Succulents on the Window Sill

Chapter 2

Coming into work today had not been a good idea. It had in fact been a terrible idea. 

Why on earth Corinne had convinced herself that working would take her mind of things, be a good distraction, well she just couldn't get her head around it. Being here only seemed to be making things worse. 

Sara never worked Wednesdays, ever. 

When Lisa was off sick though, it seemed Sara was more than willing to cover for her. 

When she'd walked into the bakery to find Sara stood behind the counter she had nearly had a heart attack. She'd had to force herself into composure, to smile politely at her and the customer she was serving, and slip past to leave her jacket and coat in the back room. She prayed she had made it look easy, but it sure had been hard. 

Thankfully the bakery had been rather busy all morning, keeping them both on their toes with little opportunity for conversation. Corinne knew it was coming though. As soon as Michael stepped out from the back telling them that he'd look after the tills whilst they grabbed lunch, she knew she had to act, and act fast. 

"Where are you going?" 

Corinne pushed her sleeves into her jacket, grabbing her bag and making for the door before she could even get the clothing up onto her shoulders. 

"Oh, I just need to nip out for a bit."

"Why?"

"Just...personal stuff." She didn't know what else to say to get Sara off her back. 

"What, like personal, personal stuff?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." 

"Oh God, Corinne. You're ill, aren't you?"

"What?! No!" A few of the bakers glanced over, suddenly curious. 

"Then what's wrong?"

"I just need to rush out, okay?" Corinne didn't mean to grit her teeth at Sara, to hiss out her words. She was so desperate to get away from her that it seemed she had no control over anything right now. 

Sara thankfully let her go, and Corinne rushed out of the side door, down the small alley, and into the street before stopping, wondering just where to go now that she was out of Sara's reach. She didn't want to go somewhere like the cafe across the road and buy lunch, for fear of Sara seeing her. To go a few streets away and queue up along with the lines of people that spilt out into the streets, Corinne knew it would leave her late back to work, with little chance to eat whatever she would buy. 

She walked halfway up the road to where she had parked her car that morning, unlocking it and climbing inside, before starting up the engine. Corinne drove to the nearest large car park, edging into a space to sit and eat the sandwiches she had prepared that morning and placed in her bag. They weren't as nice as the choice she could have had in a cafe, but they had to do. 

When she was finished, she simply flicked through her phone for a bit, before boredom forced her out of the car and into the nearest shop. It was a simple convenience store, home to the basic essentials. Corinne didn't need anything, but there was no harm in browsing through the magazines, flicking through the odd one that caught her eye, before finally going back to the bakery.

Sara was waiting for her when she got back, hovering in the doorway between the back room and the front of the shop. Over her shoulder, stood at the counter, was the last figure Corinne was expecting to see. He was shifting from one foot to the other, hands dug deep in his pockets as he stared at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.