Authors: Ruth Ann Hixson
"Sherry, I hate to tell you this but you are going to run into that around here. There was a lot of gossip about your mother and people still remember. You can't let the accident of your birth define who you are. You had nothing to do with whatever it was that possessed your mother to go to bed with a married man. You have to rise above it and just be yourself. They'll soon start judging you by who you are instead of your mother's indiscretion."
"My guidance counselor in school told me that after I got in trouble for punching a girl in the mouth for calling me a bastard. It just seems that the more I try to get beyond it, the more I get dragged back to it. I know what I am. I have decided that I am not going to be like my mother. It's just that sometimes it seems my struggles are all in vain."
In Lowe's they acquired a damaged sheet of paneling to fix the broken window in the storm door, bolts for the inside of the kitchen and front doors and Sherry bought herself a claw hammer. "Weapon of self defense," she said as she tested it weight.
Frank glanced at his watch. "Let's go get something to eat. That cereal Jan gave us for breakfast didn't go very far."
When they walked into MacDonald's, Frank said, "Go find us a table and I'll get our food. What do you want?"
"What are you having?"
"Cheeseburgers, fries and coffee."
"I'll have the same. One cheeseburger, small fries and a medium coffee with creamer and sugar." She went in search of a table near a window and she had no problem finding one since the lunch-time rush was still an hour away. Frank came to join her with a tray full of three cheeseburgers, two fries, and three coffees.
After they left the insurance office, Frank said, "They don't take checks at the thrift store."
"I'll have to go to the bank. I don't have much cash."
Frank started the engine and backed out of the parking stall. "I'll pay. You can pay me back when you get a job."
There were only two mattresses at the thrift store--a single one with a split seam for fifteen dollars and a fairly good double one for twenty-five.. "I can sew that seam," Sherry mused.
"Why not buy the one you don't need to fix?" Frank asked.
"Because I don't have that much cash," she shot back.
"I'm buying," Frank reminded her. "You'll have to help me carry it out."
Just as she picked up her end, a man came out of the office. "What are you trying to do, young lady?"
"Help with this," she replied.
"I'll do that."
Sherry followed along to the counter where Frank set down his end of the mattress and took out his wallet. He gave Sherry twenty-five dollars. "You'll have to pay the tax."
"I'm going to get some pans and dishes. I'll be out then."
"I'll be in the truck sleeping." Frank told her.
Sherry saw a bright yellow clothes basket with a price of seventy-five cents. She picked it up and began to fill it with a teakettle, a spaghetti cooker that could double as a steamer and colander, an amber Corning Ware saucepan, assorted dishes. She looked for another cup and found a bright yellow one with a matching saucer and a blue mug with a pretty little girl holding an apple. She turned it around and saw the words, "Teacher's Pet." She shrugged and put it in her basket.
She carried her purchases to the counter to check out. When she returned to the truck, Frank was sleeping. As he started the engine, she said, "I forgot to get potato chips when I was at the dollar store. Can we stop somewhere?"
"On one condition. I need a pack of chewing gum."
"What kind?"
"Jan usually buys sugar free. She's afraid my teeth will fall out of I chew the regular."
"Why do you chew so much gum?" Sherry was curious.
"Better than smoking. I quit smoking after my father died of lung cancer."
"What flavor do you want?"
"I'm not fussy. Any flavor will do."
When Sherry returned to the truck, it was sprinkling rain. "I'm going up the four lane," Frank said. "I can make better time and maybe your mattress won't get too wet."
They only traveled a couple miles when they ran out of the rain. Sherry leaned her head back against the seat and dozed until Frank punched her on the shoulder. "Talk to me."
She gazed at him drowsily. "Mary had a little lamb; it's fleece was white as snow..."
"Are nursery rhymes the best you can do?"
"My brain's numb from lack of sleep."
"Me, too. But I have to stay awake to drive unless you want to end up wrapped around a tree."
"Why would Elena use me as an excuse to break up with Mark? We aren't involved."
