One Hour At A Time-Part 2

Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. -Oscar Wilde

Here is a breakdown of my typical day in Retail Hell:

I clock in at 12:51pm, (because I can clock in nine minutes early for my scheduled shift) I go walk the floor, straightening clothing racks and picking up things that are in the wrong place as I go. I see whos working and what’s going on for the day, sometimes there is new stuff to be put out, other times it just ‘clean up, straighten, and process returns’.

I get handed the Jewelry counter and Fitting Room Keys and am for the most part left to ‘do my thing’. Sometimes I am called up to cashier, because that’s fun. I’m supposed to take two 15 minute breaks, one around 3pm and the other at 7:45pm, as well as a one hour lunch off the clock usually around 5:30pm. For my first break I have to wait till someone comes in at 3:30pm to give them the keys, I have to take my lunch before the five hour mark, (I’m scheduled to work 1pm to 9pm) so five hours in is 6pm. At 6pm I am locked out from using the cash register and I get flagged if I don’t clock out by 6:09pm for lunch. Which means I get half a point on my attendance record.

Quick education on the attendance policy, if you call out for any reason you get 1 point against you. If you clock out late, which for me is 9:09pm you get half a point, if you are late coming back from lunch or going to lunch you get half a point. If you call out on one of the ‘Event Days’ (which is any holiday, New Years Eve, New Years Day, Valentines Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, ect…) you get 2 points against you. If you get 5 points against you in six months you are fired, for violating the attendance policy. If you are sick you are not allowed to go home, if you are injured on the job, you are not allowed to go home, till the end of your shift. They will assign you ‘busy work’ if you can’t do your regular job.

Back to my point, I’m a Sales Associate in apparel, which covers the Jewelry counter, Accessories, Women’s, Men’s, Boy’s, Girl’s, Infant’s and Shoes. (That is a lot of things to know about each department) I help customers find things, answer questions and sell Jewelry, as well as watch over the fitting rooms and process returns, and I now know how to replace watch batteries. Which is a skill that I never wanted. (Quick note on returns it is policy to always put anything back on the floor for sale regardless of condition) So unless it’s covered in blood it goes back on the floor for sale, just think about that for a second before you go shopping at your local ‘Big Box Store’. I also have to do anything that a Department Manager, Assistant Store Manager or Store Manager tells me. Which is usually be a cashier, or go clean or straighten other departments within the store.

My point to this is that I am usually the only one on the floor covering all of apparel and I am constantly being paged to be in three places at once, which sucks. But I digress. I’m 100 days in to working this lovely retail job, my biggest problem is the fact that I am paid to clean up the same mess all day everyday, and I find it very asinine. Yes, I know ‘but it’s job security’ I am also real tired of hearing that from my Department Managers, (that appear to do nothing all day, but tell me what to do)

Am I burned out, cynical and negative? Fuck yes, I wasn’t when I started in November, I was helpful, open minded, ambitious, I worked 8 weeks straight at 40 hrs a week, (which included Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas Eve and New Years Eve) and never called out. But 100 days in Retail Hell has made me more aggressive and negative about everything. (and I hate that. I am a non-confrontational, laid back person) I have called out a few times, because my sanity (and need of sleep) is more important than the $64 I earn a day.

I am going to attempt to wrap this up on a lighter note, so here are my sarcastic answers to the questions that I am asked on a daily basis.

Do you have earring backs? Yes if you purchase any of the thousands of earrings in front of you.

Do you have jewelry boxes? No, that would make to much sense.

Will this stainless steel gold plated necklace turn my neck green? Fuck if I know.

Can you fix this:

Replacing watch batteries. Sometimes, who the hell still wears a wrist watch.

Links in watch bands. Not really.

Pins in watch bands. Sometimes, depends on the age of the watch.

Can you resize rings? No, but we can send them out and you can get them back in four to six weeks.

Are simulated diamonds real diamonds? Seriously how is this even a question. Or I don’t know is simulated sex and real sex the same thing.

If I buy this tennis bracelet will others have the exact same one? Only if you hang out with others that buy overpriced, low quality jewelry from China.

Where are your:

Wallets.

Handkerchiefs.

Bandannas.

Scarves. The answer to all of these is go fucking look and you look with your eyes not your hands.

What size should I get a 7 year old girl? Kinda depends on how big or small she is, next time bring her in.

Why isn’t there a boys size in between a size 16 husky and men’s size 29? No fucking idea, bring your child in and have them try things on. Or buy a tape measure and take some measurements.

I need the earrings for migraines in a 16 gauge, don’t you have those? No this is not Target.

