Thunder and Lightening Chapter 4 By Lazlo Zalezac Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004 Jerry drove back to the auto parts store after a busy morning. It wasn't even eight and he had eaten a good breakfast of bacon and eggs at the local diner and visited the YMCA. At the YMCA, he had taken a shower, shaved, and generally groomed himself with extra care -- even taking the opportunity to polish his shoes. On returning to the store, he searched through his clothes carefully selecting the best outfit he had. He dressed taking time to make sure everything looked good together. Satisfied with his morning activities, he settled into his job with a peace of mind he hadn't felt in a long time. The telephone rang and Jerry answered it even though the store wasn't supposed to open for another ten minutes. As he was taking down the order, Mike entered the store and looked around knowing he was going to have to teach his wife how to do inventory later that day. This was going to be her first day on the job and he wondered how it would go. Hopefully, Jerry wouldn't lose his temper. Jerry hung up and handed the order over to Mike as he said, "They're calling early today. Why don't you pull orders and I'll take the calls. When your wife comes, she can help you and get to know the inventory a little." "Sounds reasonable to me," answered Mike as he read over the order. The phone rang and Jerry answered it. He started writing down the order trying to remember if they had everything in stock. At one point, he put the customer on hold and asked Mike if they had a particular part. When told they didn't, he returned to the phone and said, "I don't have one of those. I can order it for you, but it'll be Monday before we get it in." When the guy at the other end of the line said that he would check some other places, Jerry said, "I'll tell you what. I'll look around and see if I can find one locally. I'll call you back and Howard can pick it up for you." Mike had come back with the order that he was pulling and overheard Jerry. He couldn't believe that Jerry had made that offer. When the call was over, Jerry went to work on the phone to locate the part. On his third try, he located someone that had it and placed an order for it. He also sent over the rest of the order. Satisfied that they would have it ready, Jerry called his customer back and let them know that the entire order was at another store waiting for pickup. Turning around, he looked up in time to see Karen enter the store. He said, "Good morning. Ready to start working?" She smiled at the friendly greeting and replied, "Sure." "I asked Mike to have you help pull some orders this morning so you can get familiar with the stock here in the store. Take your time and pay attention to Mike. He knows all there is to know about everything in stock." Karen looked over at her husband and said, "Sure. What ever you say." Jerry turned back to the phone as it rang again. He picked it up and took down another order. At this rate, it was going to be a record day. He called over his shoulder, "Mike, here's another one." At fifteen past eleven, Jerry turned to look at Mike and Karen as they pulled the last order he had taken. He waited until they finished before he asked, "Would you mind taking your lunch a little early? I've got some business to take care of during lunch and would like to take a little longer than usual." Glancing over at his wife, Mike answered, "Sure. No problem." "Okay, I'll see you in an hour," replied Jerry as he turned back to the counter. Less than an hour later, Jerry pulled out of the parking lot for the short drive to the Crimson Rose Bistro. When he had just about reached it, he swore, "Oaf, you should have gotten her some sort of present." He drove past the restaurant to a flower shop several blocks down the street. Entering it, he looked around trying to figure out what kind of flower she might appreciate. He was debating between some simple bouquet of simple flowers and a rose, when he recalled the name of the restaurant was Crimson Rose. Of course she would like a red rose. Stepping up to the counter, he looked down at the elderly lady at the cash register. He physically dwarfed her and felt like he could carry her around on the palm of his hand. The contrast almost made him reconsider buying a rose for Jenny. How would a young lady like her react to getting a flower from him? She'd probably think he was some sort of stalker. What had she really done? She'd been nice to a freak who had wandered into her place. Still, she had made him feel real good. The lady at the cash register cleared her throat and asked a second time, "What can I get for you, sir?" "A Crimson Rose," answered Jerry. He low gravelly voice managed to convey the nervousness that he felt. The elderly woman smiled and asked, "Is this for a sweetheart?" The question gave him a moment's pause. He answered, "Maybe. It's for someone that was nice to me." She asked, "Do you want it wrapped in paper with Baby's Breath?" Frowning since he didn't know what the question meant, he finally answered, "No babies. I'll just give it to her plain." She laughed at his comment, recognizing he probably hadn't ever bought flowers before. With stiff presses of her arthritic fingers on the keys of the register, she rang up the purchase and said, "That'll be five dollars." Shocked at the price of a single flower, he handed her the five dollars. She led him over to a pail of roses to let him pick out the flower. Looking over the bucket of red roses, he asked, "Which one is closest to Crimson in color?" The elderly lady pulled out one of the darker purplish red roses and handed it to him. He