The Home Improver Store Ch. 08

Hiya kids, for this story we are heading to the front entrance of the Home Improver Store. There you'll find help if you need to do a return or have a question. Their supervisor is a bit strict but maybe that just might change in the near future...

Also I would like to credit Rosemary's name to a special lady that goes by K- as she chose that name when I was having some pretty bad writers block for a name for a Titania. And to her I also promise to give Edward and Karem another story soon...

From Bob the lawyer: names, places, incidents are all fictional and used for entertainment purposes only. Any similarity is purely coincidental and unintended.

*****

Special Services. It was the large desk by the entrance of the store that handled many of the day-to-day needs of the business. It was also the shitting ground of everything. Needed to return something? Go there. Had an online order? Go there. Issue with a special order? Complaint? Something you didn't know? You guessed it. Go there. It was ran by associates that were used to the constant, hectic stress of angry, bitchy customers who wanted everything at that very moment.

You sank or swam in that department. Most drowned... Horribly. Those that did make it were forged by fire unmatched by any other, even that of an Ingis or Dragon. They were hardened against the pure, massive, soul crushing force of home improvement retail. None though were as hardened as their supervisor; a Human in his 40s with salt and pepper hair, his name was Dan. Most though just called him Steely Dan. He was all business and showed little to no emotion, regardless of the circumstances.

An Ogre enraged that her washer was back ordered? Nothing. Angry Hellhound that couldn't get help in D69 because the whole department called out? Cool as a cucumber. Senile old human woman who wanted to buy a gallon of milk from the Plumbing aisle? Not a twitch of his eye.

While certainly stoic, Dan was not unattractive. Many a Mamono had asked him out, particularly the loli variety that saw him as a perfect "onii chan." All were politely shot down. It seemed that Dan just wasn't interested in romance. This tended to especially infuriate the heavenly variety of Mamono such as Barbara the Cupid that worked over in Hardware. So much so that Annie the HR P'Orc had to schedule them on completely separate shifts after what was only referred to as "The Valentine's Day Incident". They were still trying to patch up all the arrow holes in front of the desk...

Thus Dan worked his days in quiet obscurity until one day a new hire to Garden crossed his path. Annie had recently done a batch of hiring and was showing the store's newest associate to her department.

As she passed by the desk, Dan's heart leaped into his throat. With golden blonde hair, green eyes, pointed ears that protruded sideways from her head and iridescent butterfly wings, she was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He fought to remember what species she was. A fairy? No, they were usually slim and doll sized. She had to be around 5'5" and was quite busty. What was she?

"Wow, the new girls a Titania! Ya don't see that everyday." He heard a nearby associate say.

A Titania! That was it! She was a fairy queen! For the first time in quite a long while, he felt a stirring of emotion. As if sensing his thoughts, she turned her head in his direction and smiled softly. He hesitantly returned it, unsure if it really was directed at him.

"Mmmm, someone's got an eye for the new girl." Purred Paula the Imp. She was Dan's trusty second in command and the closest thing to another friend that he had in the store. She at one time had a crush on him and even asked him out like so many others. After a rare heart to heart where Dan confided some of his past to her, it was decided that it would be for the best if they remain just co-workers and friends.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Paula," He mumbled, "Besides, girls like that are interested in younger men. Not old guys like me."

"Come on OC, that's a pretty racist thing to say," The Imp said chidingly, "It doesn't matter if you're young or old, tall or short, big dick or small dick. If a Mamono likes ya, then they like ya. Don't sell yourself short over something like that. Besides, I'd bet you my paycheck she thinks you're hot."

Dan grimaced at her bluntness and use of the nickname, OC standing for "onii chan." It was an impossible task to break an Imp (especially one that was strictly devoted to the Church of the Sabbath) of not referring to an older male friend as "onii chan". For Dan's comfort, Paula compromised with OC. It wasn't ideal in his eyes, but it beat her saying the whole damn thing every time in front of everybody.

Dan annoyingly felt a mild pang of sadness as Annie lead her away to the Garden department. He idly wondered what her name was.

"Rosemary." Said Paula as if reading his thoughts.

"How do you know?"

"Says so on the schedule." She replied, tossing him the clipboarded paper showing all the names and work times of every associate that day.

