That was Mr. Pierson. Totally a nice guy.
Therefore, today the kids were in the store with me until I could sort out afterschool childcare. First I had to sort out how I was going to pay for afterschool childcare. I’d called a couple of places and what they’d quoted, especially since the hours I needed them ran late, was a resounding strike to my budget for just one kid. Two was crippling.
I had a nest egg which I had carefully built up so any unforeseen emergencies wouldn’t crush me. Once I had that at five thousand dollars, I let it sit in a savings account and started to build up my “I’m Going to Own My Own House One Day Damn It” account. This was building up too and was relatively healthy. Not to the point I could buy my own house, or even close, but it wasn’t anything to sneeze at.
Pierson’s Mattress and Bed was a big warehouse store, we had all your mattress and bed needs. Including entire bedroom suites and contracts with contractors who would build built-in wardrobes and units that surrounded beds and stuff like that. Our price range fit everyone’s budget. I didn’t do too badly. We moved a lot of product because everyone knew they could find something at Pierson’s and buy it from friendly, helpful salespeople. Then, after purchase, they had their wares delivered on time, during an unheard of two-hour window, instead of having to wait all day for the guys to show up whenever they showed up. Mr. Pierson guaranteed it on all of his commercials. That two-hour window set him above all his competitors. No one wanted to hang around waiting for their mattresses all day.
This meant I lived well. I had a nice car. Great furniture. Decent quality clothes. A nest egg. A house account. The money to be able to afford to buy my friends really, freaking great birthday and Christmas presents.
But I didn’t live large. No way.
And I didn’t want Billy and Billie to live small. Just taking on afterschool childcare, living small was exactly where life was leading us and I didn’t know how to do anything about that.
Then again, they’d been living small for awhile, tiny, so anything I could do was better than what they were used to.
“You need beds,” Mr. Pierson announced behind me and I turned to him.
He was a couple inches shorter than me when I was in heels; very skinny and had white hair sprinkled not very generously with black cut short around the sides and back of his head. The rest was bald. On the looks scale, he was around a Three. Add his cheery personality, his kindness and his generosity and he was totally an Eight Point Seven Five.
He was sitting behind his desk, smiling at me.
“Yes, Child Protective Services are coming around on Friday and I need to get their room sorted before they do.”
“Right,” Mr. Pierson nodded. “Take two of the Spring Deluxe Singles. I’ll give them to you wholesale, with a twenty percent discount, plus your employee discount added on to that.”
My mouth dropped open. The Spring Deluxe mattresses were the best of the best. The cream of the crop. I had one and I loved it. It was ultra-comfy.
But they were expensive. I’d had to save for three months and buy mine during a store-wide sale. I could only afford it because Mr. Pierson let us use our employee discounts even during store-wide sales.
“I –” I began.
He waved his hand in front of his face. “Otis over-ordered. For months we’ve been sittin’ on an inventory of Spring Deluxes we can’t move. They’re pricey. People don’t often spring for the Spring Deluxe, not even when you’re sellin’ them.” He grinned at me and continued, “Why he ordered that many, I do not know.”
I didn’t either but then again, this was Otis. It was my experience that everyone had an annoying cousin and Otis was Mr. Pierson’s. I figured Mr. Pierson kept him working in the warehouse because no one else would keep him working for more than a couple of days due to the fact that Otis wasn’t all that smart. He was a nice enough guy (although I had to admit I thought he was creepy and Roberta agreed) but he wasn’t all that smart. It wasn’t a nice thing to say but it was true.
“They’re just takin’ up space in the warehouse. Space I need. You’d be doin’ me a favor,” Mr. Pierson finished.
He was full of it. He was losing money on the deal he offered me. Big time. He was just being nice.
“Mr. Pierson –” I started but stopped when his eyes caught mine.
“Kids need good beds,” he said softly.
He was right. They did.
God, I loved my boss.
“I love my boss,” I told him and his face melted into a smile, the whole of it, just like he always smiled. I loved my boss and I also loved his smiles.
“You’re off tomorrow. I’ll set up delivery,” he told me.
“Thanks,” I whispered.
“Mitch!” I heard Billie screech from the showroom floor. I whirled around to look back out the window only to see Billie tearing through the maze of beds in a direct trajectory to Mitch.
She aimed, she fired, she hit her target, throwing her arms around his hips and giving him a big hug.
I watched Mitch’s hand settle on her hair. Then I looked at all that was Mitch and I really wished that I wasn’t still kind of in love with him.
What on earth was he doing there?
I turned back to Mr. Pierson who was also looking out the window, undoubtedly at Mitch.
“That’s my, um…neighbor. I think I need to go talk to him,” I said to Mr. Pierson.
His body visibly jolted and his eyes slid to me. “Neighbor?”
“Look!” I heard Billie shout and I turned back to the window. “I’m wearin’ one of the outfits you bought me!” She had let him go and was yanking her t-shirt out at the bottom hem to show him.
I watched Mitch smile at her and he said something I couldn’t hear because unlike Billie he wasn’t shouting.
Then I felt a whoosh surge through my belly at witnessing his smile.
I forced myself to turn back to Mr. Pierson who was now standing with his eyes back at the window.
“Yes, my neighbor. Do you mind…?” I trailed off and he looked at me. Then he looked to the window. Then back at me. Then his eyes quickly darted the length of me.
Then he grinned a grin I’d never seen him grin before and he advised, “Don’t forget to ask him if he needs a bed.”
I nodded knowing there was no way in hell I was going to ask Detective Mitch Lawson if he needed a bed and moved quickly from the office.
The instant I hit the showroom Mitch’s eyes came to me. The instant his eyes came to me, my eyes went to Billy. He was still sprawled on the bed, the video game in his hands but now his gaze was on Mitch and his little face was hard. He didn’t, I noticed, throw himself at Mitch and I wasn’t certain he’d even said hello.
My head swung the other way and I saw Roberta with her customers. She was trying to pay attention to them while at the same time eye up Mitch. It was a name she knew and now that she had a handsome face, fabulous hair, fantastic body and great clothes to put with that name, she was obviously having trouble listening to her customers.
I made myself look back at Mitch just as Billie ran to me, grabbed my hand and tugged me toward Mitch, telling me, “Look, Auntie Mara! Mitch is here!”
“I see that, honey,” I murmured to her as I got closer and closer to Mitch.
She kept tugging at me. “Isn’t it great that he’s here so he can see my outfit?” she asked.
“It’s awesome,” I muttered as we stopped in front of Mitch.
“I know,” she breathed.
“Mara,” Mitch greeted and his face was closed, no warmth, no smile, nothing.
Yep he’d figured it out. Ten Point Fives didn’t give Two Point Fives warmth. Disdain, often. Shared breathing space, yes, but only because everyone needed oxygen. Warmth, no.