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Show For the first week and a half after Blake, Jen, Ariel and Scott drowned in a dark cave on Y mountain, I spent most of my time staggering around my apartment like a wounded criminal, lying down in the dry bathtub, and going outside only to visit the sealed-over cave or to a attend a funeral. I hadn't informed my work or given any reason for my absence, so I was surprised when I went back for my last paycheck and found out I still had a job if I wanted it. I was working the grave shift at a low-activity 7-11, and that was where I was the night Blake died. Because of that, plus the actual shudder I felt in my spine at the thought of refilling the nacho dispenser or even pretending to clean the grill, I did not want to go back there. But I had rent to pay and was out of gin and groceries, so I re-took the job. The shift was from 12-7 AM, and nothing really happened after beer sales stopped. Officially that time was one AM, but it was almost one now, and I knew better than to look out the glass windows to the empty pavement thinking I was finished for the night. Every shift someone ran in late trying to beat the deadline. At 1:20 a guy pulled up in a Jeep Cherokee and left the vehicle-running while he pushed through the front doors like this was an emergency room. He hauled two 24-packs of Keystone Light to the front and wiped his brow as he placed them on the counter. "Sorry, I can't sell it after 1," I said. "Come on man, there are like fifty girls at my house right now," he argued. I honestly didn't know if there was a red flag in the system if I made an alcohol sale after one, and after working there a couple months I'd started selling it to people I liked in these situations. I didn't believe him about the fifty girls, but didn't like him for saying it. The top two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned. "Sorry, can't do it." In his eyes it looked for a second like he might try to take the beer and run, but maybe he remembered how heavy the cases were and thought better of it. He tried to argue with me, but I |