And boy did Sumner have some mean people. Mostly nice, but the ones who weren’t made the mean ones seem like an army.
“Here ya go, young lady,” she said, handing me some bills.
“Thank you.” I finished ringing her up and handed her the change.
“You have a good day.”
“You too.” She got her things and left.
One customer after the other came through my line. I was the first one who people saw when they came around the corner to check out. Therefore, I was always busy, but I liked it. It kept the day moving. No one passed up my lane if the line was small.
They’d talked about putting self-checkouts in, but I wasn’t too sure of those. If the company put them in, would I still have a job?
Ms. Jones came through my line next; her first name was Linda, but I never called her that. We chatted about the beautiful weather as I rang her up. Handing her the receipt, I moved to the next person, and my breath caught. It was difficult, but I kept the smile on my face and greeted her.
She only had a few items, and I scanned and bagged them, not really knowing what to say to her.
“I need your help,” she whispered quietly, and my eyes shot to my younger sister Margaret. She was next in line after me and Ensley. She looked absolutely petrified with sweat on her forehead and panic coming out of every pore.
“With what?”
She had a plastic bag in her hand, all wadded up, and handed it to me. “Don’t look now.”
I nodded, slipping the bag onto the shelf under the register. “Are you okay?” It was a stupid question because she was still there, in that cult where uncles could marry their nieces. Of course she wasn’t okay, but the level was wide. As in immediate death or something like that.
She plastered on a very fake smile and handed me a bill, telling me she was not and I needed to look inside the bag.
I took the money and finished her up, handing her the bag and receipt. “Thank you; have a great day.”
She nodded and scurried off.
What was that about?
My fingers itched to open the bag right then and there to see what was inside, but I didn’t. Instead, somehow I worked through my entire shift without reaching for it. It taunted me, begging to be opened. Proved I had self-restraint, that was for sure.
“Katie,” was said behind me, and I jumped a foot off the ground, my heart stopping along with my breathing. Turning to see who it was, my boss stood there. I held my chest, trying to get my breathing under control.
I didn’t like being snuck up on, but Ms. Brashers didn’t know that. She probably thought my reaction was crazy.
“I’m sorry, Katie. All the shifts are here. Just count your drawer, and Ella will take over.”
Nodding, I tried to slow my breathing to a non-hyperventilating pace, but it took me a bit. I put out my closed sign and finished up Miss Manda Christine. Yes, she wanted me to call her that. It was a compromise I could handle.
I pulled my drawer just as Ella stepped behind me and dropped her drawer in; everything went smooth as honey. It was how the big guys wanted it.
I’d almost forgot the plastic bag, but I reached over and grabbing it before taking off to the manager’s office where I counted my drawer. It was tedious because it had to be to the penny right or you’d be watched like a hawk for stealing. Then if you got caught, they’d fire you. Luckily most people used credit or debit cards, so cash usually wasn’t a problem.
After having my drawer count approved by Mrs. Brashers and punching out, I went to my locker, grabbed my stuff, and got out of there. The bag was beginning to burn a hole in my pocket.
Waiting until I got home was difficult. Now that I was alone, I just wanted to know what was in it, but something told me that I needed to wait. So I did.
Pulling into my apartment building, I parked and raced up the stairs, then locked the door behind me.
I did a quick run-through of the small space, making sure everything looked the way it should.
Sitting on the couch, I undid the plastic and found a very old cell phone, the kind that flipped open and closed. It was black and had so many scratches on it the paint was almost gone. I flipped the phone open and found a small piece of folded paper which I opened. It said Have to get out. Wait for me to call.
A boulder hit my gut as fear took over. Something must’ve happened at home for Margaret to risk coming to see me and her wanting to leave.
I grabbed my cell and called Ensley, my hands actually shaking as I dialed. I felt tears well up; whether in joy or fear, I didn’t know. It had been so long since we had seen our siblings. My heart longed to have peace that they had somehow snapped out of the fog of the life we had been raised in and gotten free. My head knew differently, which made me sad and somewhat desperate to help, especially since Margaret took a risk to come near me in the first place.
“Yello,” Ensley answered after the second ring.
“Ens, Margaret came to the store today and gave me a phone with a note.” I relayed what the paper said.
“I can’t believe she even went to your store. She’s one of the shyest of us all.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “What do you think is going on at home that made her risk it?” I asked, getting up from the couch and pacing the small space of my living room.
“Probably getting married off.”
How? “But the men were killed. There shouldn’t be any left.” Ensley told me about the crematorium and how the men of the Ravage MC burned all the bodies so they’d go to hell.
“Not all of them were there, Katie.” My stomach dropped. “The older teens would probably be ready to take wives and start popping out kids.”
“It never stops, does it?” My voice was small as I thought about my time there, and it made my body shiver.
“No, it never will. But you have to remember there are women and men in that community who do not want to leave. They love the life they live and follow the scripture. But if Margaret doesn’t want to be there, then we wait for her to call and figure out what to do next.”
I, of course, knew all of this. It was so hard for me to believe that other women would want that life, but it was only my opinion from growing up there. Many had different experiences, and everyone had the right to make their own choices.
Sure, some of those choices were very limited if not non-existent. I was just happy I was out of there.
“I’ll keep the phone on me.” I picked it up and looked at the charger connector. “Do you know anyone with a flip phone charger?”
“I’ll talk to the ol’ ladies and get one. Not a problem.”
“Great. Thanks, Ens.”
“Always, Katie. Always.”
6
DRYERSON
Being back on my bike was heaven on wheels. Feeling the wind whip your face and the road beneath you, there was no other nirvana like it.
Unfortunately, a bike wasn’t in my near future. Micah and I were in Micah’s SUV with a trailer hooked up to the back for Cooper and Deke’s bikes as they road in front of us. While I knew we needed Micah’s computer on wheels and a vehicle to scope shit out that didn’t make a lot of noise, I still wanted to be on my bike.
Such was the life of a prospect. At least I wasn’t cleaning the toilets after the guys at the moment. Positives. Everyone needed to find those in life.