With good news

Dan stretched out on the bed, careful to keep on his side. "It could have gone much worse. I almost lost my cool with a customer. She berated me, yelled at me, and said some pretty nasty stuff. I did yell 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. "Did you get in trouble?"

"Not really," Dan laughed with a strange expression. "Basically, she asked if I'd be interested in moving up. She said she'd been watching me quite a bit and was impressed with my professionalism."

"Oh, that's wonderful," Laura gasped and kissed him on the cheek. She knew he'd do well if he applied himself. A feeling of pride swelled her chest.

"I was shocked, to say the least. Heh, she wasn't exactly happy when I laughed at her, though. Oh, no, not when she offered it to me. The old crone called her an import wench."

"An... import wench? Wow, that's a new one. Who was your manager?" Laura asked with a raised eyebrow. She tried to cover a smile.

"Ms. Carmen. She laid down the law on that woman. Basically threatened her with calling the police. I couldn't help it, I laughed when the old bitty called her an import wench. Ms. Carmen 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. Well, she told me to think about her offer first though."

"She did, did she?" Laura asked, failing her battle to hide her smile. It sounded like Ms. Carmen might have been flirting with her son. Laura wasn't sure how to take that, but was proud her son attracted a woman's attention. He was a good-looking boy. She patted his chest with her hand and gave a little laugh. "I'm proud of you. I know you didn't plan to say with Big Bucks, but this might be an opportunity. Although, the stories you bring home about working there..."

"Yeah, retail is certainly something," Dan agreed. "How did the interview go?" he asked as he turned to look at her. His eyes flicked away from her chest.

Laura drummed her fingers as she made sure nothing was showing 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, again.

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."