Chapter 54
Elsewhere in the mall, Marie and May had taken their place behind the sales counter of the Green Clover, in preparation for their final evening of work. The atmosphere was quite calm, typical of the late afternoon, as many the people of Peach Creek were still making thruway home from their work/school day.
May was currently adjusting various Christmas knick knacks on display behind the sales counter, including a motion-activated singing Christmas tree, and a set of nesting dolls in the likeness of Santa Claus. Once finished, the blonde pigtailed girl took a step back to admire the display, clasping her hands while smiling. After a few seconds, she turned towards her older sister, who happened to be standing a few feet away at the cash register. The freckle-faced girl had opened the register to inventory the cash, her face displaying a serious expression as she counted the bills.
May made her way over towards Marie's position and leaned her elbows on the glass counter, placing her cheeks in her hands as she stared out onto the sales floor. As she admired the decorations peppered throughout the store, she sighed dreamily and began to speak.
"Well it's our last night in the store" said May in her typical adenoidal voice, "I thought it was hard at first, but it turned out to be fun in the end."
Marie finished counting the bills she held in her hand, placed them in the register, and turned towards May.
"Fun?" asked Marie in a playful manner, "Easy for you to say! I'm the one who had to handle all the money and run the store, your big ass just had to stand around and talk to the customers."
"It's called a girlish figure!" said May as she turned around and arched her back, playfully flaunting her rear to Marie with a smile, "Ain't my fault you can't appreciate the curves!"
"C'mon May, turn away from the counter. You're gonna scare the customers!" said Marie.
"You can say whatever you want!" said May, "You're just jealous!"
"Oh yeah," said Marie, "I'm jealous of the girl that tried to squeeze into jeans two sizes too small to make her ass look bigger for her man, then rips them while she tries to get it on with him. You do know you're supposed to take them off first, don't you?"
Marie cackled in a playful manner as she closed the cash register drawer.
"I know," said May in a melancholy manner, "We're just not ready for anything like that yet."
"You two are sweet," said Marie, "It's so cute, you were always the innocent one of us."
Marie approached May with a smile, and leaned into her ear.
"Just do me a favor and stick to using your hand until you are so I don't lose any more of my good jeans." said Marie after which she punched May in the arm.
Marie laughed as she adjusted her Green Clover apron and turned back towards the counter, leaving May with an ever so slight smile regarding her joke. At that point, Marie decided to change the subject.
"All jokes aside, it did turn out okay," said Marie, "I actually enjoyed working here."
"Me too," said May, "And guess what else? Edith's retiring after Christmas, but she said if we wanted to, we could keep working on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the new floor manager! I think I'm gonna do it!"
"Go for it May!" said Marie, "It's a great fit for ya. The customers love you, and it's really helped you come out of your shell. You'll be great at it!"
"Thanks," said May as she smiled, "But what about you, are you gonna keep working?"
Marie paused for a few seconds prior to responding.
"You know what, I think I will," said Marie, "To be honest, the only reason I took this was to earn money for my Oven Mitts Christmas present, but after dealing with customers for a few days I started to enjoy talking to people. Besides, I guess it's my sisterly duty to stay by your side and keep you out of trouble."
The two girls shared a brief laugh, after which Marie decided to begin cleaning the stores glass countertop with a washcloth. At the same time, May opened a box of store chocolates, and proceeded to shove five of the morsels into her mouth. A few moments passed, at which point Marie decided to continue the conversation.
"But that doesn't mean I'm not excited for the pay." said Marie.
May smiled as she swallowed the food she had placed in her mouth.
"Yeah, me too!" said May, "My big teddy bear love button is going to get his gift after all! I just know he'll be soooo happy, and he's gonna squeeze me like he never squeezed me before!"
May hugged herself as she performed a pirouette.
"You're not the only one excited!" said Marie, "Edith hasn't told us how much we're gonna get, but I've been crunching the numbers and it looks pretty good. I ain't no Double Dee when it comes to math, but I've gotten better since I started."
Marie glanced upwards toward a decorative Christmas star hanging from one of the beams supporting the stores drop ceiling, letting out a long, drawn out sigh in the process.
"I'm only $400.00 away from changing my Dreamboats life for the better," said Marie, "I'm so excited I could cry!"
