There is an older man (probably in his 70s or 80s) that used to come to my work every Saturday to get his newspapers. He has a disability and it is very hard for him to walk so he would call in in the mornings to request us to hold the papers and then later in the day, when he could get someone to drive him there, he would come pick them up. This became a ritual and I began holding the papers at the beginning of the day without his call so that nobody else would grab the paper beforehand (sometimes they would). He would call and ask for me because he knew that I held them.

“Skye, sweetie, how’re you?” I always recognized his voice and a smile would come to my face when he called. He would flirt with me some and say that if he were my age, he’d love to get to know me more because I seemed interesting, nice, and sweet. I would joke with Josh that he had competition.

Mr. D went on vacation around Christmas and he called me, saying not to hold the papers until he called again. He said he should be back by the end of January latest. I still haven’t heard from him. I asked around at work and nobody else has either. Maybe I care too much, but I’m getting worried. I know that it is a business relationship but I naturally have everything personal for customer service. Whether it is wrong or not, I care. It makes me sad to think that someone I care about could be in the hospital or hurt or dead but I’d never know because I’m just a random girl at the bookstore that helped them. I’d never know.