Do you have those things that you put on your ring so that it doesn’t fall off? No, there this thing called Amazon. Or Try buying a ring that fits.

And of course:

Do you do nose/bellybutton piercings? Only if you would like a free staph infection to go along with it.

Ok that’s all I have. I wish you all a wonderful Morning/Day/Evening/Night.  

 

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One Hour at a Time

“We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold.”  Well not quite, although being on ‘something’ would make going back into retail work at 42 years of age a little easier.

Before we dive into this I think we need a little backstory. I have worked in the retail industry before, many times before over the last 21 years, however working a part-time sales associate position in your early twenties is a whole different ball game than in your forties.

You do it the first time for the experience so that you have more than ‘Babysitter for Aunt Kathy’ on your resume while finishing school, be it High School or College. Honestly my first experience working in retail was not bad, I learned a lot, had good managers and I enjoyed my co-workers. I was offered a Department Manager position and gave the, “I am going back to school next semester, to finish, so no thank you.” answer, of which I did go back for another year I just didn’t graduate from college.

Now after being out of circulation for the better part of fifteen years, because I was able to stay home and raise my family, I have gone back to work, into the same type of job that I had during my first time as a sales associate in retail. Since going back I have come up with many questions revolving around why do people choose to work in retail.

Now before I go into my thoughts and feelings on this, I do appreciate the people that work in the retail and service industries, it’s something that I can do, and I have done, I just don’t like doing it.      

I now give you…

100 days in retail hell-aka- sucking your life away one hour at a time

Every retailer has a different set of ideals or ‘rules’ this is one such set up:

Our Culture/Values and Behavior are as followed:

Service to the Customer

Respect for the Individual

Strive for Excellence

Act with Integrity

It’s all well and good, as long as you realize that it’s not going to be followed or up heald one hundred percent of the time.

A few of the questions that are on my mind:

Why choose to live and die by the clock?

How does one stay in one place for a lifetime?

The wear and tear on one’s body and soul, is not worth minimum wage, part-time hours, with no benefits.

I am all for hard work however, at what expense-injury/exhaustion/loss of family time.

In the beginning-it was good, learning the ropes, finding out the rules, responsibilities and expectations. They have a good sales pitch, I will give them that although after being part of the daily grind for 90 days you start to see it.

There are people that work in one position, the ones that comes in same time, same day for so many years. I get it they are comfortable, it’s predictable they know the routine and what is expected of them and they don’t see any reason to advance any further. Personally I can’t do that, that’s like living in a cage and doing the exact same thing over and over again, it would drive me crazy.

Then there are the people that start at the bottom and move up quickly into a management or supervisor position. These are your ‘bossy’ playground children, that enjoy directing traffic and telling others what to do. I also don’t think I could do this.

I am the middle person, the one that knows what’s going on, knows how to answer the customers questions and can get the stupid little tasks done for each day. I work the floor so I know where everything is, or where it should be, and I don’t mind my job. It’s enough to keep me busy without having to much responsibility.

With all that being said, here are some of the customers questions that I have had:

Do you have earring backs?

Do you have jewelry boxes?

Will this stainless steel gold plated necklace turn my neck green?

Can you fix this:

Replacing watch batteries

Links in watch bands

Pins in watch bands

Can you resize rings?

Are simulated diamonds real diamonds?

If I buy this tennis bracelet will others have the exact same one?

Where are your:

Wallets

Handkerchiefs

Bandannas

Scarves

What size should I get a 7 year old girl?

Why isn’t there a boys size in between a size 16 husky and men’s size 29?

I need the earrings for migraines in a 16 gauge, don’t you have those?

Do you have those things that you put on your ring so that it doesn’t fall off?

And of course:

Do you do nose/bellybutton piercings?

 

I do have a smart ass, inappropriate answer for just about all of these. But there is that whole Service to the Customer and Act with Integrity thing so, if you want me to post my answers in the comments let me know.

And as always I thank you all for reading my incoherent rambling of words.

*I’m pretty sure I have lost a bit of myself by going back to work in Retail Hell*            

 

Valentine’s Day Treat- Mr. Jones & Room 14

Mr. Jones

Brian Nelson lit his third cigarette, sitting in his station wagon parked across the street from the WestSide Motel. He read the sign advertising ‘clean rooms and free HBO’ All they need now is hourly rates available.

He laughed to himself as he took a long drag, he flipped open the box of Valentine’s Day candy he had bought for his wife, he took one of the chocolates and tossed it into his mouth. Mmmm…orange cream.

