Defined By Deceit

It was four p.m. and the town was a little more alive now. He’d been walking for forty minutes, choosing not to take the local transportation, so he would o be able to go in someplace if he saw a “help wanted” sign. He didn’t go in any of the shops, but he did wonder about the large Farm and Home Supply store that sat at Beckford and Raleigh. It took up the whole corner. He could stock shelves or something there. He went through the automatic doors, and it felt to him like all the people that were in view of the front entrance turned to face him. He looked up for a sign that pointed to customer service, wanting to apply and leave as soon as possible. The store was full to the rafters with everything from bulk-style family food staples to farm supplies.

“How can I help you, son?”

Llew stepped up to the counter; holding his hand out to the older man, his nametag indicating he was the general manager. He looked at Llew’s hand for a brief second before grasping it and giving it a firm shake. “Good evening, sir. My name’s Llew Gardner, and I just moved here. I was wondering if you had any positions open or are taking applications.”

Llew watched as the man shifted to pull a binder from underneath the counter. “Let me see here. I was thinking of hiring someone at night to put up the deliveries. It’s the only thing I need right now, but I haven’t been able to fill it because it’s only Monday and Thursdays from ten to two. It requires some pretty heavy lifting; no one jumping up to do that job, especially teenaged boys.” The guy laughed.

Llew shrugged. True, he would like something full-time but he’d take what he could get. “I’d like to apply.”

The guy’s bushy, grey eyebrows rose up in surprise. “Well, alright then.” He handed Llew an ink pen and single page application on a clipboard, telling him he could fill out over at the other side of the counter. Unfortunately, as he scanned over the application he realized there was going to be one helluva gap in his work history. He listed his brother’s crew leader as a job reference and his counselor from prison as a personal reference. That was really all he had. He breathed a sigh of relief when he got to the section that only asked if he’d been convicted of a crime of moral turpitude. He checked no. Surprisingly, he found out early on that rape didn’t fall under that category. It seems that this store was only interested in knowing if you were a convicted thief.

He signed his application and gave it back to the manager. He stuck his hand out again offering a confident shake. “Thank you, sir. I hope to hear from you.”

The man nodded. “I’m Mr. Graham by the way. Give me a few hours to check your references and I’ll get back to you.”

He left the store feeling quite pleased. This was going better than he thought. The job probably only paid around ten bucks an hour, but something was better than nothing, his dad always said.

He walked further into town as dusk descended and more people took to the quaint streets. It wasn’t the busy scene you’d see in New York, but it was more than in Emporia, for sure. It looked as if it was the town movie night. There was a small cinema that sat at the corner of Rose and Chestnut. Llew looked up at the dimly lit marquee. He had no clue what the listing was, but he figured he’d check it out soon. He hadn’t been to a movie in… well, yeah.

“Thinking of going in? Or are you just gonna block the entrance?”

Llew turned at the sound of the sure voice behind him. Since he seemed to tower over everyone, he automatically looked down at the pretty brunette with dark brown eyes to match. “Um. Sorry,” Llew mumbled, quickly moving out her way.

“Well don’t be sorry shuga, just escort a lady inside.” Llew couldn’t even blink as he watched the lady stalk towards him. Her full chest sat above an extremely narrow waist. It almost looked unnatural. She was dressed and made up like a grown woman. She looked maybe thirty from a distance, but her smooth skin and awkward approach screamed her real age. She was jailbait if he’d ever seen it. Llew gave her a slight head nod and had turned to leave when his elbow was hooked.

“I saw you in the general store applying for a job. You musta jus’ got into town, because if not, I’d have known, honey. So, you got kin here?”

Silence.

The laugh was an all-out girlish giggle, and it grated on his nerves. “Cat got your tongue, darlin’?” She moved in even closer and dragged a long red nail down Llew’s arm, tilting her head back to look up at him. “You want me to beg, huh? Come on now, handsome. Escort a lady to a movie… then maybe—”