Dale walked into the store, the jingle of the bell feeling like a little reminder of the new adventure he was about to embark in. It accomplished the herculean task of helping put him at ease, if even for just a moment. He expected to be back much sooner, but he decided to run a few errands, knowing Randy was at the store. Throughout their many years of friendship, he knew he could count on Randy to take care of things while he was away. Looking around, he noticed that a lot more of the unpacking was finished. Had Randy found the workers already?
The door the back room swung open, and out came Randy, alongside another young man. “Dale!” Randy’s face was beaming with joy. “You’re finally back! I’ve got some news!”
Immediately Dale knew something was horribly wrong. Dale was never good at picking up hints from people, but being around Randy so long, he’s picked up on his ways. The way he raised his inflection when he said news, to the wide smile combined with his narrowing eyes, Dale knew something was afoot. His eyes narrowed right back at Randy.
“What did you do…?”
“What do you mean?”
The game was on. Randy did something. Something Dale could not see. Now it was a matter of figuring out what. As Dale was looking around, Randy spoke up again.
“By the way, I hired our workers! This is Kyle.”
“Hello Mr. Dale, I’m looking forward to-“
“NOT NOW!”
Kyle was taken aback, and Randy had to turn his head away to keep from laughing. Dale kept looking, but couldn’t find whatever he was looking for. He began to sniff around after a scent brushed up against his nose.
“Did you make popcorn?!”
Randy turned towards Kyle, “See? I told you you’d be entertained.” Dale’s eyes widened.
“Ah ha! I figured it out! You didn’t actually do anything besides make some popcorn! Ya just tricked me so I would go looking for nothing, and make me look like a fool!” Kyle’s confusion was clear.
“What did you do to trick him…?” Randy shrugged as he continued to hold back his laughter.
“Well, whatever. Yer name’s Kyle, right? What are you, 15? Are ya old enough to even work yet?”
“I warned you he may be accidentally rude,” Randy whispered into Kyle’s ear.
“I just graduated high school, so yes I’m good to work.” Kyle had to hold back his annoyance.
Dale turned away from the two and looked towards the back of the store, the tea bar still covered in various items. He knew he smelled popcorn, so he began to walk over to find the source. While he was looking away, Randy opened the door to the back room, and ushered the three girls out.
“I’m surprised you two were able to get so much work done all on yer own.”
“Oh, we didn’t. Kyle wasn’t the only one I hired. I also picked up three beautiful ladies to help out as well!”
Dale began to turn around. “Oh, is that-“ his words were cut off as he went wide eyed, like he’s seen a vengeful ghost. Kyle looked back and forth at Dale’s shocked expression, and the sheepish looks of Serenity, Opal, and Allie. Dale’s face quickly went from shocked to exasperated, bellowing out one quick sentence. “You’re all fired.”
“Daaale, buddy, don’t be like that!” Randy said as he went over and patted him on the back. A gesture between friends meant to diffuse the situation, it seemed to Kyle to be ineffective, perhaps even making the situation worse.
“What kind of a joke do you think this is? Did you call them?”
“I assure you I was just as surprised as you were when they all walked through that door.” Dale’s eyes narrowed, and his tone grow more dire.
“Your games end now, Randy. Get rid of them.”
“Nope.” Randy maintained his almost innocent tone of voice, as if he was jokingly mocking him. But Dale was having none of it.
“We haven’t even opened yet and you are treating my store like a joke?!”
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“Dale, I-“ Allie tried to speak up, but was quickly cut off.
“SHUT UP!” Dale’s voice was loud and booming. It sent shivers down Kyle’s spine. The girl didn’t even look like she wanted to object, like she knew it was coming. But Randy’s expression changed dramatically. Angry was too strong a word, annoyed was too soft. He turned towards the girls.
“Allie, Opal, Serenity, please go wait outside.”
“Maybe we should just go…” Opal spoke up.
“No. Wait outside. We’ve still got work to do.”
“You’re not listening! They’re not going to work here!”
“You gave me your word that only I can decide who gets fired.” Dale and Randy glared at each other, none of them moving an inch. Finally, Dale spoke in a low, commanding tone.
“Go wait outside, and don’t go anywhere.”
Kyle stood there for what felt like eternity, having felt an uneasiness he hasn’t known before. He’s had fights with people he’s known, but he’s never stumbled into an argument with complete strangers, much less his bosses. Clearly he stepped into something he has no involvement in, yet no one asked him to leave. Maybe he should’ve taken the hint, but instead he was instead frozen in place, as Dale’s previous shout at the girl seemed to have paralyzed him. The first few minutes were full of Dale shouting and screaming as he paced around the store. Randy just stood there, his expression never changing even a little. Finally, it seemed like Dale had screamed all the energy out of himself, and Randy began to speak.
