Tabbs

Chapter 7

Tabbs sealed the top of the mocha latte with an extra shot of espresso and whip with an expert twist of the hand and placed it on the out counter with a placid smile. An overweight woman in a pastel shirt at least two sizes too small for her snatched the smoldering hot coffee with a grunt and wandered off to one of the freshly cleaned tables that Tabbs had tended to moments before. Rush finally through, Tabbs took a pull off her water bottle, then wiped off the milk frother basin. It felt like no matter how much the freaking thing was cleaned, steamed, and rooted out, the thing always smelled like rancid milk.

Standing back at her full height, Tabbs cracked her back and examined the tiny digital clock on the espresso maker. Not that it had been correct in the past ten years since its installation, but it still tracked time well enough for Tabbs to know her coworker had been in the back getting cups for well over an hour. She rolled her eyes; typical Valentina.

Being sure that the coast was clear, Tabbs flipped up the through counter and walked the long way from the arena-style kitchen to the old, gouged out door leading to the back. A thought snapped to the front of her brain as soon as her hand touched the cool metal of the door handle. Valentina snuck off and goofed off all the time, so maybe if she got a video of her sleeping on the job or something, Keith Johnson, her manager, would be forced to take action. Despite him fucking her or not. Smiling at her own genius, Tabbs pulled out her phone, happy to see it still nearly fully charged, and started recording.

She pushed open the door gently, thankful the decrepit old thing didn't squeak for once, and held her phone before her like a holy relic in a den of vampires. In the stuffy old room, Tabbs heard a voice, small but clear, bouncing off the bare concrete brick walls. Tabbs felt a smile tug at the corner of her lip: she was hoping to catch Valentina napping or something, but talking on the phone for an hour was nearly as good. Mindful of every step her feet made on the dusty concrete floor, shoulder to the wire rack filled with bulk boxes of napkins and straws, she crept closer and closer to the source of the sound till her mind suddenly recognized that Valentina wasn't talking, she was singing something. At the end of the wire rack, Tabbs crept up and poked her head around the corner, the end of her phone jammed up against her cheek so it, too, could see what she saw.

Valentina was leaned against another wire rack filled with boxes of foam cups. Her arms were crossed and her back was facing toward Tabbs. While technically in uniform, the back of her shirt was cinched up with a hair tie to reveal a sliver of her midriff. Her legs, dressed in skin tight jeans, were crossed at the shin, like she was waiting for the small freight door in front of her to open. A mane of luscious, curly, black hair spilled over her shoulders and down to the nape of her back. In a rear pocket Tabbs spotted Valentina's phone softly singing some slow jazz standard she didn't recognize, and Valentina sang along with it in perfect harmony.

She had her proof, or something like it, anyway. Valentina wasn't working, she had been back there forever doing... whatever this was. But for some reason Tabbs couldn't summon the will to disturb her or even walk away. She felt compelled to listen to the rest of the standard and snap in appreciation at the end while sipping on a gin and tonic. She hadn't realized she was leaning in so close till, all at once, her leg yelped in pain from the strain, her knee buckled, and she fell flat on the floor in a heap.

Valentina spun on the spot with a start, her long curls whipping her immaculately sculpted face. "What!" she gasped.

Tabbs made a haphazard scramble to her feet, snatching her fallen phone from the sooty ground and cramming it in her back pocket. "Hey! I uh-"

Her coworker placed her hands on her ample hips. "What are you doing back here? You're supposed to be up front!"

Tabbs felt her cheeks color, her mouth going dry. "Well, I-" Then she paused. Why the hell was she the one on trial here? Valentina was the one staring at the wall not doing anything for an hour. Tabbs crossed her arms and drew her brow to a line. "I should be asking you the same thing. I had to do a rush all by myself thanks to you!"

Valentina scoffed, popping her hip in a direction. "Like I told you, I'm here to organize the back."

"No, you said you had to 'get' something from the back! You didn't mention being back here your whole freaking shift! I had to do the after school rush all by myself!" The ferocity of her accusation surprised even her. But to be fair, she had a long past couple of weeks, so why not take it out on her good-for-nothing coworker?

Valentina tossed her hair over one shoulder. "Please, its not like you need me. Besides, I'm better at working here, in the back."

Tabbs popped an eyebrow. "Really? So you're just the 'warehouse manager' now? If I were to ask Keith, he'd say that was okay?" She wasn't sure why she brought up her manager's name like it was some kind of threat. She knew if it came between her and Valentina, Tabbs' ass would be kicked out so hard she'd be halfway to the moon before she started landing.

To her surprise though, Valentina's perfect caramel cheeks lost their color, her rich hazel eyes looking like dinner plates. "He's not here is he?"

The question gave Tabbs pause. "No, pretty sure he's got the day off today." Though there was no 'pretty sure' about it. Since she had been full time, Keith had put the schedule making off on her. Only reason she put herself with Valentina that day was so that no one else could fill in.

"What day is it today?" Valentina asked suddenly. "It's not Sunday, is it?"

Again the odd line of questioning gave Tabbs pause. "No... pretty sure it's Saturday."

Valentina drew in a deep breath of air and sighed through her nose. She then pulled out her phone, paused the music that was still playing, and walked around Tabbs and towards the door. "I'm done with my break. You can take your lunch if you want." She continued toward the door when Tabbs felt the unfiltered word jump from her mouth like like an unguided missile.

"Hey!"

The other woman paused mid-step and looked back at her. Tabbs felt herself stare back, felt her knees bow inward together. She had no follow up. She had no idea why she had even said that. It just felt so urgent... like she couldn't let her go without the parting wisdom of the word 'Hey'.

"Sorry." Tabbs forced a creaky smile. "I didn't mean to say that so loud. What I meant was - uh - you good? I mean... you were just kinda standing there staring into space."

Valentina's eyes sharpened like red hot daggers, and after a moment, softened ever so slightly. "I'm fine." She turned again. Another pristine opportunity to drop the subject and move on.

"Hey man. I know we aren't exactly friends, but-"

Tabbs was cut off by the back of a single raised hand. "Stop," Valentina commanded as if she were addressing a dog. Not even dignifying Tabbs' olive branch by facing her a second time. "You've got thirty minutes. Make the most of it," she punctuated by slamming the heavy wooden door behind her as she left.

Tabbs narrowed her eyes at the back of the door where rows of yellowing laminated sheets of work and ethics hotlines dangled off sticky tack. "Bitch," she mumbled, then noticed the bulge in her back pocket. She fished with two fingers and produced her phone, which was miraculously still recording. A conspiratorial smile curled the corner of her lip. She pulled back one of the fold out chairs and plopped down as she rewound the recording to see what she got. She didn't know how helpful it would be in any case against Valentina, but it was at least something.

She started the recording from the beginning, her eyes following her phone's shaking view right up until Valentina entered into view, then paused. Her ears prickled at something, something she didn't hear before. Tabbs again rewound and played again. There was the song, the singing, but a section just before Tabbs rounded the corner she noticed an unexpected pause in Valentina's singing. Something that sounded an awful lot like a soft sob.