Fallen From Grace

The Corrupt Colleague

I got to know a new colleague at work today (which, unfortunately for the store) I got to know her through my paid shift out on the carpark because of a gas fire that started in the kitchen and because we had all vacated the store I was chatting to a Stacie.

"I've come here from Sainsbury's," she said cheerfully.

Stacie had an apple shaped body, and with no makeup with shoulder short brown hair, she looked a bit of a plain Jane so when she started talking she made up for it because Stacey was likeable with a big personality, so we hit it off immediately.

"What were they like to work for?"

I asked because I'd worked in retail for most of my life in Bromsgrove, and I had heard of Sainsbury's stores, but Bromsgrove, of course, we don't have one.

"Terrible," she says.

"Oh?"

"They didn't believe me when I said I had a miscarriage."

I stare at her in shock. I didn't quite know what to say. My mouth formed a shape to ask why because I'd never heard of anything like that before, the whole store not believing someone was pregnant and then miscarried? It baffled me as I shook my head like the people at Sainsbury's were idiots.

"Yeah..."

I knew I was trying to get pregnant, and I'd be gutted if not inconsolable if anything like that ever happened.

"I'm - I'm sorry," I answered sensitivity.

After that brief encounter, some elder ladies cried it was spitting and moaning about their hair and makeup. I looked at my arm as rain drops started slowly forming and decided the rain wasn't that bad as I felt the ladies were moaning about a few drops but then the heavens really opened, so we split up into groups because the weather started to pour, so we all crowded into trolley sections of the carpark. In one section, there were all the popular loud mouthed people and they joked that everyone who was somebody was over there but with their playful spirits they lifted everyone else's but they were packed in like sardines. I, on the other hand wasn't and I was happier I had more space. I found I had more interesting people to speak to. There was Charlie, our young girl on selfcheckouts. She was blonde but she had like mermaid braids in her hair with the ends of her hair in like a mermaid blue and green and I got chatting with her and for our lunch break I accompanied her over to our petrol Station to grab a sandwich. The fire brigade came in just over fifteen minutes, and a roar rippled through the elder ladies with someone crying out...

"You need to be over here, love, I've got a fire brewing."

Whistles flew around the carpark at the men, and an elder lady engaged me with a playful wink.

"He can put me out any day of the week."

"What? With you on your back?"

I just remembered Shirley in Eastenders going for someone who had either done her or her family wrong and this person happened to be in the fire service and Shirley ended up a drowned rat and flat on her back because of the sheer power of the water. Of course, that comment just ignited everyone's dirty mind, and they just laughed. Then, the fire brigade had to go back because it wasn't an open fire and needed a certain type of extinguisher, so we had to wait for another to arrive. In the meantime, we had to tell customers in cars to turn around and go back because our store was obviously closed. By the time my husband picked me up later, I was briefing him on the events of the day.

"By the way," he said. "I've cancelled that Plymouth holiday."

"What? Why?"

"I had a look around the area on the site, and there wasn't much to do to keep us entertained. I've been looking at a place in Devon, and there's a thirty minute walk to the beach, and then there's activities to do in the day. You can go swimming but we're still surrounded by trees and the countryside. I'll show you the place when we get back."