"I don't know. I do know Jan's happy about it. She never liked Elena. They were barely civil to each other."
"Mark was just being nice to me. There's nothing between us and that's how I like it. I don't have time for the intrigues of someone else's romance."
"Don't worry about it. Their relationship was on the rocks anyway. If she hadn't made the break, he would have. I don't know the details. I don't want to know the details."
"Nor do I."
"Darn! It's raining again. Hang on, kid, we're going fast. There's a handle above the door."
Sherry reached up and grabbed the handle just as Frank took a corner too fast. "You drive like a wild man."
"You should ride with Mark. He has a lead foot. He's already lost his license twice. Once when he was eighteen and once when he was driving back and forth to college. Jan was going to college then, too, so she drove until he got his license back. But he didn't learn anything by it. He still goes like a bat out of hell. He has points on his license now. If he gets caught speeding again, he'll lose them. Chad warned him he will no longer look the other way because they're friends."
Frank flipped the turn signal on and pulled in the driveway at an angle so he could back up to the front porch. "Go unlock the door," he ordered as he shifted to park.
Sherry grabbed her purse and the bag of chips and bailed out. She nearly collided with Frank as he was coming around the truck to get her basket off the top of the mattress. She darted past him and made for the breezeway door. Tossing her purse, keys and chips on the table as she passed, she ran to the front door. Frank was there with her basket when she opened it.
He moved the tab that held the storm door open and jumped on the truck to hoist the mattress to its side and scoot it toward Sherry who waited on the porch. She grabbed her end and backed in the door at an angle pulling her end toward the living room archway. Frank closed the door with his foot and pulled the mattress along to the dining room where they propped it against the wall.
"It's not too wet." He headed for the bathroom.
She was in the kitchen when he came out. "Will you make me a cup of that tea? I have to get that sheet of paneling out of the rain before it gets so wet it comes apart." He came back to the kitchen carrying a battery powered drill and their purchases from Lowe's. "As soon as I get these bolts installed, I'm going home to brew some coffee and hit the sack until milking time. Here's your hammer."
Before he left, Frank took out his cell phone and opened it. "Mark won't answer if he's in class but I can leave a message for him to stop for you. That way you won't have to walk over in the rain when it's time to do the milking."
After he left, Sherry made up her bed and flopped down, pulling the blanket over her because it was cool in the house. It was so good not to be sleeping on the floor. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Sherry sat right up in bed. A glance at her watch told her it was ten to four. She debated whether to go back to sleep or just get up. Hunger and a full bladder made her decision for her. She'd just gotten to her feet when she heard a knock at the front door. She changed direction and went to see who was there.
Mark stood there with the storm door open. The bruise on the side of his face was livid as the blood under his skin followed the pull of gravity. "Open the door," he called to her. "May I come in?" When she left him in, he said, "Dad left a message on my cell to stop for you. It's raining. "
She turned around and headed to the bathroom. "Close the door behind you."
Mark was seated at the table when she returned to the kitchen. "I have a headache this big," he said holding his hands away from the sides of his head.
She opened the pantry, took out the shoebox that held her first aid kit and got a bottle of ibuprofen which she tossed to him. She got a bottle of tea. "It's not cold. I don't have a fridge."
He popped three pills in his mouth and washed them down. He reached for the bag of chips and opened it.
"You didn't ask if you could eat my chips," Sherry declared.
"May I? I'm really hungry. All I had yet today was two doughnuts and coffee."
"I make a mean PB and J sandwich."
"Sounds good to me."
Sherry got out the bread, peanut butter and strawberry jam to make two sandwiches. After cutting them in half diagonally, she put Mark's on the bright yellow saucer and hers on a paper napkin. She sat down with a bottle of tea to eat her sandwich.
"So how was your day?" Mark asked.
She swallowed a bite of her sandwich. "Successful." She told him about all they had accomplished.
He sat looking at her with a half grin on his face.
"Did I grow a second head or something?" she queried.
"Do you know how sexy you look?"
