Chapter 94. Christmas Eve, Operation: To Kill A Mockingbird’s Love (6/8)

Irene held her stomach, covered her mouth, and fought back her laughter. “Pffft.” When she contained it she cleared her throat and said, “Ehem. A… nympho, was it?”

“Yeah. I… think she probably plays both ways too.”

“What makes you say that?”

“She told me... if Alicia confesses to me, I have to accept her feelings no matter what even if we’re dating. Honestly, it feels like she’s got a thing for Alicia. She also said something along the lines of, in a hypothetical situation, if I was married to you and Alicia, then I’d technically be married to my own stepdaughter. She then said... just to be clear, these are her words, not mine, ‘Isn’t that kind of hot?’”

Irene covered her face with one hand and burst out into laughter, “PFFFT HAHAHAHAHA! What a girlfriend you have. HAHAHAHA! Isn’t that kind of hot, she says? Certainly, indeed, indeed.”

“This isn’t funny, you know. I don’t want to be murdered. If such a situation became a reality and known to others, I’d definitely be murdered in cold blood by an admirer of one of you three.”

“Hahahaha! Isn’t what she described supposed to be a dream scenario for a man though? Having your cake and eating too? You’ve got your girlfriend already, but she says you’re free to eat another.”

“Maybe for other guys, but I just want a simple peaceful life. I don’t need anything extravagant or grandeur in life. I’m satisfied with the things I already have and living in a frugal manner with only what I need to get by. I won’t go and play with fire needlessly only to get burnt. One fire is enough for me. Two, and I’ll be engulfed in a sea of flames. Three? I’ll be incinerated before the flames even reach me.”

“Hmmmm… don’t you think it’s fine to be a bit more greedy and to want more?”

“Greedy? If you ask me I already am quite greedy as it is. A greedy father has thieves for children. If you ask for too much at once, you will come home with an empty bag.”

“So what you’re saying is you’re actually a stingy cheapskate who’s more worried about money than anything else. You consider yourself a greedy thief simply because you view your father as a man who only thought of himself and no other. Women also cost a lot of money in your view. Dates, their daily necessities, clothes, food, etc. More women equate to a higher demand for capital. You believe only financial troubles lay in a future together with many women, have I got that all right?”

“Well, for the most part, yes.”

“Hmmm… I see. I see. I think I understand now.”

“Understand what?”

She leaned even closer over the counter, extended her arm out, and grabbed my shirt. She pulled me closer with an intimidating look on her face and said, “Don’t underestimate women, kid. Not every woman cares about living a lavish life of luxury. At least, my daughter definitely isn’t. Nor am I. I don’t have a full grasp on what Rosa is like yet, but I don’t think she’s anything like what your narrow-minded perception of women is.”

“I never said I thought all women are like that. It’s just… I’ve seen far more women that turn out to be that way than the former. They don’t necessarily start out like that, but time changes people. Even a piece of paper, money can change and warp people’s perception of the world as they grow up. Whether it’s Rosa or Alicia, there is nothing that says they won’t want an ambitious man in the future that can provide them that sort of lifestyle. Rather than someone like me without any sort of real aspirations to climb the ladder to the top, it would be ideal if they end up with someone better.”

“What about me?”

“You? I respect you. You work hard for your children’s sake rather than your own. You’re exactly the type of woman I admire the most. Rather than those bimbos blinded by some paper to acquire society’s perceived notion of a successful life, your humble lifestyle is one I appreciate. If we excluded Rosa, my current girlfriend from the equation, if all the world’s women were lined up together in a line, I’d pick you 1000 times out of 100.”

She suddenly let go of my shirt and backed up looking a bit flustered.

“Uh… I thought you were looking down on me for a second before and I got a little bit mad, okay~ S-Sorry. But it would be troubling to me if my daughter was in that line together with me.”

“She’s a girl still, I wouldn’t consider her a woman yet, so don’t worry, she wouldn’t be in that line yet.”

“You’re just a sly sweet talker. Lip service. Yes, lip service. You don’t actually mean any of what you said. I won’t fall for some cheap smooth lines. My husband would have probably said something cheap like that.” She said that, but her body language didn’t line up very well with her words.

“Oh? So you imposed the image of your husband on me? What a terrible thing to say. Men have feelings too, you know. How would a woman feel if she knew the man she was in bed with was thinking of another woman when they were together?”

“You… you win this round, okay? I won’t accept this loss though, you got that~”

She quickly escaped from the convenience store as if running away from a bully.

She’d forgotten her items on the counter though. I hadn’t rung them through yet, nor had she paid for them.

Feeling a bit bad for the lost sale I rang everything up and paid for it myself. I’d just have her pay me back for it later.

I looked over my shoulder at the camera in the corner that had recorded our entire interaction. We’d been quiet enough for nothing to be picked up, but if the Owner saw the footage, I could only imagine it would be another annoying conversation I’d have with her in the future. She was that type of woman who loved romantic gossip. She lived for such juicy developments. Our interaction on camera would no doubt look strange.

There were only ten minutes left until the end of my shift. The two of us had talked for twenty minutes without another customer coming in. It was late in the evening on Christmas Eve, so of course it would be pretty dead. Five minutes later, the next worker entered the store. When it was 9:00 PM, we swapped out behind the counter.

When I exited the building, a car in the parking lot honked at me.

I looked over, it was Irene. Had she waited for me? Or was it for the things she wanted to purchase?

I approached the car and she unlocked the door. When I sat down she greeted me, “So we meet again. I was planning to just ignore you but I noticed you had a bag in your hand. Did you end up paying for what I was buying as an apology to me?”

“Apology? What would I apologize for?”

“The woman is always right, have you never heard this rule before?”

“What an unreasonable rule. I only paid for it because I planned to get the money back from you later.”

“What~ that’s so mean- especially when you were the one bullying your respected customer just now~”

“I’m not budging. My finances are bleeding this month after my most recent date with Rosa.”

“Fine~ I get it. Here you go, this should be enough to cover it, right?”

I took the money from her, opened my wallet then stuck it in. I took out some change but Irene cut in and said, “you can keep the change.”

“No. I will only accept the amount I paid for.”

“Just keep it.”

“I refuse.”

“Why are you so stubborn about such a little thing?”

“I will only be paid for what I work. I didn’t earn this money. You worked hard for every last penny.”

“Then if you work for it, it’s fine?”

“Well… I guess so.”

“Then I suppose you’ll do a little bit of overtime.”

Without warning, she pulled on my arm, moved her face in front of me with her eyes closed, and kissed me. Her tongue only licked my lips playfully in the process, leaving behind a string of saliva just barely visible in the dimly lit car illuminated by the light from the convenience store when she pulled away. The saliva connected between her tongue and my lip only snapped when her face drew half a meter back.

“Consider the change just now my payment for that kiss, Mr. Convenience Store Worker. Convenience stores sure are convenient these days though, they really do have everything. Anyway, thanks for the overtime~, I’ll just take this as my own form of a petty little win after the loss I suffered back in the store. And by - the - way, I wasn’t thinking of my husband just now. I was only thinking of someone I’m just a little tiny bit attracted to that happens to have a very strange girlfriend.”

When I thought about the exchange just now, I couldn’t help but blurt out, “I’m not a prostitute.”