smiled and said, "Thank you." The stem of the rose disappeared in his hand, even though he held it between his forefinger and thumb. Afraid of breaking it, he carried it to the truck and set it on the passenger seat with care. It didn't take him long to return to the restaurant. Once he had parked, he reached over to grab the rose. In his nervousness, the long stem snapped in his hand. For a long minute he stared at the broken rose wondering what he should do. If it hadn't been so expensive, he would have returned to the flower store to buy another one. Picking up the rose much more carefully, he carried it with him into the restaurant. When Jenny saw him, she came over and said, "I was so afraid that you weren't going to come here today. I set a special table for you." Surprised at her reaction to seeing him, he held out the rose. Gruffly, he said, "I bought this for you. It had a longer stem, but my clumsy hands broke it." Smiling, she gently took the rose from his hands and said, "Oh, this is wonderful. I love roses. How did you know I love roses?" "From the name of the restaurant," answered Jerry with a slight smile. She hadn't reacted negatively to his gift and that pleased him significantly. "Silly me. I didn't even think of that. Why don't you sit at that table over there while I put this in some water and get you some iced tea?" Jenny smiled and hurried away to the kitchen. Jerry walked over to the table she had pointed out and noticed the glass on this table was much bigger than the glass he had used the last time here. He watched as Jenny came out of the kitchen with the rose in a small vase. Making a big deal out of it, she set it on the little stand where she kept the reservations. The stem looked a little shorter than when he brought it in, so he decided the damage he had done wasn't that important. She made on obvious effort to show off the rose. Smiling she came over to his table and asked, "How do you like your beef?" "Medium rare," answered Jerry. Smiling at him, Jenny said, "That's what I figured. I've got a Caesar Salad and I'll put a nice sliced Rib-Eye steak on it instead of the chicken. You strike me as a beef kind of man. Does that sound good?" "It sounds great." "Oh my. I forgot your iced tea. I'll be right back," said Jenny as she rushed back to the kitchen. In the kitchen, she stopped just inside the door and fussed with her hair. Talking to herself, she said, "Grow up, Jennifer. You're acting giddy as a schoolgirl. He's married you fool. He even has a wedding ring on his hand." Amazed at the effort she had put into this lunch, Jerry didn't know what to think. She was a very attractive woman. It was hard to believe she had thought about his needs in the manner she had. He frowned at the thought that he was probably just another customer to her. Jenny came out with a pitcher of iced tea and filled his glass without saying a word. He watched her carefully, taking in her nice full lips, the aristocratic nose, her hazel eyes, and her delicate ears with little sapphire earrings. With her brown hair, held back with a headband, she was just too pretty to be interested in a monster like him. From deep inside, he could feel the rage stirring hoping this was going to turn out bad. He swallowed heavily and said, "Thank you very much." In a more professional tone of voice, Jenny said, "Your salad will be ready in a minute or two. The Chef has to cook the steak." "It sounds to me like he doesn't get to do that very often," remarked Jerry hoping to break down the sudden awkwardness that seemed to have descended between them. His comment took her by surprise. Jenny laughed and said, "You know, I don't even know if he knows how to cook one. I probably should have asked." With an exaggerated wink, he replied, "Maybe I should have ordered the chicken." "Not on your life. I made a special effort to find a steak for you," replied Jenny not realizing the import of what she said. "In that case, I'll enjoy it even if it is burnt to a crisp," replied Jerry. Jenny looked at him and said, "You know. I bet you would, too." The restaurant wasn't as crowded this day as it had been on Wednesday, but the customers still required her attention. Blushing slightly, Jenny took her leave and went to take care of her other customers. A number of refills of tea, dessert orders, and bill payments took most of her effort. In the mean time, she managed to come by with his salad and watched his expression at getting it. Jerry watched Jenny take care of business, recognizing she was very good at her job and understood her customers far better than the average waitress did. She moved through the room with ease, taking care of everyone with special attention to the individual. Of course, he didn't know if service like hers was common in places like this. His experience with higher-class restaurants was not quite that extensive. He figured his wife probably went to places like this all of the time. When the restaurant quieted down, Jenny returned to his table to check his progress eating the salad. He had almost finished his iced tea and she refilled his glass. After swallowing, Jerry said, "You are a very amazing woman." Not knowing what motivated the complement, Jenny replied, "Thank you." Looking around the room, he said, "You make everyone feel special, even me. I have no idea how you do it." When he had included himself in with the rest of the customers, Jenny realized that something else was being said. It was almost as though he didn't expect to be treated nicely. Her eyes glanced to the ring on his finger and replied, "Believe me, it's a whole lot easier dealing with you than the rest of my customers. You've