Chapter Text
Davidson Computers might not have been the best store in Hatchetfield. In fact it was probably the worst, but it’s all Ted knew. He had been working there for 12 years now. Started working there right out of high school. Mr. Davidson gave him a chance when nobody else would. So who cares that he probably didn’t get paid as much as he should? He had no degree. He was happy here. Well… content. Working the “tech” desk with his co-worker Paul, he would help any costumer with a broken computer, tablet or cell phone. Paul was a geek, but Ted enjoyed his company.
Rounding out their little group were Bill and Charlotte, they took care of the sales. Helping costumers find what they need and ringing them up. Well, that’s what they would do, if there were any costumers to be seen. For now, Bill was hanging around the tech desk complain about his daughter, Alice, who was 18 and going through that fase where your dad was not cool. Ted didn’t think there had been a time where Bill was cool, but he decided not to mention it. They already thought he was a dick anyway. No, he was more worried about Charlotte, who was now more than 45 minutes late.
Another 7 minutes later, no Ted wasn’t counting, Charlotte came rushing through the front door. Apologizing profusely and keeping her face turned away from them as she put her coat and purse away. When she finally faced them with a “Anyway… good morning guys!”, the men all stared at her. Not really knowing what to say as they spotted the bruise forming on her right cheek.
It was Ted who broke the silence, “Good morning Charlotte, you’re looking beautiful as ever. Did you do something different with your make-up?”
What a dumb thing to say, but it was certainly better than his first instinct.
Paul was the one to actually address the elephant in the room. “Hey Charlotte, how’d you get that bruise?”
“Bruise?”, Charlotte pretended to be surprised, “Oh that. It’s silly.” She nervously pulled on the sleeves of her sweater. “A little scuffle with my Sam. He came home so late last night and I should’ve just let it go, but I kept nagging him about it. It was an accident really. His back was facing me and when he turned around… he must’ve not realized how close I was, so the back of his hand hit my cheek. It’s not his fault. He wouldn’t. He loves me.”
“But Charlotte,” Bill started, “if he was just turning around why was his hand raised to begin with?” He reached out to stroke her arm, but she pulled away. “Really, you should leave him, he’s a criminal.”
“He’s not!” Charlotte said defensively. “He’s a police officer. Besides, he provides for me. He’s the only man who has ever loved me.”
That was like a knife to Teds heart, because it wasn’t true. He loved Charlotte, yearned for Charlotte. Spend night alone dreaming about being with her. But she didn’t even realize. She loved Sam too much.
And what could they do? They let it go. Falling into their routine of pretending to be busy. Still, with no costumers time moved very slowly.
It was just afternoon when Mr. Davidson, the store’s owner, came in. “Heyyy guys,” he started, “how are we all doing? Look I’m not going to beat around the bush here. Business is doing lousy. The way it’s looking right now I’m afraid the store will be closing in a few months. We have to cut costs a little. I don’t think we need two people on sales when we aren’t actually making any sales.” He looked right at Charlotte when he said that, Ted noticed, Charlotte let out a little gasp. Mr Davidson continued his little speech: “Listen, I’ll be in my office crunching some numbers. I’ll see you all in a few hours.”
The were all left speechless. Charlotte burst into tears, knowing what this meant for her. Ted wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms, but Bill beat him to it.
“Hey Ted,” Paul said, “why don’t we run down to Beanies and get everyone some coffee? Bill, Charlotte? How about an iced caramel frap? Nothing better.”