I locked eyes with the women a few feet from the counter and sighed under my breath, not even letting her interrupt with me with an explanation as i recited my self dubbed "no receipt" spiel. Imprinted in my mind due to tireless repetition, i execute it with absolute perfection. It was exactly 10 o'clock, and I was in no mood for niceties after working 10 hours.
"Unfortunately Waverly's returns policy changed on the fourth of November, and for that reason employees are unable to accept returns or-"
"What about exchanges, can't I just swap it for something similar in children's wear?" she questioned in a Slavic accent with a raised eyebrow, interjecting me condescendingly as the pushed the plain silver bracelet in front of me of … challenging me.
"Challenging me"? you may ask, don't think i realize at this point i may sound like some weird pedantic worker at a department store who performs their job with way to much conviction to be considered mentally stable. But i guarantee you, although this situation says other wise, i am not one of those people. But the perils of denying a return without a receipt is a dangerous scenario, one which requires tenaciousness, resilience, persistence and a little bit of well timed charm that is garnered from fake sympathy. This recipe of mine is my tactic that serves me well within the verbal sparring that occurs often at Waverly's children's wear department.
Collecting myself, I retorted back immediately "or exchanges".
Pausing, we both pierced each other with our eyes, fostering an awkward tension. Only then did I observe her accurately, draped in elaborate robes that possessed intricate and strange details like some sort of contemporary 21st century gypsy. I broke our exchange to glance at the clock. 10:05. Time to end this. In my attempt to appear more assertive and forceful than I actually was, I realized it would only take a little more pushing from her to break me down. Succumbing to my dire need to escape and just go I let my inherent impulsiveness take reign.
"Have a great day" I said to her as I proceeded to completely ignore her presence, collecting my things. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her looking on at me flabbergasted, with no surprise actually as I was doing something very admittedly rude.
"But I got this as a gift! This is absolutely ridiculous" she fumed throwing her hands in the air, her numerous bangles seemingly emphasizing her annoyance as they clanked and jangled loudly together. Shit, she is upset... Time to que sympathy.
"Sorry about that" I apologized sheepishly as i struggled with my handbag. Okay, not as articulate and well delivered as I hoped, but I was honestly too tired to pretend as if I actually cared about her problem. But I had to say something, something else to close this precarious situation on a good note. I opened my mouth to allow the words to come out that would do such a thing, but nothing came out. Her face was mortified with objection as she obviously wanted to say something else, but I rushed past her down to the escalators.
Although this display of employee rebellion may have seemed quite tame to others, it was honestly the most thrilling act of defiance I have ever executed in my boring shitty work life. Within that moment, I was god…. Okay perhaps a bit of an overstatement but with that being said it felt pretty damn good. Still feeling the rush from my untimely escape, I clocked out with smug satisfaction. Only when I escaped the artificial light of Waverly's outside into the dark expanse of the streets I realized what I actually did.
"God damnit" I said to myself as dread fogged my mind into the stark reality of things. I am 18, there are no jobs at the moment, I rent with my sister, I support myself. That woman would definitely complain of my little act of defiance, hell I would. Good bye job.
I observed the two paths to my tiny little apartment and although one was faster, it was Saturday night and usually filled with drunk 20 something men of the worst kind from all facets of life- the kind that usually repulsed me. The other path, although much longer was taken through Mullohan park, a beautiful and quiet park filled with dark murky streams, littered with unkempt wild vegetation that encroached and dominated its winding pathways. It was obvious that no one had bothered to maintain it, and the lack of people attested to that. But after dealing with the general populace all day who simply put were greedy, stupid and mean albeit a few individuals, solitude was exactly what I wanted.
Delving deeper into the park as the paved paths slowly made way for dirt ones, I made my way to an isolated bench overlooking a large foggy pond that was eerily still.
Feeling a sudden sense of urgency that I ignored before due to the panicked realization that I may very well be fired, I fumbled in my bag for my pack of cigarettes, clumsily sliding one out of the cardboard pack to meet the flame of my lighter. As the embers burned I felt the relief that only smokers can describe, the smoke filling my lungs embracing me with a bit of serenity. Looking at the cigarette after puffing out the fumes that floated gracefully in the humid windless night, I mildly worried about the dirty habit I picked up when I was fourteen. Pushing the thought aside I tried to not worry about something else, it seems that was all I did these days.
Suddenly, a heavy clump pounded beneath me and alerted my attention to the floor. Looking down, I picked it up and dusted off the specks of dirt that it collected on the grass. It was lord of the rings, the two towers. Although I had bought all the three of the books a month ago in a dusty old book depository, proceeding to read them all within a manner of days- it only satiated my desire so much. The books offered a wonderful escape from everything, a whole other universe that was intricately crafted by another person. Every time I read it, I gained more and more insight into every interesting aspect of this other world the book offered.