Tracing his finger down to the Garden department area, he found her at the bottom.

Garden

Regina: 6:00am - 2:00pm

L: 10:00am-10:30am

Brianna: 1:00pm - 5:00pm

Fred: 6:00pm - 10:00pm

Rosemary: 12:30pm - 9:00pm.

L: 4:30pm - 5:00pm

Looking over, he saw Paula giving him a large, gleeful smile which he returned with a frown.

"I knew this day would happen!" She squealed cutely.

Dan quietly growled to himself as he placed the clipboard back on the desk and walked away. He didn't want to open his heart up again. He was fine with not feeling love or anything for that matter, it was just easier that way. Less disappointing, less painful...

The steely man worked himself into a frenzy that day. Every order checked and double checked, every Will Call verified and all the next day deliveries staged and ready but, as it always does, retail tends to always win against a desperate man...

**************************

Dan let loose a ragged sigh as he walked to his late-model Kia. 13 hours, that was how long he ended spending at the store. 3 call outs in the afternoon and major mess up with two previous different deliveries pretty much forced the steely man to work a shift straight from hell. At least it was over now.

Sliding into the driver's seat, he closed the door and buckled up. Turning the key in the ignition, he heard not the start of the car's engine but just a dull click. Trying again he was met with the same result. Dan let out a tired sigh of depression and grimace, a rare show of emotion.

Not tonight, of all nights, not tonight, he prayed to himself. Staring down at the steering wheel, he went though the available options in his head. He could try calling his roommate for a ride, but then Dan remembered something about him going out on a date that night. He could try asking someone in the store for a ride, but that just felt too awkward. A cab? He wasn't sure if he had enough spare cash for that, it was a tough week for his budget.

A gentle tap on his window stirred Dan from his thoughts. Looking over, he saw the very girl who haunted his thoughts all day looking at him through the glass with concern.

Feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over him, he rolled down the window and the Titania asked,

"Um, I'm sorry to disturb you, but are you ok?"

"I... That is... My car... Yes... I mean no." He stammered as the fairy queen simply stared at him with a small smile on her face.

Taking a breath, Dan fought to compose himself as he said slowly, "I seem to be having some car problems."

"You're one of the managers here, aren't you?"

She noticed him?

"I'm the Service Desk supervisor, yes. My name is Dan." He replied, fighting to keep his voice even and a blush off his face.

"Did you need a ride?"

Dans stomach did a somersault, was this really happening? Well, he really didn't have a choice. It was that or sleeping in his car.

"Yes... If it's not too much trouble, that is?"

"It's no trouble at all!" She laughed gently.

Wearily pulling himself back out of his car, Dan followed her to a new cherry red Ford Focus. He wondered absently how she was able to afford it.

"I do live out in the country, I apologize for the inconvenience." He said formally, as buckled his seatbelt. The steely man was secretly trying rein in his emotions of being in such tight quarters with the gorgeous fairy queen, but it was a losing battle as the exceedingly long day was taking its toll on him.

"So do I!" Rosemary exclaimed as she pulled out of the parking lot, "It's so peaceful and beautiful. It reminds me of back home."

Dan grunted in acknowledgement as the cars vibration had a lulling effect on him. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier with every passing moment until fatigue finally won out. He fell asleep, head against the window as the world passed by.

**********************************

'So comfortable,' were Dans first thoughts as he drifted in his sleep, but the last few memories caused him to quickly awaken as he sat up on a strange green sofa in an unfamiliar room. Peering around, he found the lights were set low, and wood paneling covered the walls around him. He appeared to be in a living room heavily decorated with potted plants both hanging and resting on the floor. It almost felt like he was in a forest of sorts.

"Oh good, you're up!" Came a cheerful voice as the lights grew brighter and Rosemary walked in carrying a tray with drinks.

"Where am I?" Dan demanded. He didn't trust this at all, there were plenty of stories around that told of men being drugged and sexually assaulted. He did not want to be another statistic.

"You're in my home, silly. You fell asleep before telling me where you lived so I decided to take you to my place. You seemed so tired, I wanted to let you get a little rest before waking you." Rosemary explained cheerfully as she set the tray down on an intricate looking wooden coffee table before him.

