Pawnshops and Carousels
AvalonReeseFanFics
A/N: Well here's a late chapter, but it's here. By the end of January all of the chapters will be posted and this story will officially be done. Isn't that exciting? I think it's exciting. This chapter here has all the drama and the next chapter will have the make up and then we'll have the epilogue. As always don't forget to leave a review or drop a fav or a follow and I'll see you guys next week! On time this time.
Chapter 39
Seth: Ashley may have agreed to put on that costume, but she must have meant in the privacy of her own home because the day of the event Ashley is nowhere to be seen. Which leaves me and Karen to set up everything on our own, which sucks cause my dad has been yelling at us because it's taking too long. He's worried that things are not going to come together, and honestly, though I'm worried about that too, I don't need him shouting at me, specially since me and Karen are trying to handle it. It would go a lot better if he wasn't distracting the both of us to scream at us. When Ashley does arrive, I can't even be excited about it because she comes in with an attitude. Today is going to be nothing but one big giant fight.
I show up late on purpose.
It may seem like a dick move but seeing as I was contemplating not coming in at all, it's actually not that bad. Late is better than never, seeing as I was planning on never.
I've been against this idea from the start, my brother and Karen have been ganging up on me, they're lucky I came at all.
The second I come in the back I have Seth on me, with Karen right beside him. My brother and I have never agreed on anything, it was like he came to the store ready to fight me on everything, no matter what it was. Now that he's all chummy with Karen I'm really just pissed off. Because why couldn't he ever be like that with me?
My brother and I used to have a decent relationship, but at the rate we're going I'm going to end up disowning him.
So, when I see my brother standing there, trying to look all imposing with his arms crossed and that glare on his face I can't help but smile.
"You think it's funny?" Seth asks.
"Think what's funny?"
"That you're late… on one of the busiest days… on one of the most important days… that we wanted you to be here on time…"
Wow, he was so angry he couldn't put together a single sentence. That to me meant I had already one.
"Yeah," I say as casually as I can as I focus on the phone in my hand. It's not important just a level of Candy Crush I'm trying to beat. "You're lucky I showed up."
"What? What did you just say?"
"You're lucky I showed up," I repeated and that is the wrong thing to say because my dad has heard us arguing and now he's there to back Karen and Seth up.
This annoys me because I can't help but feel like they've replaced me with Karen, because if this had been my idea, and they had pulled this on me he would have made excuses for them. Especially for Seth. Except if this had been my idea both Seth and my dad would have laughed me out the door.
"What do you mean lucky you showed up?" he asks me and I almost feel bad cause I'm not trying to get back at my dad per say, I'm mostly mad at Seth and Karen. "Don't you work here?"
Seth shakes his head and walks away which just leaves my dad and Karen.
"Why are you not wearing your clown costume?" she asks and I roll my eyes. I never should have agreed to wear that costume, but Seth was holding my role in Sabrina's early labour and everything that went with it over my head like it was all my fault.
"Aren't you part of the team?" My dad asks, still trying to hammer in that guilt trip.
See, that right there is the problem. No, I do not feel like part of the team. They've been ganging up on me and making me feel bad, so no, I don't feel like I'm a part of their team.
So, I just shrug at him.
And that just frustrates him. "You've got this smug look on your face, you think this is funny, go make some sales!" he orders.
"I'll do that."
"Just go out there and sell something, please," he says as he's walking away.
So, I'm sure to repeat what I just said in a sing-song voice. Now that is my job and it is something I'll do but I'm not going to be helping Seth and Karen with a single thing.
After the argument with Ashley I went outside to oversee the tent. We had a couple generators set up so the inflatable cash grab machine could work and I wanted to be sure that it had been inflated.
And that would be exactly when my wife showed up.
The second she walked into that tent with my daughter toddling her way towards us while holding my wife's hand I was distracted. I wasn't paying attention, in fact I was walking away, mid sentence, from the people I had been bossing around. It wasn't that I wasn't happy to see her, because I was, it was that she needed to be on bedrest and I couldn't fucking keep her in bed.
"Babe… babe, what… what are you doing here?" I ask. Sierra was already asking for Daddy and lifting her arms up to me so I stoop down to pick her up.
"We're obviously here to see you," my lovely wife tells me, clearly going for the guilt trip.
"Okay, babe that's great. But I'm having issues with the event being set up on time, my dad is on my back and Ashley just got here and has been no help whatsoever. She won't help us with anything and has refused to put the costume on."
Sabrina seems to think that over for a moment. "She's not wearing the costume?" she asks. "Do you want me to put it on?"
"You're supposed to be on bedrest. Why did my mom let you leave? Where the hell is my mom?"
"She's parking the car," Sabrina says to me and then frowns at me. "I'm sorry you didn't want me here, but I was bored, Bastian's crying, and Sierra keeps asking for Daddy. Besides you're having this huge event at the store today so we wanted to be supportive of you and here we are."
"Okay, I love you. I love you and you know I always want you here. I love that you wanted to come out and support me. But I also want you to get better, and you're not going to do that being here. So can you either sit down or go home?"
"Well…don't you need someone in Ashley's…"
"You are absolutely not putting on that goddamn costume."
At that point my mom had come in with Sebastian and I turned a glare onto her. "Really mom? I thought you said you could handle her!"
"Well, we all wanted to see how the event is going," my mom tells me as I glance down to make sure that Sebastian is sleeping and find that he was awake in his stroller. The second he sees me he seems to get excited, he waves his little hands around and starts to coo and I use my spare hand to zip up his winter onesie so I know for sure he was the warmest he could be.