Even though the books made me happy, It was a guilty indulgence I am afraid. Why you ask? Well admittedly, I was a very self conscious person- and I felt like a complete and utter loser reading the books in my spare time when I should be… well doing what ever an 18 year old is supposed to do. So I hid my little secret well, I'll admit that. I stroked the cover book lovingly and smiled upon it like I would my own child.
The secret harboring and inherent love of the books made me feel somewhat like Gollum. "My only… my precious" I said jokingly to myself, only to feel incredibly lame at the hands of my joke and slightly embarrassed at my poor form in terms of humor. Surprisingly poor form. Then out of no were, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Why you no give me return?" I heard that all too familiar ethnic voice question at the same time.
My heart sank as I turned around to face her, I was in such a rush I didn't even remember what she looked like. But i don't think I would even want to remember anyway. As her face was a mere 30 centimeters from mine, I could see her wrinkled and disheveled face, tanned and leathery with contorted and sagged features. I was so close I could even see the numerous hairs that poked out from her chin and eyebrows, further exacerbating the overall macabre nature of her face. Shocked and taken aback, I was simply at a loss of words to say. Uncomfortable at the overwhelming proximity, I stumbled up from the bench to stand and face her. Well this was just fabulous, the customer I refused to grant a return to has come back with a vengeance, an angry and freaky customer who at this point I realized may very well be mentally unstable- or just really keen for her money back.
"How dare you deny me what I wanted" she remarked as the old woman sauntered towards me threateningly. "I am not simply an individual that one can deny" she continued in a raspy tone that transformed into something sounded almost demonic.
Okay well that just confirmed the fact that she was pretty much insane.
I stepped back further as she encroached my personal space, I was moving so much I didn't even realize that I was nearly touching the murky edge of the pond. She then proceeded to put her hand in her pocket, fishing for something that I honestly didn't even want to know. I then pulled out a can of pepper spray I remembered I had in my hand bag, something I thought I would utilize only in a dire situation for the drunken slur of men I normally encountered after my late shifts.
"Listen you crazy old bitch this is pepper spray and I will definitely use it if you get anywhere closer to me" i replied in an attempt of a heroic bravado, only for the words to sound meek and panicked.
"Your cooking utensils will give you no escape from me little one" she replied, laughing menacingly at the can I held at an arms length directly at her.
I rolled my eyes as I comprehended the fact that she was just a frail old woman, most likely some sort of drug addict or homeless person who was off her rocker, and with that I acquired some confidence. As I lowered the can of pepper spray, the attitude that normally accompanies my sporadic and untimely jumps of self-confidence surfaced it's cocky little head.
"Okay listen to me, I know you most likely needed the money for meth or booze or to feed your grandchildren or whatever- but at the same time… uhm what's your name exactly?"
"Marzanna" she replied wearily, her eyes squinting, obviously confused at my erratic discourse.
"Marzanna" I continued curtly. "I only work for Waverly's part time and was just reinforcing their policies, if I didn't I would most likely be fired. But, it seems after tonight that I will in fact be fired anyway under the assumption that you will complain about me, and with that I'm pretty sure that your vengeance will be served. Your wrath will indeed be felt with full force as I sink into the dark abyss of unemployment, oh great and glorious Marzanna" I continued as I curtsied to her with an elaborate bow of respect. "The dark lord of customer complaints, the cunning customer foe of young employees, your desire of revenge has been accomplished."
"Does thou dare to mock me?" The still air suddenly picked up, flailing Marzanna's wirey hair that was streaked with dull tones brown and grey widely.
"Thy does not mock thou, but rather praise doth with clear respect" I looked at my wrist watch. "Oops sorry Marzanna I really need to get home, I have to go to the gym really early tomorrow so I don't miss my zumba class, it's really fun stuff.. get to do much needed work on my poor glutes in a really thrilling combination of hip hop infused dance and cardio".
I then proceeded to pick up my bag, only to find that Marzanna was directly next to my lord of the rings book. Figures that would happen. Slight panic overwhelmed me as she diverted her attention to where I was staring. Smiling at me cruelly, she lent over and picked up the book, proceeding to carelessly flick through the pages with her boney talon like fingers. With child like desperation and vulnerability, I looked upon her as she knew exactly what I wanted back.
"You enjoy this book no?" Marzana questioned slyly in her broken English, her eyes unnaturally appearing like piercing black holes in the already dark night.
"Yes I do enjoy it, very much so" I responded with the feeling of helplessness engulfing me more than I thought it would.
The wind picked up even more so than before as the temperate night felt suddenly icy, the howling winds "I will give you your book back".
"Really?"
"Yes"
"Legit?"
