Obsolution ?

Chapter 10

Halloween was two days away, and Good Time was busy, though a manageable kind of busy. Ty hated to admit it, but the kiosks created an efficient atmosphere. What he resented most was when customers asked for human assistance only when the lines at the kiosks became too long.

"Do you have a Guy Fawkes mask?" It was a question Ty received often.

He told the customer he didn't have the mask, but a store kiosk could print him out a composite.

The line at the kiosk was fifteen people long.

"I have to wait in that line?" The customer frowned.

"If you'd prefer, I can get you the code to print your own composite from home," Ty said.

Wallace and Martine were stretched as thin as Ty was, ringing up more returns than purchases. One customer was angry their costume hadn't fit properly.

"Wait in line at one of the kiosks to print out the right size," Martine informed the man.

"I don't wanna fucking wait." The man had a perceptible fog to his words, and Ty figured he must've had a stoke awhile back.

Other customers were staring. The man glared like he wanted to shove a fist into Ty's eye socket.

In similar situations, Ty had ordered ornery customer to leave the store. Once they started cursing, any Good Time employee had the right to deny them service and ask them to leave. Cursing signified an intent for violence in private business settings. However, Ty did not ask the man to leave.

Again, he explained the options to the customer, even offering fifty-percent off the entire purchase. None of his suggestions appeased the man. After verbally abusing Ty, he asked to see another manager.

With great relief, Ty called Pen to the front. He excused himself. Although the man hadn't called him names like idiot or asshole, he had called Ty a terrible person. The insult had hit hard. Ty was seething.

If only there was something he could punch.

Antoinella walked passed him, picking up on his mood. "What's wrong?"

He relayed an abridged version of his customer encounter. "I wanna put a hole in a wall."

"Or, you could have yourself a good cry instead," Antoinella said slowly.

That's gay, Ty was about to say, but he caught himself. "I don't cry."

Antoinella looked amused. "Everybody cries to release frustration. Why do you think women do it so often?"

Because they're weak, came his automatic thought.

Antoinella read his mind. "Crying efficiently purges your emotions. No one gets hurt, and nothing is lost. What you gain is peace of mind." Despite Ty's lemon-face, she continued,"I read in a magazine, people who cry regularly are more emotionally healthy than people who constantly hold it in."

"Cause magazines are always right," Ty drawled.

"Laugh it up, but how many of the recent shootings featured women as the perpetrator?"

His arrogant grin disappeared. Damn. She was correct. Ty couldn't think of a shooting incident involving a woman. They always seemed to be on the wrong end of the gun.

Cheered by his silence, Antoinella made one final push.

"Go to the bathroom, have a good cry, then splash some water on your face. I do it at least every two weeks, twice a week during Halloween season."

Deliberately, Ty stepped in the direction of the bathroom. "I'm only going because I have to pee."

Antoinella winked. "Suuure. I won't tell anyone."

He really did have to pee.

Only, after he was done, he stood thinking on what Antoinella had said. Crying as a form of release. Even thinking about tears made his manliness prickle. Why did crying weaken a man? Who deemed crying to be a woman's sole domain?

Ty was so angry, and so tired. He remembered what the customer had told him:

"You're a terrible person."

Maybe he was.

His wife had left him.

Damon hated him.

A wetness formed in his eyes, and he welcomed it. When the tears fell, Ty's exhaustion and aggression fell with them. It was like a reservoir emptying out, one that hadn't been emptied in years.

Finally, the tears stopped. He splashed cold water on his red face. The water was cleansing. Ty appraised the reflection in the bathroom mirror. His nose was still red, but the rest of his face could pass for normal. Even if people figured out his crying secret, he would be okay. It had been worth the possible recriminations.

~*~

A/N: If you're diggin' the story so far, press the cute little star!

Reader support and feedback has helped many of my stories grow, and I'm grateful. Thanks in particular to juzamx3! Read her fantasy novel, Avalon Wonders:

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