Page 70 of Gulfside Girls
“Love you too!”
Ali was thrilled. Having Faye down here would be wonderful. She wouldn’t have to decide everything herself.
And they’d get to experience a little of the magic of the Sea Turtle together before it floated out of their hands.
Twenty-Seven
Faye
The numbers were more than she could believe. But Faye wasn’t someone who counted her chickens before they hatched.
But she was someone with a bit of a temper. When she was mad, her co-workers at the plant said that was when she most reminded them of her dad. The Bruce Kelly Temper.
And it was her temper that got the best of her in the wine aisle of the Westgate Shopping Center Costco that day. She was browsing their selection of reds with an eye toward a glass to celebrate after her shift today. Becoming an almost millionaire seemed as good a time as any to have a glass of wine. But no matter how rich she got, she’d be darned if she would pay full price for anything!
“What do we have here!” she muttered to herself as she saw a shelf full of Black Tears Malbec.
Thirty-seven bucks was more than she’d normally spend, but Faye Kelly was about to become a fricking millionaire.
“Maybe I’ll buy two!”
The Costco Wine Blog had it rated high, and it would be fifty bucks at a wine store, so it was a bargain.Do rich people look for discounted wine? Well, this rich person will.She wondered if rich people also perused the shorts and shirts on the clothing table?What are you wearing? Kirkland.
She giggled a bit to herself.
Faye continued down the aisle with the idea to peruse the lawn and garden offerings as well.
However, a middle-aged man and a much younger woman appeared at the end of her aisle. They were locked at the lips and hips. And they were in the dead center.
Faye didn’t want to interrupt, but come on, canoodling in Costco?How romantic.She was mid-eye roll when the couple realized they were being rude and blocking the way with their display. They reluctantly stopped cuddling and looked at Faye.
When Faye recognized exactly who she’d caught canoodling, the Bruce Kelly Temper took over her brain. What’s worse, it took over her mouth.
“Ted Harris, how embarrassing for you. Necking in the wine aisle at Costco with someone half your age? Yikes.” It was one thing to hear about Ali’s middle-aged husband and his girlfriend, it was something else to see it up close and disgustingly personal.
“Faye. Maybe lower your voice?”
“Well, it seems like you want everyone to know about your little girlfriend. Why else would your tongue be down her throat in broad daylight in front of the cheese sample lady?”
“You’re being childish. We are both adults.”
“Ah, so adults wear jeans that are way too tight, and is that hair dye you’re doing now? So pathetic.”
“I am in love with a person who appreciates me for the first time in my life. Something you’d know zero about. You’re like a rabid dog the way you chase men away.”
“Appreciates you?” Faye scoffed. “My sister is the best thing that ever happened to you. You’re too arrogant to see that, aren’t you, Professor?” Faye’s tone was harsh, she knew, and she was glad. This man hurt her sister. And Ali Kelly Harris was the best wife, mother, and businesswoman in this town!
“I’m so glad to never have to sit at a Thanksgiving table or Christmas dinner ever again with you or the rest of the Kelly Sisters,” Ted retorted. “Twenty-five years was enough. I’ve done my time with you uneducated hags!”
Ted always put his nose in the air because Faye and Bruce worked on the line. To him, blue-collar was an insult; to her, a point of pride. Ted saw her career and her dad’s as one for the uneducated when, in fact, half of her co-workers had more training and education than he could imagine. And seriously,done his time?
“Well, you know Ted, that’s something we agree on. And if you’re so smart, you’d have played your cards right and you’d be a millionaire right along with Ali and us uneducated Kelly Sisters. That’s right, our ship has come in. But you’d only know that if you were a good husband with half a brain, but alas, you’re not.”
“Millionaire?”
“That’s right, it turns out we’re about to multi-millionaires and you’re out of luck, Professor. And no offense to you, uh, whatever your name is. But I’d run, don’t walk, out of this little romance of yours. He didn’t even make tenure until this year. How dumb must he be?”
Faye decided that was a decent enough parting shot. She angled her Costco cart around Ted and his girlfriend. She walked by with her head held high and did not look back.
