep that, it ain’t good”, Susan sighs and heads toward the card section.

“What’s wrong with Sue?”

“Josh, you are not going to be any happier.”

“D, what’s gotten into you guys. The morning started a little ruff but we’re supposed to be charmful. Where’s your trademark smile?”

D puts his hand on Josh’s shoulder and shakes his head, he smiles as he taps Josh’s shoulder. “Thanks man, I needed that.”

“...”

“Hey Josh, they got you as well?”

“What?... Got me? Aussie what’s going on? Sue, D and now you. What’s going on?”

“The supervisor for this shift is Dennis.”

“... O-okay, that doesn’t mean… you know.”

“True but if you look at those on this shift.., it makes you wonder.”

Josh stood silent, Austin made sense. D, Sue, Austin and himself haven’t been on the same shift for months and this was deliberately done. The fours had become good friends and better work colleagues. The eyes of management had been eyeing them for a while; among all the workers if placed together their efficiency was unmatched but that made it hard to justify firing any of them and their way of positive thinking made the effort of management to separate staff hard.

It may seem counterintuitive but management needed all of them gone to help with restructuring. Even though they worked other shifts, their positivity spurred on many of the staff to do better. This store needed to close and they were the greatest obstacle in getting that done.

Dennis calls a meeting for the shift.

“I know that there are rumors about me and I can’t expect any of you to not find truth in what you heard. We are here for a job and I intend to do that job. I expect each of you will give me your best and serve the customers to the utmost of your ability… With that said, I will be appointing Joshua as the floor supervisor for this shift. I trust you will be diligent in making sure the store runs optimally.

Why is this happening to me? I need to get out of this and fast.

“.... Sir, if I may-”

“Mr. Banks, while you may have your concerns I trust you will undertake this position.”

“I-I-I understand sir. You won’t regret placing me in charge, sir.”

“Good, now that everything is set. Go back to your respective stations everyone, we have customers to attend to.”

Maybe this is a step up for me. At least I can support the guys from behind the scenes.

Aussie is the only one who gives Josh any encouragement. D and Sue frown at his acceptance and both head to their stations without saying anything.

“Don’t bother with them, Josh.”

“... It’s hard not to…”

“They’ll see that this is a good thing soon enough.”

Like most days, the shift was uneventful. Josh however felt tired and fatigued a bit as he hadn’t gotten enough sleep. As per his role he did regular checks on each area. Sue dealt with women's apparels and was very meticulous in nature. Due to this Josh found it odd that Sue had not restocked a popular nightgown. Making way to her station he finds Cherry there but Sue is missing.

“Cherry, did you notice you’re out of A type nightgown?”

“Oh, sorry sorry, I’ll get on it right away.”

“No need to react like that, you know me Cherry.”

“...”

“Is Sue on a break? Cause I don’t see her.”

“...”

“Cherry, you know me. Come on, where did she go?”

“..., sh-she went to see Dwayne.”

 “D? Great, thanks for the info.”

I remember D was telling me about this new girl he’s been seeing. It’s almost Christmas he must be getting Sue’s advice on a gift.

“Hey, Matt.”

“Josh.”

“Have you seen D anywhere?”

“... He went to the bathroom to come back.”

That’s odd. I’ve never known D to use the bathroom this early, if at all during a shift. Then again I haven’t seen him in a while. Things change.

“Okay, did you see Sue?”

Hastily, “No, I haven’t seen her for the day.”

“... We had a staff meeting earlier,... remember… Is there something… you’re not telling me?”

“...”

Before getting an answer from Matt, Josh hears voices but they weren’t distinct enough to tell much of anything, other than they were talking under their breath. Josh glances in the direction he thinks he heard the voices and immediately turns back to Matt. The look of worry on Matt startles Josh. He tells Matt to stay there and don’t move as he inches toward the drill aisle.

Making sure Matt was still where he left him, Josh peeps around the corner to see who was talking in the aisle. To his surprise it was just D and Sue; he takes another look at Matt and shakes his head. Stepping out into the aisle, just as he goes to call out. Dwayne tenderly touches Sue’s face before holding her close as he kisses her. Quickly Josh steps to the side out of sight and again watches Matt.

Without saying anything he speedily leaves the Tools area while still in shock.

