wally's lament.

[ 15 ]

⫸——⫷

"Good morning, Charlie! Ready for a fun shift?"

Eddie stood behind the post office's front counter, a fat grin on his face. You smiled at him, refreshed by his presence. "I sure am," you said, walking behind the counter to where he stood. "Oh... sorry about my appearance. I had a rough night." You brushed a hand over your head.

Eddie brushed your statement off with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it, you look great. Speaking of which, I have a uniform for you! Here, follow me."

Eddie walked into the back of the post office, so you followed him. On your training shift, he had given you a tour of the entire office, which was actually quite small, only containing three main rooms — first, the lobby, then the back (where packages and daily mail were sorted) and lastly, the way back (where Eddie did his analytical business on an old typewriter) — plus a bathroom and break room.

Eddie took you into the break room, which was stuffy and small. It was lined with concrete walls and similar floors. The walls were haphazardly decorated with colorful motivational posters. He opened a cabinet and fished through it until he found what he sought. "What size are you, in shirts and jeans?"

You told him your sizes. He gave you a white button up and jeans in the sizes you requested. "Alright, partner. I'll leave you to get changed. When you're done, I'll have you start on the day's mail like yesterday!"

You changed in the bathroom. Back in the main area, you got to work. You assumed that Eddie went to the way back to sort through some paperwork. During your alone time, you daydreamed about Wally.

His conversation with you this morning had left you flustered. It was obvious now that he was flirting with you, if you compiled evidence from the past couple of days, especially last night and this morning. Unless his flirtatious behavior was just him attempting to taunt more secrets out of you, but the events of last night told you otherwise. You recalled his whispered 'stop' when you stared during Julie and Barnaby's karaoke. Though your memories were hazy with booze, you imagined singing with him, his flushed face and his charming smile, his lingering touches and gazes and...

You sighed. Your stomach was twisting in knots. Not good.

Whatever it was, it was both wonderful and terrible. Part of you wished that you had brought up Julie's warning this morning. That way, he would be forced to tell you something. No matter, you always had a second chance. You were not going anywhere.

Or were you? Perhaps you should start again somewhere newer and fresher. You could keep your same fake ID and everything, but you could go live a normal life somewhere else, perhaps in a huge city so that you could avoid spilling your secrets to any outrageously odd men wearing pompadours. A small town like this was proving to be a difficult place to keep a secret in.

A couple hours later, Eddie emerged from his office. You were loading up your tote bag, preparing to set out on your first trip of deliveries. There was not much mail today, so you would only need to make two trips. Eddie audibly sighed, combing his fingers through his hair.

"Something the matter?" you asked him.

"No. I just want to take a break. But I'm completely booked for the day," Eddie said, his usual southern lilt laced with exhaustion.

You set your bag back down on the table. If there was one thing you learned about Eddie since moving here, it was that he loved to work. If he was somehow feeling overworked, it meant that something was wrong. "Do you need help back there with anything?"

"No, no. Thank you, though, you're amazing. I'll get it all handled. I just want to take a quick rest."

"Then take one!" you said, hoisting the tote bag over your shoulder. "Don't let your work ethic get in the way of your health."