Early Bird Special (2 page)

"Did you just say air quotes instead of actually making them?"

"Yeah. My gloves are too tight to bend my fingers that way."

My lips curved slightly as I motioned him to keep moving. 

"Wait! Wait!" He backed up and caught the attention of the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, Francie knows how to smile!"

As the crowd cheered and their eyes focused on me, my insides heated up and started to boil. Certain moments in my job invited stares. When someone gave a presentation and something didn't work with their setup, I dropped what I was doing and assisted, resulting in a room full of people watching my every move until everything was up and running again. The one time a real emergency presented itself (small kitchen fire), I stood in front of the room, rose my voice as loud as it could go and ushered everyone outside. There. Attention on me. This, though, irked me. Whoever this clown was didn't know me from Adam, and I didn't appreciate the embarrassment. The tiny smile I provided quickly transformed into pursed lips and chipmunk cheeks. "Please. Leave. Now." I didn't even open my mouth to say the words. 

"I guess I'm not wanted here," he said as he twisted his fist by his eye in a fake attempt to cry. "Enjoy the rest of your stay in line, Francie, and have a 
wonderful
 Thanksgiving."

The man remained planted in front of me for a few more seconds, which felt like a few minutes of complete discomfort. A sigh of relief overcame me as he turned to walk away, but he didn't walk behind me. He shoved his hands in his coat pocket and stepped 
in front
 of me. What did this jerk think he was doing? 

"Excuse me!" 

Ski mask man stopped and turned. "Yes?" He drew out the word and deepened his voice. 

"What? You're line skipping?" I raised my voice to alert the people around us. No one liked a line skipper. "Get to the back of the line."

A few people booed him, and my brother joined me. "What's up, sis?"

"Nice of you to take your headphones off long enough to join us, Teddy. This Neanderthal is trying to skip in line."

My brother didn't fight all my battles. I mean, let's be honest here. If you challenged him to an epic game of Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda, he'd kick your ass so hard you'd only want to play solitaire the rest of your life. But, for the right battles, his passion was unmatched, and he took his pent up anger from whatever video game he happened to be playing and exploded in rage. Not superhero, pick someone up and fling him into next week rage, but enough anger to get someone to back off. 

"Francie, he's not jumping ahead in line."

"Yes, he is. If you took your headphones off long enough to listen to anything going on around you, you'd see that's what's going on." I always supported Teddy with his dream to develop video games, but I swore the walls could come down around him and he wouldn't notice. My job required my eyes to be everywhere. One rest of my heavy eyelids and a party could spiral into a nightmare. Teddy spent most of his time alone, hands to the keyboard or eyes and ears on the computer. 

"You're going there, huh? Well, fine." He pulled his headphones back over his head. "But just so you know, he really isn't cutting."

Teddy left in a huff, shaking his head as he took his seat again. How did he know what mask guy was doing? He sat in his chair, engulfed in his game, totally unaware of his surroundings. 

Annoying guy moved on and chatted with the people in line ahead of me. I watched as he shook the hand of an older man, stepping back as he laughed. Then, he kept moving down the line. Finally, when he reached the front, he jumped on top of the base of a light pole, and  tore his mask off, exposing a man probably not much older than me, short black hair, now sticking straight up on top from his hat. I liked the way small curls formed at the tips. Wait. No, I didn't. This guy was a total goofball. I mean, who did that? Who had such a complex about himself he had to be such an attention grabber?

"Good morning, everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving!" He waved his hat in the air. "Thanks for coming out today and standing, or sitting, in line during this cold weather. We want this to be the best experience for everyone, so I ask you please keep an orderly line while entering the store."

The crowd began to form behind him, and I sunk my head as I realized this guy worked at the store. I couldn't feel like a bigger dumbass as my parents and brother stood in front of me and we started toward the door. 

