Chapter 1. Kmart
“That’s the last of it...” I muttered as I placed his last article of clothing in the open duffel-bag. Joshua, my on and off boyfriend for the past 5 years nodded as he picked up his crap and walked out of my room. Without as much as a wave, he opened the door and left for what must’ve been the 12th time. As soon as the door hit the frame, I ran into the restroom and slammed the door behind me.
The tears I had been holding back poured down my pallid cheeks as I sobbed into my knees. “I can’t do this anymore...” I whispered in between sobs. “Every 4 months he leaves, I can’t take this anymore!” I wheezed as I wiped my face with my arm. “He’s got to be out there. The man, who can love me through thick and thin, that wonderful and talented person I dream of meeting. He can’t just be a dream! Please...” I prayed to the universe as I rested my head on my tear-stained knees.
A light knock on the worn door, made me glance up. After wiping my puffy eyes, I stood up and opened the door. “Hey baby, I didn’t know you were awake...” I said with a sniffle as I picked her up. Her large amber eyes studied me curiously. “Are you hungry?” I asked to which she replied with a shake of her head. I put her on the floor and allowed her to lead me back into our room. She gestured to the bed with her chubby, three-year-old fingers. “You’re still sleepy?” I asked, to which she responded by rubbing her eyes. “Come here my love...” I cooed as I picked her up and laid beside her. A small, round dimple formed on her left cheek every time she smiled.
“Mommy loves you Allison, you know that?” I whispered as I spooned her tiny body. She let out a small content sigh. “I hope you learn how to speak soon. It gets really quiet around here when your grandma goes to work...” I trailed off as I buried my face in her caramel hair. She smelled like baby soap. I don’t know how much time passed, but I ended up falling asleep. When I woke up, the sun was shining through the small window. “Ugh...” I groaned as I rolled my neck. I sat up slowly and stretched, trying to rectify the damage I had done to my spine by sleeping in one position for too long. I glanced down at my smart phone and saw it was around 10:30am.
“Crap, I gotta get ready for work...” I mumbled as I rolled out of bed. Allison was at the table, having breakfast with my mom. “Morning...” I muttered as I made my way to the restroom. “Were you up crying all night because of that low-life boyfriend of yours?” she asked as she handed Allison her sippy cup. “Mom please, not in front of Allison...” I begged. “Just saying. He knocks you up at 16, can’t keep a job and leaves you every 4 months. You have horrible taste in men” she reproached. “I got to go to work...” I muttered as I gave my daughter a kiss, then made my way to the restroom.
I glanced at my disheveled reflection in the mirror. I had deep, sunken bags under my honey eyes. My ebony hair was messy and in desperate need of shampoo. After I had showered, I dressed in my navy-blue polo and black work pants. After I was done with my makeup, I made my way out into the kitchen for some breakfast. I stared at my lightly salted scramble bitterly. I took one bite just to make an effort, but ended up discarding the rest. The knot in my throat tightened when I laid eyes on his favorite cup. “I got to get out of here...” I mumbled. After kissing my daughter and saying a quick goodbye, I picked up my lanyard and made my way outside.
I lived 10 mins away from my job, but I hated going in at 12pm or 1pm. The reason why being that I had to cross the tracks in order to get to work and the long, stupid freight train always passed during those hours. Not only was it slow, but it would also stop in the middle of the tracks and slowly retreat from where it came. This time, the familiar horn blared just as I was crossing the tracks. “Yes!” I cheered as I made it through just in time.
It was a regular November day and thanks to global warming, the sun was hot and the air stuffier than usual. After I parked my blue corolla in its usual spot, I grabbed the sketchbook I kept in the front seat, then trudged reluctantly towards the automatic doors. “Hey Hannah, how’s your baby?” a familiar voice greeted as I stepped into the air-conditioned store. Marlene the door greeter was a small woman with a slight limp and grey streaks in her hair. She was kind and past retirement age, but still worked because she couldn’t afford her insurance. She wore her uniform and her red greeter vest. “She’s good, getting bigger every day...” I smiled wearily as I walked past her towards the service desk.
“I don’t want to be here today...” I thought to myself as I glanced at the lanyard swaying back and forth in my hand. My eyes still burned from crying the day before and my contacts weren’t exactly helping. “Hey Jessie...” I mumbled to my supervisor as I slouched over the counter. She was a tall, curvy woman, with light eyes and curly black hair that grew to her waist. “Are you sick again?” She asked as she arched one of her sharpie eyebrows. Her hand rested on her hip sassily. I shook my head as I glanced wearily at all the returns that needed to be restocked. “I’ll be upstairs...” I muttered as I turned to make my way to the employee break room. “Oh Hannah, would you please take this gentleman upstairs to HR Ricky? He has an interview with him today...”
I glanced at the young man that stood just a few feet to my right. My heart raced in my chest as he flashed me a nervous smile. “Woah, he’s cute...” my brain retorted as I motioned for him to follow. He was wearing a light-blue dress shirt and some black slacks. His honey brown hair was neatly styled with a low fade and parted to the side. He carried a small black binder in one of his hands.
I stared at my work shoes as I walked. “Wow, you like Kingdom Hearts?” He asked when he laid eyes on the fan art that covered my sketch book. “Y-yea, you?” I asked as we maneuvered our way through the pantry department. He nodded. This gave me the confidence to open my sketchbook and show him a different drawing of the same character I had made. “Did you draw this?” He asked as he took the book from my hands and flipped through it curiously. “Y-yea, I draw a bit...” I trailed off as we continued walking.
“You’re very talented...” he mused with a smile as we reached the back of the store. “I can’t draw for shit, the only thing I can do efficiently is play the guitar...” he chuckled as we made our way up the grey, rubber stairs. “You’re a musician? That’s really cool!” I mused as we walked down the hallway. When we reached HR Ricky’s office, I waved goodbye as he walked inside and closed the door. I sat in the employee dining room until the start of my shift, reminiscing about our conversation. An echo of his smile replayed in my head. “I hope you get the job...” I muttered to myself as I opened my sketchbook and began to draw.
