J. Palmer begins to open its doors, same as it has every day since it first opened.
The merchandisers mess with the display, adjusting it just so to make it shine in the windows.
If one were so inclined, they'd stop to look at what the mannequins are wearing, and if they got really lucky, a merchandiser would catch their eye, smile, and encourage them to come inside with a shake of their head.
And so they do.
Inside is a whirlwind, a store for every person on your birthday and Christmas list.
Take the haberdashery. For any man or wife looking to buy something nice for their husband. Cologne, a nice tie, even a shirt.
The basement of J. Palmer is a completely different story.
Operators answering phones, someone pushing the mail cart, pallet jacks being pulled in all different directions.
And of course we can't forget Luigi, who's currently doing a lot of heavy lifting. Unloading trucks, storing them, writing shipping labels.
"Agh, this is too heavy on my own!" he hears someone say now, so he turns.
"I got you!" he assures, walking over to the other side of the box and lifting on the count of 3.
"Count with me." Luigi instructs. "1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3."
Once they have the box in its designated spot, Luigi hears, "This order makes absolutely no sense!"
"Right behind you." Luigi calls, narrowly avoiding having his foot rushed by a pallet jack.
"Let me see it." Luigi holds out his hand, and upon looking the order over, he nods. "I see the problem. You're looking in toiletries when you should be looking in makeup."
"Luigi!" Eric calls. "I need you!"
"Coming!" Luigi calls, then after pointing to the correct section, makes his way over.
Then once he fixes that, he hears Donny call, "Luigi, please!", so he moves right along.
"Jesus." Luigi notes. "You'd think it was Christmas every day back here."
"How are you not winded?" Donny wonders in amazement.
"I worked in construction to pay for trade school." Luigi says, like that explains anything. "And trust me, the haberdashery is just as nuts as any makeup counter."
"The haberdashery?" Suddenly several of Luigi's new coworkers stop what they're doing to look at him. "You were up there?"
"Uh huh." Luigi nods, slightly uncomfortable with all the attention.
"Tell us all about it!"
"I'm told they always have music playing."
"And you go on break whenever you want!"
"And you get to see the sunlight!"
"They do it all." Luigi confirms.
"Sounds like a dream."
"It is." Luigi says.
"Then what the heck are you doing back here?" A guy named Chive asks.
"Temporary setback." Luigi replies. "His name was Jordan. All you need to know: I'm not a cheater, and one way or another, I'm getting back up there. But in the meantime..."
Luigi promptly gets back to work, so the others follow suit.
YOU ARE READING
I Just Want to Be With My Wife
HumorSequel to Thank you and Goodnight! Starting the career was the easy part. Keeping it is a whole other ball game. Disappearing for the whole summer and starting a new romance? Forget it. And yet, Luigi's gonna do it all. What could happen?