The door to room 14 opened and two people emerged into the chilly night. His wife Jennifer, and her boss Robert they kissed goodbye and got into separate cars.

Brian followed her home, thinking about their marriage, the time spent together building a future. All for her to just throw it away. He wanted to confront her, he wanted to kill her.

He sat in the driveway of their nice two story home. Letting the anger wash over him. Running what he wanted to say to her, what he wanted to do to her. He ate another piece of chocolate, mmmm…dark chocolate.    

Valentine’s Day A Year Later

“Secret admirer?” Officer Roberts asked handing Detective James Andrews a red heart shaped box, wrapped with a white ribbon.

“Not likely,” James said taking the box, setting it down on the desk in front of him.

James pulled the white ribbon that made a bow around the box. He slid the top of the box up, lifting it off.

“What the…” James pushed back from his desk standing up.

“Get a crime scene kit up here,” He ordered.

James slid a pair of gloves on and picked up the lid, turning it over in his hand. There was a white envelope fixed to the inside of the lid. He gently pulled it off and opened it.

Detective Andrews,

Now that I have your undivided attention, I have a mystery for you to solve. This is Cherry, or at least this is Cherry’s heart.

‘You don’t have to put on the red light

Those days are over

You don’t have to sell your body to the night’

You can call me Mr. Jones

“Fuck,” James said to the room.

~ ~ ~ ~

A station wagon with faux wood paneling, came to a crawl beside Cherry as she strolled down High Street.

“Do you want to party?” she asked leaning into the passenger window.

“Yes,” the driver answered leaning over to open the door for her.

“What’s your name sweetie?”

“You can call me Cherry,”

“Ok, you can call me Mr. Jones,” the driver said heading down High Street and turning onto the highway.

~ ~ ~ ~   

St. Patrick’s Day

“Detective Andrews,” James answered the phone.

“Sir, there’s a delivery out front for you,”

“Ok, give me a minute,”

James walked up front and signed for the package, not giving it much thought and took it back to his desk. Picking up a pair of scissors and opening the small brown box, he opened the top flap, the odor hit him, that distinct aroma of decomp. Stopped him in his tracks.

“Fuck, can I get a crime scene kit?”

“Another one, Sir?” Officer Roberts asked.

“Looks like it,” James handed him a copy of the note that was with the package.

Detective Andrews,

This one, this one was pure joy, I’ll give you a ‘hand’ in her identity.

‘Polly wants a cracker

Maybe she would like some food

She asks me to untie her

A chase would be nice for a few’

Mr. Jones

“Well that’s all sorts of fucked up, Sir,”

“Yes it is, hopefully they can pull some prints,”

~ ~ ~ ~

“Sir, the prints are back from the second package,” Officer Robert’s said handing James the file.

“About time,”

He thumbed through the report. Partial print from left index finger, identified as Stacy Dean age 22, 5’ 6” brunette, green eyes, reported missing March 18 th.

It was raining pretty steadily by the time Stacy clocked out of work at the Everyday Food’s Grocery Store. She tucked her bag under her arm, wrapped her jacket tightly around herself, and headed towards the bus stop at the other end of the parking lot.

“Hey, would you like a ride?” a male voice asked from a station wagon.

Stacy eyed the driver, he was older, kinda looked like one of her teachers from the community college. She was cold, wet and it was getting late.

“Sure, if you don’t mind,” she said getting into the station wagon.     

~ ~ ~ ~

Easter

“Sir, there’s another package for you,” Officer Roberts said.

“Take it downstairs, I’ll be there in a few,” James said.

James put on a pair of gloves and carefully opened the egg shaped gift box. He pulled the lid off, expecting the worst. Instead there was some easter grass, with jelly beans, chocolate bunnies and marshmallow peeps in the shape of little chicks.

“What the fuck,” Jame said as he pulled the envelope from inside the top of the box.

Detective Andrews,

I am very disappointed in your efforts to find me. So I am making this one easy for you, no pieces this time just a picture and address.

‘Hate me

Do it and do it again

Waste me

Rape me, my friend’

You have twenty four hours till Brenda here has a night she will never recover from.

Mr. Jones

James looked at the enclosed polaroid with an address printed on the bottom.

~ ~ ~ ~

Detective James Andrews knocked on the door of room 14 at the WestSide Motel.

“It’s open Detective,” a male voice said from inside.

James carefully opened the door.

“Mr. Jones?” James said as he took a step into room 14.

“That’s far enough Detective,”

Mr. Jones was sitting in a chair positioned a few feet from the door, he was holding a shotgun pointed towards James.

“Where’s Brenda?” James asked.