"That knock on your noggin has affected your brain. It's time to go wake up your Dad. Go lock the front door while I put my shoes on."
She was seated on her mattress tying her shoes when he came back. He reached down his hands to give her an assist to her feet, pulling her up and right into his arms to kiss her. As his kiss deepened, his tongue probed her mouth. She bit him gently and pulled away.
"The next time I'll bite hard enough to draw blood." When he didn't release her, she reminded him how close he was standing. "What would happen if I brought my knee up quickly?"
He let her go and stepped back. "You wouldn't."
"I would." She delved into her pile of belongings and came up with a denim jacket. "I don't intend to become your next conquest. I don't have time for romance. The last thing I need is a man hanging around."
"Don't you like men?"
"Do you mean, am I a lesbian? No. I just have enough problems. I find you handsome, charming and I like you. Don't spoil it by trying to get me into bed." She shrugged into the jacket. "Love is not in my current plans. I'm going to college first."
He grinned broadly. "That's a challenge I can't pass up."
She glared at him. "Is that's how you view love? Some kind of game? It's no wonder Elena dumped you." She motioned with her hand. "Out. I have to lock the door behind me."
She locked up and ran through the pouring rain for the passenger side of his truck. She yanked open the door, stepped up on the running board and propelled herself inside.
Mark already had the engine running. "That isn't why Elena dumped me. With her image is everything. I wouldn't play her game after she told me that the reason she chose me was because we look so good together. I wouldn't pretend anymore. She didn't want me. She wanted the image we projected. The only person Elena loves is herself. She isn't heartbroken. She already had another man in her bed this morning when I stopped to find out if she was responsible for the break-in at your place, but Chad tells me he's looking in a different direction."
"What direction?"
"He didn't say. It's an open investigation and he won't talk about it. Especially since he isn't sure."
Chapter 4
As Sherry drove to work, her spirits were buoyed by the thought that things were coming together for her. She'd been called to work just one day after putting her application in at the dollar store. Turning right to go to the store, she noticed a wicker table sitting along the curb by a garbage can. She stopped, opened the end gate of her station wagon, lifted in the table, which was wet from the rain, and went on her way. The table was damaged but she was sure she could repair it and she needed furniture.
When she entered the store she went directly to the checkout clerk. "I'm Sherry Winnette. I'm supposed to start work here today."
The girl smiled. "Go to the back of the store to where the restrooms are. There is a door marked 'Employees Only.' The manager and assistant manager are there waiting for you."
A woman with red hair and a face full of freckles opened the door. "I'm Amanda Sykes, the manager. This is Judy Beyers, the assistant manager." She motioned toward a woman seated at the far end of the table. "She will train you."
Judy had long brown hair and bangs cut straight across her forehead. "You'll learn to stock shelves today," she said with a smile.
"Sit down so we can get this paperwork out of the way. This is our busiest time of the day from three o'clock till six. I'm needed at the cash register." Amanda sat down opposite Sherry and passed a couple papers across the table. "Fill these out and sign them."
One was a W-4 form to claim dependents for tax purposes; the other, a statement declaring she had never been arrested for theft or committed a felony. Sherry signed it; her record was clean.Amanda passed more papers across the table. "These are our privacy policy and company rules. You can read them when you get time. We do not give out information about our employees unless there is a court order. I have one personal preference that goes beyond company rules. Don't wear blue jeans to work unless that is all you have. If you must wear jeans, please do not wear any with holes."
"What about other colors?"
"Black or brown. Yes. After a two-week probation period, I'll order the company shirts for you. I would guess you wear a small."
"Yes"
Judy took Sherry to the storeroom at the back of the store. "I want to see if you can move a fully loaded dolly. This isn't as heavy as some because it is cereal and such."
Sherry was placing the boxes of cereal on the shelves when a male voice behind her said, "Sherry?"
A man stood there who seemed vaguely familiar but she couldn't quite remember why. His gray-streaked brown hair was the same shade of hers and he was overweight. He wore the T-shirt and blue jeans that seemed to be the uniform for men around there.