Page 6 of Semi Sweet
"He never tells me when he's going to be here. Trust me, I'd love to know."
I wasn't lying. It was one of many things that had changed since he'd gotten the corporate job. He'd once been overly forthcoming, calling me from the back of the family town car when he'd go on simple errands. Now I was lucky to even get an inkling about his schedule or his job in general. Once he was home for the night, he claimed he needed to decompress. I wished he would share something. I hated when he randomly showed up without notice. Sometimes he snatched whatever I was working on out of my hands and ripped it up if it wasn't actually work.
Russel clearly didn't believe me. "Right…."
For a while, my shift went on as normal. I helped customers with price checks and lotto tickets. I plotted a new scene for the post apocalyptic love story I was working on and directed a new mom in the direction of baby formula before Evan, his parents, and Grandma Benedetta came through the automatic doors. The men all wore tartan suits just subtle enough to display their wealth without being tacky, while Mrs. Quittero had a classy pencil skirt matched with a bright pink ruffled top. Grandma Benedetta was dressed the same as she was on a Sunday evening for their weekly family dinners—a floor-length black dress with a string of pearls around her neck.
I’d planned on working like I always did. Maybe I'd partake in some quick small talk that my jealous front end coworkers could get only slightly annoyed by before we went our separate ways. My stomach flipped when I noticed the Quittero family standing at Russel's podium, looking in my direction.Not today, Satan,I pleaded, attempting to look extremely busy so they would leave me alone.Not today.I grabbed the lost and found log, a thick three ring binder, and began to look through the corresponding cabinet. I made my face look deep in thought.
"Cara!" Grandma Benedetta's voice made me shut my eyes, grateful that my back was to the courtesy desk door.
I exhaled and smoothed my face into something somewhat pleasant before I turned around. The woman addressed everyone around her in Italian whether they understood or not. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to make Grandma Detta seem endearing, but all it did was make me uncomfortable. Like we were in separate tiers.
"Hello, Grandma Quittero," I said. "How are you?"
"Perfetto," the woman answered, and it wasn't long before Evan, his parents, and now uncle Gio were heading to stand behind her. "Why do you still stand behind the counter? Come to corporate, it's time."
We had this conversation often, typically at those Sunday dinners, about when I would join the family business. I didn't have the heart to tell the woman I'd rather choke and die. That, and I'd seen her mean streak over the years and did not want to be on the receiving end of it. I would never forget how she'd chewed out a cashier for not scanning fast enough back when I'd first gotten hired. The girl never came back. I didn’t know if she quit or was fired, but I still remembered the vulgar names my future in-law had called her.
"I'm finishing up my last year of grad school," I finally replied. I said it every single time we had this conversation and Grandma Benedetta always retorted the same counter argument.
"I didn't need any college to have a business. A successful one at that."
There was that mean streak.
Thankfully, Gio brought his mother back on track. "We should probably start the Diamond Walk, Mom. The departments have been expecting you." I tried to hide my relief as the group attempted to refocus.
The feeling was squashed when the elderly woman snapped her fingers in Russel's direction. Suddenly, one of the cashier girls was scurrying over, wearing a fake smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She was envious like the rest, and I couldn't understand why. What people thought was amazing luck was not what it appeared to be, but no one wanted to believe it.
"Grandma Detta wants you to do the Diamond Walk with us today," Evan explained.
I would have preferred that she wanted me to run across the store naked or do something criminal. This would make the divide between me and my coworkers that much wider.
"I'm flattered that you want me to come along, really, but I've got a lot of work and Russel will need as many people on the registers as he can."Please don't do this. Don't make something else my fault.
"Olivia," Evan's mother, Jennifer, said as sympathetically as she was able to let on. She'd no doubt been invited on stupid Cash Value Market formalities before she'd become part of the family. "Please, come along."
When it was obvious that I had no other choice, I put the lost and found binder away and let my coworker in. The girl purposely bumped into my shoulder as I walked out to join my future family.
I went to stand beside Evan, but Grandma Detta's cold, tiny hand grasped onto mine before I could get to him.
"Molto buona," she said. "Now let's look for problems."
***
I shuffled around the store with the Quitteros, looking at my feet when they stopped and inspected the various departments. The worst was the front end, where Evan and his father said things seemed cluttered and disorganized. I could feel Russel's anger and I didn't blame him. It was hard to not be cluttered when they wanted him to feature every product that could possibly fit. The grocery department got out relatively unharmed, with only a warning to keep the shelves dusted in addition to well stocked. The floral and produce department had a bit of a struggle. Wilted products were found in both areas. Now the Quitteros were headed to the service area of the store.
"Geraldo was a deli man," Grandma Detta explained. "Me, I was in charge of the baking." It was then that we turned towards the bakery case. I was impressed with how stocked and nice it was. Tables nearby were also filled with many goods. "Ah, yes," she said, "the Aspen boy."
Grandma Detta pulled me towards the counter and then behind it, the rest of the Quittero family following along. My body tensed up. I imagined what Russel's reaction would be if people from other departments just traipsed into my courtesy desk. Sure enough, the bakery employees looked mortified about the sudden company. Once more, I found my eyes on the floor, but this time for a different reason.
"It looks good here!" Benedetta proclaimed. "Where is the young man from Aspen?"
I saw slip resistant shoes approach us. Grandma Detta tugged my arm. "Look at this one. He's no Evan, but he's close."
I was forced to look up and into the eyes of Sean, the new bakery manager. My face flushed as he looked at me with a cross of sympathy and confusion. "His name is Sean. Youngest manager in store history." I figured not calling him "the Aspen boy" was probably a good way to make this less awkward for all parties involved.
"I hope your transition has been easy," Evan's father said. "How's the dog?" I got the vibe that he wasn't being entirely sincere.