Mr. Jones tilted his head towards the bed.

“I lack self control, I couldn’t wait, knowing that she would be my last,”

James glanced over towards the bed, all he could see was the side of Brenda’s head peeking out from under the comforter.

Mr. Jones took the shotgun, placed the barrel under his chin and pulled the trigger.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

~ ~ ~ ~

Mother’s Day

“Mail call,” Officer Robert’s said handing James a large manila envelope.

“Thanks,”

James opened the envelope and slid out its contents.

“Ok then,” he said starting with the letter on top.

Detective Andrews,

I feel compelled to tell you my story. Enclosed you will find my journal, and a flash drive.

‘A time to be born, a time to die

A time to plant, a time to reap

A time to kill, a time to heal

A time to laugh, a time to weep’

Goodbye, Mr. Jones  

 

Room 14

Jennifer Nelson and her boss Robert Hayse stood outside of room 14 at the WestSide Motel on Valentine’s Day. Robert unlocked the door and the two of them entered the motel room. Jennifer put down her purse and took off her jacket. Robert stood in front of her, he put his hand on the back of her neck and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back, sliding her tongue into his mouth, he let out a moan. He broke off the kiss and held her to him.

“God I want you,” he breathed into her ear. She kissed his neck, slightly nibbling on him.

“I want you too,” she said holding him tightly.

They quickly undressed, Robert sat naked on the edge of the bed. Jennifer kneeled down in front of him, taking his cock in her hand and stroking it. She then slid the tip in between her lips and licked. Robert let out a moan and ran his fingers through her hair.

She slowly took his hard cock into her mouth, letting it slide deep into her throat. As she ran her hand over his balls and gently squeezed.

“Fuck,” escaped his lips, as she moved her head up and down along his shaft.

Jennifer sucked till she could taste his pre-cum dripping on her tonuge. She moved back from him and rubbed his cock in between her bare breasts. Allowing the tip to slip into her open mouth.

“God dammit, Jen, you’re driving me crazy,” Robert gasped in between thrusts.

“Good,” she said standing up in front of him.

He grabbed her hips and pulled her to him. He slid his tongue into her pussy, licking and sucking on her clit. She moved away from him and crawled onto the bed, positioning herself in the middle of the bed on her hands and knees.

Robert moved behind her, running his hand along her ass and sliding two fingers into her pussy. She let out a moan as he worked his finger inside her, making her wet. He moved his finger up to her clit and rubbed till she started to shudder from the sensation.

“Fuck me, please, fuck me,” she begged.

Robert slid his hard cock into her dripping pussy, moving in and out, teasing her till she screamed.

“Please, please fuck me,”

He thrusted deep into her, making her pussy tighten around his shaft, he pulled back from her and thrusted again, this time fucking her hard and fast. He grabbed her hips pushing as deep as he could into her, feeling her cum on his cock.

“Fuck, Jen,” he said as he came deep in her.

Robert collapsed onto the bed next to her, pulling her to him and kissing her. Jennifer moved down put her head against his chest and closed her eyes. Both of them laying there in room 14, breathing, letting what had occured sink in.           

 

Question of the Hour: The Ups and Downs of Streaming

cch217

First off the questions:
1. Is streaming what you thought it would be?
2. What have you found beneficial in streaming?
3. What has been a deterrent in your streaming experience?
4. Do you think streaming as a career will continue to grow?

And now the answers from some of my favorite people:
A huge thank you for their participation and willingness to answer my questions.

PieRatKing

https://mixer.com/PieRatKing

1. Streaming is a lot more taxing, and hard work than I had originally thought. Between always trying to find out what direction to go, to trying to improve the experience. A lot of time and effort is put into streaming, and I know I can always do better.

2. I have found that it has boosted my confidence and releases a lot of the social anxiety I have. It also gives me a place to share myself with others, and obviously…

View original post 1,468 more words

Embrace

As we stroll down fourth avenue, with a light breeze to our backs and the smell of oncoming snow. We arrive at a neatly decorated storefront picture window, with white twinkling lights, silver garland and a sprig of mistletoe. The wooden sled propped up in the corner, with a knitted hat and scarf draped over it reads Flexible Flyer. A ceramic Christmas tree painted forest green with hints of white is lit by a single bulb in its base, it illuminates the multi colored bulbs scattered along it’s bows. A simple little nightstand holds a collection of classic tales, A Christmas Carol, Little Women, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Wind in the Willows. A small wooden rocking chair is adorned with a Raggedy Ann doll, her red mop hair, blue dress and white apron looking crisp. On the glass painted in ornate lettering is ‘Russell’s Family Thrift Store ~ Find Your Hidden Treasure’

Natalie had worked for the small family owned thrift store for two years and on this Christmas Eve she was selling her heart out, pushing the jewelry boxes and other little trinkets that the thrift store had an abundance.