"What do you mean by this "legit"?"
"Like actually?"
"YES!" Marzana howled back with frustration.
Okay well this situation was getting really confusing, and the sudden act of kindness upon Marzana's part was somewhat discerning, but I guess the shrew wasn't a that much of a bad person- maybe good old Marzana had some redeemable qualities about her after all.
"But when you take this book of yours, you must also take something else", proceeding to open her clenched fist in front of me- she showed me the plain little silver chain of a bracelet. Hey, it was a pretty good deal to me.
"Okay agreed. First thing tomorrow we will do the refund, has to be early though when my manager Daniel's not around, he has the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox, definitely not someone that we can hide this little activity of ours from"
Marzanna flailed her arm in the air "No you stupid and ignorant girl, I do not want a refund for this.. I have different plans for my item"
This was just getting confusing now.
"Well do you want me to give you money for it? I mean I think I have a 20 somewhere in my purse and about 10 dollars in change if you're fine with that, if you're not I can like send you a cheque or even like deposit some money in your bank account if you can text me the details or something" I explained.
"You speak in riddles and your tongue attempts to confuse me" accused Marzana suspiciously.
"Well do you have ?"
"HUSH!" she asserted to me as she lunged for my wrist in what seemed like a flash, the air turning bitter and the winds howling madly as I struggled against her grip, surprisingly overwhelmingly strong for a woman her age and size. As our struggled continued, I managed to foster enough strength to pull myself out of the manic tackle, stumbling backwards as I felt a sharp pain on my wrist. The pain was to the likeness of burning, making my limb ache with pain. I stumbled over a tree branch and hit the floor with a loud thud, heavily thumping my head in an adrenaline fueled daze. I looked to the source of my pain and indeed the only thing there was the bracelet, the small silver chain sitting neatly on my wrist.
Standing above me in a display of overwhelming authority, she looked upon my body with some sort of sick accomplishment. Throwing my book, I watched it land upon a small bank of dry land that was a few feet into the pond.
"You shall keep both items child, and they in turn shall keep you" She bent down, her sour breath hitting my face as she whispered, "Whether or not you shall accept this exchange is entirely up to you". As she said those last words she disappeared into the darkness, the chilling winds serenely transforming into the warmth and serenity that encompassed the park before.
I took a few deep breaths as I attempted to collect myself from the disgruntling and extremely weird scene that I realized I just took part in. I tried not to think about the sheer stupidity that the woman displayed when she gave me the exact same bracelet that she wanted to return, but I guess nutcases indeed have no real motives. Maybe she thought the act was a real "stick it to the man move" in her twisted little mind, but at least she got what she wanted. I noticed that even though the pain within my wrist was slightly subsiding, it was strange the amount It ached and throbbed. Attributing it probably to the woman's fit of rage and the physical struggle that occurred between us, I thought nothing of it as I saw my poor little book sitting on the bank. I observed my work clothes, the black material already tattered, dirty beaten up from the recent events, and thought to myself.
Screw it.
I paid good money for those books, 40 dollars all together (which, by the way is a substantial amount in a menial laborers life) and I wasn't going to let that old woman have the last laugh.
As I wearily got up from my disheveled position on the ground i fixated my eyes on the book, although only about 2 meters in to the pond, seemingly sitting a mile away. Out of all the very stupid and impulsive things I have done in my life I am almost certain that this would probably count as one of them, but I honestly didn't care anymore. Putting one leg ankle deep into the muddy moss laden water, I could feel the water and mud squash into the crevices of my shoe. Gross. What compelled me to keep on going, I honestly didn't know, but before I knew it I was about knee deep in the pond when I found myself only a few centimeters from my book. As I felt a slight sense of liberation overcoming me knowing that JR Tolkien's work would be in my hands once again, a large and random draft of wind sweeped over the once calm pond, carelessly catching the pages of the book and flipping it into the water.
So there I found myself, pathetically stranded in the middle of a pond with no book and no actual reason to be in the position I was currently in.
As frustration overwhelmed my being for my own stupidity and shitty luck, i mentally cursed Marzana and this whole situation I found myself in. Only, I didn't have time to wallow in self pity. A unnatural force of gravity suddenly attempted to pull me down, the source of which being the bracelet, the ordinary little thing glowing bright blue. Confused and slightly scared, I attempted to take it off- only for it to pull me down with a weight that seemed almost magnetic to the ground. Unable to resist the compelling force that easily brought me to my knees in the pond, I struggled as I fumbled with the bracelet. The whole situation culminated till I found myself face down in the pond itself, descending into blackness as my mind became foggy with sheer panic and bewilderment. At that point, I was pretty sure all of this could have been easily avoided if I had simply given her the return. That, and if I wasn't such a cheap ass and just bought another copy of the book.