She liked them though, and that was all that mattered wasn’t it? Assuming they were comfortable. Which they were. But Velma wasn’t one to draw attention to herself, and these jeans would certainly attract attention. “I don’t know,” she said eventually. “Can you check if there’s anything not so loud in my size?”

Muriel sighed. “Already did,” she admitted reluctantly, “they’ve got some khaki cargo pants in a 16. But if it’s jeans you want your only other option is wide-legged, faded black, size 18.” Velma looked relieved but before she could say anything, Muriel added, “Get the pink ones! They’re a perfect fit!”

“You don’t think they’re a bit tight?”

“No,” Muriel assured her, “perfect fit.”

Velma smiled. But they were just sooo pink. “Can you bring me the black ones?”

Muriel laughed. “You’re such a coward!” she teased as she headed back to the shop floor.

*

With only 6 minutes of their break left, Velma and Muriel hurried back to work through the indoor market. Muriel had sneakily eaten her sandwiches behind the returns rail, but Velma hadn’t had a chance to eat and there wasn’t time now.

When they got back to the department store for their evening shift, Muriel headed straight to the bakery – there was always a floury mess for her to clean up after the bakers went home. Velma’s area was upstairs, cleaning the cafe and the toilets behind it. She was a diligent worker and took pride in doing a good job, but she hadn’t eaten for almost 36 hours and it was difficult to distract herself from her growling stomach.

“Want some help with that?” Tom startled her when he tried to grab the vacuum cleaner she was about to carry up the stairs.

“No thanks,” she told him, turning slightly so that it was out of his reach, “I’ve got it.”

“Don’t be silly,” he offered her the broom he was carrying, “you take this and I’ll carry the hoover. It’s heavy.”

Velma tried to hide her irritation, telling herself he meant well, he was just old-fashioned. “I’m stronger than I look you know,” she told him with a smile as he took the hoover from her and put the broom in her hand.

He smirked and nodded, “course you are, love,” he said, “but it’s not a crime to take it easy you know.”

She watched him take the stairs two at a time, hesitating before following to put some distance between them. As she began her ascent she saw him stop at the top to talk to Kevin from menswear. He lifted the hoover a fraction higher and tilted his head towards her. She gritted her teeth when she heard the words ‘helping the lady out’. Then she couldn’t help herself. She moved, almost in an instant, to the top of the stairs, retrieved the hoover from Tom’s grasp, threw him a pointed look and was out of sight before he knew what had happened. Kevin, who hadn’t been paying attention anyway, took advantage of the interruption by making a quick exit, and the bewildered Tom collapsed onto a nearby stool in the shoe department.

***

Story continues tomorrow – or you can read the rest now 😀

Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting, and sometimes slightly creepy vegan fiction since 2012