“I need something simple, for my wife.” the man said, as he glanced over the jewelry counter.

“ How about a jewelry box that plays music, this one plays  Shostakovich – Waltz No. 2.” Natalie said as she opened the top to demonstrate.

The man listened for a moment and then asked.

“Do you  have anything to put in it?”

“Let’s see, here, how about this one?” Natalie pulled out a silver necklace with a snowflake pendant.

“Hey, that’s not bad, what are the blue stones on it?”

“Those are sapphires, so will this be all then?”

“Yes.” he said giving her a smile as she rang him up.  

“How’s it going out there?” Richard asked as Natalie entered the backroom to get more gift bags.

“It’s steady, although people don’t seem to be spending as much this year.” she answered grabbing the bags and heading back out to the front.

Richard had been managing the thrift store for the last three years, ever since Mr. Russell had had his heart attack and decided to hand over the daily reigns.

At five past nine Natalie showed the last customer out and turned the lock on the front door. She flipped the main lights off, closed her till and headed into the backroom.

“All closed up?” Richard asked sitting at the desk going over some paperwork.

“Yeah.” she answered as she put the till down on the desk.

“Ok, then have a good night.” he said not looking up from the papers.

“Night.” Natalie said leaving the backroom.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At 1am on Christmas morning Ann Thompson put the red leather leash on her aging irish setter Maggie and set out on her nightly stroll through downtown. Ann doesn’t sleep much anymore since her Lawrence passed away five years ago. She fills her days watching the Hallmark channel, reading mystery novels and taking Maggie out for walks. As the snow began falling in light soft flakes, Ann took notice of two figures dressed in black quickly leaving by the back entrance of Russell’s Family Thrift Store.

~ ~ ~ ~

Christmas Morning

“Morning.” James said as he wrapped his arms around Stella, as she scrambled the eggs on the stove.

“Morning.” She answered leaning her head back, kissing him.

From the kitchen table Daniel spoke up.

“Since we’re all here, I have something to say.” He got up from his seat and stood in front of Holly, taking her hand in his.

“Holly.”

“Daniel.” Holly said trying not to laugh.

He smiled at her.

“Holly, I want to ask you to be my wife.” Daniel took out a little black box from his bathrobe pocket and held it out to her.

“Did you know about this?” James whispered to Stella. She shook her head.

“Nope, total surprise.”

Holly took the box and opened it, she glanced at the emerald cut diamond engagement ring, and then at Daniel who had dropped to his knees in front of her.

“Yes.”

He leaned in and kissed her, as she wrapped her arms around him. There was a quick movement against them.

“I guess that’s also a yes.” Daniel said holding his hand against Holly’s expanding belly.

“I guess so.” She said putting her hand over his as it rested on her.

“Congratulations.” Stella said heading over to the table and hugging the couple.

After a celebratory breakfast James returned to the bedroom stood in front of the dresser and pulled out  a little blue box from his bathrobe pocket. He let out a sigh and placed it back into the top drawer where it had been living for the last three months.

Maybe for New Years.

~ ~ ~ ~

Natalie’s hands shook as she drove, she reached over picking up the Christmas card envelope that was on the passenger seat. She glanced at the return address confirming that she had entered it into the GPS correctly. Light snowflakes began to fall as she drove further out of town, she flipped on the wipers as the day’s occurrences played over in her mind like a broken record. They had pulled it off, Richard meet her back at her apartment after closing up Russell’s Family Thrift Store and taking all the cash from the safe. A nice little sum of ten thousand dollars, Richard hadn’t made a deposit for the store in two weeks. The plan being to leave town on Christmas day before anyone noticed.

“I’ve been thinking maybe we need to stick around and play dumb, report the robbery the day after Christmas.” Richard announced while grabbing himself a beer from Natalie’s fridge.

“Why? We have the cash we got away with it, we need to leave tonight,”

“Look, I need to keep my name clean, maybe disappear after the New Year,” he said taking a long drink.

Natalie stood looking Richard over, he was calm and determined. He had changed the plan and made up his mind.

“Is this because of HER?”

Richard put the beer bottle down on the kitchen counter and moved towards Natalie. Grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into him.

“Christine is absolutely none of your business,” he said as his grip tightened around her arm.

“Fine, whatever you want to do, I’ll do,” she said moving closer to him and kissing him, he let go of her arm and she went to the fridge to grab herself a beer.

