Autumn Moon

Chapter One

     Corisa rinsed her hair and turned off the hot water. She pulled a towel off the rack and began to dry herself. Today was just another day at Elsa's. She'd only been in town a couple of weeks and managed to land the job and a tiny apartment upstairs above the shop. Elsa's was a secondhand clothing store in Vale, Oregon. They had a large clientele and were quite busy. Especially on the weekends.
Saturdays were the busiest. Corisa ran the register and she was fast. Elsa was right in choosing her. She was sweet, chatty, and got to know the regulars fairly quickly. She rented the apartment upstairs to the girl for less than what she should've, including the power and water so she could try and save her money for the things she'd need. Food, clothes, books, ect. Elsa just saw something in Corisa that reminded her of herself when she was younger. Her own daughter had moved away, gotten married, and had a couple of kids that she's never seen. A boy about Corisa's age and a girl a couple of years younger. Adults, but she still saw them as toddlers in her mind.

     "Girl!" *BANG BANG BANG* "It's time to open and you're supposed to be down here!" Elsa yelled and banged on the door.

     "I'm coming! I'm coming!" Corisa put the finishing touches on her eyes and came bursting through the door nearly scaring Elsa half to death.

     "My goodness, girl! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Elsa clutched her chest as Corisa rolled her eyes at the old woman.

     "Me give you a heart attack? Please! You were the one banging on the door like you were the police or something." Corisa brushed by her and gave her a knowing smile. Not two days before, Elsa had called the police for an accidental alarm trip. Corisa had attempted to walk out the back door one night. Sleep walking was something she did rarely, but it always caused some type of trouble.

     They came with heavy fists. Banging on the back door until she awoke dazed and confused. She opened the door and invited them in. They took a look around and determined there wasn't a threat before calling Elsa with an update and spinning out of the parking lot.

     "Whatever. Just go already. They're lining up." Elsa shook her head. "I don't want them breaking down the door."

     Corisa ran the rest of the way down the stairs and to the glass front door. She saw two ladies waiting to be let in for the ten percent off weekly sale. She chuckled to herself at the urgency that Elsa pressed. She unlocked the door and invited the women in. "Welcome to Elsa's, ladies. Ten percent off today, like every Saturday." She returned the smiles of Mrs. Jessup and her daughter Eva.

     Mrs. Elaine Jessup was the beautiful wife of Mr. Don Jessup, the owner of the bank. Her daughter favored her almost entirely. Golden hair, perfect curves, those killer cheekbones, they were the envy of the whole town. Nearly total opposites of Corisa with her raven hair and icy blue eyes.

     "Anything new today, Corisa?" Eva fingered through the rack of full length floral dresses.

     "We got a shipment from Portland yesterday, but we haven't had enough time to go through them all. I'll bring out what we have tagged." Corisa dipped into the back to grab the rack of skirts, cardigans, and blouses that Elsa had gone through the night before. She wheeled it through the curtain and up to Eva.

     "I love the floral patterns on this skirt." Eva pulled a mid-thigh length skirt from the rack. "Do you have anything that'll match the blue in it?"

     Corisa eyed the skirt and walked to another rack against the left wall. She pulled out a navy blouse with sheer sleeves. "How about this?" She held it up to the skirt to make sure it matched and Eva squealed.

     "It's perfect!!! I'll take it! Thanks Cori. I'm really glad Elsa hired you." She grinned wildly. "Elsa couldn't match a pair of shoes," she whispered. Corisa giggled as the bell rang and a group of women walked in.