At the conclusion of Marie's statement, the sound of a bell ringing filled the air; a customer had approached the counter and required assistance in locating an item on the sales floor. As May began making her way to the counter to assist, Marie signaled her to stand down by placing her hand in the air.
"I got this one May," said Marie with a smile, "You just stay back and work on that 'girlish figure'"
Marie giggled as she playfully winked in Mays direction; the brace-faced girl merely responded by sticking her tongue out, as the black haired girl led the customer to their destination, disappearing behind a tall rack of clothes.
May took a seat on the solitary chair behind the sales counter. She proceeded to pick up a sports magazine she had acquired for reading during lulls, and took a sip of the fountain soda she had purchased from the food court prior to work. She had barely opened the magazine when the shrill voice of an elderly woman filled the air.
"Well what do we have here?" asked Edith, "Stealing time on the last day I see."
May jumped to her feet and proceeded to make her way toward the counter with haste; an expression of distress adorned her face as she met the seemingly upset eyes of Edith, standing on the other side of the glass.
A few seconds passed, at which point Edith could no longer control herself, and let loose the chuckle she had kept bottled up inside.
"That one never gets old," said Edith, "Don't worry, you girls have worked your butts off over the last two weeks. I couldn't be angry at your sweet little selves in the slightest."
"Thanks Edith," said May, "Me and Marie couldn't thank you enough for these jobs, you're a life saver!"
"I should be thanking you," said Edith, "Between the dresses and the sales floor, there would have been no way for me to keep up."
Edith briefly paused as she began to unzip the brown purse that adorned her left shoulder.
"Have you girls given any thought to those jobs I offered you?" asked Edith.
"Oh yeah!" said May in an exuberant manner, "Me and Marie would love to keep working here!"
"Fantastic!" said Edith, "Such great work ethic, and sweet personalities to go with it. I think that's enough for a reward."
Edith searched her purse for a few seconds, at which point she removed two white envelopes. Each envelope was adorned with small stickers depicting Santa Claus in each of the four corners; in the center, the words "Annemarie" and "Annamae" were spelled out in cursive handwriting.
"Congratulations," said Edith, "Consider this a token of appreciation for a job well done!"
"Wow," said May as she clutched the envelopes, "Thanks Edith!"
"Don't mention it," said Edith, "Equal pay for equal work. Both of you girls deserve the same reward for being so helpful."
May stared at the two envelopes in her hands, smiling radiantly as if she had opened the present she had always wanted on Christmas morning. A few seconds passed, at which point Edith began walking away from the counter.
"Well, I should be getting back to the seamstress shop," said Edith, " It's a busy night, and even though Annalee's working her butt off, she can't do it all alone. Would you be a dear and make sure Annemarie gets her share, and extend my gratitude to her?"
"Sure thing Edith!" said May, "Thanks again!"
Edith delivered a wink to May as she turned and made her way back towards the seamstress shop. May wasted no time; she excitedly placed Marie's envelope on the counter and began to open hers. Her eyes widened as her eyes came upon the green bills, folded in a neat pile within. The pony tailed girl removed the bills from the envelope, and while she was no mathematician, successfully counted them one-by-one.
"Two Hundred and Fifty dollars!" yelled May in an exuberant manner, "That's more than enough for Ed's comic book set!"
May spent the next few seconds jumping up and down, spinning around as she hugged herself. However, her excitement was cut short when a few of Edith's words finally registered in her brain.
Equal pay for equal work.
At that moment, May glanced down toward Marie's envelope, still sitting on the counter where she had left it. She recalled Marie's statement that she required $400.00 dollars for Double Dees Christmas present, and knew that she would be quite upset upon realization that the paycheck was less than expected.
May glanced down at the bills in her hand, examining them with a melancholy expression. May wanted nothing more than to make Ed happy, but she also could not bear to see her sister in emotional turmoil. Throughout her life, she had struggled with the false thought that she was never able to do anything to help her siblings, and that she was provided more opportunities for success than they had been. She needed to do something to help, something to sway fate into providing a Kanker sister other than herself an opportunity to succeed.
With that thought, and a quick mental calculation, May realized that by combining her share with Marie's, it would be more than enough for Marie to pay for Double Dee's present. With a quick glance out on to the sales floor in an effort to ensure Marie was preoccupied, May hastily opened Marie's envelope, removed the cash, and neatly folded her share into Marie's. She stuffed the bills back into the envelope, and placed it back onto the counter, just as Marie reappeared from behind the clothes rack. She quickly replaced her expression of deep thought with a wide smile.
