Jon arrived to the Lakepoint Mall, finding a parking spot with some shade, grasping the steering wheel intently and taking deep, lilted breaths. “Okay Jon, you can do this. Just eight hours as the floor manager for a couple departments, no big deal. How hard can folding clothes and pointing customers to where the bathroom is be?” He hoped this little pep talk would be the thing to motivate him, but his soft voice inspired less enthusiasm, and the soft, soothing tones of his voice were more comforting, like the warm embrace of a mother’s hug. With a final check in his compact and a quick touch up of his lipstick, Jon grabbed his purse, a mocha bucket bag filled with all sorts of odds and ends, departed his aging hatchback and made his way into the multilevel shopping epicenter of town.
The whole thing was so odd walking into the air conditioned, glistening array of shops as the mall slowly began to come to life with shoppers fresh out of school or work. It was a place Jon had always avoided, he felt awkward there even as a guy and hated when Karyn would drag him along when she needed this or that. The only thing he really enjoyed about these trips was the cheesy pretzel or smoothie at the end of it, but even then, he felt like a fish out of water among the crowds and cliques that made it no less awkward than high school.
But now, walking around here in his business casual outfit, Jon was just waiting for someone to stop him and announce to the world he was an imposter and not actually a mature woman on her way to a middling job. But it never came. His first time out in public and no one batted an eye at the person wearing a cardigan and lilac blouse with a plunging neckline combination, tucked into a pair of high waisted slacks, clacking away on a small pair of short, 1-inch pumps- no one paid him any attention whatsoever. It was a relief from some of the terrible scenarios he imagined, but altogether more disturbing.
Even the outfit he chose came eerily easy. It wasn’t that he knew what was fashionable or expected at work, but it just felt right. He chose it, he was still in control, but on some level it felt like Sandra would approve of his choice. And that approval just felt invigorating. It was so hard to put the experience into words. Even just driving or walking in hills, near impossible when he focused on it, but when he stopped paying attention it was as natural as anything, letting Sandra’s muscle memory accomplish what he couldn’t. Sure, there were moments when he caught himself that almost lead to disaster, like in the car when he almost ran a red after realizing he’d been singing passionately to a Vanessa Carlton song, but those were just silly little miscues he’d need to learn to put up with in order to survive this whole nightmare for the next week.
At least all I have to do is walk around a department store in heels, I can only imagine what Zoe’s going through, poor thing. I doubt she knows the first thing about cheerleading and she’s basically been thrown into the lion’s den. At least the wish gave me some sort of auto pilot to get through some of this stuff. God, now that’s all I can think about, I hope she’s okay… Maybe I can pick her up a shirt from that store over there, it has some of those Japanese cartoon books I know she used to love.
Lost in thought, Jon didn’t even realize he navigated through the store, into the back room and too her locker. He was so focused on Zoe he didn’t even realize his body was following some sort of glowing path like he was in one of his video thingies he played.
Jon didn’t have too long to dwell on how strangely familiar the break room was, with the smell of stale coffee lingering in the air before he was approached by a steely woman with dark hair with greys at the roots, dressed in all black, who towered above him. “Sandra,” she said coldly. “Late again. That’s the second time this week. Lucky you for you, I’ll let you off this time since Cindy called out so I’ll need you to take over shoes and teen fashions from her as well as your usual beat of plus size, lingerie, and maternity, okay? Just make sure to make sure to finish your inventory report before leaving tonight. A ‘cheer-mergency’ is not an excuse, bedazzling poster boards for a bunch of ungrateful cheerleaders isn’t your job, this is. Understood?”
“Yes Sharon,” Jon offered meekly. He had no memory of this woman, but it didn’t take a genius to realize what a stern and frankly, bitch, this Sharon was. He thought some memory would surface, but nothing and only knew her name from the tag she had pinned on her shirt. “I’ll make sure it’s done.”
The next few hours flew by, sorting clothes, managing his small crew of teenagers and women like himself who were working there only for the in store discount or to be away from home, dealing with customers, some snotty and intolerable, others sweeter who would exchange compliments about each other’s jewelry or hair; it was a whirlwind of fires to be put out, customers to guide, and cats to herd leaving no time for a thought of his own. This was probably for the best since it made it easier to cruise along using Sandra’s skills and stay away from the leering Sharon, stalking the store with her clipboard, always writing something down and ready to pounce on any employee she caught slacking off.
Jon’s feet were aching already, cursing his stupid heels even though they fetched him a lot of compliments and had one woman asking if they had them in stock. It was quite flattering. And Jon noted, in a moment of honesty with himself, he quite enjoyed the chit-chat he had with the more mature women, finding himself laughing and getting styling tips from them. They were far more interesting than some of the younger girls who seemed more interested in their phones than working. It could get awkward if he stayed in a conversation for too long, the other women eventually wanting to talking about their kids and husbands which was more than a little awkward. It was amazing some of the personal details some of these women would share with him, a complete stranger! Maybe they just felt comfortable around him, but some of the talk of their sex lives had Jon blushing.
It was only 15 minutes from his lunch break when Jon finished his rounds at the lingerie section, noticing a blonde woman looking lost by some brassieres. She was maybe a few inches taller than Jon, but oddly familiar…
Wait…
“Karyn?! What’re you doing here?”
“Miss Gibson! I’m not skipping cheer practice I swear! I just asked to go early since this was the only free time my dad had this week and…” she raced. “Look Miss G, I’m sorry, but it’s like none of my bras fit anymore and they’re constantly digging into my skin. I knew you were on shift and my dad isn’t any help,” she turned her head low and her voice practically became a whisper, “and you’re basically my second mom, I just really need help finding something that’s stylish and fits. Can you help?”
A deeper, rugged voice startled Jon from behind, “Yeah, as you can see, I’m really out of my element here.”
