Moving to Hawaii

Charlotte sat on the beach staring out at the ocean. She picked up her phone and checked the screen for the sixth time, knowing full well she would have heard it ring. Truthfully she had hoped Dog would call, for what she didn’t know, but she really missed talking to someone. Brief small talk with the person taking her order at McDonalds just wasn’t enriching enough.

She checked her phone once more before standing to dust her shorts. It was late afternoon and she really had absolutely nowhere to go. She filled out an application at McDonalds when she had stopped for lunch, hoping they might call her too. The girl told her they weren’t currently hiring, but she would still give the application to the manager. Charlotte figured she felt sorry for her, after all she was in there daily to order from the dollar menu. She considered going back there to see if the manager had looked over the application but decided against it.

Starting the engine of her car, she glanced in the mirror. Her long dark brown hair was slightly messy from sitting in the wind, cheeks were slightly pink and the sun exposure had caused the sprinkle of freckles across her face to darken but her large green eyes still sparkled. Her hair brush was in a duffle bag somewhere so she piled her hair into a messy bun before pulling out of the parking area. She let her mind wander as she drove, not sure where she was going but not really caring either. She played the left- right game at each red light she came too, not really caring that she was wasting gas. She just wanted to feel like she was actually doing something.

After a while she began to recognize the area and pulled into a shopping center. She laughed a little realizing her mind had subconsciously taken her back to Da Kine. She parked and shut the engine down, took a couple deep breaths and got out of the car. She was prepared to ask Dog if he needed any help, sometime to answer phones or take out the trash, anything for a few bucks. But when she opened the door the only person she saw was Beth sitting behind the front desk.

“Hi”, Charlotte said cautiously.

“Hi, sista”, Beth responded. She seemed nicer than this morning. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, I was wondering if you guys needed help with anything around here...”, Charlotte began but didn’t know how to finish. Saying she was dead broke and living in her car seemed like a terrible statement closer but it was the truth.

“Big Daddy told me your story”, Beth stated. She gestured to the black leather couch off to the side of the room. Charlotte followed Beth, taking in her outfit, short and tight seemed to be her style and sky high heels. Charlotte felt very plain next to her.

“So you’ve had it rough lately, huh?” Beth asked once they were seated and facing each other.

“Yeah, I guess that’s one way to put it”, Charlotte agreed. She didn’t want to get too deep into her life, she hated crying in front of people, especially strangers. “It’s really my own fault though.”

“Part of it”, Beth justified. “You can’t help your parents passing away.”

Charlotte looked away and shrugged.

“We, our family, is all about second chances”, Beth began, taking the conversation in a new direction. “You really struck a chord with Duane this morning.”

Charlotte nodded, allowing her to continue.

“We want to give you a chance here, keep you off the streets. Duane said you needed a job?”

“Yes. I haven’t found anything so far, though I just applied to McDonalds this morning”, Charlotte added.

“What’s your background?”

“You mean work background?” When Beth nodded Charlotte continued, “I worked as a receptionist for my dad while I was in college. Sometimes I helped my mom out, she managed an art gallery, but nothing major.”

“What did you do as a receptionist for your dad?”

“Mostly answered phones, booked appointments, some filing. He was a tattoo artist so it was pretty simple.”

“How would you like to start training today?” Beth asked.

“Really?!” Charlotte asked. “I could start right now!”

“Well come on then, sista”, Beth Said with a smile, I’ll get you started.

“So for right now when someone says they want a bond all you can do is give them this form to fill out and get one of us”, Beth said. She pointed to the forms on the desk and Charlotte nodded.

“When Lana returns will she be able to help the person do that?” Charlotte asked. Lana was the regular receptionist, she had learned, who was currently away because her mother was ill.

“Yes, but for now I don’t know when she will return, so just get one of us”, Beth explained as the bell above the door chimed.

Charlotte looked up as a loud group of guys came through the door. She smiled recognizing Duane, or Dog, whichever she was supposed to call him.

“They are usually in a good mood if they make a capture”, Beth informed her. “Come on, come meet them all while they are happy.”

Charlotte nodded and followed Beth to the couch again where the group had haphazardly dropped and began removing what looked to her to be riot gear.

“Guys, we have a new receptionist, I’m training her to fill in for Lana, this is Charlotte”, Beth introduced her.

“Charlotte, welcome back dear!” Dog greeted.

“You remember Tim and Justin from this morning”, Beth added, pointing them out again just in case. “Those two over there are Dog’s sons, Duane Lee and Leland.”

“Hi”, Charlotte greeted with a small wave.

“Hey!” Duane Lee exclaimed, “welcome aboard!”

“Thanks”, Charlotte responded with a small laugh.

“How’s it?” Leland greeted.

Charlotte nodded and smiled in response.

“Well since you’re part of the team now, you get to celebrate the capture so come have a seat”, Duane Lee said. He patted the spot between him and Leland.

“Ok, how do you celebrate?” Charlotte asked, taking the spot that was offered.

“By researching our next one”, Dog said with a laugh. “Tim, what’s his name?”