I'll never forget her name

It was the summer of 1975, and I started my first part-time job at the local grocery store. It was a small store run by the meanest man in town, Old Man Shaw. He mistreated everyone, especially the bag boys and stockers. He worked us part-time, and since we were teenagers, he didn't have to pay minimum wage, so I think I made like $2.00 an hour or something like that. I still lived at home, and this was only my freshman year in high school, so the money I made was my spending money and to help out with school clothes. He hired a police detective to manage the store on Friday nights because, on Friday nights, the supply truck came. All of the stockers and bag boys were expected to stay late, unload the trailer, and stock the shelves. Old Man Shaw was afraid we would steal from him, so Detective Ivy would hang out in the back and watch us unload the truck and store everything in the stockroom, and then Ivy would lock the doors when we were done. I should mention this truck brought everything from canned goods and bread to fresh meat, beer, and wine.

That's right, I said beer and wine. Ivy's job was to check off everything on the bill of lading as we brought it into the storeroom. Still, sometimes, when he was distracted, he missed things, like a case of beer or a couple of bottles of wine. It just depended on how slick we were. One Friday afternoon, right before the beginning of my shift, Old Man Shaw sent me home. He told me he wanted to work the Saturday morning shift instead. Something about being shorthanded on Saturday and needing someone to help out in the meat market.

Saturday morning arrived bright and early, and I was the first one at the store. While waiting for one of the Shaw's to come and open the doors, a candy apple red 1972 Chevy Camaro pulled into the parking lot and parked on the side of the building. The prettiest girl I ever saw in my entire sixteen years of life got out of the driver's seat and walked to the front doors, and stood there waiting. Her strawberry blonde hair framed her beautiful face and made her green eyes glow. I got off my bike and left the helmet on the gas tank before walking over to her to introduce myself and try and get her name. All was going well until Dick Shaw arrived and told me to leave the new hires alone. "New hire?" I thought to myself. I just might get her number and maybe a date yet.

Everyone hated working Saturdays because the Shaws didn't believe in shiftwork. If you were scheduled to work a Saturday, you worked from opening to close, which meant from 7 o'clock in the morning until 11 o'clock at night. You were allowed a 30-minute lunch break after six hours of work. The Shaws were generous like that. Luck had it the new girl, Becca, and I took our lunch at the same time. Becca wasn't aware of these rules even though her Dad, Detective Ivy, was the Friday Manager. She didn't have any money on her, and she hadn't brought her lunch. I felt guilty eating in front of her, so I offered to share. My Mom makes the best lunches. She packed a ham & cheese sandwich, some chips, a soda, and a large slice of her homemade chocolate cake with coconut. We split everything equally except the chocolate cake.

By the time we got to the cake, Becca and I had become friends and were even talking about going out the following weekend. She told me thanks for sharing my lunch with her, but there was no way she could share the chocolate cake too. I looked confused, and she smiled before sliding the cake over in front of herself and away from me. She told me she shares many things in her life, but she never shares chocolate cake. Then she leaned over and kissed me. As for as I was concerned, the cake was hers. Lunchtime was just about over, and I had to be the happiest sixteen-year-old boy in the world at the time. Before we went back to work, she whispered in my ear, will you help me find out who's been stealing beer and wine from here? My Dad thinks it's one of the stock boys.

I shrugged my shoulders and nodded. She gave me another kiss, this time on the cheek, and left a smear of chocolate on my face. Yep, I was in love. I was also in a serious predicament. I returned to the meat market and Becca headed to the manager's office which was nothing more than an elevated cubicle at the front of the store that overlooked the cash registers and allowed the manager and bookkeeper to keep an eye out for shoplifters. The meat market was at the rear of the store and separated the stockroom from the store. Shaws' prided themselves on providing fresh meat to the community and I had been fortunate to get promoted into the meat market as a meat wrapper, the guy that weighed and wrapped the meat after the butchers were done. I was also responsible for cleaning up the equipment when we closed. Our assignments gave Becca and me the chance to steal glances at each other throughout our shift.

The following week, Old Man Shaw called a storewide meeting and announced he terminated all of the bag boys and stockers because of the alleged thefts. He told us he didn't have time to waste on figuring out who the thief was and decided to get rid of the whole bunch. He also wanted to send a warning to everyone else he wouldn't tolerate such shenanigans. Becca and I continued dating through the summer and well, all the way through college. We eventually quit the store, got married, and raised a family. It's been forty-six years and to do this day, Becca still won't share her chocolate cake!