~ ~ ~ ~

The sun streaked through the lace curtains that hung on the bedroom window, awakening Natalie.

“Richard?” she asked the empty apartment.

Fuck. She mumbled getting up and finding some sweets and a t-shirt to slip into.

Natalie knocked on the door to the ranch style home that sat in the middle of a cul-de-sac.

Christine opened the door.

“Yes?’

“Is he here?”

“Is who here?”

“Richard, is he here?”

“No, and I you have some nerve coming to the house.”

“Well you know if you unlocked your legs once in a while, he wouldn’t have to get it from somewhere else.”

Natalie turned and walked down the driveway to her car. She drove out of the cul-de-sac and headed towards the mall. She sat in the parking lot of the Riverside Mall and flipped through the stack of mail that she had grabbed along with her already packed suitcase.

She stopped at an off white envelope and opened the Christmas card.

Season’s Greetings

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Holiday Season

Love, Stella and Holly

~ ~ ~ ~

December 27th

The sky had cleared to a crisp blue as Natalie pulled up to Stella’s house. She took a deep breath readying herself to explain her unplanned visit. As she closed her car door and headed up to the porch the front door opened and two men in trench coats exited the house.

“Morning, can we help you?” James asked.

“Is Stella home?”

“Sure, and you are?”

“Natalie, I went to school with Stella and Holly. I was in the area and though I would come by and see how they are doing,” Natalie said standing at the foot of the stairs.

James opened the front door. “Stella you have a visitor,” he yelled into the house.

“What?” Stella asked emerging from the kitchen wiping her hands on a dish towel.

“You have a visitor,” James said showing Natalie into the house.

“Natalie? What are you doing out here?”

“It’s a long story, I hope you don’t mind me dropping in, I needed a place to get myself together,”

Stella gave James a look. James shrugged his shoulders.

“We’re going to be late,” Daniel said from the porch.

James gave Stella a kiss on the cheek and headed out.

“What was all that about?” Daniel asked as he finished his cigarette.

“I have no idea. But I’m sure we’ll hear all about it later,” James said getting into the car.

~ ~ ~ ~

Detective James Andrews and Detective Daniel Hayes entered the downtown precinct.

“How was your Holiday Sirs?” Officer Roberts asked as they signed in.

“It was fine, what’s in the cup?”

“A peppermint mocha,” Officer Roberts answered.

James scoffed as they were buzzed in.

“Have a good day officer,” Daniel said following James to his desk.

James hung up his coat and poured himself a cup of coffee with two sugars and a splash of cream. He sat at his desk sipping on his coffee and rearranging papers.

“You do know that you’re going to have to go in there and tell him,” Daniel said sitting across from him.

James let out a sigh. “I know, not sure how he’s going to take it,”

“It will be fine, just like ripping of a bandage, do it quick and it will only sting for a moment,” Daniel said giving James a smile.

“Well that’s not helpful,”

James stood in front of Lieutenant Peyton Brooks door and knocked.

“Enter,”

James opened the door and entered the office.

“Detective what can I do for you?”

“Well Sir, I feel that it’s time to move on, so I am here to give notice,”

“Hum,”

Lieutenant Brooks reached over and flipped a few pages over on his desk calendar, he then pulled out a form and wrote a few things on it.

“Here you go, make sure Pam in HR gets a copy for payroll,”

“Yes, Sir, is that all Sir?” James asked taking the form.

“That’s all Detective, close the door on your way out,”

James left Lieutenant Brook’s office closing the door behind him.

He wandered over to his desk and sat down.

“You Ok there?” Daniel asked.

“I think so,”

James read over the form, signing and dating the bottom. He got up taking the form with him.

“Where are you going?”

“To see Pam in HR,”

~ ~ ~ ~

“Pam?” James asked as he entered the little office that was downstairs.

“Yes,”

“I’m supposed to give this to you,” James said holding out the form.

Pam took the form and read it over.

“So you’re leaving us, Detective Andrews,”

James nodded.

“Well it all looks in order, Sir, thank you,” Pam said as she went back to her typing.

James wandered back upstairs slightly lost in how matter of fact his leaving was being taken. As he came around the corner back towards his desk, he was met with a rousing rendition of ‘For he’s a Jolly Good Fellow’ being sung by everyone in the precinct.

~ ~ ~ ~

“What a day, care for a drink?” Daniel asked as they entered the house.

“Sure,” James answered hanging up his coat.

They made their way to the bar in the living room, Daniel pulled two glasses and filled them with Jack.