got an honest appetite and I like men with honest appetites." The assessment puzzled Jerry. He had never thought of himself in that manner. As he tried to work through it, she returned to dealing with customers. He finished his salad while watching her work. The restaurant was slowly clearing up, as women paid their bills and left talking about the exhausting shopping excursions that waited for them. He watched a couple leave, the man was horribly thin and looked like he couldn't lift ten pounds. Jerry decided the guy probably didn't even know what a monkey wrench was. Three women came in the restaurant claiming to be there for a dessert rather than a full lunch. Jenny seated them at a table near his since it was one of the few that were already set. He listened as the trio talked about the problems in their lives. One of them was complaining that her manicurist had to reschedule her appointment and how it broke up the rest of her day something horrible. Jerry sat there listening, shocked at how trivial these things were compared to real problems. Jenny came by his table and whispered, "They won't be here long. They'll ravage the chocolate dessert and then leave feeling guilty. I'll bring you one too, so you can show them how it is supposed to be enjoyed." Unable to prevent himself, he guffawed in a volume that immediately attracted attention from the rest of the women in the place. Jenny laughed and said, "I'll be right back." Looking over at the trio of women next to him, he could see his presence there bothered them. Deciding it was because he reminded them that there were men in this world who were supporting them rather than his massive appearance, he didn't feel the rage rising. Thinking about his rage, he wondered if it was too embarrassed to burst forth in this highly feminine environment. When Jenny came to the tables with the desserts, the women cooed and fussed about how nice it looked. Interspersed with their positive comments were negative comments about how many calories it contained and how they'd gain ten pounds eating it. When she presented Jerry with his desert, he looked at it and said, "This looks is wonderful. I can't wait to eat it all." The three women shot him ugly looks, jealous at his disregard for the caloric content of the desert. Jenny smiled and gave him a wink, letting him know that she appreciated his comments. She returned to her customers, settling bills and slowly clearing out the customers. It was soon down to the trio of women and Jerry. The trio of women wolfed down the dessert in a dainty manner. They were each taking lots of little bites, but were more focused on the desert than each other. They stopped eating when there was still half of the desert left on the plate. At that point, they started talking and occasionally taking a taste of the desert. Having a little fun, Jerry took last spoonful of the desert and as he lifted it to his mouth, said, "This tastes so good. I think I'll order another one." The looks the women gave him threatened murder. It wasn't long after he finished his dessert that they left while making comments about how they needed to work off all those sinful calories. As soon as they left, Jenny seated herself across the table from Jerry and smiled. With a twinkle in her eye, she said, "That was priceless. You paid for your meal with that single comment." "I had a feeling it would upset them," replied Jerry with a grin. He could imagine how his wife would have reacted had he done that while dining with her. "Well, I get so tired of delivering a great dessert and hearing half of the comments be negative," replied Jenny. She imitated the women that had just left. "This is so fattening. It must have five thousand calories. It's sinful and shouldn't be served." "I can see how it would get to you after a time." "When I took it off the menu, you should have heard all of the comments and pleas to bring it back," sighed Jenny. "Must be tough. Damned if you do and damned if you don't." "Tell me about it. I really enjoy watching you dig into your food and enjoying it. You didn't say a single negative thing about the meal." "It was a great meal and I enjoyed every bite of it. You seem to handle the other customers well," remarked Jerry. "Oh, I understand them well enough. The prices on the menu are three times what they should be. Why? They wouldn't come here if the prices were low. It is a great status symbol that they can afford to overpay for their meals." Jerry nodded, as that had been his assessment as well. His reason for returning was entirely different. The reason he was here was sitting across from him twirling a stray strand of hair between her fingers. He said, "That must help tips." "Not at all. They calculate the tip to the penny and will short-tip if there is the least little thing wrong with the meal," she replied. With a snort, she said, "You should see them argue over the bill. They calculate exactly how much each woman owes. Men, on the other hand, just split the bill three ways and go on their way." That assessment of the difference between men and women surprised Jerry. These women were acting like money didn't matter to them, but then fought over every cent. Shaking his head, he asked, "Sounds kind of contradictory to me." "Yeah. They are so happy spending their husband's money, but they want the other women to be just as guilty in the process." Jenny sat there shaking her head. "You don't sound like you like them all that much," remarked Jerry. "Just catty, I guess," replied Jenny. She worked for a living and only had her income to spend. She was careful with every penny, but envied the ability of these women to buy things when