CHAPTER THREE

Chaos erupted around me the second we stepped over the metal threshold. Moms chased after their kids high on the prospect of so many new toys. Dads pushed their way toward electronics, anxious and determined to snatch up the best deal on tablets and televisions. My brother darted the way of the dads, my mom and dad marched toward the toys, and I stood there, dumbfounded, as strangers bumped into me, not shy of the curse words they used.

To my left, the customer service desk swarmed with people blasting complaints and swinging ad fliers in the air. The kid's clothing section on the opposite side was jam packed with people flipping through hangers so fast I didn't think they even saw what decorated each piece of clothing. The main aisle in front of me, which led to the sporting goods area in the back of the store, displayed pallets of sale items. I couldn't remember what I even stood in line for. Why did I devote time in my day to stand in a line waiting to buy something? The answer was, though I may not have been acting like it at the moment, I was one of the crazy people. At least in the past I had been.

"Excuse me, Francie, but I need you to move out of the way. You're kind of in the way of traffic. Feel free to zone out over in the paper products. I don't think there is a crowd over by paper plates and napkins."

I unlocked from my trance at the pat on my shoulder. Him again. "Why do you keep showing up?" Seriously.

He pointed to his chest, revealing a white name tag with red writing that said "Shane" in block letters. "I work here."

So, ski mask guy had a name. Underneath his name it stated Assistant Manager. "Sorry. I forgot. But, are you stalking me or something? First, you're outside giving me a hard time and now you're pushing me out of the aisle."

Shane lifted his finger up. "My rebuttal. First, I don't think I gave you a hard time. I was only interacting with the shoppers, which, by the way, is my job. Second, I'm pushing you out of the main walkway. You're making it a tad difficult for everyone to get past you and do their shopping." He took me by the arm and tugged me toward the clothing section.

"Excuse
me
." I pushed his arm away from me. "I would prefer you don't touch me."

"Oh, sorry, Miss. Do I repulse you?"

I clutched my purse as he stared back at me. His eyes didn't catch me before through the slits in his mask like they did now. Tiny flecks of gold burst through the green, like freshly turned leaves on an autumn day. Dark brows rested above, a gentle bristle of hair surrounding his face and above his lips. When he smiled, his cheeks puffed up and his eyes sparkled even more, if that were possible. "I don't know you, so I would rather you refrain from touching me."

He took a step back and put his hands up in surrender. "Is there anything I can help you find?"

Finally, he could stop annoying me and assist me. Except now that he asked the question, I had no idea what I needed. What had I stood in line for? As he waited for my reply, obviously needing to get back to work, I couldn't find the words.

"Okay. If you figure it out, either find me, or any other associate in the store can assist you."

My phone vibrated in my purse, so I snatched it out as Shane began to fade into the distance. A glance revealed a text from my friend Lisa asking how I made out at the sale. Shoot! "Frozen!" I yelled toward Shane.

He stopped, turned, and shouted, "Do you mean freeze?"

Panicking, I tossed my phone back into my purse and headed quickly for him, but not so quick to seem eager. "No. Frozen. I'm here for some new Frozen toys. They were in the ad."

"Ah. Of course, Frozen. Every little girl, and grown up girl's, favorite movie."

What? "No, no. It's for my friend's daughter. I kind of intended to pick up some of these toys for Christmas." I had never seen the movie. Lisa's daughter played it on the television many times when I visited, but I never actually sat and watched it.

"Kind of?"

Within seconds, Shane changed from a man I didn't mind talking to back to the irritating guy in the mask. "Fine. I came to get Frozen toys."

He laughed, and his eyes squinted as he did so. "Um, okay. I can show you where to find those, but I bet they're already gone."

Of course they are. I spent ten minutes standing in one spot staring at everyone around me as they scooped up all the deals. The minutes I spent reflecting on the reasoning I had for wasting my day shopping cost me what I came for. I never promised Lisa I would get the toys, but I hadn't really tried, either. "I have to look anyway. My friend won't forgive me if I didn't even look."

Shane waved me along with him and we squeezed between displays and groups of people as we headed toward the toy area. "What's your friend doing today that she couldn't come get these toys for her daughter?"

