Gracie rose from the bed, sore from last night, but determined to get ready for work before Rob woke. She has become accustomed to waking to a vibrating alarm. Rob has broken four alarm clocks until she learned to put her phone on vibrate and into the drawer of the night stand. She dressed in the bathroom in clothes that she had stashed in the vanity under the sink before going to bed last night.
Her long wavy black hair seldom did what she wanted, but a ponytail took care of that quickly enough. She was built on the slim side, with blue eyes the color of a clear summer sky. She had wished for a little more curve, but she dared not to overeat and become less appealing to her husband. She carefully applied make up and mascara before leaving the bathroom.
Rob didn't want to be disturbed when she went to work. He wanted Gracie to stay home and be the perfect housewife, but he didn't want children, nor did he earn enough to pay all the bills and keep drinking his beer. Rob smoked, and refused to quit, taking more money from his own paycheck.
Gracie knew that last night would lead to bruising, but she had no time for that now. The guests from last night were no longer in the living room. She checked the car before getting into it. She has had slashed tires from drunken female bartenders. She found one of Rob's friends asleep in the back seat when he woke up on her drive to work. One night some joker tied a string of beer cans to the bumper like for a newlywed couple.
Gracie parks in her usual spot and opens the door to the day. She puts her purse in the trunk, taking only her wallet, phone and keys with her. She has known people that have had their purses stolen out of their cars, so she takes no chances.
After clocking in, she went to the cash office to find the customer service manager for her assignment. Thankfully, it's Tammy and Becky in the cash office. Tammy smiled, handed Gracie a cash drawer and took one for herself. "Let's get this day started, shall we? See ya later, Beck."
Becky smiled. "Later, Tam. Hey, Grace." Becky was a woman of few words. A recovering heroine addict, Becky had a hard life of give-and-take abuse with her ex-husband, also a recovering addict. They became friends after the divorce and the start of recovery. Their two children were now well-adjusted adults.
"She will help you leave him." A chill runs down Gracie's spine. It was the same voice as last night.
"Did you feel that?" Becky rubs her right arm, the arm closest to Gracie. "It felt like a cold breeze and now it's gone."
"Yeah, I did," Gracie replied. "Weird."
....
Most of the day proceeded normally - smile, ask if the customer needs anything else, laugh at lame jokes, empathize with the rising cost of living, ring, bag and say goodbye. The first break is at just over 2 hours, the meal break is 2 hours later. Just after her meal break it starts to get really busy.
Sure enough, the phone in Gracie's pocket starts to vibrate while she has a line five deep. She knew it was Rob calling. She typed in the code for a bathroom break into the register, but knew it would probably have to wait for the line to recede.
Surprisingly, Tammy shows up, taking over ringing and saying, "Go now or forever hold your pee. We just had the police show up with their school shop buddies." Police officers from both the town police and the sheriff's office take less fortunate children shopping for school supplies. Today was the Greenbrier Sheriff's Office with their selected children.
"Thanks." Gracie didn't mince words. She had to call Rob back. She fished her phone out of her pocket on the way to the bathroom. Her call went directly to voicemail, which was full. Rob didn't even bother to clear out his voice mailbox. He liked to watch her wince at the call from women, the threats to cut off utilities that she, herself had barely been able to pay and calls from his mother on how useless Gracie was in keeping house and being unable to have children.
Before she could redial, Rob called again. "Where ARE you?! I need my breakfast!"
"I'm at work. You know I work Saturdays." Gracie was calm. Yelling or getting upset would only serve to piss Rob off.
"Fine. You're paying for delivery. Bring home beer." Rob hung up before Gracie could respond.
Luckily, the bathroom was empty, and Gracie was able to finish her business and get back to the register quickly. She didn't have to endure the pitying looks she would get when other people heard her phone conversations with Rob. He would yell so loud at times that people could hear him even without it being on speaker. Gracie loved him, although it was hard to tell if Rob loved her. He needed her, sure. She cooked and cleaned the house, did the laundry and made sure the bills got paid, albeit a little late. He still said that he loved her, just never in public.
Fortunately, Rob left her alone for the rest of her shift. Nor did Gracie see any of Rob's friends. He wasn't checking up on her. She bought two cases of Rob's beer, some ingredients for dinner and a small bottle of Chardonnay for herself. Maybe she could understand him better with a little wine in her system.
When she gets home, Gracie brings home the groceries herself, making sure not to walk in front of the ball game on TV. Rob is involved in the late season baseball game, yet still manages to say, "You're late."
"Your beer." Gracie deftly opens a beer can and places it in Rob's outstretched hand. It will keep him content for the moment. Gracie ignores the scantily-clad, big breasted chunky girl asleep on the couch.
Rob has told Gracie time and again that he will divorce her if she gets over 200 lbs, telling her that "It's not healthy to carry around all that weight. However, whenever he sees a plus-sized girl, he comments that he wants to "stuff all those folds."
It didn't start this way. They were high school sweethearts. Gracie and Rob were inseparable. They sat together in class. Gracie tutored Rob in math classes, including Algebra, Calculus and the science classes of Chemistry and Physics. He helped her out of her shyness and onto the soccer field. The team didn't do very well, but it was fun while it lasted.
Rob, of course, was on the football team. He was a tight end, which defended the quarterback and ran the ball once in a while. He loved to tackle the defender just a little harder than necessary and not get caught. He had plenty of female attention, but preferred to chase Gracie.
As the eldest son of a prominent business owner, Rob was surrounded by decisions that were made for him. Rob's mother had chosen a nice girl for him to marry. Nancy was a "good girl" whose parents owned a hardware and feed store. Rob's father was certain that Rob would take over the business when he retired.
All that stopped when he proposed to Gracie. Rob's father threatened to disinherit him. Rob's brother, Rick, is taking over the business. Nancy married the quarterback and divorced him three years later. Rob's mother finds fault in everything Gracie does. She also laments that Rob has no children to carry on his legacy, again blaming Gracie.
Gracie's parents moved to the area from Virginia Beach, Virginia. As a new dentist in the area, Gracie's father had to advertise for clients. Gracie's mother became the town librarian after the former one passed away. The townsfolk are still somewhat stand-offish. Gracie is still considered an outsider.
Rob and Gracie were happy when they both worked and still had time for friends and for each other. Rob's father stepped in and made Rob a project manager over small budget projects. What cut his time at home even further were the meetings with project designers, city officials and potential clients.
When Rob would come home drunk and smelling of other women, Gracie would object. Rob would push her away and complain that she didn't understand. Rob would fall asleep and the loneliness crept in. Rob became more demanding of Gracie's free time, and the friends fell away. Now this is what they are. Unhappy.
"You can be so much more, do so much more," the voice in her head was positive, at least. "You don't need him. He needs you to be a doormat." That was unexpected.