Falling For Mr. Sundae | ✔

34. Nights At Sprinklez

Tim called my dad last night and told him I never showed up for work. I got an earful about responsibility when he and my mom got home the next day. That, mixed in with the radio silence from Julian, had me feeling miserable. A part of me hope the lecture would end with him telling me that Tim had fired me. 

Unfortunately, I had to slip on that ugly orange polo and will myself not to drive right past the shopping plaza.

I parked in the employee lot, taking note that Julian's car wasn't there. Or at least not in the spot where he usually parked. Inside, Tim was in his tiny office with his phone pressed to his ear. The fact that he was busy didn't stop him from beckoning me into his office. I sat in the only other chair available and waited for his call to end.

He had the same look of disappointment on his face as my dad did. My gaze fell to my feet. I already felt bad enough.

"Do you still want the job?" His question took me by surprise. He was giving me a choice? I looked up at him, unsure of how to answer. "I know you don't need it. So, if you're done with your experiment just let me know and I'll hire someone else."

He sounded exhausted. Like he'd be annoyed if he could, but he lacked the energy.

Did I want the job? A few hours ago I was hoping to be fired. Now I wasn't sure I wanted leave Sprinklez. There was a long stretch of a silence as I tried to make a mental list of what I'd miss about working here and what I wouldn't.

"What about the show?" That was something I'd miss. It was cheesy, but it was fun. Maybe it was a certain someone that made it fun.

Tim let out a low sigh, scratching his head. "The show was all you. And Julian. If you go...it's cancelled."

"No," I protested. We put a lot of work into those characters and their story. I hated the idea of it being cut after only two installments. "I want to keep the job."

"You sure? Because you can't just not show up like that," he told me, his brow wrinkling as he gave me a stern look. "Last night," he blew out an exhausted breath. "I lost customers because I couldn't keep up with the orders."

A knot formed at the pit of my stomach. Guilt.

"It was just you?" I'd hoped maybe Julian would've shown up. Or gotten someone to cover his shift. God, I probably should've done that.

He nodded. "Julian didn't show up either. I thought you two might've run off together."

The memory of him leaving with his cousin, Ant, flashed in my mind. "No," I said, trying to ignore the hurt in my chest. "We weren't together."

He sighed again, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his desk drawer. He hadn't done much smoking since business picked up. The knot in my stomach grew as more guilt piled on.

"Bobby agreed to take over his shifts," he told me, standing. I did the same. "If you hear from Julian tell him to call me. ASAP."

I nodded, but he didn't notice as he shook a cigarette from the pack.

Upfront Bobby was entertaining a group of middle school aged girls who were clearly crushing on him. "He looks like Justin Bieber." I heard one of them say as they took their ice cream to a table where they could still gawk at him.

"Elisa Robinson." In typical Robert Hall fashion he had an easy grin on his face as if nothing out of the ordinary was going. Like we always worked together. Like his friend wasn't out sick because he got into a fight with my ex. "Who knew girls were so crazy for blondes?"

I wanted to be like him. Smile, laugh, pretend that my almost boyfriend wasn't possibly selling drugs. But the question slipped out before even realized it.