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Catie looked taken aback, and Gwen could feel the embarrassment and confusion radiating off the younger woman. Her eyes awkwardly avoided looking at Gwen below her neck, but Catie appeared to have collected her thoughts.
“We found out yesterday afternoon. Mary got an email from corporate. The company is losing money,” Catie explained.
“Wha—they can’t do that. They can’t just shut this place down!” Gwen protested.
“We have three months to put in transfers,” Catie offered. “But…”
“Hey,” George said as he approached with a fresh cash drawer in hand. “Gwen—cute outfit—what’s going on?”
“Thank you,” she replied. “I made it myself.”
“Gwen just found out Master Basting is going out of business,” Catie supplied.
George winced as he balanced the cash drawer with one arm, pulling out a set of keys to open the register.
“I–I knew things were bad. I thought there was more time to fix it! George, did you know?” Gwen asked.
Mary might have confided in Gwen, but she was still a simple employee. If anyone knew how bad things were, it would be George. He was management, after all.
“I knew the store was in rough shape.” He dropped the drawer and promptly closed the register, removing the key and attaching it back to his belt. “Mary was trying to keep it under wraps because she thought we had more time, too. I only found out about the email an hour or two before the notice went out.”
The melancholy that lingered around George told Gwen that he wasn’t lying. He’d been just as surprised as everyone, it seemed. Still, Gwen couldn’t understand how corporate could have pulled this punch so unexpectedly.
“We have three months before the store shuts down completely,” George continued as he rested his hand on the bagging area of the register. “Corporate said we can transfer. I’ve already put a request for Lake Stevens. It’s closer to my house, anyway.”
“I’m going to ask Mary if I can transfer to Lynnwood. My boyfriend lives there, and if I stay a couple nights, it won’t be too bad,” Catie added.
Disappointment.
Melancholy.
Sadness.
Gwen’s knuckles ached, the familiar pain in her joints pulling her away from the emotions her coworkers were feeling. Why weren’t theyangry?There was no guarantee that their transfers would go through. It wassummer,forfuck’s sake, no hobby store was hiring until October. So, why—
“But you should be okay, right, Gwen?” Catie inquired.
“Me?”
Truthfully, Gwen hadn’t gone that far. Financially, Gwen supposed she could survive on her own. She had at least a year’s worth of savings in her account, and as long as her hands didn’t crap out on her, Gwen could churn out enough dolls to pay the bills for longer.
Not if. When they crap out on me.
“Yeah, don’t you have family you can lean on?” Catie continued, oblivious to Gwen’s confusion. “Sierra said you have a large family, which is great considering you’re expecting and—”
“Excuse me, I’mwhat now?!”
Gwen wouldn’t be surprised if her eyes didn’t pop out of her head in that single moment. There was no way that Catie had said what Gwen thought she heard. Because to imply as much would mean—
“You’re expecting?”
The emotion from Catie was confusion, which meant she really believed that Gwen was—
“The fuck I’m not!” Gwen blurted.
The embarrassment that exploded from Catie was strong enough to nearly overshadow George’s surprise. It paled in comparison to the anger bubbling in Gwen’s stomach.
“I am so sorry—”