Five feet ahead of me, Shane maneuvered around the aisles like a pro. I picked up my pace to stay close, and hear him better. "Well, she's..." Wait a minute. What
was
she doing? Why did I tell her I would come and get the toys for her? Every year she went to her dad and step mom's house with her husband and daughter. While her step mom made a turkey with all the classic sides, her dad and husband watched football, her daughter colored, and she curled up in the corner with a book. She asked me to pick up the toys for her, but, really, she wasn't doing much either that she couldn't have gone herself.

"Let me guess," Shane said as he stopped in front of an empty display of Frozen toys. "Your friend is enjoying her Thanksgiving with her family, while you're out beating the crowds for something not even for you."

"What can I say? I'm a helpful person. I'm being a good friend."

"Or you're being taken advantage of, but, who am I to judge?"

"You're right. You
shouldn't
judge. You don't know me or my friend, so don't pretend you do." Dammit. How dare he question me. "Thanks for your help, Shane." I plucked my phone out and texted Lisa back that the store sold out already.

"Any time, Francie."

I stomped my foot on the ground like a two-year-old child as he walked away to help another customer. Why did I let this guy get to me?

CHAPTER FOUR

Two hours later, all four of us arrived back home, my dad already napping on the couch, my brother sitting with his iPad playing some game, and my mom preparing turkey sandwiches for a snack. Yes, we probably would be eating turkey sandwiches for a week! I sat at the kitchen table in a sea of disappointment.

"I let Lisa down, Mom. I told her I would get those toys for Abby and I didn't."

My mom slapped bread onto the counter. She spread mayonnaise across each slice, carefully placing a few strips of turkey on each piece. When she finished decorating each one, she cut them in half, and placed them on a large platter. "If Lisa wanted these toys for Abby, she should consider going herself next time."

Huh. Shane hinted around to the same sort of thing. Was it wrong I went for her? I mean,
I
offered. My life revolved around other people and doing things for them. Twas the life of a party planner! I aim to please, and I'm not happy until my customer is happy. Of course, Lisa wasn't a customer. She was a friend. "Mom, do you think Lisa takes advantage of me?"

She pulled a plate out of the cabinet and put one of the sandwiches on it, sliding it in front of me. "I don't think she means to, if she does. You try so hard to make everyone happy, so you don't often say no, when sometimes you should." She tore a piece of the sandwich off and popped it in her mouth. "However, I think sometimes you don't say yes when you should, too."

"What does that mean?" The whole statement seemed a little contradictory to me. How could I not say no often enough, but at the same time, neglect saying yes?

Teddy hopped into the room and slapped me on the back.

"Ow!"

"That didn't hurt."

"Like hell it didn't, Teddy." I reached my arm back around to massage the area. I swore as my brother and I got older, the harder it was for us to get along. As kids we fought plenty, but our arguments as adults were on an entirely new level.

"And Mom's referring to your boyfriend."

"What boyfriend?"

"Exactly."

My last date happened around six months ago. I met Jim while planning a birthday party for his brother, and we got along great. He asked me out, I said yes, the usual. He took me to a movie - I can't even remember which one anymore - and after we went for a bite to eat. When the check came, he slid the paper over to me. The paper moved back and forth between us before he finally told me he thought I would expense it. I never saw him again (and he never called either), and I avoided dating ever since.

"My job keeps me too busy to date. Who's asked me out lately, anyway?" Nobody. I flew under the radar most times. Even if I dressed in my best outfit, flattened my much too curly hair, and toned down my normally bright makeup, most guys strutted right past me. I liked to think my confidence turned them away, not my looks.

"What about the gentleman at the store today?" My mom offered some encouragement.

"What? That Shane guy? No, thank you. He's rude and obnoxious." And funny. And cute. And employed.

My brother filled a plate. "I think he was hitting on you."

"He wasn't
hitting
on me. Please." If he were, would I know the difference? I mean, he did drive me nuts, but I couldn't get those eyes out of my mind. Even at my own expense, he made me laugh. No. Absolutely not.