“A new job a new me.”

Sherry thought this as she looked herself over in the mirror. She looked ‘ok,’ not great. It didn’t really matter though, she didn’t want to make friends. Not really. She just wanted to get paid.

Sherry’s last job ended abruptly. Things around her had a way of getting complicated. That was the best way to explain things. It was the easiest way to explain them because the real reason was a little bit tricky.

Everything always started out fine for a few months, then slowly things would happen and in some situations Sherry had to say something which was never easy and always hard to explain. So instead there would be an anonymous email and shortly after she would look for another job.

Sherry’s thought about her first job at a grocery superstore. She had worked there for several years. People came and went but one she always remembered was a girl that had been hired about a year after Sherry had been there. It was over 20 years since but she couldn’t remember the girls name and maybe she had never known it? She always called her ‘The New Girl.’

The girl worked well with everyone. She joked around with them and had fun. They all worked the overnight shift 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. four days a week. The store was open 24 hours but Sherry had no clue why, no one ever came in after 10 p.m. even during the holidays, there was maybe the occasional random shopper but they didn’t buy much and didn’t stay long.

On this particular night Sherry was paired up with the New Girl and they were stocking canned vegetables. The shelves were empty so it was taking a very long time. Sherry was thinking that people were too serious about eating vegetables. The New Girl though she hadn’t stopped talking. She was prattling on and on about her fine husband and her cute baby. She talked about her brother too who had started the same day she did, Sherry would nod and say ‘uh-huh,’ or ‘how cute,’ or ‘aww that’s sweet,’ at appropriate intervals but she wasn’t really listening.

Then some thing strange happened. It was like time stopped and the air left the building and the New Girl says, “My husband is abusing me, I’m going to leave him, don’t tell my brother.”

Then with a whoosh or a whir like an engine restarting everything was back to normal and the New Girl was saying, “Gawd my baby is so cute. I can’t believe he came from me sometimes.”

“Wait,” Sherry stopped her from talking. “What did you just say?”

The New Girl looked at her and said, “My baby? He’s just so, so cute. I can’t believe he’s mine sometimes I look at him and…”

“No,” Sherry interrupted her again. “The other thing about your husband and your brother?”

Then over the intercom came the voice of the night shift manager Jerry. “Brrrrreak time, stocking crew time for your 15 minutes of fame.”

“Thank god!, I really need a smoke.” The New Girl said then got up quickly and began to walk to the back of the store.

Sherry was dumbfounded, why did the girl say what she said then claim she didn’t say what she said. Sherry was standing there watching her walk away when her friend Sam walked around the corner with a cigarette already in between her lips and a lighter in her hand.

“Hey girl,” Sam greeted Sherry with a smile. “We better go or all the seats will be taken.”

Sherry fell in step next to Sam as they started walking back to the breakrooms.

“Have you ever talked to her?” Sherry pointed to the New Girl who was almost jogging to the breakrooms.

“Ugh,” Sam said rolling her eyes. She had taken the cigarette from her lips and was tapping it on the back of her hand. “You mean have I ever let her talk at me, yeah. We were stocking the milk last night.”

“Does she ever talk about her husband?” Sherry asked.

Sam put the back of her had to her forehead in a swoon gesture then started to talk with a thick southern accent. “My husband is ever so dreamy. All the women want to fuck him but he’s my man!”

Sherry laughed and shook her head, “No, not that I mean that he abuses her, she was going to leave him and not to tell her brother?”

By this time they were at the door of the breakroom. Sam had been right all the stockers were crammed in the small room and there were no seats left. Sam paused at the door with her hand on the handle, “No,” she said. “Did she tell you that?”

“We’ll talk later,” Sherry said. Sam shook her head yes and pulled open the door so they could walk inside.

After break Sherry was moved to the aisle with baking goods. She was glad, she was enjoying the silence. Sherry was lost in thought putting out cans of evaporated milk when someone whispered right in her ear, “Hey girl.”

Sherry screamed and flung herself around to Sam standing there laughing her ass off. Cans of evaporated milk were rolling down the aisle and Sherry was scrambling to catch them.

“You asshole,” she yelled at Sam. “You scared me.”

“Yeah,” Sam said. “You were all wrapped up in your cans of milk.”

Sam was helping Sherry pick them up and put them on the shelf. “What did you bring for lunch?” Sam asked.

“Leftover hamburger helper, so delicious.” Sherry put the last can back on the shelf. “What did you bring?”

“I have to go buy something.” Sam told her. “Come with me to get it because it’s almost time.”

Then right on que the lunch announcement came over the intercom. “Well lets go eat our crappy lunches together.” Sherry said and she and Sam went to have lunch.

As they were walking through the store Sam told Sherry she asked the New Girl if her husband was ever mean to her or rough with her, she said she asked in a way that the girl wouldn’t think was suspicious. “I mean, she was talking about him incessantly so really I don’t think she knew what I was asking. She just said ‘oh no, never he’s so great and he loves me so much.’”

Sam used the same heavy accent to mimic the girl. Sherry laughed and said, “why did she say it then? I don’t get it, why say something like that then deny it was ever said?”

“I don’t know, I think she just talks without thinking. I don’t think anyone ever really listens to her so she comes to work and just talks. I wonder if her throat ever gets sore.” Sam said while looking over some Dinty Moore Beef Stew. “This is lunch.”

The rest of the night was uneventful. Sherry and Sam worked together for the rest of the shift. They didn’t talk anymore about the New Girl.

