Paula parked her 1973 Chevy Vega in front of the mall and got out. Today was the day she started her part time job at Potter's Pottery, and she hoped her first day at work would go well.
She'd been attending university for about a month now, studying special education. She needed a job to pay for gas, car insurance, and lunch at school. A friend had told her about the new store opening up at the mall. She'd put in an application, and they'd called her and told her to report for work today.
She entered the store to find rows of empty shelves with big boxes of merchandise stacked beside them. Dozens of casually dressed people were busy taking glasses, plates, and other items from the boxes and stacking them on the shelves in neat rows. Some of the workers were around Paula's age, while others were middle-aged.
A blonde of about thirty looked at Paula and smiled.
"Could you please tell me where Mr. Potter is?" asked Paula.
"The office. It's right over there." The woman pointed to an open door in the back corner.
Paula walked to the door and entered the office. A middle-aged man with thinning dark hair on top of his head sat at a desk, doing paperwork.
"Mr. Potter?"
The man looked at her with serious gray eyes.
"I'm Paula Brimmer."
He smiled.
"Ah, yes. Another new employee. I think I'll start you on mugs. Come with me."
Paula followed him to the front of the store, where the blonde she'd seen before and a brunette were stacking glasses and mugs on shelves.
"This is Cindy and Alice," said Mr. Potter. The two women stopped working and looked at him.
"This is Paula. She'll be helping you today."
"Nice to meet you," said the blonde. "I'm Cindy."
"Nice to meet you, too," said Paula.
Alice smiled. "How about if you start on this shelf. These mugs go there."
There were mugs of every shape and color. Some had pictures or cartoons on the side. Paula began placing them on the shelf, listening as Alice and Cindy chatted about their lives. Cindy was married and had a young son, while Alice had a boyfriend who stocked groceries at the supermarket at the other end of the mall.
"So what about you, Paula?" Cindy finally asked. "Are you still in school?"
"I'm a freshman at university," Paula replied. "I'm going into special ed."
"That's wonderful!" said Alice. "I have a friend with a little boy who has Down syndrome."
"How did you get interested in that?" asked Cindy.
"My best friend when I was in third grade had a little sister who was mentally retarded," said Paula.
They worked until six thirty, and then Alice said they had a fifteen minute break.
"Fred's meeting me in front of the theater," she said.
They walked to the second-run movie theater next door and bought nachos and soft drinks. Fred met them and walked back into the store with them. He had a friend with him.
"This is Robin," he told the women.
Robin was about five eleven, with short light brown hair and hazel eyes. He looked to be about twenty-five as well. He smiled and shook hands with the women.
"I'm Paula," Paula told him.
"Nice to meet you, Paula," he replied.
"Nice to meet you, too." She smiled, he smiled back, and her heart began to flutter.
Paula had been working at Potter's Pottery for two weeks when Robin asked her out for the first time. It was to watch the movie 'Endless Love' at the movie theater next to Potter's Pottery.
He arrived in jeans and a tan velour shirt underneath a gray corduroy blazer.
"You look nice," he told Paula, who was wearing jeans with a pink sweater.
"Thanks. So do you," she said.
"Shall we be off, then?"
Paula grabbed her burgundy jacket and followed him outside to his lime green Volkswagen bug.
"My Dad works for Volkswagen," she remarked.
"Does he?"
"He's been working there since before I was born. I don't think I've ever seen one this color before, though."
He opened the car door for her, and she got in.
"At least it's easy to find in a parking lot full of cars."
"I'd imagine so." They laughed together.
Robin cranked the engine, and the car roared to life. He glanced quickly to the left before pulling out onto the road.
"My wife hated it."
Paula gulped. "Your wife?"
Robin stopped at the stop sign on the corner.
"Yeah. I've been divorced for about six months now."
An awkward silence followed.
"Are you all right?" Robin asked after awhile.
"Yeah. It's just that I've never been out with someone who's divorced before."
He briefly glanced her way.
"Is it a problem?'
"Oh no, not at all. It just took me by surprise a little bit."
He pulled into the parking lot and parked. He reached for her as they walked together to the theater, and as her hand touched his, an electric thrill went through her.