Dan internally flushed with embarrassment of both his unfair thoughts towards the fairy and of falling asleep, causing her trouble.

"My apologies, I did not mean to inconvenience you, I-"

"Why are you apologizing to me?" She interrupted with a small giggle.

"Because you had to bring me to your home due to my passing out. It was very unprofessional of me."

"It was unprofessional to be so tired that you needed sleep?" The fairy asked with a hint of a chiding grin.

Dan had to admit, even to him, it did sound dumb. Still, being a man of corporate retail, he was trained to keep on script, no matter how ridiculous things were.

"Yes."

Before she could remark further, Dan asked, "How were you able to get me from your car to here?"

"Fairy dust, it's how we fly, I sprinkled some on you and you became light as a feather." Wiggling a finger at him, Dan could feel himself floating up from where he sat.

"I see," He said stiffly as he quickly grabbed at the armrest of the sofa, "could you please put me down now?"

Another wiggle of her finger had the steely man sink back down to where he was.

"That is very... Convenient."

"It is." She replied, amused at his discomfort, as she sat in a nearby wooden chair.

"Would I be able to ask for you to take me home now?" He asked, hopefully.

"It's 3am, are you sure you wouldn't like to just stay the rest of the night?"

3am? Dan quickly took out his cheap, prepaid flip phone. True enough, it read 3:06am. That put him in a bind, sure he had the day off but staying at a complete strangers house didn't exactly seem right. Let alone a stranger that was also an employee and the loveliest woman he had ever set eyes on. But then asking that very person to drive him home at 3am was also quite rude.

"You know I'm not going to hurt you or do anything bad."

Dan sharply looked up to see that Rosemary was observing him in thought.

"Faries aren't like other Mamono, in fact we aren't even related to them. We are a gentle and peaceful people who love nature."

An embarrassing guilt filled him. She thought that he was hesitating because he was afraid of her. Licking his lips, he tried to explain,

"I'm not afraid of you. It's just I'm finding myself in an... unusual situation. I swear though, I don't think that you're going to do anything... untoward. It's just you're a fellow associate and things could be misconstrued, that's all.

Rosemary slightly cocked her head in further enjoyment at his flustering.

"How would things be misconstrued if you just said that you believed that I wouldn't do anything to you?"

Dan opened his mouth but no words found their way out. She had him there.

"Point taken," He said grudgingly.

"You're safe here, I promise." She said with a smile that both lit up the room and shook the steely man to his core. The odd thing was, he believed her. It was something he couldn't explain, but aside from stirring long forgotten feelings in his heart, he knew for some reason she would never harm him. He would always be safe with her, almost as if she were a big sister. It was almost comforting.

Wait, big sister? He balked at such a thought. She had to be a good 20 or so years younger than him. Still, he just couldn't shake the feeling.

"Tell me about yourself, Dan." Her request pulling him from deep and confusing thoughts.

"There's not much to tell, I'm the supervisor of the Service Desk."

"There has to be more than that!" She chided, her wings fluttering slightly.

"It's all there is." He answered with small shrug of his shoulders.

Standing, the fairy took flight and landed next to him on the sofa. Turning his head, he was met with a reprimanding stare from her. She was making him feel like such a child, but it was working. Unexplainably, he made the difficult choice to open up her.

Dan reached out and took ahold of the glass before him. Taking a trial sip of the reddish iced beverage, he found it was sweet and tasted of berries. Deciding he liked it, he took a larger swig and set the glass back on the table before starting. Rosemary simply waited patiently as Dan composed himself for his story.

"Some years ago, I worked for a tech start-up in Silicon Valley. I was married at the time, we were college sweethearts. It was hard but we eventually had a son, Tommy. Things aren't the easiest when you work for a start-up. Long hours, lots of stress, the fear of everything riding on a single hope. Everyone was trying to be the next big thing like Fuckbook or Instanude. You know, the guys that made it. Go public, make a ton of money, go down in history as the ones that changed the world." He let out a small laugh at the end as the fairy queen watched him intently.

"But it never happened?"

"Oh no, it did. We got big and we got popular. Enough of both to go live, public that is, and then... We were rich. We were all rich."