“Are you done?” Dale continued to glare but did not say anything. “I did not plan this. I can assure you of that. And while you’re too hard headed to even bother explaining why, I know why these three are here.”
“You’re just looking to amuse yourself.” For the first time, Dale had a sense of hurt in his voice. This is the first time Kyle has ever met this man, and all he ever felt from him was a sense of apathetic aloofness and anger. Yet despite all that, something about the hurt in his voice landed in Kyle’s lower stomach. He didn’t know this man, but the way he spoke would be clear to anyone.
“You keep saying that. Do you really think I would do that to you? I knew you would be unhappy, but damn it all even I didn’t expect you to hold onto the past so hard.”
“You thought I’d forget everything?!”
“No! That’s why I decided on this. Because you’re too stupid to forget the things you should. But you need some way to move past everything already. Even you could have figured out by now why those girls are here.” A deafening silence filled the room. Dale had taken a seat at the bar, looking down at nothing, shoulders slumped to make him look like a giant white boulder. Eventually, Randy went and sat beside him. His voice finally softened up.
“You need to get over yourself. You have no ability to ever let things go, and those three are holding you down more than anything else in your life. The only way you’re going to get over everything that’s happened is if you man up and face these problems. They’re not here to destroy you, Dale. I’m not even going to say that you have to like them. But I want you to treat them like regular employees, and give the past some time to heal. Give yourself some closure. And I think the girls need some closure, too. You saw the looks on their faces. The way Allie reacted when they screamed. They’re aware, Dale. I don’t know to what extent, but they’re aware what they did was wrong. And let’s not pretend you were some little angel, yourself. Unless you think you’re completely faultless.”
Dale didn’t make a sound. Didn’t even make a move. Kyle just stood there watching everything unfold. Losing his place, he blurts out a question before he even thinks if it’s wise for a stranger to ask. “So they were all his girlfriends or something?” Immediately expecting a firing, instead Randy turned towards him with the same friendly smile he’s been showing.
“No. Let’s just say it’s complicated.” He then turned back to Dale, who seemed to not even acknowledge the question. “You knew those three better than anyone. Taking away your history, is there anyone else you’d rather have working at a tea shop than them?” Dale heaved a heavy sigh to signal his reluctant agreement, then spoke in a defeated voice.
“Bring them back in.” Randy got up, and got the three girls. They came in, and walked to just a few feet from Dale. He got up from the chair, and turned towards them all. He took a deep breath in and prepared to speak. As this was going on, Randy reached behind the counter, grabbed the elusive bowl of popcorn Dale smelled earlier, and went over to Kyle.
“Uhh, where did this even come from?”
“When it comes to important things, Kyle, I can be a bit lazy and absent minded. But for moments like this, I am always prepared. You will know when it is time to eat.”
Kyle looked over and saw the rest staring at them, the girls looking confused and Dale giving them both a death glare. He took another deep breath, and this time spoke in a much calmer tone than Kyle was expecting.
“Despite your reasons for wanting to work here, I cannot deny that you’ll be good for the store. You should all have guessed already that I’m holding Dragon Fire as more important than anything else. I cannot let my personal feelings get in the way anymore. Serenity. Opal. Allie. Welcome to Dragon Fire.” All three of them looked to be beaming with relief and happiness, as they then turned to each other. Serenity spoke up first, side eyeing the other girls. The jealousy was palpable in both her gaze and tone.
“So…who are these two?”
“Wait a minute…” Opal went from confusion to shocked realization, “YOU’RE Serenity?!”
“Yeah, and you are?”
“Opal, the person who had to hear about how horrible you were after you were gone!” Dale made a face of panic.
“Opal…?” Allie had an almost blissful aloof look to her. “You were the reason Dale didn’t want to be friends with me for so long…”
“Excuse me…?!” Opal turned towards her in anger. Kyle’s hand instinctively dove into the popcorn bowl. Randy spoke up, just soft enough to not be overheard.
“Kyle?”
“Yes, boss?”
“Are you entertained?”
“Yes, boss.”
“Do a fine job working for us, and I assure you that you’ll find as much entertainment as you can handle here.”
“I will do whatever you ask, so long as you let me enjoy whatever is going on.”
“That’s what I like to hear…”