Tuesday, April 24, 2018

A to Z Challenge -The Letter U - Sam and Millie

I am participating in the “April Blogging From A to Z Challenge” for 2018.  Except for Sundays, but starting with Sunday April 1, I will be writing a post each day in April.  Working through the alphabet, by the end of the challenge I will have posted 26 writings. 





Millie was weary.   She had been on her feet all day without a break.  As she passed her partner, Sam, she gave a slight nod of her head. 
Millie was a small woman with a slight build.   She had short brown hair, well today it was short and brown.   She preferred herself as a blond, but that was the weekend Millie. 
The brown haired Millie's clothing was always the same style.  Black, brown or gray slacks, white or tan top,  quite nondescript. There was never anything flashy about this Millie.
As she made her final rounds, she was thankful the day was almost over.   She caught a glimpse of herself in the nearby mirror.   She brushed stray wisps of hair back from in front of her eyes.  
That’s when she noticed the other woman’s reflection.
She looked familiar to Millie.  Yes, she was sure she had seen her before.  When Millie turned around to get a better look the woman was gone.
Millie sighed and looked at her watch.  Pearl should be arriving any minute.  She could wait, and just give her a description of the woman.   But her former life as a police detective prevented her from walking away.
She grabbed the handle of her cart and began to push it in the direction she thought the woman had gone.
Millie’s cart contained a few items.  A set of gray towels,  a white blouse hooked on a hanger in the mesh cart.
She turned into the lingerie area.  Millie’s instincts and years of experience led her there. She warned management repeatedly about this department at the bi-weekly meetings.  It was too easy. The racks were too close together.  The merchandise was crammed in too close together.
At first Millie didn’t see the woman.  Leaving her cart she casually began to scout up and down each aisle.  She stopped occasionally to finger an item, take it off the rack and hold it up.
She spotted her in the fourth aisle. The telltale signs were all there.  The furtive looks over her shoulder, the large purse, the way she lingered in between the racks of bras and panties.
Millie walked by her.  The woman looked up, but didn’t seem to take much notice of Millie.  That meant that Millie was doing her job well.
Millie waited a few minutes and soon the woman came out of the aisle and began to walk towards the front door.    She had nothing in her hands.
Millie let out a big sigh.  She wondered again why she took this job. It certainly wasn’t for the money.  Of course she knew the answer.  She had tried staying home after her twenty plus year career.  At first it was a relief not having the responsibility and stress of being on the job.
That lasted for only a month.  She needed to work.
She could almost understand the younger ones, but why this woman?  She certainly didn’t appear to have to do what she was most certainly doing.
But Millie had stopped trying to figure out the nature of people.
Millie pulled out her cell phone and called Sam.





Undercover



4 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    A lovely vignette of a job not always appreciated! YAM xx

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I wonder how many undercover security personnel are walking around our favorite stores.

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  2. Gotta do something to relieve the boredom, eh?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, believe it or not retirement can be a little difficult at times.

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