"Jesus, I've only been gone for ten minutes," said Marie noting Mays happiness, "You can't possibly be that happy to see me. What, did you have another Ed fantasy?"
"As a matter of fact I did," said May as she held her envelope up for Marie to see, "Cause we got paid, and I have enough for Ed's Christmas present! This is the best day ever!"
May once again hugged herself as she smiled, channeling her inner actress in an attempt to convince Marie that her words were true.
"Yay May!" said Marie as she made her way around to the back of the counter, and proceeded to grab her sister in a tight squeeze. After a few seconds of cheerful bliss Marie pulled away, maintaining a smile as May continued to mask her emotions.
At that point, May took possession of Marie's envelope, offering it in the direction of her sister.
"Don't ya want to open yours?" asked May.
Marie stared at the envelope for a brief instant, after which she returned her eyes to Mays.
"How much is in there?" asked Marie, "Is it enough for me to pay for Double Dee's wig?"
"Well Edith did say we were paid equally," said May, "But why don't you open it and find out?"
May delivered a slight wink to Marie, at which point her only exposed eye seemed to light up with the intensity of the Rethink Avenue Christmas tree. She hastily opened the envelope, removed the bills, and meticulously counted them.
May watched as Marie's fingers shuffled the bills, her voice counting them in a slight whisper. The black haired Kanker sister became increasingly excited as the count approached $400.00, and even more so as it exceeded that number.
May, while expecting a response of excitement upon Marie realizing that the envelope contained $500.00 was not still not quite prepared for what happened next.
"Five-Hundred Dollars!" yelled Marie at the top of her lungs, her shrill voice echoing through the store. Several customers watched as Marie let out a long drawn out "Whoooooooo!", and proceeded to lift the blonde haired girl into the air with a tight squeeze. She then spun a bewildered May around several times, after which she put her down, grabbed her shoulders, and looked into her face with an exuberant smile.
"This is the best thing that's ever happened to me!" yelled Marie, "I was afraid it wouldn't be enough, but now my Oven Mitt's gonna have the greatest Christmas ever. This will free him of so much heartache, and he'll finally be able to live without the fear of ruining his hat!"
Marie grabbed May in a tight squeeze, placing her head on her little sisters shoulder.
"We did it May!" said Marie as tears of joy began streaming down her face, "We're gonna make our boys the happiest guys alive come Christmas morning, and I can't wait to see it happen!"
May lifted her hands and returned the embrace, holding her sister in a tight squeeze as she pressed her cheek to the side of Marie's face. May's braces glistened under the store lights as she smiled from ear-to-ear, proud beyond belief that she was able to bring an insurmountable amount of joy to her sister, who she saw as much more deserving and in need of the money than she was.
Unbeknownst to the girls, the store customers were not the only individuals observing their display. It just so happened that one of the stores security cameras was trained towards the area of the counter, and projected it's display onto one of several monitors located in the employees-only area of the store. On her way back to the seamstress shop, Edith had paused for a brief moment to observe the security monitors, and had witnessed the entirety of Mays noble act. The elderly woman smiled as she watched the two sisters loving embrace, displaying a benevolent smile.
A few moments passed, at which point Marie finally released May. She placed her cash back into her envelope for safe keeping, and retrieved a mirror from her purse to begin the process of repairing her slightly smeared eyeliner.
"Boy oh boy, I can't wait to tell Lee!" said May as she clasped her hands, "There's no way she can still be upset about the roaches after she hears about this!"
"No way girl," said Marie, "I think she was more embarrassed than upset. Lee has very few real fears, but one of them is definitely roaches. We used to scare her with the little ones back in the apartment, how'd ya think she'd react when one of those giant ones landed on her."
"Yeah," said May, "That was the first time in years I saw Lee scream 'like a girl' and run away like that. It was kind of funny."
"Yes it was," said Marie, after which the two girls shared a laugh.
The two girls resumed cleaning the counter in preparation of the large influx of customers, each displaying smiles on their faces; Marie's due to the knowledge that her beloved would receive his gift, and Mays due to the knowledge that she made her sister happy.