Dan looked up to see a mildly shocked look on her face.

"But... But how..."

"How did I end up where I am now?" He finished with a sad smile of his own.

"...Yes," Rosemary looked down shyly as she fidgeted with her own glass, "that is if you don't mind telling?"

"Our company exploded in popularity, we were growing at an insane rate and there was always so much work to do. I would look up at the clock and realize I'd been at it for 16 hours straight. At first my wife, Sandra, she was understanding. She knew they relied on me a lot at. The fact that she had more money than she knew what to do with also helped, I'm sure. We bought a big house, BMW's... everything we ever wanted."

Rosemary watched his face grow darker as he continued. She could feel and see all the misery, the suffering, all that he had been suppressing over the years surfacing. Her heart ached to see such pain and she deeply wanted to embrace him, to take away his poison, but it wasn't the time. He still had more to tell.

Dans steady voice began to crack as he continued,

"But then after a few months, I would come home, find her nervous. Jumpy even. As if she was hiding something. She ways always trying to tidy up here and there when I was around. I was so tired, I never really noticed. Just took a shower, shovel something in my mouth and go to bed. Day in day out, that's how it was. I should have realized I was ignoring her. Ignoring our son. He was growing up and... I didn't care enough to watch, to be a part of it. All that mattered was work. The company... My work... It became my whole life."

Tears formed in the steely man's eyes.

"I should noticed. I should have realized. I... I don't blame her. I wasn't her husband anymore. I wasn't a father. I was just a source of income. I wasn't there for either of them."

Rosemary took a silken handkerchief from a hidden pocket and handed to him. Gratefully accepting, he wiped his eyes.

"One day at the office, a man comes up to me and asks my name. I thought he was just a new intern or something, so I tell him my name, expecting him to ask if I wanted some Starfucks. Instead he hands me a manila folder and says 'I've been served'. They were divorce papers. She had found someone else and wanted to be with him. The judge ended up giving her everything. Both cars, the house, stocks, Tommy... Almost everything but the shirt off my back."

He stared down at the melting ice cubes in his glass on the wooden table, unable to look back up at her. He felt too much shame, too much embarrassment. He had no idea why he was telling such a personal and painful part of his life to her. She was a stranger he had just met, yet for some reason he felt as though he could trust her. That she wouldn't criticize him nor laugh at his misfortune.

"I had a few thousand in savings that no one knew about. A rainy day fund, I suppose. Lived off that for a while, but things had changed. My work... It went suffered pretty bad."

He chuckled bitterly in remembrance, "They fired me. After all the hours, all my sacrifices, they just let me go. 'Sorry Dan, we need people that can perform to expectations around here'. That's what they told me. Then what little money I had dried up. I had a friend that lived over here, we went to high school together and would talk on and off. He told me it was cheaper to live over in the Central Valley. I roomed with him, got a job at the Home Improver Store, was able to get somewhat back on my feet but... I was tired of hurting of being hurt and of hurting others. I didn't want to feel anymore and if no one loved me than they wouldn't get hurt either. It made sense and it was just easier that way. So I just turned it all off. Became Steely Dan."

Dan felt a pair of lithe, soft arms draping themselves around him. Looking up, he found the Titanias face was close to his own. She smelled faintly of her own namesake, rosemary. He should have pulled away, broke from her grasp, yet he was powerless in gentle embrace. Despite her looking years younger than him, she had a comforting aura of a big sister, one that wouldn't judge and that would protect him from any harm.

"You are a good man who doesn't deserve to live without love."

"No, I'm not," He mumbled through the tears as he fought them back, "I let them down. I didn't love them like they deserved. I'm nothing but a failure."

"You made a mistake, no one is perfect." She whispered to him then moved closer until their faces all but touched, "The river of time is unyielding. If one constantly dwells in the past, they drown in its current."

Deep in her emerald green eyes, Dan saw a powerful river. It flowed and coursed unrelenting over all in its path. In its very center, Dan saw himself struggling to keep his head above the water.

"You are drowning in your past. In your pain, shut off from love, from feelings. There are many that could save you. Mend your heart," In her eyes, the image changed to Barbara, to Paula and the many others that had asked him out, "But I think I should be the one to."