Call Me Cockroach: Based on a True Story by Byrne Leigh

Author:Byrne, Leigh [Byrne, Leigh]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Mandylan Books
Published: 2013-09-23T04:00:00+00:00

ECHOES OF DISCONTENTMENT

After my weight had stabilized, Chad asked Bobbi to watch the kids while he took me to buy some new clothes that fit properly. There weren’t many places to shop in Sullivan, but Mindy had told me about a trendy ladies clothing store that had recently opened downtown, called Ashley’s.

Ashley’s had a good selection of stylish clothes, and I found two tops and a pair of shorts at a price Chad was willing to pay. While we were checking out, the sales clerk, a chatty fresh-faced woman around my age, mentioned, in passing, that if I knew of anyone who needed a job they were hiring.

“I’d love to work in a place like this,” I said.

“Why don’t you put in your application then?”

I glanced at Chad. He shook his head, no. “You already have a job—taking care of the house and kids.”

“But Chad, both Molly and Daryl are in school now. I could work during the day before they get home.”

“It would only be part-time,” the clerk pointed out. Chad ignored her comment. She pulled a sheet of paper from under the counter and gave it to me. “Here, take an application anyway in case you change your mind.”

As soon as we were in the car, I started in on Chad. “I would just like to have my own money so I don’t have to ask you every time I need to buy tampons.”

“My money is your money; it’s our money.”

“You say that but it doesn’t seem that way to me.”

Over the next couple of days, I chinked away at Chad’s resistance, until I’d talked him in to letting me apply for the job at Ashley’s. “I probably won’t get it anyway,” I told him. “I have no experience at all in retail.”

The next morning, I filled out the application, listing my high school creative writing teacher and Mindy as references. When I had finished, I looked over what I’d written and became convinced I wouldn’t get the job. I remembered thinking the same thing when I saw the crowd of teenagers interviewing for the cashier position at McDonald’s. But this was a much better job that paid over minimum wage, with a store discount and everything. Still I tried to stay positive. Maybe I’ll get lucky; maybe no one else will apply and they’ll have to give it to me.

I wanted to get the application to the store before Chad had a chance to change his mind, which meant I had to take it there while he was at work, which meant I would have to deliver it myself. Confronted with my fear of driving, I reconsidered my decision to apply for the position. How am I supposed to hold a job at Ashley’s when I can’t even muster enough courage to drive there and drop off the application?

Fretting was getting me nowhere. I decided to move forward, to start getting ready to take the application to Ashley’s without thinking. After I took a shower, I dressed in white pants and one of the new tops Chad had bought me.

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