At The Register

“I’m here, you can go to lunch.” Ashley came from the back of the building and stopped at the counter facing Tim. She was almost skipping. Any part of the store made her happy, but being away from Marcella made her happiest of all. Tim was awkward, but fun. At least he didn’t incessantly critique everyone else’s efforts. Besides, she needed to get out of the sun for a bit.

“Thank God, I’m starving.” Tim gave a sigh and shook his head like he was about to die and she had arrived just in time. There was an urgency, a desperation, to his excitement. Lunch was only a half hour. Hardly enough to do much more than grab a bite. Tim was acting like it was everything. It wasn’t usually his demeanor. He was normally distant and strange. Usually uninterested and open to skipping lunch altogether.

“Uh, huh.” Ashley grinned mischievously.

“What, I’m hungry.” Tim said defensively as he brushed passed Ashley. He gave her a look daring her to speak. It was all playful. He was as young as she was. There was no seniority, whether through age or experience. The two run in different circles in school. He was a math geek who enjoyed chess club, while she was a hippy and enjoyed grass of all sorts.

“Have a great lunch.” Ashley had a mirthful expression on her face as she hovered over the register. She knew why he felt eager to leave and it made her giddy. She leaned on the counter, cupped her head in her hands, and watched Tim go. Her green eyes sparkled with secret and joy.

Tim shook his head and nearly ran from the building. A few seconds later he reappeared. He gave her a sheepish smile. “Forgot to punch out.” Then he proceeded to nearly trip over himself as he stumbled toward the back room at the time clock.

“Of course.” Ashley watched him, enjoying the show.

Tim was athletic. A runner. But he was also a huge nerd. The combination was strange, but not unheard of. Ashley enjoyed talking to him. Comics, boys, the future, whatever came to mind. He wanted to be an accountant. It seemed insanely boring, but he was really good with numbers. He felt comfortable behind this register. Ashley felt like it was a punishment.

Right now, however, he was more interested in getting on his lunch and going next door. So excited that he was fumbling his way around and wasting time much to Ashley’s amusement. It was comical watching him blunder about, fumbling over himself in a rush to get to the pizzeria. He was usually less clumsy, but his frantic pace overrode his caution.

A customer broke up the fun. Sometimes Ashley needed to remind herself that they were why she was here. The job wouldn’t be as boring without customers to ruin the fun. Of course, they brought variety too. Each one was their own story to unravel. The woman had a cart of flowers and pots. The store interior was too small to let in the carts so Ashley grabbed a pad, a pen, and went out to log all the inventory.

“Did you find everything you were looking for?”

Unlike the other employees she actually wanted to know. She was excellent at selling additions and great at encouraging customers to need more than they intended. It was one of the reasons Mason liked her. She was great with customer service and he valued that. Knowledge of the plants and attention to detail were all relevant, but no fun. She was too young to be dead inside like Marcella. Too young, and the weather was too nice. She smiled when the sun hit her face. She had spent the entire morning outside, but now she was free of the battleaxe that hounded her in the back.

She jotted down the items on the cart, but she took longer than she needed. Now that she had cooled down a bit she was in no hurry to get back to the confines of the interior of the store. It was too nice out here. The flowers were beautiful, the air was warm and sweet, and the sky was the must expressive blue with a hint of clouds. She could have just sat in the grass and made shapes of them, but instead she needed to help this lady.

The doors were open letting in the fresh air, but the store was small, old, and musty. The scents of flowers, herbs, and other items masked it somewhat, but it was also mingled with the fertilizers in the back room. They were far enough away that it was faint, but once you became familiar, you could pick them out easily. They smelled horrible and Ashley got a headache if she spent too long around them.

She talked while she jotted the items down. Idle conversation with a dash of targeted product placement. A certain plant required a certain soil. How about a pot? There was always room for another lawn ornament, and everyone needed fertilizer. The lady was susceptible. She added item after item that she likely had no need for. It was all a game. How many items could she add to this woman’s cart?

In the woman’s mind Ashley was the expert. Her suggestions would make planting all these flowers successful. It didn’t always work. The more belligerent customers just wanted to get in and get out. You could usually tell and Ashley was happy to oblige. Cranky people sucked, brought down the vibe, and the sooner they were gone the better. This woman, however, was nothing like that. She was nice, talkative, and highly suggestible.

When the register dinged, and she was on her way, Ashley was sure she would be back.