Her scowl might’ve softened just a little as she asked, “What about your parents? Siblings?”
I pulled in a deep breath before replying, “I never knew my father, I’m better off not knowing my mom, and I’m an only child.”
“Hmm.” She looked away, studying her bony fingers clutching the handle of the cart. “Everyone deserves family.”
I nodded. “I agree. But they weren’t a part of the plan for me, I guess.”
She huffed another contemplative sound as she nodded. Then, she stared right into my eyes and asked, “Do you like banana bread?”
The unexpected question left me taken aback as I nodded. “Yeah, I do. Haven’t had it in a long time, but—”
“Stop by my house later if you’d like some. I just baked a few loaves.”
And just like that, she was wandering off again and leaving me to finish the mopping. I couldn’t help but smile to myself, feeling like I’d finally made some headway with the old crone, when she stopped abruptly and turned around.
“And remember what I said about mopping with dirty water!”
I snorted and lifted my mouth in a lopsided grin. “I have a feeling you’ll never let me forget.”
***
“Soldier!” Howard greeted me as I headed back inside after helping Marjorie Bush load her car with her grocery bags.
“Yeah?”
“You wanna come into my office for a second?”
There was a long list of things I’d prefer to do over spending any time in Howard’s office. The guy was nice enough—I mean, he had offered me a job, experience unknown, and I couldn’t forget that—but, man, his office always smelled like onions and egg salad, and having any kind of conversation with him was about as exciting as watching the hands of a clock tick away the hours. But he was my boss, and he knew I wouldn’t say no, onion stench and all, so I nodded.
“Yeah, sure. Hold on a sec,” I said before hurrying over to purple-haired Kylie, wife of local music legend Devin O’Leary, who was having one hell of a time trying to reach a sack of flour off the top shelf.
I grabbed it for her, no problem, and she returned the favor with a grateful smile.
“I was ready to climb the shelves.” She laughed, her cheeks pinking beneath the warm overhead lights. “Shopping always sucks when Devin’s not around.”
Devin was a couple of inches shorter than me at six-five, which was nothing to scoff at. The one time I had the pleasure of meeting the guy, he’d laughed good-naturedly before graciously handing over the title of Tallest Guy in Town.
“You don’t have to climb anything. Just yell for me, and I’ll be there,” I replied, already taking a step backward to head in the direction of Howard’s office.
“Thanks, Soldier.”
Kylie lifted her hand in a slight wave, and I turned with a nod of my head, then hurried toward the door at the back of the store, already open and waiting for my arrival.
Howard was sitting at his desk and gestured to the chair across from his. “Come. Sit.”
Now, I hadn’t held down many jobs in my life—not including neighborhood drug dealer, of course. But the ones I’d had, I was good at, and I’d never gotten fired from any of them. Grampa had taught me to work hard, to treat even the most demoralizing jobs as a privilege, and to be the best at whatever my title happened to be. That was the exact work ethic I’d applied to my months at The Fisch Market, and I wasn’t lying when I said it was my favorite job I had ever had.
But right now, it sure as hell felt like I was being fired.
“Should I close the door?” I asked warily, entering the small room and hesitating beside the offered chair.
He swished a dismissive hand through the air and shook his head. “No, no, that won’t be necessary. Please, sit. Do you like Tootsie Rolls?”
“Um …” I slowly lowered my ass into the uncomfortable chair. “Sure. They’re okay.”
“Ah, I love Tootsie Rolls.” He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a bag of the chocolate-flavored candy. “My wife tells me I’m going to rot my teeth out of my head, but, boy, I can’t quit.”
“Sir, of all the bad habits you could have, bingeing on Tootsie Rolls is definitely one of the better ones.”
He pursed his lips to blowfish proportions as he slowly nodded and unwrapped a piece of his personal kryptonite. Then, after he popped it into his mouth, he clasped his hands on the desk and leaned forward.
Shit. I had never gotten fired before, but he definitely looked like a guy about to do some firing.
I glanced toward the open door to watch Tess O’Dell stroll by with her daughters, and I wondered if Howard wanted to humiliate me by canning my ass in front of all these people I’d grown to like a lot.
“Soldier …”
Fuck. Here we go.
I took a deep breath, gathered my dignity, and faced him like a man.
“When Harry asked me to do him a favor and give you a job, I had no idea what to expect or if I was going to regret my decision. He swore I wouldn’t, but”—he lifted one shoulder in a shrug—“you can understand why I was skeptical.”
I cleared my throat of all foreboding and replied, “I’m glad you took a chance on me.” Maybe sucking up would spare me my job.
“So am I.”
Wait. What?
“Harry neglected to tell me that you’re one of the hardest-working guys on this planet—or at least that I’ve seen. You go above and beyond, performing tasks you’re not being paid for, getting to know the customers, building relationships with them …” He grabbed another Tootsie Roll and began to twist off its wrapper. “You’re a rare find, Soldier.”
“Thank you, sir,” I answered, still unsure of what he was getting at.
“Harry told me you got your GED and a degree in business.”
I swallowed, nodding. “I did, yeah.”
“What do you say we do something with that degree?” His eyes met mine as the candy flew into his mouth.
I tipped my head curiously, still unsure of where this conversation was going. “What did you have in mind?”
“I’d like you to fill the position of assistant manager.”
I wasn’t sure I had heard him correctly. Christy Scott had just walked by the door with her excited young son, so it was possible the words had somehow gotten muddled in the noise.
“Wait. I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Howard smiled fondly, like I was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen—and I knew that wasn’t true when he had a picture of his cute grandkids sitting right in front of me. “How would you like to be assistant manager?”
The words weren’t computing. The possibility that, after only a handful of months, I’d be offered such a prestigious position at his store seemed unlikely, given the circumstances of my situation. In my head, the guy wasn’t even supposed to like me, let alone hand me a job like that so soon, and I kept expecting for him to laugh, tell me he was just pulling my leg, and proceed to down the rest of those Tootsie Rolls while I slunk back to my broom and dustpan.
But he didn’t.
Well, except for the Tootsie Roll part.