The first thing I do after the door is unlocked while my uncle is resetting the alarm is run to the thermostat. It's different now that it's winter. Instead of turning the fan on and dropping the temperature, I frantically push the up arrow until the screen reads 70 degrees. I wrap my sweater just a little bit tighter as I walk to the back and unlock the two interior doors and reach over golf clubs and cardboard boxes to flip on the lights. Keeping my jacket pulled tight around me, I make a round through the store, making sure everything is still in its somewhat chaotic order. I check my DVD's -- my project for the few short weeks while I'm here -- all in place, no spaces left between the cases.
Through the door, I see the green pick up truck pull into the parkinglot. Jerry's here; time to open. Lester saunters through the door with his oversized sweatshirt, beanie cap and smile already on his face. "Mornings" are exchanged as I flip the closed sign to Open! Reaching over the new ATM, I pull the tiny chain to light up the purple and green neon sign. I wander back through the side aisle, past the golf video game and flip on the case lights. With customers already pulling open the door, it's time for my coat to come off -- unfortunately.
At 11:30, the thermostat still hasn't reached its designated 70 degrees, but we've had several sales, and even bought some gold. The TV's on the table are blaring stories of sports events and happenings as they prepare for one bowl game or another. Red Bulls are popped, first round of cigarrettes smoked, so now we wait for the early afternoon rush.
The guys here have become a family: Jerry, Steve, Lester, Jason, Uncle Doug and now Jenny's been added to the mix. Each has their schedule, their responsibilities and work together in unison, keeping the shop running smoothly and effectively. I miss these guys when I go home. Lester occasionally tags me in some pictures of the shop and I get this kind of homesickness feeling in the pit of my stomach while I anxiously await the next time I can skip, tightly bundled or not, into the store and prepare for yet another day spent at Pawn Starz.
No comments:
Post a Comment