they desired. She shook her head and said, "I guess I'm jealous." That statement bothered Jerry much more than anything she could have said. He remarked, "They don't seem to care much about their husbands except as a money source." "Yeah and that's a shame." "True. I used to be one of those husbands until this week. Realized that I was being used and I getting nothing out of it. Hell, I wasn't even getting to rub bodies with her. When I told her that I was in an accident, she reacted by telling me how it would interrupt her lifestyle because I would need a ride to work," replied Jerry. He was quiet for a moment and then said, "She didn't even care that I might have died." The statement that he had almost been killed that week reminded Jenny why he had come into the restaurant in the first place. She couldn't believe his wife didn't show the least amount of concern for him and wondered if this was some sort of pickup line. Shaking her head, she said, "I can understand why you left her." Licking his lips, he said, "There's more to the story than that, but I realized I needed to take care of myself first." Jenny looked over at him realizing that he wasn't as married as the ring suggested. Of course, he could be lying to her. It wasn't the first time a married man lied to her and it probably wouldn't be the last. She wondered what was going to happen next. Jerry glanced at his watch and said, "As much as I hate to leave such an attractive companion, I have an appointment to keep." Nervous, Jenny asked, "Will you be coming back here?" "I'll be here Wednesday." "Wednesday?" "Yeah. I will be taking Monday off to finish moving into my new place. It's a mess and I figure it will take tonight, tomorrow night, all day Sunday, and most of Monday to get it into shape to move into it." "It can't be that bad," replied Jenny in surprise. She figured this guy would be able to live anywhere comfortably. "The owner locked the previous tenants out. He went in and took all of their possessions that were worth anything and left the rest. He didn't even throw out the trash that was in the kitchen," replied Jerry. Abe had told him about it after he had finished cleaning out the living room. "Sounds like a horrible person," replied Jenny. "Oh, he's a real piece of work alright. He told me that I'd love living there because all of the women in the neighborhood had low morals. Of course, he put it a lot more crudely than that." Jerry still got angry thinking back to when he had signed the lease. Jenny sat there looking at Jerry amazed at the slight flash of anger that crossed his face. For the first time since she had met him, she realized he could be a very scary man particularly if his anger was directed at her. She asked, "What did you say?" "Nothing. I just left before he got me too angry. Even a few more comments and I would have used his head as a soccer ball," answered Jerry. Shaking his head, he added, "I feel horrible saying that. One of these days my rage is going to get me into trouble." Studying him carefully, Jenny couldn't believe how hard this guy was on himself. Anyone with a conscience would be angry at hearing someone refer to all women as sluts. She said, "You're too hard on yourself. Anyone would be angry at that." "It's different with me," replied Jerry. He thought back to years of fighting his rage and how easy it would be to lose the battle. All it needed was to escape just once and there was no telling what would be the result. He added, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a big man. In fact, I'd say that I'm monstrous." "Monstrous?" asked Jenny very surprised at the harsh characterization of himself. Jerry didn't answer as he stared at his hands. He didn't mean for the conversation to take such a horrible turn. He felt as if he was coming off like a whining baby. Changing the subject, he asked, "So how was it that you came to own this place?" "I graduated from college and couldn't find a job. After drifting around a bit, I came to the conclusion that if no one would hire me that I would have to hire myself. Since I had waited on tables through school, I decided I would give this a try. It took almost a year before I hit on the right combination to attract the rich wives crowd, but it has paid off." "That's very gutsy of you," replied Jerry. He couldn't imagine just opening a business like that. The chances for failure of a small business were very significant. His respect for her increased significantly. They both realized at the same time that it was getting late. Jerry had meant to leave ten minutes earlier and she needed to get the tables cleared. He was tempted to ask her out for dinner, but that would have to wait until he resolved some aspects of his life. It was two hours before closing when Jerry returned to the auto parts store. Before entering the store, he stood next to the truck looking it over. He had meant to get a muffler, but it didn't happen. Patting the truck, he said, "Some days, you are lucky if you just make it through the day. I had such hopes for today, but nothing came of them." Jerry was disturbed by what he had learned at the attorney's office. What he had thought would be a fifteen-minute visit had turned into two hours and had cost him a fortune. The up side was that the lawyer, after going through the check records, had increased how much a month he would have to spend. The down side of the visit was that the divorce process was going to take eighteen months, maybe more. Monday, the papers for a separation would be delivered to his wife. Inside the store, Mike had been waiting most of the afternoon for Jerry. He was not happy about the late return of his