“Cheers,”

James picked up the glass and tipped it towards Daniel, then downed it.

“One more,”

Daniel poured another one.

James put down the empty glass on the bar.

“I suppose we should go see what the story is with the Natalie lady,”

“Lead the way,” Daniel said motioning towards the kitchen.         

To be continued-

 

First Lines/Scenes

Dark Corners

It was a warm windy day in early April, Detective James Andrews entered the downtown police precinct.

“Message for you,” the desk attendant said holding up a pink slip of paper.

“Thanks,” Detective Andrews said as he snatched the paper from the attendant and continued on to his desk.

 

Betrayed

Tuesday Dinner

“Really, meatloaf again?” Henry said as he sat down at the table.

Ruth smiled, poured him a glass of milk and sat down to enjoy her dinner. Henry took three bites, and tossed his fork on to his plate.

“You know what Ruth? I’m done, I’m done with your dried out meatloaf and with you,”

 

Deceit

Scarlet keep step with the big brute that was Marco Bishop, through the city streets, she followed him up to his apartment building.

“Good evening, Mr. Bishop,” the doorman said.

“It should be,” Marco said nodding towards Scarlet, as he keyed in his door code.

Scarlet made eye contact with the doorman, while making a mental note of the door code.

63-30-41

Marco held the door for Scarlet.

“Why thank you Mr. Bishop,” she said giving him a quick peck on the cheek as she entered the building.

Marco took a moment to admire her hourglass figure, that was being hugged by a tight little red dress.

 

Summer Solstice

Laura sat alone at a booth in Mac’s 24hr Diner nursing her ice tea and picking at her half eaten BLT. Distracted by what she was watching. Jim and his girlfriend Kate were finishing their meal a few tables down.

 

Mr. Jones

Brian Nelson lit his third cigarette, sitting in his station wagon parked across the street from the WestSide Motel. He read the sign advertising ‘clean rooms and free HBO’ All they need now is hourly rates available.

He laughed to himself as he took a long drag, he flipped open the box of Valentine’s Day candy he had bought for his wife, he took one of the chocolates and tossed it into his mouth. Mmmm…orange cream.

 

Room 14

Jennifer Nelson and her boss Robert Hayse stood outside of room 14 at the WestSide Motel on Valentine’s Day. Robert unlocked the door and the two of them entered the motel room. Jennifer put down her purse and took off her jacket. Robert stood in front of her, he put his hand on the back of her neck and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back, sliding her tongue into his mouth, he let out a moan. He broke off the kiss and held her to him.

 

Fireweed

Blood dripped off the side of the heavy bottomed crystal ashtray, in Corbin’s hand. Surrounded by exotic flowers in the Botanical Gardens Greenhouse, staring in disbelief over what had just occurred. Corbin had always considered himself an intelligent, rational man.

 

Vengeance

August

The chalkboard read ‘Welcome New and Returning Teachers to Hamilton Elementary’ as he entered the teachers lounge, to attend the teachers mixer. This would be Ned Sneeds fifth year at Hamilton Elementary as the schools gym teacher.

 

Following Fireweed

“This had better be important, do you know what time it is?” Detective James Andrews answered the phone.

“James, I need your help,” a female voice answered.

“Stella?”

“Please James, can you come?” Stella asked, her voice starting to quiver.

“What have you done Stella?”

 

Secrets

“I’ll take that,” Detective Benjamin Knowles said, gently removing the freshly discharged revolver from Maria’s hands. She had an utter look of confusion on her face as her eyes rolled back in her head and her knees buckled.

“Catch her!” Benjamin said to Officer Roberts.

 

Ginger and Spice    

The light drizzle was now a full blown downpour as Detective Benjamin Knowles pulled into the parking lot of The Royal Flesh. Detective James Andrews pulled up beside him. They made their way into the strip club.

“Hey Bruce how’s it going?” Benjamin asked the ex-body builder that was watching the door.

“It’s all good Detective,” Bruce answered holding the door open for them.

“No cover tonight?”

“Let’s call it Detective’s night,” Bruce smiled as they passed into the warm air of the club.

“Come here often?” James asked.

 

Autumn Equinox

“Bless me father for I have sinned, it’s been three days since my last confession,” Sister Teresa said kneeling in the confessional at St. Anthony’s.

“Confess your sin my child and cleanse your soul,”

 

Seasons of Change

“The report on Bethany Johnson,” Officer Roberts said handing Detective Benjamin Knowles the folder.

“Thanks,” Benjamin said.

