A Possible Problem

Dan stretched out on the bed, careful to keep on his side. "It could have gone better. I lost my cool with a customer. She berated me, yelled at me, and said some pretty nasty stuff. I yelled back," he admitted.

"Oh," Laura said in a soft voice. She put a hand on his chest. His skin felt warm to her cold hand. Dan's heartbeat sped up a little. "Did you get in trouble?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Dan groaned as he pulled a face she knew all too well. "Basically, I can't screw up again, or I could lose my job. I suppose it is my fault, but you didn't hear some of what she said."

"I'm not blaming you," Laura consoled. "What do you think you could have done differently?" She wanted to make sure he learned from his mistakes without judging him too harshly. Her grandfather had taught her, and she passed it down to her son. The "What If?" game as she called it.

"I, honestly, shouldn't have lost my cool. I know that. I just hate Customer Service, and that old crone was being spiteful because she could."

"Who was your manager?"

"Ms. Carmen. She laid down the law and basically said I'd have to beg from my job if it happened again. It didn't help that I laughed when the old bitty called her an import wench. Yeah... I tried to hide the laugh. I just couldn't help it," he tempered when she shot him a raised eyebrow in response.

"An... import wench? Wow, that's a new one."

"Yeah. Then my boss called me on it later. She asked why I laughed. I told her I thought of a Ferrari when I heard import and... well, laughed. She looked super pissed then stood in front of me with this angry expression. Then goes, 'I'm an Aston Martin' in the calmest voice I've ever heard from her. She kicked me out of the office after that."

"She did, did she?" Laura asked, failing her battle to hide her smile. It sounded like this Carmen might have been flirting with her son. Laura wasn't sure how to take that, but was proud her son attracted attention. He was a good-looking boy. "You know what you did and how you could have done better. Maybe it's time you looked for a better job anyway, dear. That one is terrible from the stories you bring home."

"It isn't so bad," Dan tempered. "How did the interview go?" he asked.

Laura drummed her fingers as she made sure she wasn't displaying her body to him again. "I don't know," she admitted. "At first, it went well. Then... well, there are other jobs out there. I probably won't be able to job hunt for a few days. The insurance company and calls will probably take up the next few days. Any word if your store is hiring? At this point, I'll take anything I can." The sleazy job offer, on top of driving around all day, made her feel like a failure.

Dan grimaced and shook his head. "No, they've hired all they will for the season. I can ask around if anyone knows of anything, but... with the job market like it is. I don't know."

"A worry for tomorrow. I'm very proud of you," she added with a kiss on his cheek. "Now, I'm beat. Will you turn out your light? Sorry," Laura asked as she tried to turn over. The overwhelming smell of lemon made her nose itch. "It smells like disinfectant," she muttered.

"Better than whatever else might have been on this bed."

Laura stayed silent for a full minute. She didn't want to dwell on those thoughts. "Please don't remind me," she grumbled. "Try to get some sleep when you can."

"Night, I love you, mom."

"Night, sweetie. Sleep well."