Two Inches

"There will be Hell to pay if I come back in here and find the floor stickin to my goddam feet again!" Doreen stuck her stubby finger up in Jax nose.

"Yes ma'am. Sorry, I'll take care of that right away."

Jax learned not to make excuses. He didn't bother to explain that he had just arrived. She didn't bother to notice that his jacket was still on and he had the list in his hand. He watched as her wide hips brush against the fountain drink spicket leaving an oval elongated stain on her polyester pants. It would have been funny, but he wondered for a second if somehow that would wind up being his fault, too.

Jax made it a priority to get the mop from the storage room and hurried to clean the floor up before she returned from the office. He didn't bother to take his jean coat off even though he was sweating, hurrying around the small store. After an hour or so she came back to the front. He was sure she didn't remember the incident and wouldn't thank him for her shiny entrance way. He even rearranged the plug on the machine so it could rest flush against the wall giving her another two inches between her and another splotched pant leg.

A regular came in and asked him to choose a lottery ticket. The hard black fingernail revealed the scratch off was a fifty-thousand dollar winner. "Holy mother!" The crinkly eyes flashed up at him.

"Wow, dude! Congratulations!"

"Young man, You're getting five thousand dollars of this!"

Jax could hardly believe his ears and partly he doubted when it actually came down to it, whether or not the patron would return to the store to reward him when he received the payoff. The man filled out the form and was on his cell calling his brother to share the news.

Jax reloaded the cartons of cigarettes behind him. He finally sat down on the upside down crate and let his throbbing thighs relax. Directly at eye level he noticed the cherry soda slowly dripping. He knew he had to take the whole thing apart like he did last week. It was going to the whole afternoon. Jax could still hear the muffled voice on the sidewalk. For a moment he allowed himself to think of the five thousand dollar bounty and how that could carry him through the rest of the year. He maybe could even look for another job and finally be free of the troll in the back. Jax stepped quickly to his feet and moved the fountain drink machine back into the aisle. Either way, he figured, he wouldn't care if the old witch ruined her stretch pants and that was on her.