D and Sue? How? When? Why didn’t they tell me? … It’s not time for that. I didn't see anything… I didn’t see anything. 

Taking a few breaths Josh remembered the company had a policy of no fraternization among the staff. He needed to rush back to D and Sue right now. As he reaches back to Tools area, he signals Matt to ask if they were still there; he didn’t know. Glancing into the aisle there was no one there. Josh turns and heads toward women’s apparels.

Just as he’s about to reach, calling Joshua Banks comes across the intercom. Josh straightens himself and heads to see Dennis. As he opens the door, D and Sue’s appearance catches his eye.

“Mr. Banks, thank you for joining us.”

“... I don’t understand sir. What’s the situation?”

“Really… I thought you’d know, Mr. Banks.”

Let’s just play dumb and see where this goes. That is for the best right now.

“... Um, clearly you’re more well informed than me sir.”

“Hmmm, I would have expected that… As you can see I have here Mr. James and Ms. Kept here.”

“.. Yes, sir.”

“I have a report that Mr. James and Ms. Kept have broken company policy.”

“Really, sir? Of course you know I know them both and I can vouch for both of them sir.”

“Mr. Banks, I would like to advise you that you shouldn’t cash a cheque you can’t afford.”

“Sir, I know them.”

“Very well. Mr. Brennan”

“Yes sir.”

Aussie steps out from the shadows and catches Josh off guard. His heart beats even faster than it did when he came into the office. 

What was Aussie doing there? Weren’t we all friends?

Aussie explains the issue between D and Sue, much to Josh’s amazingment. Dennis Hooper looks on very pleased with the details as Aussie kept talking. The more Aussie talked the less Josh felt he knew the people in front of him. Now came the finale, the thing he had wanted to talk to them about.

“Lastly sir, the both of them are seeing each other.”

“What do you mean by seeing?”

“They’re dating sir.”

“Reeaally now.”

The grin that crosses Dennis’s face says it all and the downcast looks on D and Sue speak for themselves. 

“Do you have anything to say about this matter, Mr. Banks.”

Should I say what I saw? No, it’s not worth causing any more trouble for D and Sue as is.

“Nothing sir.”

“... Mr. Banks I’ll ask again do you have anything to add.”

“No sir.”

“... Very well. Mr. James, Ms. Kept you’re fired but you don’t have to worry about breaking up this friendship”, point toward Josh. Mr. Banks you will be joining them as well.

Shocked Josh stood there a moment.

“Sir, I don’t understand?”

“You don’t. Then let's review the footage.”

All of them can clearly see Josh as he talks to Cherry, then Matt and finally he can clearly be seen watching D and Sue kiss. Just like that they are all escorted out of the building.

“Josh-”

“D… What can I say?”

“Sorry we didn’t tell you.”

“Yeah, so am I.”

“Lets talk-”

Josh waves them off as he sombers down the road. How was he going to explain this to Carol?

Great, it's almost Christmas and I’m jobless. Carol is gonna have a field day with my ass. I should have just… Damn it, why didn’t I say anything. Aussie… no Austin had already exposed them. Shit what am I going to do?

While he was mad at Austin, he couldn’t be mad at D and Sue though he was happy for them. He just couldn’t express it after just losing his job. It was his own decision but it still stung. Once more he stands in front of Clara Wears, shaking his head realizing he had let the money that could have enabled him to buy that white leather overcoat for Carol. He makes the sad march home to his faith.

***

Climbing the steps to his apartment his feet feel like lead, with each step they get heavier and heavier. He braces himself for what’s to come as he reaches his door; it is slightly ajar and commotion can be heard. Fearing the worst he rushes into to find Carol in a struggle with some unknown guy. Grabbing the man he throws him to the side but before he could check Carol he is tackled to the ground.

Now a fight ensues between him and the unknown man. They exchange blows but it is clear Josh didn’t match this man in strength. As he gets Josh on the floor again and begins wailing on his face, Carol shocks him with a taser.

Josh pushes the man off of him and takes a look at Carol. Her blouse had been torn to the point where you could see her left breast clearly and her ripped skirt exposed the lace underwear she wore. As he moves to hold Carol he starts to blackout and falls into her arms.

“Josh! Josh! Joshhh!!”

Carol’s screams are heard by some of their neighbors who come to see what was happening. Through tears she asks them to call an ambulance and the police.