Heather Michelle - A Misplaced Life

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The date on the thermal paper sent a spark of panic and anxiety rolling through Elodies stomach. It was a small, familiar spark, so she ignored it easily. The woman in front of her had that gleam in her eyes. She was ready for a fight, no matter what Elodie said next.

Elodie set the receipt back down on the counter and frowned apologetically. Im so sorry, it looks like this is outside of our return window.

The womans eyes exploded with satisfaction. Her posture straightened, shoulders angling back to build herself taller, and glared down on Elodie. But I purchased it last week. How can that be possible? Her voice was strong and sharp.

Our return policy is fifteen days, and this was purchased three weeks ago. Was there anything wrong with it? The manufacturers warranty may cover it. Elodie hoped the woman took the bait. If she just said it didnt work, Elodie could still run it through the system and return it.

No, theres nothing wrong with it, I just dont need it. She slapped her hand down on the receipt. Put the money back on the card.

Im so sorry, the system wont process it when its outside of the return window, Elodie said with more sympathy and a slight southern accent. Sometimes it softened people up.

Sometimes, but not this time.

What do you mean you only have a fifteen-day return policy? That is absolutely ridiculous. The woman slapped her hand on the receipt again, as though the receipt was a surrogate for Elodies face.

We changed it about a year ago, to be compatible with other local retailers of the same products, Elodie said in a polite voice. You can see it here at the bottom of the receipt. She pointed, her smile fixed in place.

The woman slapped the paper again, catching the edge of Elodies finger, as she ripped the paper off the counter. She rummaged through her purse and pulled out a sleek metal object. An e-cigarette.

Elodie took a slow, deep breath so it wouldnt come out as a sigh.

This was temporary. This life, this job. She wouldnt be here forever. She just had to get through today and think about tomorrow, tomorrow. The small voice in her head said that temporary was turning into quite a long time, but she pushed it away.

The woman was talking again and Elodie refocused. Absolutely absurd. I purchased this last weekthree weeks ago, Elodie didnt sayand I dont need it. Look, the box is perfectly fine, it just needs a little tape. She held up the small electronic device and shook it in front of Elodies face. Her voice was cutting and getting louder as if to summon someone to help her. Its not even used, just opened. You can resell it fine.

They couldnt. It had been opened, so it would be counted as a loss. It didnt really matter to Elodie. Her job was to say no, because thats what the computer would say. She had the power to override it, but that wasnt her job and doing so would get her into trouble.

The line behind the woman was getting longer. A middle-aged man with a tie and shiny shoes had glanced at his watch three times in the last minute and shot frustrated looks around the store as if expecting another employee to appear and help him. But they wouldnt. Most of her coworkers avoided walking by the customer service desk when she had a line for this exact reason.

All the woman had to do was say the seven magic words, and Elodie could stop helping her. The woman paused her tirade, so Elodie recited the next part of her script.

I apologize for the frustration. The system wont let me return it.

Can you at least try?

Sure. Bright, happy, polite. Scan the receipt, answer all the correct questions. Error. She turned the screen so the woman could see. Sorry, but Im not able to return it when its outside of the policy.

This is absolutely not acceptable. She was shouting now and glanced around at the line behind her. When she received nothing but impatient stares, she took three big puffs of her e-cigarette and blew the smoke out of her nose. The smoke shot downward until it reached the counter, then billowed up in two little spirals, exactly like a cartoon bull blowing steam.

Elodie swallowed and kept her face completely neutral. If she laughed in this womans face, the woman would win, and Elodie wasnt going to lose. She bit the inside of her cheek and breathed in slowly through her nose.

I demand to speak to your manager.

And there it was. The magic words. They werent real magic. Elodie knew what real magic was, how it felt to shape and direct. If she couldnt have real magic in her life, this would have to do.

This is temporary.

She turned away from the woman and pinched the microphone button by her ear. Can I get a manager to the customer service desk, please? She released the button and stepped to the next register and leaned around the smoking woman. I can help whoevers next right here, please! Elodie announced with a happy, polite smile.

Shed processed one return and was working on another when the manager arrived and went straight to the woman standing with her arms crossed, puffing lightly on her e-cig; the obvious source of the problem. The manager listened to her sob story about why she wasnt able to make it to the store, and how it had only been a week. He nodded sympathetically and processed the return. He wouldnt be mad at Elodie for not overriding the transaction. She had been doing her job, holding the gate against the evil return until the magic words were spoken, and he was doing his job by overriding the transaction and pretending Elodie had been in the wrong. The system was a fricking joke.

She worked through the remainder of her line, some broken things or others returned within the window. It was easy, mindless busywork that got her through the day.

When the line was gone, the store again sank into stillness around her counter.

She loved the stillness when it meant she didnt have to help anyone, but she also hated it, as she sat on the edge of anxiety, waiting for the next customer.