Nicky and I wanted to get away from it all. R-- was a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere, a farming community with a population of about 10. It was perfect.
I'm all moved in to my little R-- apartment now and I'm SO HAPPY!! It's a wonderful place, and Nicky is so sweet to me. I hope the euphoria lasts! I've been cleaning today and picking up applications around R--.
The job options were sparse. We both got hired at the cute little grocery store as checkers.
I am currently employed at Theurer's (pronounced TIRES) grocery. I wear an apron and use the register. It's all so charmingly small town.
Small towns can be really cute and also really strange. This town was both. Nicky and I were practically city-slickers in comparison to the local girls, so that drew some attention. I was surprised when men started bringing me gifts while I was at work. One elderly gentleman would drop off chocolates regularly. A younger man who claimed his name was "Dhas" once gave me an original oil painting of the most depressing landscape I had ever seen. It was very sweet.
Next door to Theurer's was a little cafe. The owner came and found me one day and asked if I would work nights over there. It was intimidating to try and blend in with the rough-handed, chain-smoking waitresses. Those women were TOUGH. Nothing had ever been handed to them for free, and I grew to really admire and appreciate them. They tolerated me, with my little string of pearls and my apparent ignorance of worldly hardship. It was challenging work, and I learned a lot (except for the secret butterfly shrimp breading recipe, which still makes me mad to this day).
One thing that I DIDN'T like about working at the cafe was that it was my grocery store boss's nightly haunt. See, in the back of the cafe was the bar, complete with pool tables and dart boards, and my 26 year old boss loved beer. During the day at Theurer's I openly scorned his advances, but at night when I had to sweep out the cafe bar and mop up spilled drinks, he was a lot harder to fight off. I didn't hate the guy. He was alright, except for a weak chin and a raging drug habit. Not really my type, but a decent guy. Still, Nicky and I learned to be wary of him. Since he was kind of a freak show, we would whistle this classic circus clown music to each other as a warning when we spotted him from across the store- a signal that Boss was on the move. Nicky was so much fun to work with.
Well, the good news is I have some clothes to wear. However, my sheets didn't dry so it looks like we will be bed buddies tonight... I am so hungry I can hardly stand it. The fact that I have to wait another three hours makes me want to open my till, put my head in, and then slam it shut repeatedly. -Nicky
We were bed buddies on our first night in the apartment. We had this brilliant idea to watch an incredibly creepy thriller right before bed. Then, just as we were getting in our jammies, a storm hit and the lights went out. We also had a clogged sink that first night, so we had to wash the dishes in the bathtub. It was a rough start.
This picture was taken on New Year's Eve.
We thought it would be fun to ring in the new year with a living room sleepover. The thing is, it was so much easier to talk as bed buddies than it was across the hall, so we took our time putting the mattress back in my room. Days went by, and dirty dishes and clutter began to collect in piles around the mattress. We kept telling ourselves that we HAD to clean up, but something always got in the way and we would just end up crashing in the living room again. Then one day, the doorbell rang. Westly was the only one who ever randomly stopped by, and he had a special knock... we peeked through the curtains. HOME TEACHERS!! Nicky and I moved as one. I grabbed the bottom of the mattress and she grabbed the top. We tried to drag it back to my bedroom as fast as we could but the clutter was in the way, tripping us and blocking our path. Nicky stumbled. The mattress fell on top of her and I rolled over them both, crashing into the wall. I wonder what those two home teachers thought as they waited and listened to the ruckus inside. It was a very uncomfortable visit. We cleaned up after that.
As much as I loved my new-found independence, it was sometimes scary, like the time I arrived at Theurer's for my shift, only to find that the store was locked and empty.
This has been one of the weirdest days. I was supposed to come to work at 8:00 this morning. I did, and all the lights in Theurer's were off and all the doors were locked. I called Boss (no answer) and finally L.D. next door took me to Natalie's to get the key. Once I got inside Theurer's I was left to the job of getting it ready for business. I had no clue. The tills were in the wrong place and NOT counted, the light switches were impossible to find, and the music had been left on all night. The place had a very eerie, just deserted feeling to it. I was so scared, but I was trying to be responsible, so I looked in the freezer for a counted till (that's where they're supposed to be) and found instead the great, bloody carcasses of just-slaughtered cows.
...It sent me into freak-out mode and I just huddled in the dark until Sean came and could help me get set up. It was 9:00 before Theurer's was running properly.
I later discovered that the store had been left a mess because Boss was doing drugs again. It got harder and harder to work for him. Customers and vendors would get impatient with us cashiers because the store wasn't functioning as it should, and we would just glare upstairs to where Boss was sleeping off another hangover. Finally, some officials from a food distribution company came for an important meeting with Boss. I had just been upstairs to ask him to help me with something and found him passed out under his desk. I thought about covering for him like I had done a hundred times before, but for some reason (I'm still not really sure what my motives were) I just- didn't- this time. I told the officials to go up to his office and that they'd find him at his desk. They were up there for about a minute and a half. When they came back down, they nodded somberly at me and then left. Boss's dad took control of the store soon after that.
I developed a strong aversion to- and compassion for- addiction at this time. During the day, I would watch my boss deteriorate in his drug addiction. Then at night, I worked in the cafe and had to reach over drunks to collect their dishes, wiping the counter around puddles of drool.
I remember going to high school with a "bully" named "Jenny." Jenny was tall and broad and had a penchant for punching. Man, she was angry. One day in science class we were told to pick a partner. I saw Jenny sitting there, slumped and scowling, and I don't know why on earth I did this but I asked her if she'd be my partner. She seemed relieved to be asked, actually, and we ended up sort of enjoying each other. Fast forward to my R-- days, and I'm cleaning up around our most regular drunk, when in walks Jenny. She looked so defeated. I watched her place that big drunk's arm around her shoulder and say, "Come on Dad. Let's go." Many puzzle pieces clicked together for me that evening, not just about troubled Jenny, but about a lot of things. I've never really been the same since.
We flirted quite a bit with the vendors who came with weekly deliveries. I remember we had a Nolan and a Noland. Nolan was a rambling, milky little delivery guy, but Noland was the super-gorgeous young man responsible for exchanging the store rugs. I always positioned myself close to the doors on Rug Day, even though all I ever got from Noland was a smile and a wink. It was worth it.
Some of the other vendors were more forward. Gary, the beer delivery man, was in his thirties, but that didn't stop him from asking me to move down-state with him. I remember him grabbing me around the waist when we were all saying goodbye and asking me to "give him some sugar." I tsked and kissed him on the cheek. Then he said in earnest, "I'm moving to Ogden. Come with me. I'm serious! We'll get a little apartment and a dog and have kids. Come with me." It was the closest thing to a proposal I had ever received yet, and the experience was shocking. I suddenly realized that I COULD have said yes if I had been at all tempted. I kindly sent him packing, but it was a sobering reminder that I was growing up.
First proposal and life lessons aside, Nicky and I spent most of our time in R-- just having a ridiculous amount of fun. It was like a sleepover that latest for six straight months.
What are your fondest roommate memories? Share in the comments! Write back soon- Jess
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