Chapter 3 Three

*** Phil ***

Philip Gonza drove his black Mazda into his street mart private parking lot, waving to the security staff members as he passed. He parked at his usual reserved spot beside the Khaya tree, near the supermarket entrance. Turning off the engine caused the car radio to go off too, bringing the usual calm and quiet that he loved so much at this time of day.

Phil checked the time again. It was already 7.25. The sun was coming up full now. The Ever-Good supermarket did not open to customers until 8.15 AM and his self-assigned resumption time was 7.50. Although he liked to arrive at least twenty minutes earlier. It gave him time to chill in his car and fiddle with his phone or just let his mind roam.

This was his routine every morning since his father handed him this shop. He loved sitting under this slightly large tree with his car door open in the mornings before resuming his duties. The only sound at this time was of birds singing atop the tree. Cars honked out in the street, but the sound was too distant to bother anyone sitting here at this hour.

Even the heat of the morning sun could not get to him underneath the tree especially this time of the year when the tree's shade was this thick. He liked watching the morning shift staff walk into the supermarket premises to resume their shift. As much as he hated tardiness, this was not a witch hunt. The clocking machine did that job for him. It easily determined who was constantly late for their duties. Watching the staff come in was now part of his morning thing.

At this time, some morning shift workers should have already entered before he arrived because they started work at 7.40. He bet his assistant was already in there. These ones were in the punctual category. They always came in before their resumption time. Then there were those who always walked in at the exact time, if not one minute late. The third category was those who were perpetually five or ten minutes late.

As long as they came in before 8 AM, he often turned a blind eye to the latecomers, pretending not to notice them. He didn't waste energy on trivialities like that. The most important thing was competence and seriousness in their duties.

Phil's eyes moved to the gate and he spotted one of the cashiers coming inside the premises. She had just walked through the gate. It was Miss Blue nails. She greeted the security guy with a smile and waved at someone else whom Phil could not see from where he sat. No doubt it was the other security guard.

The girl was dressed in denim today, top and bottom. The top had very small sleeves, it could've been a sleeveless top. Her deep black kinky curls were folded up as usual, but that shiny thingy on the ribbon caught the sunlight, causing her face to glint. He quickly looked away as she continued to head towards his direction to go round back into the staff entrance. He kept looking at her through his window glass as she walked by.

This one was among the one-minute late category. Hell, she was the only one in that category. No one else came in for work exactly one minute before or after their shift resumption time. He could bet that the girl always hid somewhere every time, looking at her watch to make sure she was not one minute too early for work. It was also the same when she closed. She never lingered around the supermarket afterward. You would never find her here five minutes after her shift's closing time.

Maybe today was the day she would hand in her resignation, Phil thought. He expected it every day when he saw her walking into the premises. From the moment she had started working here, he had known this one was not going to stick around for too long. It wasn't that she was incompetent. No. It was the contrary. She was overqualified for the role and clearly, she was holding on while actively searching for a better opportunity. Too bad, there was no room for promotion at this time in the supermarket.

There was nothing new about the fact that most people were stuck in jobs they hated. In fact, the majority of people were in that situation. Phil tried to think of anyone he knew who loved their job. No one came to mind. The girl did her job quite well, but she didn't hide the fact that she hated it here. He was not sure how he felt about that because this was his business.

Every once in a while, she would come up with an excuse to skip work. And Phil knew it was to attend an interview somewhere. He did not blame or hate her for it. He was no enemy of progress. But the other day, he spent a good deal of his day wondering what to do when he caught her red-handed.

It was the day he went to Madam Daniels' funeral, God rest her soul. He was leaving the cemetery that day when he spotted her in front of the Coca-Cola kiosk right across the street.

She had called in sick in the morning and he had found himself nearly worrying. Not that he had any business feeling that way. The girl had sounded so low on the phone and he had believed she truly was not well. Imagine his shock when he saw her standing by the kiosk, buying a drink, and then proceeding to sit on the ugly bench under the torn Coca-Cola umbrella some hours after she called.

He had almost missed her because of the silly half-head cap she was wearing. But her hair had been tied the same way using her favorite ash-gray ribbon with the shiny thing. Well, she wore it more often, so it must be her favorite.

She looked very formal and healthy in her button-down gown that for a moment, he forgot she had called in sick some four hours ago. From where he stood, he had also seen her very formal shoes. The type of shoes that career, independent ladies like to wear.

He recalled thinking she was probably on her way to an important meeting. Like an interview. That was when he quickly came to his senses and became confused about what to do. Like a creepy stalker, he had gotten into his car and followed her till she entered a shared taxi. Fortunately, the taxi had been heading in the direction leading back to the supermarket. Once in her street, the car stopped and she got out. It appeared she had been on her way home from the "important meeting." He didn't know what pushed him to call her. When he did, she continued with the lie.

Here he was, some two weeks later, and he was still unsure how he felt about that episode. Although he didn't know when, at some point, he had decided there was nothing to do about it. If she was still coming to work, it meant she had not gotten lucky. Yet. But soon, she would. Good for her, when that time comes.

If there was an open higher position here, he could ask her to try for it. Unfortunately, there was none. Phil decided he was giving Miss blue nails too much space in his head, so he shook himself quickly. Working as a cashier in a supermarket was not a permanent role for someone like her. Besides, workers come and go in this line of business, especially in that role. No one would want to keep that job forever. Or for longer than five months. The fact that he recalled the time she started working here was something that bothered him.

Checking the time, it was 7.45 now. He decided to head in and begin work for the day, anyway. It was better to fill his mind with his job rather than the temp staff. It was better to get busy rather than sit here worrying if today was the last day he would see her walk into this premises to resume her shift as usual.

Once inside, he didn't go into his office or the store like he normally did. Like he should. Instead, he went into the supermarket, telling himself he needed to check on things there first. He kept his eyes away from all the cash points to prove to himself that this was his true reason for coming onto the sales floor. But his resolve lasted less than two minutes. In a moment, he found his eyes moving from one cash counter to the next.

"Is it today then?" He murmured.

Solana Jang was nowhere in sight. One cash register sat vacant. Phil felt his stomach go sour as he climbed up to his office. She was probably waiting there to see him.

His hand lingered on the door to his office before he opened it hesitantly.