Supermarket - Bobby Hall Page 0,39
sweetly, and continued on her way. As I arrived at the end of the aisle, I realized I was in the bakery. I looked behind the counter and saw Mia. She was so beautiful in her white apron, her hair tied up in a ponytail.
“Oh, hey, Flynn!” she said with a beaming smile. “Couldn’t wait until later to see me, huh?”
“Can’t wait!” I said. “Hey, have you seen Frank around here by chance?”
“Nope, haven’t seen him. When are the three of us gonna hang out, by the way? I spend all my time in the bakery, so I don’t get to know anyone else who works here. It would be nice to meet your friend you always talk about.”
The truth was I hadn’t formally introduced Mia to Frank because he had no manners. It was guaranteed he would offend, outrage, or disgust her. I also couldn’t admit to her that I was writing a book, not just yet. And the book was the only reason I was continually and willingly subjecting myself to Frank’s presence. It was all to get this novel finished. I needed this bullshit artist to keep the inspiration going for my main character. But even deeper still, there was the fact that I was actually growing to enjoy Frank’s energy, his outlook. It was infectious. It made you not give two fucks what others around you thought. I was so wrapped up in my own head and my own creative pursuits that his whole vibe was liberating. To live free and think what you want, say what you want!
I turned to Mia with an excuse about not introducing her to Frank.
“I just like to keep work and love separate,” I said.
“Flynn, are you saying you love me?” she said, blushing.
“Oh, NO! No, I meant ‘life,’ not ‘love’ . . . I’m not saying—” I stopped myself, not wanting to insult her further. “I mean, not that I won’t, or couldn’t, I just, well . . .”
Mia let out another laugh. “Flynn, I’m just fucking with you! I mean, I really like you, but falling in love in just a few weeks isn’t exactly realistic. Especially considering we haven’t spent enough time together to do so.”
I felt relieved. Though, honestly, I knew I was falling for her. I was just glad she was so levelheaded. The great thing about Mia was that she never played games; she was always honest about how she felt.
“Oh . . . haha, got it! Well, thanks anyway . . . I’ll see you tonight at—”
“Floater!” interrupted a voice. It was painted thickly with a Russian accent. “Floater, what are you doing here now?”
It was the Soul Destroyer, Bianca, come to wreak havoc on my moment with Mia.
“Oh, hey, Bianca. I was just—”
“Leaving? Just leaving, yes?!”
My eyes widened and Mia’s rolled.
“By the way, my name is Flynn,” I said. “See you tonight,” I said to Mia, smiling and giving her arm a little squeeze.
With fifteen minutes left before work let out, Ted asked me to clean up some spilled coffee by aisle twelve. I grabbed a broom from the maintenance room and headed over, but just as I began to mop the floor, I looked over and saw Cara headed in my direction. She was holding packs of sugar and creamer, but at the sight of me, they slipped out of her arms.
I immediately dropped the mop and rushed over to help her.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to,” she said in a hurried voice.
“Cara . . . Cara, seriously . . . let me help. It’s okay,” I told her. She allowed me to help, though she seemed a bit tense.
“I’m sorry, Flynn,” she said. “I just—”
“You shouldn’t be apologizing at all,” I interrupted. “Look, I’m really sorry about what happened last week,” I explained, trying to sound as honest as possible. “I didn’t mean to walk in on you, there was just so much going on and . . . I didn’t realize what you were doing, you know?”
“I know, Flynn . . . I didn’t mean to scream at you either . . .” Cara looked down at her boots like an embarrassed child.
“Friends?” she said. She looked up and stuck out her hand.
“Friends!” I said with a smile. We shook, then we both stood up, and I helped her bring the fallen packets to the counter.
After I finished cleaning up the spilled coffee, I returned to the maintenance room to deposit the mop. Frank was there in the dark