boss, having expected him hours before. He had to run the store all afternoon and wasn't used to having the responsibility of watching over a new employee and a high school kid. His wife had stayed late so Jerry could double-check her work, but finally had to leave to pick up the kids from her mother. When Jerry entered the store, Mike said, "I'm glad you're back." Fully aware that he had returned far later than intended, Jerry replied, "Sorry about that. I was at the attorney's office." "Attorney's office?" "Yeah," replied Jerry without explanation. He glanced around the store and saw things were at least under control there. He looked over at Mike and noticed the paperwork in his hand. He asked, "So, how is your wife working out?" Frowning, Mike answered, "Well, we went through as much of what she would be doing as I understood. However, I didn't do a very good job when I was doing it." "Actually, you did a fine job. I just didn't do my part," replied Jerry as he settled into the chair behind the counter. There had been more than a few things he missed when training Mike to do the job. "She stayed here so you could discuss this, but had to go home to pick up the kids," said Mike as he handed over the order forms his wife had filled out. "I should have called. I apologize for that. Things just took longer than I thought they would." With a frown, Jerry looked over the papers without saying a word. There were a few items she had put on the order form that he had ordered the previous day. He guessed they didn't check against those orders before filling out the form. With a pen, he crossed a couple of items off the form and then set them down on the counter. He would fax them in before the store closed. Looking over at Mike, he said, "She did fine for her first day." "I noticed you crossed out some of the items she put down to order," remarked Mike wondering what he had failed to tell his wife. He had checked her work and found it to be correct as far as he could tell. "Yeah, I forgot to tell you that I ordered some stuff in the middle of the week." Mike was quiet as he realized he had blown it for his wife. Taking a deep breath, Jerry let it out with a sigh. Mike asked, "Are you disappointed? I didn't think to tell her to check for outstanding orders." Jerry scrubbed his face with one massive paw and replied, "I'm not disappointed in you or your wife. I just didn't have a very good afternoon." "You seemed kind of excited about lunch," said Mike, curious why Jerry had been so anxious about leaving early for lunch. His wife had speculated Jerry was having an affair because he had dressed up for lunch. It had been a long topic of discussion, but Mike couldn't believe that there would be a woman who would want Jerry as a lover. "Oh, the lunch was the high point of the day," remarked Jerry with a smile. Jenny was a nice person in addition to being very attractive. She understood how difficult it was to earn a living. His wife had never worked a day in her life, even when he was just a struggling salesman. "Oh," replied Mike not knowing how to find out more. If his wife had been here, she would have gotten the whole story. Jerry sat down behind the counter and leaned over it using his elbows to support himself. After a minute, he said, "We're still short two full-time people. There are a lot of unemployed people in my new neighborhood and I was thinking I would look around there for someone to work here full time." Focusing on the fact that Jerry was talking about a new neighborhood, he almost missed the statement that he would be looking for a fulltime employee. Mike said, "Whoever you get probably won't have any experience." "Hell, I'd be surprised if they knew what a clutch looked like," replied Jerry. He rubbed his chin and said, "We'd have to train who ever I get." "Sounds like a lot of extra work," replied Mike hoping they could find someone with experience. "That's true." Mike was silent as he thought about the consequences of bringing in a new person. The only job opening they had was the assistant manager position. He wondered if it was fair for him to have to train his next boss. "The job has a lot of responsibilities." "Not that many," remarked Jerry. He changed the topic back to the newest employee when he asked, "So tell me how Karen's first day went?" The shift in conversation was jarring for Mike. He answered, "It's hard to say. I started with her helping me pull orders. It took her some time to figure out where everything was in the store. She'll have to work at it for a while, I think." "Good. That's a good introduction to doing inventory work. She gets a very hands-on understanding of the inventory." Jerry hadn't thought of doing it that way, but she would be able to walk down the aisles and notice if something was low without needing to go through all of the sales records. "Well, it sure helped me out today. We were swamped," said Mike. "It's the end of the summer. Everyone is getting their cars fixed for the last trip of the summer." The first few days after the first hot spell or cold spell were always the same. In summer, it was radiators, water pumps, and air conditioners. In winter, it was headlights, batteries and alternators. At the end of the summer season, it was everyone trying to fix the problems before they went off for Labor Day. "We were lucky. Two crates of coolant were delivered right after you left." "Ah, that's good," replied Jerry. They probably broke even on them since he had paid a fortune for overnight shipping. It was worse to not have things in stock than to not make money on them in this business. "We'll get your wife, a new stock boy, and a full-time salesman trained."