Looking back on those days now, Sherry couldn’t help but think those were the best times of her life. She and Sam had left long ago, but it was Sam who figured out Sherry’s gift and helped her accept and kind of how to use it, or not use it, and they were still close friends.

Sam was the sister Sherry never had and truly a great friend. Sherry didn’t know what she would do without her and was happy to have her in her life.

It was everything after she realized what she could do that Sherry had a hard time handling.

Sherry stops in front of the door to the building of her new job and takes a deep breath. “Just don’t talk to anyone unless they talk to you.”

She pushes open the door and walks into the crowded lobby.

“You need to get your picture taken.”

“What?” Sherry asks squinting to adjust her eyes from the bright sunlight to the slightly less bright light of the lobby.

“Your picture? For the name badge?” A strange man in a suit was waving his hands in front of her face. “You are just as dumb as the other ones.’

“Did you just call me dumb?” Sherry asked him.

The look on his face told Sherry, he did, but not out loud.

Sam had figured it out first, even before Sherry realized it, it was the incident with the New Girl at the grocery store years before. Sherry can hear peoples thoughts.

Now though Sherry needed to cover her tracks. “Oh yeah,” she said. “My picture, for my name badge.”

Sherry looked over to where a camera was set up in front of a screen with the company name and logo and pointed. “Here?”

The man nodded yes but Sherry could tell he was still weirded out. She smiled pretty for the camera then pointed to a group of people standing to their left. “So I just wait her with these highly intelligent people?”

“Yea,” suit man replied. “Someone will be down to take you to the training room in just a moment.”

“Ok” Sherry said. “Thanks.”

The man just nodded but as he turned away from Sherry he thought “weird bitch.”

Sherry just grabbed a pamphlet and pretended to be fully absorbed in it when she saw the man turn back around to see if she reacted. Sherry just hoped that he would turn and walk off and just think he had accidentally said what he was thinking out loud.

She thought about the early days though at the grocery store, where it all started. When she was blissfully unaware of her ability and life had been so much easier.

Lost in Memories.

The next night at the grocery superstore Sherry Sam and the New Girl were all working together in the seasonal candy aisle. It was close to Halloween and they couldn’t keep Halloween candy on the shelves. The New Girl was rattling on and on again about her husband, son and brother. Sam kept making Sherry laugh, she would roll her eyes or point her finger to her open mouth like she was trying to make herself barf.

Then just like the night before the air left the store and everything was quiet.

“My husband abuses me and I’m going to leave him. Don’t tell my brother.” Sherry heard the New Girl say.

Then whoosh, the sound was back the void was gone.

“That is the second time you’ve said that,” Sherry said to the New Girl.

“Said what?” The New girl looked from Sherry to Sam clearly confused.

“That your husband abuses you and you’re going to leave him and don’t tell your brother.” Sherry said.

“Oh dang,” the New Girl said. “I said that out loud?”

Just then the loud speaker announcing break came over the intercom.

The New Girl pointed to the ceiling with both hands and moved them up and down.

“Break time, break time, YAY!” she said and jumped up and quickly started walking to the back of the store.

Sherry turned to Sam who was staring her down.

“What?” Sherry asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“She didn’t say that.” Sam said with a flat voice.

Sherry shook her head confused, “She didn’t say what?”

“That thing about her husband, she didn’t say that, she was talking about her son,” Sam explained.

“Oh, ha, ha, very funny,” Sherry said. Her hands were shaking and she didn’t know why she was so nervous right now. “We need to go after her.”

“No Sherry, you and I need to talk,” Sam said looking directly at her. “She was talking about a game her husband was playing with her son, you heard something else.”

“No,” Sherry told Sam. She was starting to get pissed off. “She said it, and it was the second time she said it, I heard her Sam, how did you not hear it? We were both right here.”

“Yeah,” Sam said same flat voice still staring directly at Sherry. “I was here but she didn’t say that, not out loud.”

Sherry felt stuck to the spot she was standing in, she couldn’t move any part of her body. She was still looking back at Sam who had not stopped looking at her the whole time they were talking.

“How did I hear it then?” Sherry asked Sam. “If she didn’t say it out loud how did I hear it Sam?”

Sam took a step closer to Sherry and stopped. She started rubbing her forehead with her fingers then put both hands down and looked at Sherry again.

“I don’t know but lets go to break, I need a cigarette.” Sam said still looking at Sherry. They both slowly turned and started walking to the breakroom. “Your butt stink and you ugly,” Sam said.

“Sam!” Sherry yelped. “What is your problem.”

They both turned and looked at each other.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked.

“You know what I mean,” Sherry told her.

“No Sherry I don’t,” Sam said she stopped and turned to look at Sherry. “Please tell me.”

Sherry looked at Sam, trying to read the look on her face. “You said my butt stank and I was ugly.”

“No I didn’t,” Sam said her lips were moving then, “Not out loud.”

Sherry stepped back, she was shaking her head. “How did you do that?”

“Do what?” Sam asked but again her face didn’t change, her lips didn’t move.

Sam felt her face flush. She was hot and felt like she was going to vomit.

“Tell Jeff I have to go,” Sherry said. “I’m sick.”

“No Sherry wait,” Sam reached out for her but she had already turned to walk away.

“No,” Sherry said. “I have to go.”

So many thoughts were going through Sherry’s mind. She could hear Sam calling her but she just kept walking. She clocked out and left. The only sound was the mechanical whoosh of the sliding glass doors as she walked to her car.