Birdie

11. Closed Market

The scrubs that she had were a little loose, and Carmen was banking on getting her job back. When she looked up from the rack in front of her, Chance was holding up a pink scrub set.

Carmen hated pink, and he knew that.

"Put that down, Chancellor. You know-"

"That you don't wear pink, yeah, I know, but I'm ready to go! My feet hurt!"

"You were the one who offered to go here with me, Chance," Carmen responded as she picked up and examined a black set.

She stayed clear of the color of the uniform she wore in Stone's, and shuddered as her eyes landed on a navy set just at the edge of her view. She'd rather the pink scrubs than that color, and she knew it'd be like that for a long while.

Chance's complaining pulled her from her thoughts as his eyes begged her while his lips did the same, "I didn't think you'd take this long."

One eye-roll later, "It's been fifteen minutes, you drama queen. God sit in the main area out there. There's benches designated for you and your fellow whiners. You'll still be able to see me from there, and I'll just come get you when I'm finished."

Chance was speed-walking to the place she'd pointed out before Carmen had even finished her sentence.

The man worked on his feet for hours at a time, Carmen could only laugh at how much of a baby he was being over a little shopping; that of which he'd offered to accompany her on in the first place.

Carmen's phone sounded off a short series of vibrations in her purse, and she set about digging around for it, pulling out everything but the device. A minute or two passed before the phone surfaced from the depths of snacks, makeup, and Kleenex's for Chance's runny nose, she looked at the text message from the man waiting outside the store for her to finish.

Gonna go pee. Be back in a few.

Carmen texted back a one lettered response, and went back to perusing the racks if clothes in the store that specialized in maternity, and work clothes.

Strange combination, but Carmen didn't care, their scrub sets were amazing quality at a great price, and she'd been shopping there since nursing school.

This was the first time she had been out in public besides the grocery or book store, and Carmen, for some reason, had thought it would be different. All the other inmates talked about being nervous and scared when they went back out into society, but maybe it was because Carmen had never done anything wrong to begin with.

Along with that thought came the fact that she was going to have to call the police about her brother and her car. Carmen wasn't going to protect Ira anymore, she meant that, and this was more than even his lack of loyalty and respect. She needed a way to get around, and there'd be a day where Chance wouldn't be able to get her, or she'd be stood up by her mother again. She'd already put too much of her life on hold and at risk for someone she was now seeing needed to deal with his own problems.

Ira was digging himself into a hole that Carmen's arms were too short and weak  to pull him out of.

Movement to her left caught her eye, and she lowered the fabric in her right hand so that she could see who was coming so close to her.

It was a man about Chance's height that was entirely too pretty, from his hair down to his chin-that was how far she looked before she lost an interest she didn't have to begin with.

"New nurse?"

His voice wasn't even deep enough, but he was the handsome that a lot of women liked now. Carmen didn't. Still, she wasn't going to be rude, she wasn't like that, most of the time, and he may have been new himself, and needing some help.