"You're not supposed to be enabling her," I remind her.
My mom just shrugs and then nods her head towards Sabrina. When I look to her she's got tears in her eyes and I drop Sierra into my mom's arms to go to her.
"Aw, baby, please don't cry!"
She lets me wrap her up in my arms though she tries to wave me off. It's the lingering hormones, I know it, but it still makes me feel bad.
"I want you here. I do."
"I know, I know you're just worried about me, but I guess I was hoping you'd be excited to see me. And… I wanted our kids to participate. You know, get Sierra's face painted, let her play a few games. I thought you'd like to do that stuff with her…"
"You know I want to do that. And I'm totally going to do that," I tell her. "But the event isn't ready yet, as you can see, so do you think you could go sit in my office until I come to get you guys? Just so I feel better? Cause you're supposed to be on bedrest and you know I'm worried about you…"
"I know."
"So, will you?"
"Okay," she whispered and I kiss her right away.
"You're looking great today baby," I whisper and that smile grows on her lips, but she does as I ask taking my kids and my mom back to my office and to see Grandpa Les
Now I need to get this event up and running, not just for the shop but for my kids.
Ashley: I shouldn't have come today. I'm not in a good mood so all of this is wearing on me. On the one hand I'm happy because this event has brought more people to the store and it's always good to see AJL busy. But on the other hand, I'm annoyed that Karen's event was actually working out. I was ready to gloat when it failed and now I couldn't. So, what I did was avoid the event.
I was in the back on my break with Karen came in. She tried to boss me around and tell me that I had to help her with the event. I had never been so angry, who the hell did she think she was? Bossing me around. She wasn't my boss and she definitely didn't have seniority over me.
But it wasn't until my dad started praising Karen for everything talking about great she was and how smart she was that I really lost it. I walked right out of that stupid meeting he had called with one single intention.
To go home.
Once the event was done, I pulled everyone into the tent to have a bit of a mini meeting. Sabrina was already there with my grandkids overseeing the clean up with Seth standing over her trying to make her rest.
Sierra had kitty-cat whiskers painted on her face and a balloon tied to her wrist. Sebastian had a clown nose in one hand and a fistful of Sabrina's hair in the other. They had put a party hat onto the winter hat they had on him to keep him warm, so they all looked pretty festive.
As soon as I called for everyone to gather round they all did. Sierra was a little fussy, so Seth picked her up to keep her from being too loud.
I had started the event, thanked everyone for coming, for helping, put Karen in the spotlight because it was her event, her baby, and she had run it very well. And part way through me talking Ashley just walked away.
I chased after her trying to get her to stop, trying to figure out why she was upset. She had been in such a bad mood all day, I couldn't figure out what her problem was.
"Ashley talk to me about this Ashley," I call after her but she just kept walking away from me. All the way back into AJL. "Wait!"
But that doesn't stop her either.
By the time I catch up to her she's in the office putting on all her stuff clearly getting ready to leave.
"What the hell was that all about?" I ask her but she still ignores me. "I'm having a meeting and you walk out, without even stopping to talk to me?"
I mean, that was what she did, so yeah. But I want to know why? Why the hell is she so upset?
She's gathered all of her things and stormed past me. Still I ask: "What the hell is wrong with you Ashley?"
We get out into the service hallway and ask again: "Ashely what the hell is going on?" and finally she's ready to talk to me.
"You want to talk dad?' she thunders, which is a silly question to ask me because obviously I do. "I'm ready to talk. I'm right here."
Well, I'm gonna hear a lot of complaining, but I'm ready for it. "Lay it out Ashley!"
"I'm sick of Karen."
There's literally no pause between me giving her the go ahead and that sentence. I tell her to go for it, and bam, she's sick of Karen. And I know she has a problem with Karen but I don't know why? They always got along before this.
Actually, Seth and Ashley mostly got along before they started working here too. Maybe AJL ruined familiar relationships.
"Since she's started you have told her how great she is, how fabulous she is…"
Was that what this was about? Because Ashley felt like I praised Karen too much and not her? Well maybe if she was better at her job I'd have more to praise her about.
"I praise her when she does a good job as I praise every employee who does a good job."
"She even screws up and you praise her! Instead of telling her what she does wrong you tell me what I do wrong."
So I was right, she's feeling like I'm praising Karen more than her. God I really want to tell her that it's because she's bad with the customers, that she lowballs them and then they don't want to sell. But I also don't want to because my daughter is upset and I don't want to make it worse.
"You blame me even when she's made a mistake. And today, out of all days, she's telling me what to do?"
Well yeah… it was her event… she had control. Why was that so hard to grasp? Did Ashley really need me to boss her around when I needed everyone to help out today?
Bobby J put on her costume without us asking. He was the clown and rode around on a little bicycle all day. He got praised (and a bonus) for that. Why couldn't Ashley be a team player?
"She did a really good job with this event!" I try to tell her, because she did.
"Oh please!" she cries. "I've had it up to here! Karen and I cannot work together and because of that it only means one thing."
See that's not fair, because Karen has no problem with Ashley. Ashley's the one with the problem! And I'm not firing Karen because Ashley's being a brat.
"And what is that Ashley?" I ask her, daring her to tell me to fire Karen.
"I quit!" she growls and for a second I think I've misheard her.
"You what?"
"I quit!" she shouts and then storms away.
Well.
Damn. That was worse.