He took a sip of his coffee as he opened the report.

https://cch217549678581.wordpress.com/2018/12/09/detective-stories-complete-2/

Favorite Lines of All Time

Just a few of my favorite lines and sceens from my writing. 💙

Memories

It was summer, I was 14 and I had discovered the music of Queen, which I listened to constantly on my Walkman.

 

Lola’s Story

“Do you want to hold him?” the nurse asked.

“No,” Lola said turning her head away from the newborn, trying to keep the tears at bay.

 

Tips

From the first time I saw her I knew I had to taste those soft, cherry lips. I watched as she slid the lip gloss wand over her lower lip, how it glistened in the summer sun. She rubbed her lips together, giving a kiss to the air.

 

Zeb

Zeb put his hand over hers, giving it a light squeeze. He reached over and touched the side of her face, her skin was cold from the rain. He leaned in, kissing her lightly on the lips. She moved back looking into his dark eyes.

 

The Robe

“Do I know you?” Jacob asked.

She gave him a smug little grin, leaned in next to his ear and whispered.

“Perhaps,” her warm breath brushing against his neck sent a shiver down his back.

 

So you like to watch…

Spring semester had just begun, the arctic air cut through me like a knife, chilling me to the bone as I walked across campus.

 

Hannah

John turned over and wrapped his arms around Meg, kissing the back of her neck. She let out a moan and squeezed his arms.

“I don’t want to leave,”

“I don’t want you to leave, except…Hannah,” Meg sighed and sat up, reaching for the pack of cigarettes on the nightstand. She lit one and took a deep drag. John sat up behind her and took the cigarette from her fingers, taking a drag and handing it back to her.

“Do you mind if I take a shower? Hannah is a bit of a bloodhound,”

“Go ahead, just don’t use the French Vanilla and Lavender soap,” she smiled at him.

“Ahh, so that’s what that scent was,” he got up kissing her on the forehead on his way to the bathroom.

 

Pieces Fall Together

Her phone buzzed, David:
Sarah we need to talk, meet me for lunch 1:30 pm, the deli across the street.
Sure, but you’re buying. She answered.
They sat down with their lunch in hand, turkey sandwiches with chips and an ice tea.
“So, what now?” she asked taking a bite of her sandwich.
“She’s mad and hurt, called me every name in the book, called you a few names,”
“Nice, what does she want,”
“That’s where it gets tricky, I have to tell you something, but I don’t think I should tell you while you’re eating,” David said.
Sarah stopped eating, she was suddenly not hungry. She wrapped up the rest of her sandwich and put it along with the unopened chips back into the bag. She took a long drink of her ice tea.

“Ok, tell me,”
He took​ her hands and looked her in the eye.
“I love being with you, you get me and you know me,”
She could feel her throat getting tighter, her vision started to blur. She did not want to cry, not in front of him.
“Vanessa’s pregnant and…”
That was it she was done. Sarah got up grabbed her lunch and walked away. She made it into the office, went to the ladies room, and lost her lunch.
She stood in front of the mirror sobbing like a schoolgirl, thinking about how stupid it was to get involved with him again.

 

After the Glory

You know that feeling you get when you are at a point in your life where you don’t know what’s next. But you know it makes you feel sick to think about it. That tight knot in the pit of your stomach the metallic taste you get in the back of your throat knowing that you’re going to throw up no matter how hard you fight it. This is that point in life for Thomas, he knows whatever happens next, whatever decisions he makes now in his life will determine the path that he will be on until it’s end.

He stepped off the ship and onto the dock, his time as a marine was over, he had enlisted straight out of high school. Went through basic and was shipped straight into the Battle of Peleliu, during November of 1944.

It was now October of 1945 and PFC Thomas Moore had been sent home with an honorable discharge, along with a positive TB test and a diagnosis of six months to live. He gathered his duffle bag and headed into the city that he would now call home.

 

Alternative Rock and High Tops

“So who’s the girl, with the pixy hair?” Susie asked as they wandered through the mall.

“That’s Amber,” he answered.

“And she is your…” she trailed off giving him a look.

“Girlfriend,”

“Aaa, wait Amber Jacobson?”

“Yeah, why?”

“She was in my lit class junior year, she was one of the ‘Britney, Tiffany, Amber’s’, click, isn’t she a little young for you? Wait how old are you?”

Ethan stopped walking.

“How old do you think I am?” he asked.

“I don’t know, 26 ish.”

“Not quite, I’ll be 22 on Saturday, hence the need for some music, Amber wants to have a party,”

“Well, in that case happy early birthday, can I buy you a frozen yogurt?” Susie asked pointing to TCBY’s.

“Sure, why not,”